In Search of Achilles' Shield

An encyclopedia or a star map will give the full grouping of these constellations. Shown here are simplified renderings of the Hyades and Pleiades, both members of the Taurus constellation. Positioned in its actual location relative to Taurus is Orion, the Hunter, with his belt and club (some say sword) depicted. Ursa Major, or the Great Bear, is shown simplified to its well-known grouping, the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is also known as the Wain, or chariot, and is identified by its cart and stem, with which it is hooked to a team of horses.

Hogan notes in A Guide to the Iliad, regarding Homer's usage of the constellations Pleiades, Hyades, Orion and the Great Bear, "The constellations mentioned here are perhaps chosen for their usefulness to the farmer and sailor."¹ The agricultural significance of Homer's choice of these constellations is comprehensively analyzed by Hannah in his excellent article entitled, The Constellations on Achilles Shield. Find it on the internet at: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ElAnt/V2N4/hannah.html . There is, however, the additional possibility of entertainment value. The celebrities behind these constellations were much more familiar to Homer's earliest readers than today, and their legendary "stardom" may have been another motive for highlighting them.

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Feasts:
- Celebe, c. 6th Century BC, now at the Louvre, Paris, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 367.

Men in everyday garb:
- Celebe, c. 6th Century BC, now at the Louvre, Paris, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 367
- The Francois Vase, c. 570 BC illustrated in color in Mingazzini's, Greek Pottery Painting, plate 7.
- Attic Amphora, "Heracles Killing Nessos," c. 610-600 BC at the National Museum of Athens, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 407.

Pipes and lyres:
- Pipes: Protocorinthian Olpe, "The Chigi Vase," by the MacMillan Painter, c. 650-640 BC, in the Villa Giulia, illustrated in Beazley's, Greek Sculpture and Painting, fig. 19. Also (in color) in Mingazzini's, Greek Pottery Painting, plate 6.
- Lyres: Corinthian Miniature Painting of a lamb being taken for sacrifice on an altar, c. 540 BC, now in the National Museum of Athens, illustrated in Karouzou's, National Museum - Illustrated Guide to the Museum, item no. 16464.

Trees:
- Cup by the Corinthianizing Painter, c. 660 BC, in the Berkeley Museum, and illustrated in Beazley's, The Development of Attic Black-Figure, plate 83, no. 2.
- Lekythos by the Cactus Painter, "Herakles at the Tree of the Hesperides," illustrated in Boardman's, Athenian Black Figure Vases, fig. 233.
- Corinthian Bottle by Timonidas, c. 580 BC, illustrated in Cook's, Greek Art - Its Development, Character and Influence, plate D, page 277.

Women under columned porch:
- Corinthian Krater, "The Departure of Amphiaraos," c. 575 BC, in the Berlin St. Museum, and illustrated in Pfuhl's, Masterpieces of Greek Drawing and Painting, fig. 14.

Women with wreaths in hair, and/or covered shoulders:
- Corinthian Celebe, c. 550 BC, in the Vatican, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 366.
- Corinthian Miniature Painting of a lamb being taken for sacrifice on an altar, c. 540 BC, now in the National Museum of Athens, illustrated in Karouzou's, National Museum - Illustrated Guide to the Museum, item no. 16464.
- The Francois Vase, c. 570 BC illustrated in color in Mingazzini's, Greek Pottery Painting, plate 7.
- Eretrian Amphora, c. 675 BC, in the National Museum of Athens, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 413.

Gernet refers to this scene, pointing out, "If we accept that the poet knew what he was talking about, then we can agree that our task is not to settle the question of the fact, but to propose criteria for decisive proof. ...The judgement itself - or at least that which takes its place - is not to be discussed. An arrangement was agreed whereby the exercise of vengeance was unconditionally suspended: if the ransom were not paid, the avenger would again be free to act and would kill his adversary. ...From this comes the kind of pressure that finally calls for the appeal to justice. Theoretically, however, the initiative comes not from the one we might call the 'plaintiff,' from the one who has the 'right to vengeance': the initiative comes from the one who has submitted to vengeance and who 'tells the people his case.' ...We have here the image, at once schematic and poetic, of a primitive procedure whose mark is preserved in later law."²

This judgement by the elders is a "typical feature of the early 'Polis'," say Crawford and Whitehead. It is "the orderly resolution of disputes by pronouncement of the aristocratic elders of the community."³ They also give us a comparison between Homer and Hesiod: "The Boiotion poet and pessimist Hesiod will have been familiar with the Homeric description of the Shield of Achilles; his own view of the dispensation of justice, however, is a strikingly different one. In the scene on the Shield the implication is clear that the ordinary man can hope to get a fair deal from his aristocratic judges, even if one party will necessarily be the loser."⁴

If this scene of judgement shows us the origin of legal procedure, the two bars of gold show us just as clearly the origin of high legal fees!

