The Physical signs of Phoenician influences in Greek Religion
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The peoples who inhabited the Greek peninsula and islands in the late Bronze Age - say 1600-1200 BC - were already skilled in fine architecture and life size portrayal of human beings and animals in both sculpture and painting.99 This was because the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures were in contact with advanced Near Eastern cultures, but with the demise of both of the former civilisations came a major decline in the arts. The skills needed for fine art were eventually reintroduced in the Orientalising period when the Near East itself had settled down.100 Oriental goods found their way into the Greek world through sea-travelling merchants. These entrepreneurs either left dedications to Greek gods whom they identified with their own gods, or sold their goods to others who left them as offerings. In some areas, where they settled and established colonies, they set up their own temples which Greek travellers could see without visiting the Near East.
Temples: A theory cited by many modern scholars101 and that cannot be entirely dismissed is that the first Greek temples developed out of the early Mycenaean megaron house, and it is true that the basic architectural arrangement is similar. Indeed, the Samian Heraion c800 BC, the first Greek monumental stone temple, resembled the megaron house found at Chios. Though possibly based on the megaron pattern, early temples are on a grander scale and similar to those found in Egypt. The Heraion102 was a Hekatompedon, which established the canonical length of a hundred feet. At the back of the cella, the stone base of the cult statue was placed slightly off centre. Later a wooden peristyle was added, to be replaced by stone in the 7th century, when there was a rebirth of monumental Greek sculpture. Stone foundations are typically found on early Greek temples, whereas the upper layers and columns are of less durable building materials such as wood or clay. We can look to the monumental temples of Egypt as the origin of these foreign influences in architecture, with the Phoenicians as intermediaries.
The architecture of the Near East, especially that of the western Semites, presented a united front which imposed standards of architecture and divine iconography on the Aegean. Even back in the 13th to 12th centuries these architectural styles were adopted by the Mycenaeans. Western Semitic dominance can be seen from the sites of Zinjirli, Tell Halaf and Karatepe, where archaeological finds show that through the 8th and 9th centuries much of northern Syria103 and southern Anatolia underwent strong Semitic influences.104 The centre of this was the Phoenician lands and from here new motifs were spread, though with such continuity that the art of the first millennium owed much to the second.105
The later style of early Phoenician and Phoenician-influenced temples can be seen from the 14th, 13th and 10th centuries. The 13th century temple at Alalakh had one antechamber and a cella, whereas both the 14th century temple of Hazor and the 10th century temple of Solomon106 had two antechambers before you reached the room at the rear. The temple of Solomon was long, with a courtyard situated in front containing a font or bowl of lustral water and an altar for sacrifice. The temple door was flanked by two named bronze columns.107 The temple was in three parts and a priest would pass further back into the temple until reaching the Most Holy area at the back - a dark, square room reached by a door covered by a curtain. The central room was rectangular and held a golden altar and cedar table. Before the Greeks anthropomorphised their gods, the Greek world knew no temples such as these, although they were common in the Near East. Thus the Greek temple as the home of the god108 that held the cult image in the naos was a creation of the 8th century.109
Architecture and temple building was an area where Phoenician influences could certainly be felt and "The Greeks themselves traced much of their originals to Eastern origins, to Egypt and Phoenician communities of the Levant."110 The temples of the Near East were great stone and brick affairs with the lower courses generally being of stone elaborated with orthostats and friezes. It was on the Greek Islands that some of the first temples were seen, either built by Phoenicians or by those who met or lived with these traders; on Cyprus, Greeks, Phoenicians and others lived side by side. The early architecture of the settlers in Cyprus was a form of monumental architecture as can be seen by their temple complexes at Palaipaphos, Kition and Enkomi.111 The Mycenaeans’ use of Canaanite forms of temple building was reinforced by later Phoenician settlers and from the late Cypriot II and III112 periods, Kition reflects these earlier influences. Kition was a well-established Phoenician settlement by the 9th century, with a temple to a fertility goddess whom the Phoenicians identified with their goddess Astarte. Another Cyprian temple, that of Aphrodite in Paphos, was established by Phoenicians from Askalon. The Phoenician presence arrived here at the beginning of the first millennium, but the temple site was first established at the end of the Mycenaean period. When the Phoenicians arrived on Cyprus, Cypriot traditions were submerged beneath those of the Orient, and sunk still further into oblivion with the arrival of western Greeks, as Cyprus became an intermediary place between East and West.
