PUBLICATIONS by Eleni Drakaki
I. Mylonopoulos (ed.), Materiality and Visibility of Rituals in the Ancient World, Jul 28, 2016
TALKS by Eleni Drakaki
Ελληνική Νευρολογική Εταιρεία, Θερινό Σχολείο στην Αίγινα, Ξενοδοχείο "Δανάη", 2016
Ιστορικό και Λαογραφικό Μουσείο Αίγινας, 2010
Ιστορικό και Λαογραφικό Μουσείο, Αίγινα, 2011
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS by Eleni Drakaki
Death, Rituals and Symbolism in Prehistoric Aegean: ARWA Online International Workshop , 2022
Gesture -Stance -Movement Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age Heidelberg, 2021
Gesture -Stance-Movement Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age, 2021
11th International Cretological Congress, 21-27 October, Rethymno, Crete, 2011
The motif of a male figure accompanied by a lion, here conventionally termed 'Master with Lion', ... more The motif of a male figure accompanied by a lion, here conventionally termed 'Master with Lion', was conceived in the Neopalatial era, the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age civilization of Crete, and has thus far been witnessed exclusively on (a very small number of) works of glyptic (seals and sealings). Although it has attracted (some) scholarly attention, epsecially in respect to the identity and.or status of the 'Master' and its/their (possible) implications for Cretan religion and the nature of rulership on the island, a comprehensive study of this motif is long overdue. To this purpose, the scope of this paper includes the following: 1) a careful examination of the available material that leads to the discovery of variations - even if minor - of this motif, which seem to warrant different identifications; 2) a systematic analysis of the morphological characteristics and/or contextual associations of the seals and sealings in question, in an effort to shed some light on the identification of the "selected few" who owned them; and 3) a thorough investigation beyond the Aegean borders, in search of the motif's parallels in the iconographic traditions of the other great Bronze Age cultures of Egypt, Anatolia, the Near East and Mesopotamia. Considering the nature and extreme rarity of the Cretan artifacts which carry the "Master with Lion" motif as well as the fact that it was conceived at a time of intense interaction and contacts between Crete and the eastern Mediterranean, this undertaking is crucial for ascertaining the degree of independence and/or (possible) external influence involved in its formulation.
Seals are predominantly found among the goods chosen to accompany the deceased in their final res... more Seals are predominantly found among the goods chosen to accompany the deceased in their final resting place and are often assigned emblematic value related to their owners’ personal and social identity (status, rank, office, group affiliation), even though their contextual associations have been so far dealt with in a rather superficial manner. This paper undertakes a systematic contextual study of the collections of seals of three intact elite – but not equally wealthy – ‘warrior’ burials of LH IIB - IIIA1 date from the Mycenaean heartland (Argolid, Messenia). All three burials stand out for their ostentatious display of wealth and have common types of furnishings. However, a careful analysis of the quantity, quality, and variety of their grave goods suggests a hierarchy of wealth that could possibly be indicative of differences in status. Particular attention is paid to the burials’ collections of seals, which are compared in terms of quantity, engraving style, variety and/or rarity of shapes, materials and iconography. The conclusion of this case study is that, despite their commonalities, the seals’ collections do not correspond to/reflect the overall level of wealth of their associated burials – and consequently the status of their owners. In fact, perhaps unexpectedly, it is the elite individuals buried with lesser wealth who possessed larger and more extraordinary collections of seals.
‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals originated from the lands of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni ... more ‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals originated from the lands of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni Empire in western upper Mesopotamia and were widely distributed from Greece to Iran and from the Caucasus to the Gulf. Despite their modest materials and simple, ‘technical’ style, ‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals form the most distinct and uniform group of foreign seals imported to the Aegean as early as the 16th/15th c. B.C. but mainly during the 14th-13th c. B.C. They are more popular on the Greek Mainland, where they are found in thirteen chamber tombs from the Peloponnese in the south all the way to Thessaly in the north. In a recent study, these seals have been tentatively identified as symbols of their owners’ status as traders and as proof of their voyages in the eastern Mediterranean. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the identity of the ‘selected few’, who owned seals of ‘Common Mitannian Style’, by examining the tombs they were found in as well as their specific contextual associations. The conclusion reached is that, in peripheral regions, they are associated with burials of elite members of local communities but in the Peloponnese they are associated with burials of ‘commoners’, while they are conspicuously absent from the monumental and impressively rich tombs of the ‘higher elites’ at the centers of both the Mycenaean heartland and the periphery.
CONTRIBUTIONS IN EXHIBITION CATALOGUES by Eleni Drakaki
Joan Aruz, Kim Benzel, and Jean M. Evans (eds.), Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the 2nd millennium B.C., New York, 2008, 231
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PUBLICATIONS by Eleni Drakaki
TALKS by Eleni Drakaki
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS by Eleni Drakaki
CONTRIBUTIONS IN EXHIBITION CATALOGUES by Eleni Drakaki