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Columns

Men in everyday garb

Men in long garb:
- Oinochoe, by the Amasis Painter, c. 560 BC, at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and illustrated in VonBothmer's, The Amasis Painter and His World, fig. 33.
- Corinthian Celebe, c. 550 BC, in the Vatican, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 366.

Old Men:
- Corinthian Bottle by Timonidas, c. 580 BC, illustrated in Cook's, Greek Art - Its Development, Character and Influence, plate D, page 277.
- Attic Black-figure Amphora, "Warriors and Old Men," c. 520-500 BC, at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and illustrated in New Orleans Museum of Art's, Greek Vases from Southern Collections, pg. 63, side B.

Stone Seats:
- Skyphos by the Theseus Painter, c. 550 BC, at the British Museum, and illustrated in Boardman's, Athenian Black Figure Vases, fig. 246.
- Attic Black-figure Amphora, "Warriors and Old Men," c. 520-500 BC, at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and illustrated in New Orleans Museum of Art's, Greek Vases from Southern Collections, pg. 63, side B.
- Panathenaic Amphora, "Flute Player between two Judges," c. 540 BC, at the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, and illustrated in New Orleans Museum of Art's, Greek Vases from Southern Collections, pg. 105.

Trees

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Armor:
- Shields, Helmets and Breastplates: Chalcidian Pyskter-Amphora, with battle of Greeks and Trojans, c. 540 BC, in Melbourne, at the National Gallery of Victoria, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 414, a and b.
- Oinochoe, by the Amasis Painter, c. 560 BC, at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and illustrated in VonBothmer's, The Amasis Painter and His World, fig. 33.
- Deianira Lekythos in the manner of the Gorgon Painter, illustrated in Boardman's, Athenian Black Figure Vases, fig. 16.1.
- Armour and Helmet from a Geometric period grave, c. 8th century BC, at Argos Archaeological Museum, and illustrated in Homan-Wedeking's, The Art of Archaic Greece, fig. 8.
- Bronze Helmet, c. 560-550 BC, and bronze breastplate, c. 540 BC, from the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, illustrated in Homan-Wedeking's, The Art of Archaic Greece, figs. 6, 7, 9.
- Bronze Breastplate and Helmet, c. 7th century BC, at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, exhibition 1979-1980, illustrated in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's, Greek Art of the Aegean Islands, pp. 140, 141, 144 and 145.

Warriors:
- Celebe, c. 6th Century BC, now at the Louvre, Paris, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 367.
- Protocorinthian Olpe, "The Chigi Vase," by the MacMillan Painter, c. 650-640 BC, in the Villa Giulia, illustrated in Mingazzini's, Greek Pottery Painting, plate 6, pg. 21.
- Chalcidian Pyskter-Amphora, with battle of Greeks and Trojans, c. 540 BC, in Melbourne, at the National Gallery of Victoria, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 414, a and b.
- Oinochoe, by the Amasis Painter, c. 560 BC, at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and illustrated in VonBothmer's, The Amasis Painter and His World, fig. 33.
- Cycladic Polychrome Terracotta Krater, at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's, Greek Art of the Aegean Islands, pp. 122-123.

The references to oxen depicted in many scenes on the shield are significant, for as Robinson tells us, "Far more than on agriculture, however, the Achaeans depended for their livelihood on the pasturage of flocks and herds. They kept goats, sheep and swine; but their most prized possession was the ox, an animal doubly useful for ploughing as well as for food."⁵

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Bulls:
- Italo-Ionian Amphora, "The Judgement of Paris," in Munich's Antiker Kleinkunst, and illustrated in Pfuhl's, Masterpieces of Greek Drawing and Painting, fig. 14.
- Ionic Amphora, "Hermes Steals the Cow Io From the Giant Argos," c. 6th century BC, illustrated in Buschor's, Greek Vase Painting, plate XL, fig. 77.

Men in everyday garb

Pipes

Sheep:
- Corinthian Miniature Painting of a lamb being taken for sacrifice on an altar, c. 540 BC, now in the National Museum of Athens, illustrated in Karouzou's, National Museum - Illustrated Guide to the Museum, item no. 16464.

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Armor

Chariots and Horses:
- Corinthian Celebe, c. 550 BC, in the Vatican, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 366.
- Cycladic Polychrome Terracotta Krater, at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's, Greek Art of the Aegean Islands, pp. 122-123.
- Attic Amphora, c. 620 BC, in the National Museum of Athens, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 406.
- Chalcidian Pyskter-Amphora, with battle of Greeks and Trojans, c. 540 BC, in Melbourne, at the National Gallery of Victoria, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 414, a and b.
- Protocorinthian Olpe, "The Chigi Vase," by the MacMillan Painter, c. 650-640 BC, in the Villa Giulia, illustrated in Brilliant's, Art of the Ancient Greeks, figs. 2-19.

