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Museum of Mycenae

Wall painting portraying a worship scene in the museum of Mycenae

This wall painting is among the best preserved of the Mycenaean period. It decorated the southeast wall of room 31, the so-called “Room with the Fresco” in the Cult Center of Mycenae. A bench/altar was found in front of it covered in plaster and decorated with painted horns and spear tips. The wall painting covers three areas on two different levels. The upper level, located to the left of the altar depicts an empty door. Above the altar, two barefoot female figures stands across from each other on the lined floor. The two women are placed inside a room and surrounded by pilasters. The figure to the left wears a chlamys (short mantle) with lace on the hem and holds a sword with its end pointing downwards. The other figure holds a stick and wears the standard tiered skirt with and a bodice leaving the breasts exposed. Two small male figures, one attributed in red and the other in black, are illustrated floating in mid-air between the two women. Another female figure is illustrated on the lowest level, left of the bench/altar. The woman is accompanied by an animal, most likely a lion, and holds stacks of corn in her raised hands. All three female figures are wear the 'polos' headdress and their clothes are typical in Mycenean iconography. There are different views as far as the interpretation of this wall painting is concerned. It is uncertain if the female figures represent deities or mortals, or whether they can be related to deities of the later historical period, such as Athena and Demeter.

Exhibit Features
Date: Late Bronze Age, 1250 B.C. - 1180 B.C.
Place of discovery: Mykines, Acropolis of Mycenae
Dimensions: height: 1,83 m
Inventory number: ÌÌ 385
Exhibition hole: Exhibition hall A, show-case 21
Copyright: Hellenic Ministry of Culture
 
 
 
  Suggestive Bibliography
 
French E., MYCENAE, Agamemnon' s Capital. The Site in its Setting, Tempus, 2002, ó. 90-91, ðéí.12