What do Mycenaean art and treasures reveal about their wealth, skills and way of life?
Mycenaean art and material culture: the gold of the shaft graves (including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean art in The Homeric World. Covers the gold of the shaft graves (the Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
The Mycenaeans left behind some of the most spectacular art and treasures of the ancient world. You need to know the gold of the shaft graves (including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon), the frescoes, the decorated pottery, the weapons and armour, and the great tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship. The paper tests precise knowledge (AO1) and the analysis of these material sources plus your own argument (AO2).
The answer
The gold of the shaft graves
Frescoes and pottery
The tholos tombs
What the art reveals
The surviving art reveals a society that was:
- Wealthy and status-conscious - the gold of the graves, the great tholos tombs.
- Warlike - weapons, armour, inlaid daggers and frescoes of warriors and the hunt.
- Religious and observant of nature - frescoes of processions and offerings, octopuses and plants on pottery.
- Highly skilled - superb goldwork, fresco painting and monumental building.
Because much of the finest art comes from rich graves, it stresses wealth, war and status, but it also shows religion, nature and craft.
Examples in context
A strong essay would argue the art is dominated by wealth, war and status (much of it from rich graves), while also revealing religion, nature and fine craftsmanship.
Try this
Q1. What is a tholos tomb? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. A monumental beehive-shaped Mycenaean tomb roofed with a corbelled dome and entered by a long passage (the dromos); the grandest is the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae.
Q2. Explain why the "Mask of Agamemnon" cannot really have belonged to Agamemnon. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Schliemann named it after the Homeric king, but the mask comes from a shaft grave that is centuries earlier than the traditional date of the Trojan War, so it pre-dates Agamemnon and the name is just a romantic guess.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR J199/21 2019 (style)4 marksDescribe two objects found in the Mycenaean shaft graves. [4]Show worked answer →
A short knowledge question (4 marks, AO1, 2 marks each). Reward two distinct, accurate objects.
Object one. Gold death masks laid over the faces of the dead, including the famous beaten-gold mask that Schliemann called the "Mask of Agamemnon".
Object two. Bronze weapons, such as swords and inlaid daggers (some decorated with hunting scenes in gold and silver), along with gold cups and jewellery.
Top marks. Two separate, correctly described objects showing the wealth and craftsmanship of the graves.
OCR J199/21 2022 (essay, true tariff 15)15 marks'Mycenaean art shows us a society obsessed with wealth and war.' How far do you agree? Justify your response. [marked here out of 15; this is the true J199/21 tariff]Show worked answer →
The 15-mark extended response (AO1 and AO2). The marker rewards a clear argument supported by named objects.
For (wealth and war). The shaft graves were filled with gold (masks, cups, jewellery) showing a love of wealth and display; weapons and armour, inlaid daggers with hunting scenes, and frescoes of warriors and the hunt show a warlike, status-conscious elite; the huge tholos tombs (the Treasury of Atreus) advertised royal power even in death.
Other readings. The art also shows religion (frescoes of processions and offerings), nature (octopuses and plants on pottery and frescoes) and craftsmanship for its own sake, so it reflects more than just wealth and war.
Judgement. The top band argues a clear line, for example that the surviving art (much of it from rich graves) is dominated by wealth, war and status, but also reveals religion, nature and fine craft. Support with named objects.
Related dot points
- The major Mycenaean sites and citadels: Mycenae (the Lion Gate, the grave circles and the citadel walls), Tiryns and Pylos, their fortifications and architecture (Cyclopean masonry), and what they reveal about Mycenaean power and society.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean sites in The Homeric World. Covers the major citadels of Mycenae (the Lion Gate, grave circles and walls), Tiryns and Pylos, their Cyclopean fortifications and architecture, and what they reveal about Mycenaean power and society, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- Mycenaean society and the palace: the role of the king (wanax) and the social hierarchy, the megaron at the heart of the palace, and the evidence of the Linear B tablets for administration, economy, religion and trade.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean society in The Homeric World. Covers the role of the king (wanax) and the social hierarchy, the megaron at the heart of the palace, and the evidence of the Linear B tablets for administration, economy, religion and trade, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- Troy and its identification with Homer's city, Knossos and the relationship between the Mycenaeans and the earlier Minoan civilisation, and the evidence for Mycenaean trade and contact across the Bronze Age Mediterranean.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Troy, Knossos and trade in The Homeric World. Covers Troy and its identification with Homer's city, Knossos and the Mycenaeans' relationship with the earlier Minoan civilisation, and the evidence for Mycenaean trade and contact across the Bronze Age Mediterranean, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- The decline and collapse of Mycenaean civilisation around 1200 to 1100 BC: the destruction of the palaces, the possible causes (invasion, internal conflict, natural disaster and wider Mediterranean upheaval), the loss of writing and the coming of the Dark Age, and how the memory of the Mycenaeans survived into Homer.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of the collapse of Mycenaean civilisation in The Homeric World. Covers the destruction of the palaces around 1200 to 1100 BC, the possible causes (invasion, internal conflict, disaster and wider upheaval), the loss of writing and the Dark Age, and how the memory survived into Homer, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- The world of the Odyssey: the structure of Homeric society (kings, nobles, ordinary people and enslaved people), the heroic values of kleos (glory), time (honour) and arete (excellence), the importance of the household (oikos) and gift-exchange, and how this world relates to the Mycenaean evidence.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Homeric society in The Odyssey. Covers the structure of Homeric society, the heroic values of kleos, time and arete, the importance of the household (oikos) and gift-exchange, and how this world relates to the Mycenaean evidence, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Classical Civilisation J199 specification — OCR (2017)