Hunter and Horseman: Glimpses into a Unknown Mycenaean Cerimonial

In the last decades many studies on Mycenaean iconography, for all the controversy over its religious contents and socio-political implications, have focused on the classification and identification of the main subjects in Pictorial Decorated Pottery, as well as in the terracotta figurines . Among these examples, the representation of horses is one of the most well documented in LBA Aegean art, especially for its close relationships with the sphere of action of the palatial aristocracy. When we talk about the horse in a Mycenaean context, we immediately think of the chariot, in the double function of war-vehicle and of land transport. Horses appeared in Mainland Greece from the period of the Circle A Graves at Mycenae (17th century) until the end of the palaces (13th century), and they remained the distinguishing hallmark of the higher-ranking members of the Mycenaean society. My purpose is to challenge the general assumption that Mycenaean horsemen figurines are mostly interpreted as a children's toy or a grave offering. Conversely, I propose that mounted riders may be primarily perceived as a prerogative of the young royal members and as a symbolic signifier of a particular gender and age grade.