Thera and Warfare

The warlike character of the Mycenaean mainland was never disputed. This paper reviews the question of Thera's participation in warfare, firstly by considering the evidence for military preparations and equipment, and secondly by considering the possible identity of the island's enemies.

The famous war historian Carl von Clausewitz proposed a definition of war. He says: "War is an act of violence with the intention of forcing the opponent to fulfil one's will" (von Clausewitz 1937, 3). In the case of the Late Bronze Age Aegean, we would be justified in adding "...using specialised instruments, in other words weapons". Of these two elements of war - the enemy and the implements -weapons are archaeologically visible. Therefore, I shall begin with the easier part of my theme by looking for armament and warlike preparations at Akrotiri, and then proceed to the question of possible enemies.

Admittedly, no storeroom filled with weaponry, comparable to the arsenal in the Mycenaean palace at Thebes, has been excavated at Akrotiri. However, the presence of offensive weapons is well attested both by items with an alleged Theran provenance and by finds from the excavations in the town of Akrotiri. The excavated finds consist of two obsidian arrowheads with hollow base (Moundrea-Agrafioti 1990, 402, fig. 3:6; and a second, unpublished specimen: A. Moundrea-Agrafioti, personal comnmnication), two tanged daggers (Marinatos 1971, 38, pls. 89-90) and at least five long daggers with rounded heel (Marinatos 1971, 38, pl. 90; Doumas 1983, fig. 74). A type A rapier (Xenaki-Sakellariou and Chatziliou 1989, 28 no. 12, pl. IX:1) and a type B sword (Kilian-Dirlmeier 1993, 38 no. 50), now in the National Museum in Copenhagen, are reported to come from Thera. This is a remarkable collection. By comparison with the usual scarcity of weapons in settlements, the total of some eight daggers, two swords and two arrowheads represents a high frequency. Also remarkable is its selectivity, marked by the absence of the most useful middle range weapon, the spear. Finally, the type A rapier with gold inlaid blade and the obsidian arrowheads are weapons which occur exclusively in tombs with precious offerings on the mainland (Kilian-Dirlmeier 1997, 106), where they belong to the representative category of weapons which indicates an elevated social status. I offer one possible interpretation of this pattern of distribution at Akrotiri: namely, that only prestige weapons were carried inside the settlement, whereas mere fighting weapons were stored separately elsewhere.

Apart from the actual objects, we also have representations of weapons at Akrotiri. The painters of the Thera frescoes were evidently familiar with the subjects of their depictions, since there is no difficulty at all in identifying the types of weapons. One of the blue monkeys in Room 4 of Xeste 3 is holding a sword sheathed in a scabbard with large tassel and attached belt (Doumas 1992, fig. 95). The sword of the other monkey (Doumas 1992, fig. 96) is a type A rapier with a characteristic oval opening in its hilt attachment (Karo 1930-1933, 101 fig. 34, pl. 82:725). The full armament of the early Late Bronze Age Aegean is carried by the marching warriors on the miniature frieze in the West House (Doumas 1992, fig. 28): the oxhide tower shield, the boar's tusk and zoned helmets, the long spear and the long sword. Their identical panoplies characterise these men as of equally high rank, each of them a military leader.

Preparation for war may include the building of fortification walls, either for protection or to prevent aggression. Whether Akrotiri was a fortified or unfortified town will be settled beyond any doubt only by future excavations. At present we are engaged in scholarly debate over the interpretation of the 'Arrival Town' on the miniature frieze in Room 5 of the West House. There is no agreement as to whether Town V is a portrayal of Late Cycladic Akrotiri and, if so, whether the ashlar masonry walls on either side of the gateway (Televantou 1990, 321, fig. 14) belong to a town wall or to buildings at the edge of the settlement (Televantou 1990, 322; MacGillivray 1990; Boulotis 1990, 437).

Ships are absolutely essential for any island community. We may thus safely assume the existence of a Theran fleet. However, in order to speak of a navy, that is of ships ready for defence, protection or attack, we ought to be able to demonstrate the use of specialised warships quite distinct from fishing boats and merchantmen. As far as this is concerned, our only evidence comes from the pictorial representations in the miniature frescoes. On the north wall, the vessels are actually engaged in fighting (Doumas 1992, fig. 29). The obvious war element of the ships on the south wall (Doumas 1992, fig. 35; Pl. 3) has been emphasised by S. Marinatos (1974, 148-149) and many others (Prytulak 1982, 6; Verlinden 1985, 139 n.16, 142; Morgan 1988, 104-115). Each ship carries a set of long spears in combination with boar's tusk helmets, oxhide shields, swords(?) and bows/quivers(?). However, engaging in fighting and carrying weapons and warriors alone do not constitute a warship. More important is the design of the hull and the method of propulsion. Specialists in shipbuilding describe the hull of the Thera ships as long and slender with proportionately narrow beam (Gillmer 1989; Toby 1986). The resulting low displacement-length ratio corresponds with the proportions of traditional war galleys built for speed and manoeuvrability (Casson 1975, 7; Tilley and Johnstone 1976, 290-291). The large craft of the so-called procession and the smaller ships of the fighting scene are identical in design. The small vessel under oars (Doumas 1992, fig. 36 left; Pl. 3, 0-1.80 m.) has ten rowers; thus the bigger ships, being twice the length and having a reconstructed beam of 2.50 m., should have a crew of twenty to forty rowers in normal conditions (Tilley and Johnstone 1976, 286: fourteen rowers; Toby 1986, 342: forty to forty-six rowers). The lack of storage space for cargo and the number of oars are consistent with specialised warships. The crews of these warships are armed warriors who are also oarsmen when necessary (Tilley and Johnstone 1976, 286; Marangou 1990). Consequently, this kind of Bronze Age warship was never intended for battle of 'ship against ship' in the open sea, but for speedy transport of armed forces. The regular crew of warriors/oarsmen have become passengers only in honour of the occasion depicted in the miniature frieze. This combination of warrior-rower is well attested in the Roman navy (Pferdehirt 1995, 7-24). In my opinion, the miniature frieze in the West House depicts not just the Theran fleet but the Theran navy.

