The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Mycenaean Greece

Ancient

Pylos hasd long captivated travelers, archaeologists, and historians

familiar with Homer's Iliad and his account of the kingdom of Nestor, the prudent elder

counselor in the Trojan War. Excavations begun in 1939 unearthed the storied

Palace of Nestor in Messenia, an epicenter of Mycenaean civilization at a

crossroads between Crete, Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt.

Princes of Pylos features

spectacular works of art and craft, many recently excavated at sites across

Messenia, including goldwork of unparalleled artistry, masterfully carved

sealstones, weapons, and wall paintings. Essays by an international team of archaeologists

examine key discoveries, including the Linear B tablets-the earliest written form of the Greek

language-that which

document the political, religious, and economic

organization of the prosperous Pylian community. New research and

cutting-edge science cast light on the 2015 find of the Grave of the Griffin

Warrior, an extraordinary, intact burial that preserved thousands of

artifacts, including the celebrated Pylos Combat Agate, one of the finest

works of the Aegean Bronze Age. With over 300 illustrations, Princes of Pylos is the first major

publication in English to reconstruct life in the kingdom of Pylos during the

Late Bronze Age.