The Power of Images. A Figured Krater from Thronos Kephala (Ancient Sybrita) and the Process of Polis Formation in Early Iron Age Crete

Discovered in 2002 in the settlement of Thronos Kephala in central-western Crete - usually identified with the predecessor of ancient Sybrita - the clay figured krater presented in this paper displays the oldest scene of armed dance in Greek vase-painting, therefore constituting an outstanding document of the Cretan Early Iron Age. The paper includes a brief summary of the archaeological context in which the vessel was found, an analysis of the vessel as an archaeological object, which also makes use of the concept of social agency, and a reconstruction of the socio-political context within which the vessel was manufactured and for which it was intended. Finally, the nature of the settlement of early Sybrita, with its likely social and political organization in the tenth century BC, is discussed in the light of the results of the research done to date on this significant Early Iron Age centre squeezed in between the Psiloriti and the Amari valley.