Ancient Hellenic Jewelry

MINOAN ERA (2600 - 1400 BCE) 

Minoan jewelry making was characterized by an ingenuity of design and a vibrant representation of nature, shapes and forms. Initially influenced by other ancient civilizations, such as those in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Minoans created and maintained their own unique style for centuries.

The materials used in Minoan jewelry included metals such as bronze, silver, gold and gold-plated bronze. Semi-precious stones such as rock-crystal, carnelian, garnet, lapis lazuli, obsidian and red, green and yellow jaspers, were used to decorate the intricate pieces.

Minoan jewels typically consisted of diadems, necklaces, bracelets, beads, pendants, armlets, headbands, clothes ornaments, hair pins and hair ornaments, earrings and rings. These skillfully-crafted pieces of jewelry were usually shaped like or portrayed flowers, birds, sea life, insects, snakes and lions.

MYCENAEAN ERA (1600 - 1100 BCE)

Mycenaean jewelry making was originally inspired and instructed by the Minoan artistry but the Mycenaean soon developed its own unique techniques and styles. 

Thanks to the wide access to large quantities of gold at the time, Mycenaean jewels were mainly characterized by the use of gold. They consisted of rings, necklaces, pendants, earrings and hair ornaments, decorated with elaborate designs of human heads, flowers, spirals, beetles, as well as battle, hunting, and religious scenes. 

The Mycenaean craftsmen, mastering their skills with years of apprentice work, made great progress on the techniques of engraving precious stones, the use of simple enamels, colored stones for inlay and making fine chains from gold wire.

Ancient Hellenic jewelry during the Classical Period (5th-4th centuries BCE) demonstrated an inclination toward finesse and refinement. Also known as the "Golden Age," the Classical Period was a time when the Hellenic civilization prospered, thus jewelry making reached a higher level of technology and craftsmanship. 

Refined filigree techniques emerged as well as elaborate wreath designs and flower motifs, with rosettes being the most popular. Semi-precious and precious stones such as emeralds, pearls and amethysts were used to decorate finger rings, intricate necklaces and bracelets.

Perhaps the most typical piece of jewelry of the Classical Period is the gold olive wreath. Winners in competitions, such as the Olympic Games, were traditionally crowned with a wreath made of olive leaves. During the “Golden Age,” however, the prize for champions was elevated into an olive wreath made of gold.

Ancient Hellenic jewelry during the Hellenistic period (323 - 31 BCE) was greatly influenced by Alexander the Great and his successful campaigns in the East, which brought a significant influx of gold, precious gems and oriental influences.

Elaborate necklaces, hoop earrings, pendants, pins, bracelets (often worn in pairs according to Persian fashion) armbands, thigh bands, finger rings, wreaths, and diadems were vastly produced during the reign of Alexander the Great and his successors. New motifs and patterns emerged such as the gods Eros and Nike, doves, and the crescent design. Additionally, gems and semi-precious stones such as emeralds, garnets, carnelians, sardonyx, chalcedony, banded agates and rock crystal, were masterfully incorporated to the pieces in order to dramatically contrast the gold setting.

In Hellenistic times, jewelry often passed from generation to generation as family heirlooms or was dedicated at sanctuaries as an offering to the gods.  Moreover, as jewelry was meant to be worn both in life and death, the wealthy Macedonians of the early Hellenistic period would place pieces of jewelry on the body of the deceased. As a result, much of the best-preserved pieces of jewelry of that era come from tombs where the dead were buried along with their personal pieces.