The evidence for military preparations within the LC I town of Akrotiri can be summarised as follows. The full complement of contemporary Aegean armament is present, either in physical form or in representations (boar's tusk and zoned helmets, body shield, type A and B swords, dagger, long spear and bow and arrow). There is a navy with warships of two sizes (ten and twenty oars), with heavily armed crews and with a commander in residence in the West House at Akrotiri.

Coming now to my second point, why should Thera need military forces, and where are her possible enemies? In order to shorten my argument, I shall start with two suppositions: 1) The political situation in the Aegean during Late Bronze Age I was stable enough to ensure a flourishing sea trade, profiiable for both Thera and the Minoan palaces in Crete. 2) Cooperation between producer, supplier, tansporter and consumer could be achieved by agreements or even treaties to provide free access to landing places, supply ports and places for exchange, as well as safety on the open sea. Even so, however, the different parties concerned in maritime trade must have relied on military strength to guarantee that treaties were kept and to protect their network of more or less voluntary cooperation against assaults from the outside. Thera could have stood against virtually the whole of the Aegean, but the most likely competition must have come from Crete and the Mycenaean mainland. Research in recent years has stressed the less than peaceful behaviour of the Minoan palaces (Evely 1996 with bibliography). Minoan palace workshops produced type A swords and spearheads (Hood 1981; Höckmann 1980, 23, 40, 100). Hundreds of swords were deposited in the caves of Arkalochori (Hazzidakis 1912-1913; Marinatos 1935; 1962) and Psychro (Boardman 1961, 24-30). Although these are mostly votive swords, which were never intended for real fighting, they are evidence for a Minoan deity concerned with the production and use of weaponry. Scenes of warfare, like the attack against a coastal town, are represented (Sakellariou 1980). If we are right in attributing the origin of the Theran iconography to Crete (Warren 1979; Boulotis 1990, 439-442), then it is reasonable to assume that Minoan Crete witnessed such enterprises, either as victim or as aggressor. More important are the results of a recent survey in the Zakros region in eastern Crete (Tzedakis et al. 1989). The system of roads, hillforts and watch towers along the shore reveals heavy involvement of the palaces in building and maintaining defences to protect the island. As for the Cyclades, there is evidence there, too, for sword production on Amorgos and Naxos (Kilian-Dirlmeier 1993, nos. 1-5, 17-19). Ayia Irini V (Davis 1986), Phylakopi III (Renfrew 1978, 407-408) and Kolonna on Aegina (Wohlmayr 1989) had impressive fortification walls, and Ourion on Tenos was also probably a fortified settlement (Renfrew 1972, 398). On the mainland, during the Shaft Grave horizon, newly founded settlements favoured locations on easily defensible hill tops (Maran 1995, 68-69). At present, the only excavated settlement of this date with fortification walls is Kiapha Thiti in Attica (Lauter 1989). In other cases (Fig. 1), proof of occupation consists in surface sherds only. The Mycenaean emphasis on weapons in wealthy tombs and the role of warriors in Mycenaean society are commonplaces (Matthäus 1983; Kilian-Dirlmeier 1986), and I shall not elaborate on this aspect. Ships carrying long spears and armed warriors on pictorial vases from the fortified settlement at Kolonna on Aegina evidently represent warships (Siedentopf 1991, 25, fig. 4, pls. 35-36; Basch 1991, 48). It seems unlikely that the Aeginetans were the only people to possess such vessels.

Given the warlike preparations visible on Crete, the islands and the mainland, the situation in the Late Bronze Age I Aegean looks rather like an arms race in a precarious balance of powers. Under these conditions the Minoanisation of the Cyclades takes on another dimension (Wiener 1990). The Minoan behaviour of Cycladic elites reflects a two way strategy on the part of the Minoan palaces to secure cooperation. This took the form of purposeful propaganda for the Minoan mode of life, including cult practices (Marinatos 1984, 176), in order to link the interests of local elites more firmly with palatial interests. And this diplomatic control, as C.G. Doumas (1982, 12) calls it, was backed by military strength. Nevertheless, Thera was evidently well prepared to take part in any form of competition.

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