of an unknown person, initially claimed to be Agamemnon. Such a mask may have been for a wanax. During the Mediterranean
Bronze Age,
Mycenaean society was characterized by the creation of palaces and walled settlements. The
wánax in Mycenaean social hierarchy is generally accepted to function as a king, though with various roles which also stretch outside of administrative function. The term "
wánax" is believed to have eventually transformed into the Homeric term "
anax"
, having fallen out of use with the collapse of Mycenaean civilization during the
Late Bronze Age Collapse. The Greek term for kingship would transfer to
basileus, which is believed to have been a subservient title in Mycenaean times akin for chieftains and local leaders.
Roles The origin role of the
wánax may be from warrior roots of migrating Indo-Europeans as a leadership role, eventually leading to the notion of kingship and the formal position and role of the
wánax in Mycenaean times. The
wánax during Mycenaean times was at the apex of Mycenaean society, presiding over a centralized state administration with a strong hierarchical organization; a common formula in the Bronze Age Mediterranean and Near East. This is hierarchically likened to a king, and as such much of the duties of the
wánax were related to duties of administration, warfare, diplomacy, economics and religion.
Administrative participation Administratively, Mycenaean political divisions broadly unfolded into a hierarchical division of
wánax (king) with a broader structure which existed around the
wánax in the form of Mycenaean palatial authority and administration. Some of these hierarchical positions under the
wánax included the
lawagetas (he who leads the people, a meaning which remains unclear), varying positions of which the meanings remain unknown (
hektai,
collectors of commodity and flock), scribes, mayors, vice-mayors, and varying styles of overseer. The term "
basileus" is also familiar to the Mycenaean hierarchy as a local chieftain or leader, and would later come to replace
wánax as the term for king after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization. or more practically manage the state of the
wánax more effectively. Mycenaean administrative artefacts include tablets which carry inscriptions from a scribal body, among which are tablets of purely administrative work (accounting for state supplies of resources), which would have been designed to support the
wánax and state administration, and to be supported by a state administration.
Warfare Fortifications dominate the Mycenaean world, with such structures being erected across the Bronze Age, but particularly during the Late Bronze Age Collapse (where the necessity for such fortifications intensified), before the end of Mycenaean civilization. Being prolific builders of fortifications,
wánaxes actively engaged in warlike campaigning in and around their states, though evidence for their direct participation is minimal. Evidence from
Pylos suggests that the
wánax was in possession of weapons specifically indicated as royal. These craftsmen came in a variety of roles, from practical purposes to commodity production, Additionally, the royal designation is applied not only to craftsmen within the economy, but to storehouses of jars believed to contain olive oil; indicating the presence of royal products which were circulated within Mycenaean civilization and beyond. Royal employment would indicate that the
wánax acts much more closer to the economy as a sort of overseer or administrator than to many of the other tasks of the state. However, much of the records available concerning the role of
wánax deal with economic information due to the importance of such scribal records to Mycenaean states, but does not discredit the participation of the
wánax directly in other facets of the state. Mycenaean elite also utilized luxury items to accentuate their status, and placed high value economically and politically on such items. Another major economic function of the
wánax was the participation in and organization of elaborate feasting amongst the Mycenaean elite, and shared with those outside the immediate palatial elite as well. Feasts required extensive planning and organization on the part of the
wánax and palatial administration, which needed to mobilize large amounts of resources in order to host such elaborate feasts. A major feature of these feasts involved drinking, as evidenced by the many prestige drinking vessels recovered. These processes economically involved the collection and feeding of vast quantities of livestock, luxury items for the elite (feasting equipment like luxury pottery and cups) and politically demonstrated the authority of the
wánax with his elite. One manner in which feasting further secured the
wánax economically and politically was the inclusion of lower elites (local leaders and other non-palatial authorities under the
wánax) in feasting, both building social connections to the
wánax and economically persuading lower elites to dedicate resources to palatial feasting.
Religious participation The
wánax were extensively involved in cultic practice during the Mycenean period of Greek religion, participating and playing a central role in Mycenaean religion. Much of this was involved in ritual practice from feasting to ceremonies dedicated to the gods, with the
wánax being evidenced to perhaps been ritually involved in cultic activities which involve the use of oil and spice. Mention of oil and spice, and mention of the
wánax being closely related to religious practice, has led some scholars to speculate the potential of kingship being semi-divine in Mycenaean Greece; however evidence is lacking for this claim, perhaps from an overzealous desire to seek out connections between
wánax and goddesses such as Demeter and Persephone. It is more likely the
wánax was viewed as a mortal king.
Wánaxes were especially involved in feasting, and therefore all religious feasting would've been reliant on the
wánax to economically support and participate in. == See also ==