Island Interactions: The Mycenaean Presence at Phylakopi on Melos in the Late Bronze Age. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Liverpool

Abstract

This MA thesis explores the nature and extent of Mycenaean influence at Phylakopi on Melos during the Late Bronze Age, evaluating competing interpretations of cultural change through archaeological, theoretical, and contextual analyses. Phylakopi, as a key Cycladic settlement, experienced a transition from Minoan to Mycenaean influence, reflected in its architecture, material culture, and religious practices. The study employs World-Systems Analysis to assess Phylakopi’s position within Aegean trade networks, considering its role as a semiperipheral node first linked to Minoan Crete and later integrated into the Mycenaean sphere. Peer-polity interaction and agency theory are used to investigate whether Mycenaean cultural traits were imposed through migration or adopted selectively by local elites. The thesis also examines the potential for conflict, questioning whether Mycenaean expansion into the Cyclades was peaceful or marked by coercion. The construction of a Mycenaean-style megaron and the dominance of Mycenaean religious iconography suggest a significant presence at Phylakopi, challenging the notion of purely economic interactions. Ultimately, the study concludes that while trade played a central role in Phylakopi’s integration into the Mycenaean world, the intensity of Mycenaean cultural influence points to a more complex dynamic of settlement, interaction, and identity formation in the Late Bronze Age Aegean.

Download here.

Recommended citation: Nuttall, C. (2013). Island Interactions. The Mycenaean Presence at Phylakopi on Melos in the Late Bronze Age, Unpublished MA thesis, University of Liverpool.