Men in everyday garb

Warriors

What is now known as the Archive Room of Pylos was unearthed with the first trench dug in 1939 by a joint American-Greek expedition under Carl W. Blegen of the University of Cincinnati. Hundreds of clay tablets were discovered there, and as they were lifted from the ground, they were identified as written in the script called Linear B, well known from the island of Crete, at Knossos.

Chadwick tells us that many of these tablets appear to record large quantities of wheat; however, he believes that most of these tablets are in fact lists of persons holding land, which is measured in grain. "At neither site," says Chadwick of the Pylos and Knossos tablets, "is the king mentioned by name; we have only the title 'the king' (wa-na-ka). He had an important officer who may have been his second-in-command, perhaps the chief of the army. His court was composed of officers called "Followers' (e-qe-ta), or as we might say, "Companions.'"⁶

Finley tells us more about these tablets, defining the word temenos as a "'royal land' or a privately owned estate, belonging to a king." Citing the "only certain appearance on the tablets," of the word temenos, Finley states, "One Pylos table has on its first line the words 'wanakatero temeno tosoja pema,' followed by the Grain ideogram and the numeral 30; and on its second line, 'rawakesijo temeno, GRAIN, 10'. The remainder of the short text," continues Finley, "though it continues the GRAIN-numeral ending for each entry, does not repeat the word 'temenos.' Temenos is therefore a land term, connected with the 'wanax' (as at times in Homer) and the 'lawagetas' (unknown in Homer)."⁷

Although Finley cites this scene on Achilles' shield of harvesting the grain as one of the three passages in Homer which say something about the assignment of a temenos, and in particular one which was held by a king, yet Finley maintains, "Homer is not only not a reliable guide to the Mycenaean tablets; he is no guide at all."⁸ Be that as it may, the resemblance between the words on the Mycenaean tablets and Homer's description of a king supervising the harvesting of his grain is obviously remarkable.

Another remarkable glimpse into Mycenaean culture is evident in this scene, regarding the religious ritual of sacrifice. Homer tells us the women are winnowing barley to prepare the laborer's supper, while the king's men are butchering a great ox they have sacrificed. In many instances in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, when an animal is sacrificed, barley grains are scattered as an integral part of the ritual. At Aulis, where the Greek warriors assemble prior to deploying to Troy, Agamemnon offers a sacrifice to Zeus, petitioning him for fair winds and victory. "They stood in a circle about the ox and took up the scattering barley; and among them powerful Agamemnon spoke in prayer: ...Now when all had made prayer and flung down the scattering barley, first they drew back the victim's head, cut his throat and skinned him..."⁹

The ritual of scattering barley during a sacrifice is repeated when Agamemnon returns Chryseis to her father. "So he delivered her, and the priest received her, the child so dear to him, in joy. Then hastening to give the god his hekatomb, they led bullocks to crowd around the compact altar, rinsed their hands and delved in barley baskets, as open-armed to heaven Khryses prayed... When prayers were said and grains of barley strewn, they held the bullocks for the knife and flayed them..."¹⁰ Barley is so integral to the ritual, it can not be neglected. Homer tells us in the Odyssey, when Odysseus has only one ship left, his crewmen make their final, fatal, mistake of slaughtering Helios' cattle, disobeying the command of Odysseus. In his absence, "they plucked the leaves that shone on a tall oak - having no barley meal - to strew the victims, performed the prayers and ritual, knifed the kine and flayed each carcass..."¹¹ However well-intentioned, this sacrifice does not expiate their guilt, nor save them from their punishment.

It is clear that the strewing, or scattering of barley is a necessary function of the sacrifice. Homer shows us, in this scene of harvesting the grain, what comes next. The men complete the butchering of the ox for the King's feast, and the women complete the winnowing of the grain for a meal to feed the laborers.

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

According to a Greek myth, the "delicate song of Linos" refers to a song sung at harvest time. It is a lament for the dying vegetation, originating as a song of penitence to Apollo. Apollo curses the people of Argos with a plague for two deaths: Psamathi's father kills her after she leaves her newborn son, fathered by Apollo, on a hillside to die. The plague leaves the people of Argos only after making prayers and songs of penitence to Apollo.

Ferruci reminds us, regarding this scene, "We are not far from a time foreseen by Helen in her encounter with Hektor: 'us two, on whom Zeus set a vile destiny, so that hereafter we shall be made into things of song for the men of the future.'"¹²

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Baskets:
- Carpenter's, Dionysian Imagery in Archaic Greek Art, plate 21.

Grapevines:
- Amphora, by the Lysippides Painter, c. 6th century BC, now at Munich, and illustrated in Beazley's, The Development of Attic Black-Figure, plate 79, no. 2.
- Carpenter's, Dionysian Imagery in Archaic Greek Art, plate 21.