Pillars: The Mycenaeans had not needed temples; their places of worship were either natural sites or rooms within houses. Their gods were represented by natural items such as trees113 and pillars;114 this feature paralleled contemporary Phoenician cult practices in which sacred stones played a large part. In Phoenician architecture, the column fulfilled a ritual rather than purely structural function, with pillars possibly representing gods. Records show that the son of Abibal115 erected a gold column in the temple of Baal Shamen (Greek Zeus Olympus). At Kition there were two free-standing pillars either side of the central opening as well as 28 forming the support for a pair of porticoes. Baetylic shapes of the god are present on Crete, and Cyrenaica has a small Baetylic altar.116 Mycenaean connections can be seen from Crete where there is a stalactite in the cave to the goddess Eileithya at Amnisus.117 Three pillars at the Kommos shrine may have represented a triad of deities, one of them possibly Artemis. Further proof of the sacredness of pillars comes from pillar depictions on rings.118 Pillar worship and pillar shrines were particularly common in the Syro-Palestine area in the second millennium and they are mentioned in the Hebrew scripture as free standing masseba119 or baetyls.120 These showed some similarities with the obelisks of Egypt. There is also an Egyptianising style that dates to the 7th century.121
Pillar Shrines: Temple B at Kommos122 is one of our best examples of a pillar shrine. It would appear to be inspired by Phoenician models and stands out on Crete, because unlike in Cyprus, there are no indigenous Cretan pillar shrines. It was first used c800-760 BC, a period when the Phoenicians would appear to have been expanding westwards. Compared to other known Eastern pillars, those of this tripillar shrine are relatively small. There are similarities with the pillar from Kition and a single pillar found at a 7th century Greek temple at Sukas. There does not seem to have been the wholesale adoption of pillar worship by the later Greeks that can be seen from Minoan tripartite shrines. Another shrine, at Byblos, was a major centre of pillar worship, and pillar worship is still traceable at Sarepta from an 8th century shrine of Tanit-Ashtart. There were between one and three columns at Bit Hilani and Tyre had two columns of gold and emerald flanking the front of a god's tomb.
Decoration and styles: New features appeared in the art and architecture of this period: the lotus, guilloche, palmette, spiral and rosette.123 These Eastern styles were commonly seen on early temples and on shrine representations such as that found at Idalion124 which displayed two lotus-capped columns. Cyprus also produced proto-Aeolic capitals bearing the Phoenician palmette. The prototypes for capitals were essentially Eastern as were most architectural forms, though not all Eastern types were copied. New Greek art styles using Eastern prototypes appeared after 750 BC125 when Assyria was on the rise. The spread from Egypt of the proto-Ionic capital in the form of a lotus blossom occurred in the 10th century when it entered Phoenicia and from here it came to Cyprus and Ionia.126 Phoenician ivories show this palmette, as do pilasters127 from Cyprus and a stone capital found at Arkades on Crete.
Orthostats and pediment relief: Near Eastern temples used orthostats, such as those found at Tell Halaf dating from the 9th century. Palaces, temples and other public buildings of the neo-Hittites in northern Syria were typically ornamented with many reliefs carved on orthostats set along the lower walls. From the second half of the 8th century, further connections can be seen between decorative motifs on seals, reliefs seen at Karatepe and tombs at Pithekoussai.128 Furthermore, figures on Syrian stele show similarities to the relief found at Kommos B. A Near Eastern connection can also be made between one of the Tell Halaf orthostats and the limestone pediment of the 7th century Temple A at Prinias. The orthostat depicts the slaying of Humbaba129 by two heroes and the styles of the slayings are similar. Temple A also has a horse frieze, a minor relief frieze of the Eastern type, and it is likely that it was at ground level rather than around the top as the horses have abnormally long legs.130
Image: The cult image is common in the religion of the western Semites, Egyptians and Mesopotamians, and from the late stages of Minoan-Mycenaean civilisation statuettes of goddesses appear. From the Greek Dark Ages there are no images of the gods until the 8th century, when statuettes131 of bronze and clay began to be made. These early images tended to be basic, such as the Apollo from Amyklai which is pillar shaped, or otherwise in the warrior style with shield, spear or lance.132
