Late Helladic Emulation: An Analysis of Palatial and Domestic Architecture and Construction Techniques in Mycenaean Greece

Abstract

In this thesis, I investigate to what extent the architecture and constructions at the Mycenaean palaces are emulated at non-palatial sites, using methods and theories involving emulation, the power of architecture, and peer-polity interaction. I first compare the Palace at Mycenae with the Panagia Houses at Mycenae, houses at Korakou, and houses at Asine, to examine how distance from the palace and the time period affects the construction of houses in the Argolid and the Corinthia. Then I compare the Palace of Nestor at Pylos with Nichoria to see how distance, geographical boundaries, and site status affect the construction of houses in Messenia. A building is a statement, having the ability to form and communicate personal identities and communities, indicate social associations, highlight political organizations, and provide details for understanding aspects of life. Further, architecture can influence how people view their society and their community; the central unit (including the megaron hall with its hearth and columns) of the Mycenaean palaces, constructed on the monumental palatial scale, became a statement of power. The status of these constructions would have made them perfect candidates for locals at periphery sites attempting to emulate the authority of the palaces in LH III Greece. However, the dates of construction of the palaces and the residential structures, locally available materials, previous traditions of construction, and geographical boundaries all could have affected how much emulation was possible in LH IIIA-B Greece.