The Vergina hunting frieze recontextualized: The development and significance of hunting in Macedonian burials

2022-05

This thesis challenges the claim that the hunting frieze from Tomb II at Vergina (ancient Aigai), Greece, was a new artistic theme directly inspired by Alexander the Great’s campaigns and Persian motifs of kingship. Through an extensive archaeological and art historical survey of hunting and lion references in Macedonian burials, this thesis shows that the theme held local significance for the Macedonian elite from at least the 6th century BCE as a symbol of elite status and kingship in both life and death. Chapter One discusses the historical and mythical origins of hunting in Macedonia, the prominence of hunting weapons in burials, and the iconography of the Macedonian Huntsman. Chapter Two focuses on the misidentification of the lion as an ‘oriental’ motif and provides a survey of lion and lion hunting imagery as a common symbol of kingship in several societies throughout the Mediterranean. Finally, Chapter Three analyzes the political and social significance of the hunt in Macedonia, the relationship of burials, hunting, and status, and, lastly, provides a recontextualization of the Vergina frieze with this local significance in mind. This thesis reveals the misconceptions about Macedonian material culture based on the biased view of Macedonia as a society peripheral to the Greeks and Persians, the imbalanced focus of Macedonian scholarship on the Hellenistic-era, and the trajectory of archaeological research in Macedonia.

Macedonia; Burials; Lion Hunt; Vergina; Archaeology; Thesis

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English

ILU oai:ttu-ir.tdl.org:2346/89276
1472804669

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