Life-size Human statuary: With the setting down of the Greek pantheon in the works of Homer and Hesiod came the desire to depict those gods as life-size statues displaying traits that would make it easy to identify which god was which. There are Syro-Hittite bronze statues of the warrior god brandishing his weapon in his right hand. In much the same manner, early depictions of Zeus and Poseidon have both carrying a weapon; a thunderbolt and trident respectively. The first statues were probably carved from wood, later being produced in limestone, a medium almost as easy to carve as wood. This early statuary often copied the forms set out in votive offerings. Eastern influences were strong and Egypt133 is sometimes named as the origin of statuary, as Egyptian gods were predominantly depicted in stone. Kourai were often used to mark out graves or to represent worshippers in permanent attendance upon their gods. One of the earliest found pieces, the Auxerre goddess, falls into an area somewhere between votive offering and cult image. She is a limestone statue several feet tall and may well have fulfilled a function similar to modern day Catholic Madonnas. Her style is typical of Daedalic workmanship as it begins to move away from a direct copy of a Syrian original. Her depiction still remains typical of an Astarte fertility pose; pronounced breasts with one arm raised and drawn across the body. Her nose is set high, she has a triangular face and her wig-like hair shows more of a Syrian than Egyptian influence. The statue also shows traces of paint, and polychromy would appear to have been the rule on free standing and architectural sculpture. Greek full-size sculpture only began c660 BC and appears to follow Egyptian fashions in the stance of the male figure.
Temple Guardians: With reference to the Greeks, temple guardians comprise two major types: lintel goddesses and guardian felines. The Greek lintel goddess was generally on a similar scale to the Auxerre goddess, and similar to those found in the Near East; a seated goddess found at Catul Hüyük has distinct similarities to the Hera at Tiryns. At the Gortyn temple of Athena there was an unusual example; a life-size stone figure of a seated goddess. This temple was a rectangular building dating from 800 BC, and was built in a north Syrian tradition. Near Eastern influences can also be seen in the seated limestone goddess from Prinias134 of 650-625 BC. Typically in the Near East, stone lions were used to guard gates to temples and palaces. In the Greek world, too, guardian lions performed the same functions at Prinias and near the tomb of Menecrartes in Corcyra,135 where a limestone lion was discovered. This latter piece is of early workmanship and has a formalised treatment of the head suggesting it was probably made from a description of the beast, as the artist was not likely to have seen a lion. The Greek adoption of animal sculpture was well developed by the end of the 7th century.
Oriental and Phoenician influences can be seen in grave goods and from Greek sanctuaries where the most common finds are votive offerings. Phoenicians gained a reputation as craftsmen and their works were found in royal palaces throughout the Near East. They particularly excelled in carving ivory and items they produced were often used as decorations or as votives. In the 8th century this translated into an increased number of offerings to gods.
Figurines: These were often the templates for later statuary and many different forms showing an array of styles and features have been found. The Oriental imagery of one hand held to the breast is typical; other statuettes and figurines typically show a mix of Assyrian and Egyptian styles. Astarte figures were found at the palace of Nimrud136 and female terracotta votive figurines adopted from Near Eastern moulds were found at the site of Artemis Orthia. Fully nude and unashamed female figures exist in early Greek sculpture from the 8th century. However, nude female figurines were replaced in the first half of the 7th century so that in the 6th century only draped figures were represented. Five fully nude female figurines representing Astarte were found at Odos Peiraios. In Athens, naked female figures in ivory have been found in a grave from the middle of the 8th century. One ivory girl from Athens is rendered from the pudgier-faced, fleshier Syrian prototypes and is translated into an Attic diadem.137 Greek craftsmen copied Phoenician works, eventually developing their own forms. This meant in some cases that north Syrian cult scenes needed to be adapted. Syrian figurines have tilted heads and deep-set eyes. The nude goddess from Ithaca138 is an early depiction of the love and fertility goddess and is likewise modelled on Near Eastern contemporary figures. Two of the commonest types of Oriental ivories found are the votive Astarte plaques 139 and the lady at the window.140 The former plaque is a naked representation of the goddess, who often has her hand either raised in the air or to her breast The latter plaque shows a face at a balcony window and represents Astarte or her votary; they are found in both the Greek and Near Eastern world.141 In the Near East, plaques have been found from Khorsabad and Tell Beit Mirsim. Other ivories come from the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, dating to before the final subjugation of the Phoenician cities that occurred c600 BC - bone replaces ivory at the Orthia site after this date. Ivories were also found at the Idaean cave and on Rhodes, where six were found in a Phoenician and north Syrian style.142 Much of the ivory may have come from north Syria as there was a flourishing school of ivory carving at Hama.143
Metal: A large number of Eastern votives, often coming from North Syria, were tripod cauldrons. The protomes riveted to the handles were often in the forms of bulls, lions and griffins. The bulls may have some religious significance, but the other creatures were purely apotropaic. Their function - to scare away evil spirits - was much the same as that of some masks and the use of Gorgoneions.
