Funerary votives & burial practices

Not only may the miniature sacrificial table have had religious significance, but if the table had indeed been found in a grave, it might have had a funerary function as well. So what can be said about Mycenaean objects in graves and their funerary and religious significance?

First of all, there are substantial differences between the amount and riches of grave items that are most likely testimonies of wealth and political power. Greater size, a central or prestigious location, richer decoration, artefacts and objects made of valuable materials marking social differences and power are demonstrated by graves such as Grave Circle A in Mycenae. Whittaker (2014). Religion and Society in Middle Bronze Age Greecepp.147-148. The display of wealth and power indicates social-economic and political prestige, although some of these objects should also be understood in a religious context.French (1971). ‘The Development of Mycenaean Terracotta Figurines.’, pp.107.

Mycenaeans brought religious objects such as libation vessels, votives, and other ritual objects with them to their graves. Whittaker (2014). Religion and Society in Middle Bronze Age Greecepp.157. These objects might serve to protect the deceased or guarantee a good hereafter or perhaps to honor the gods in death. At any rate, it is reasonable to believe that votives depicting furniture, animals, deities or other figures have a religious and/or funerary connotation and that they were therefore given to the deceased.

It has been argued that because of the abundance of votives and miniatures found in (and outside of) graves and the relatively standardized models, that there was a vast market and mass-production of religious votives.Hammond (2009). ‘Figurines, the miniature vase, and cultic space’, p.141. As is the case with the graves themselves, the material, detail, and production method of votives differs between social groups.