Men in everyday garb

Pipes

Women

This scene is a wonderful illustration of the land and herd owners of the ancient Greeks. The theme is familiar throughout the Iliad, but perhaps most clearly recalled by Homer among his description of the gifts offered by Agamemnon to Achilles, hoping to solicit Achilles' return to battle. "He will grant you seven citadels, strongly settled...near the sea, at the bottom of sandy Pylos, and men live among them rich in cattle and rich in sheepflocks, who will honour you as if you were a god with gifts given and fulfil your prospering decrees underneath your sceptre."¹³

Chadwick tells us about inscriptions written on the clay tablets found at Pylos. "The holders of land clearly had obligations to fulfill in return for their holding, for we have notes than some of them had not met their obligations; these probably included military service in time of war."¹⁴ This is a very clear example of Homer's knowledge proven by the findings of recent archaeologists.

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Bulls

Dogs:
- Protocorinthian Olpe, "The Chigi Vase," by the MacMillan Painter, c. 650-640 BC, in the Villa Giulia, illustrated in Brilliant's, Art of the Ancient Greeks, figs. 2-19.
- Celebe, c. 6th Century BC, now at the Louvre, Paris, and illustrated in Fowler's, A Handbook of Greek Archaeology, fig. 367.
- Italo-Ionian Amphora, "The Judgement of Paris," in Munich's Antiker Kleinkunst, and illustrated in Pfuhl's, Masterpieces of Greek Drawing and Painting, fig. 12.
- Carpenter's, Dionysian Imagery in Archaic Greek Art, plate 21.
- Lip Cup, signed by Tleson, illustrated in Boardman's, Athenian Black Figure Vases, fig. 110.

Men in everyday garb

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Bulls

Dogs

Lions:
- Protocorinthian Olpe, "The Chigi Vase," by the MacMillan Painter, c. 650-640 BC, in the Villa Giulia, illustrated in Mingazzini's, Greek Pottery Painting, plate 6, pg. 21.
- Corinthian Jug, c. 625 BC, from Rhodes, at Oxford, illustrated in Beazley's, Greek Sculpture and Painting, fig. 17.
- Neck Amphora, "Heracles Fights the Lion," by the Antimenes Painter, illustrated in Boardman's, Athenian Black Figure Vases, fig. 189.
- Corinthian Bottle by Timonidas, c. 580 BC, illustrated in Cook's, Greek Art - Its Development, Character and Influence, plate D, page 277.
- Neck Hydria, "Harnessing of Athena's Chariot," by the Antimenes Painter, c. 520-500 BC, illustrated in Folsom's, Attic Black-Figured Pottery, plate 10d.

The palace of Royal Knossos is an archaeological wonder, another witness to the authenticity of Homer's descriptions, and the power of the wealthy Cretan civilization. King Minos is the king who commissions Daidalos to build the Labyrinth, a maze-filled structure housing the terrible Minotaur. It is this same Ariadne who gives Theseus the ball of string he uses to find his way back out of the Labyrinth after slaying the Minotaur. It is Minos' granddaughter Aerope who marries the son of Atreus, and gives birth to the High King of Mycenae, Agamemnon. Aerope carries the glories of the Cretan civilization with her to Greece; it is no wonder to find dance floors in Greece "like the one in Knossos' palace that Daidalos made for King Minos' daughter, the beautiful Ariadne."

Regarding the tunics of the young men we see dancing in this scene, the clay tablets discovered at Pylos provide another proof of Homer's knowledge. In a lecture given by Professor Cynthia Shelmerdine of the University of Texas at Austin, entitled, "Life in a Mycenaean Kingdom," Professor Shelmerdine explained this interesting, shining effect of oil-infused fabric. She noted that among the inscriptions deciphered from the tablets found at Pylos, a quantity of oil for this purpose is designated. And experimentation has yielded a successful technique. A method by which oil is infused into fabric has since been rediscovered, and the result is a beautiful, luminous material from which the men's tunics may have been made.¹⁵

Regarding the upper class maidens dancing in this scene, Homer's word for them is 'alphesiboiai,' meaning literally, "oxen-dowry"¹⁶. Robinson feels this name reveals the father's high regard for his daughter's dowry, denoting that he is looking "forward to his daughter's marriage-day when she would bring him some return for the cost of her upbringing."¹⁷

Documented sources for the motifs in this image:

Daggers:
- Neck Amphora, "Herakles Fights the Lion," by the Antimenes Painter, illustrated in Boardman's, Athenian Black Figure Vases, fig. 189.

Men in everyday garb

Women

Women Dancing:
- Lekythos, with wedding procession, by the Amasis Painter, c. 540 BC, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and illustrated in Richter's, A Handbook of Greek Art, fig. 437.