Nestor's Cup (Mycenae)

The Cup of Nestor or dove cup is a gold goblet discovered in 1876 by Heinrich Schliemann in Shaft IV of Grave Circle A, Mycenae.[1] The goblet is 14.5 cm high and 14.5 cm across; it weighs 295.8 grams.[2] It has a stem, a Vapheio cup–shaped body, and two handles in the style of a kantharos.[3] Each handle is decorated with a golden bird, which Schliemann observed was reminiscent of the cup of Nestor described in the Iliad.[4] The birds have since been identified by Spiros Marinatos as falcons, rather than the doves which are on the Iliadic cup.[5] J.T. Hooker suggests that the cup is an adaptation of a Cretan design made by a craftsman on the Greek mainland.[6]

"Nestor's cup" from Mycenae

References

  1. Gaunt 2017, p. 108.
  2. Davis 1977, p. 283.
  3. Wright 2004, p. 140.
  4. Schliemann 2010, pp. 235–236.
  5. Gaunt 2017, p. 109.
  6. Hooker 1976, pp. 40–41.

Works cited

  • Davis, Ellen N. (1977). The Vapheio cups and Aegean gold and silver ware. New York: Garland.
  • Gaunt, Jasper (2017). "Nestor's Cup and its Reception". In Slater, Niall W. (ed.). Voice and Voices in Antiquity.
  • Hooker, J.T. (1976). Mycenaean Greece.
  • Schliemann, Heinrich (2010) [1878]. Mycenae: A Narrative of Researches and Discoveries at Mycenae and Tiryns.
  • Wright, James C. (2004). "A Survey of Evidence for Feasting in Mycenaean Society". Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 73 (2): 133–178. doi:10.2972/hesp.2004.73.2.133. S2CID 54957703.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.