Masks: Moulds144 were used in the mass production of clay plaques and face masks, and this mass production helped canonise and stereotype proportions. At the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, a large number of sepulchral masks were unearthed dating to the end of the 7th century; of these a sizeable proportion resembled those of the Near East;145 others were vaguely reminiscent of gold death masks found at Mycenae. Another mask that archaeologists have found is a Greek terracotta anthropomorphic mask from the early Iron Age. This mask resembles Near Eastern models such as those found at Hazor and Tel Qasile. Masks are used for concealment of the face and typically have eye-holes if they are to be worn. The masks of Orthia are a mixture as some have eye-holes and others do not. They may have been used in dances to honour Artemis or in connection with Chthonic ritual146 where the wearer takes the part of the deity.
Gorgons: The Gorgon figure entered Greek art sometime around the middle of the 7th century; as a direct copy of an Assyro-Babylonian demon or giant. Some of the commonest portrayals of her show her being slain by Perseus,147 a scene that resembles closely the one between Gilgamesh and Humbaba. In Syria there was a vogue for this scene of Gilgamesh and his companion slaying Humbaba, the wild man of the woods. In Greek art, Gilgamesh’s long skirted companion is replaced by Athena and this may be a case where a Greek copy of a motif has either been misunderstood or adapted to Greek tastes. Perseus turning his eyes away from the monster is also a copy from the Near East. Returning to the Greek myth, the victorious Perseus gave Athena Medusa’s head, which she placed on her shield as the terror-inspiring Aegis. The power of the Gorgon was supposed to ward off evil, which is why in the Greek world Gorgoneions are found frequently on coins, vases, as masks and on temples; they can also be seen in Etruria where the practice was copied of hanging a mask over the lintel.
The Phoenicians influenced many of the ways in which the Greeks looked at their gods, although they were by no means the only influence on Greek religion. This, like other areas of Greek life, showed inputs from all the surrounding and more advanced cultures. In this essay, I have tried to show that there are many influences on Greek religion and that even some of these - such as the Anatolian myths - may have come to Greece by way of the Phoenicians. Indeed, the Phoenicians own beliefs contained assimilations of Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Hittite religion, so any influence they had on Greece was not wholly original in the literal sense.
The Greeks themselves were masters of assimilation. They did not simply take on all the myths and religious practices that they encountered, and were unlikely to have had a complete understanding or identification with foreign gods and rituals. This is demonstrated by the fact that early art shows depictions of decidedly unGreek features, gradually taking on more and more Greek features with the passing of time. It is indeed unlikely that the Oriental input would have had any great effect on the way ancient Greeks actually carried out their lives, and seems largely cosmetic. Their beliefs remained the same, and their attitude towards myths generally may have been irreverent, considering them tales emphasising points rather than truths that had to be believed in their entirety.
Perhaps the most enduring testament to the Phoenician influence of Greece and its islands is in the architecture, which changed enormously in this period, with Greek city states starting to build their first temples. The power of a nation or state is often reflected in its architecture. In the East, there were many powerful rulers who governed vast swathes of territory and large population masses who had to be kept complacent: impressive architecture has always helped make this task easier. This was a very different situation to Greece, which was highly fragmented. The Eastern temple fulfilled a unifying role for the people and was often used as a rallying point. Eastern kings utilised temples to gain fealty as they often held the highest priestly office. Power tended not to be concentrated in the hands of one individual in Greece, but the temple nonetheless helped provide a sense of identity and strength. Greek temples were a visual display of the power and influence of an individual city and its ability to construct monuments to its gods. The religious art of the period shows some of the influences that the Greeks took on board, with the site of Artemis Orthia showing links with the East through ivory and masks. The appearance, too, of the Gorgon in art and as decoration is also likely to have come via Phoenicia.