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Myrtle wreath at Vergina

Myrtle wreath (Ancient Greek: στέφανος stéfanos, Latin: corona) at Vergina made of gold myrtle ( Myrtus communis) leaves and flowers is one of the most elegant and valuable finds from the antechamber of the royal Macedonian tombs at Vergina, Greece ^[1]. From the Hellenistic period (300-30 BC), the gold wreath is thought to belong to Meda, the Thracian princess and fifth wife of Philip II of Macedon. ^[2] Which was therorized by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos, whom unearthed the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great in 1977. ^[3] This theory today is still in debate on wether this tomb actually belongs to these royals. ^[4]

Meaning and Symbolism

===Myrtle and Attire=== See also: Olive wreath and Laurel wreath A plant sacred to the goddess Aphrodite, myrtle was a symbol of love. Greeks wore wreaths for attire purposes made of real myrtle leaves at weddings and banquets, received them as athletic prizes and awards for military victories, and wore them as crowns to show royal status. Also, only depicted on women. In the Hellenistic period, the wreaths were made of gold foil; too fragile to be worn, they were created primarily to be buried with the dead as symbols of life’s victories. The naturalistic myrtle leaves and blossoms on this wreath were cut from thin sheets of gold, exquisitely finished with stamped and incised details, and then wired onto the stems. Most that survive today were found in graves, such as the “Myrtle wreath of Meda”.

Archaeological

Artifacts found in the main tomb

The royal tombs were excavated by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos. He became convinced that a hill called the Great Tumulus (Greek: Μεγάλη Τούμπα) concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. Andronikos undertook a six-week dig at the Great Tumulus and found four buried chambers, which he identified as undisturbed tombs. The heroon built as the temple for the great tomb of Philip II of Macedon. Tomb II of Philip II, was discovered in 1977 and was separated in two rooms. The main room included a marble sarcophagus, and in it was the larnax made of 24 carat gold and weighing 11 kilograms. Inside the golden larnax the bones of the dead were found and an golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns, weighing 717 grams.

The Antechamber

In the antechamber, there was a sarcophagus with a small golden larnax containing the bones of a woman wrapped in a golden-purple cloth with a golden diadem decorated with flowers and enamel. The myrtle wreath was found on the floor next to the sarcophagus. Many leaves and blossoms from the wreath were detatched and found quite a distance away in front of the door still to the main chamber.

Museum and the myrtle wreath

After restoration, there are 80 leaves and 112 flowers. The main wreath, from which the small twiggs sprouted, consits of a narrow cylindrical rod, whose two ends are flattened by twisting together. The internal diameter of the main tube is 0.18-0.16m. while the external is 0.26 - 0.23 m. The gold myrtle wreath is now exposed at Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

References

Myrtle wreath at Vergina

Myrtle wreath (Ancient Greek: στέφανος stéfanos, Latin: corona) at Vergina made of gold myrtle ( Myrtus communis) leaves and flowers is one of the most elegant and valuable finds from the antechamber of the royal Macedonian tombs at Vergina, Greece. From the Hellenistic period (300-30 BC), the gold wreath is thought to belong to Meda, the Thracian princess and fifth wife of Philip II of Macedon. Which is therorized by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos, whom unearthed the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great in 1977. This theory today is still in debate on wether this tomb actually belongs to these royals. ^[1]

Meaning and Symbolism

Myrtle and Attire

See also: Olive wreath and Laurel wreath A plant sacred to the goddess Aphrodite, myrtle was a symbol of love. Greeks wore wreaths for attire purposes made of real myrtle leaves at weddings and banquets, received them as athletic prizes and awards for military victories, and wore them as crowns to show royal status. Also, only depicted on women. In the Hellenistic period, the wreaths were made of gold foil; too fragile to be worn, they were created primarily to be buried with the dead as symbols of life’s victories. The naturalistic myrtle leaves and blossoms on this wreath were cut from thin sheets of gold, exquisitely finished with stamped and incised details, and then wired onto the stems. Most that survive today were found in graves, such as the “Myrtle wreath of Meda”.

Archaeological

Artifacts found in the main tomb

The royal tombs were excavated by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos. He became convinced that a hill called the Great Tumulus (Greek: Μεγάλη Τούμπα) concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. Andronikos undertook a six-week dig at the Great Tumulus and found four buried chambers, which he identified as undisturbed tombs. The heroon built as the temple for the great tomb of Philip II of Macedon. Tomb II of Philip II, was discovered in 1977 and was separated in two rooms. The main room included a marble sarcophagus, and in it was the larnax made of 24 carat gold and weighing 11 kilograms. Inside the golden larnax the bones of the dead were found and an golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns, weighing 717 grams.

The Antechamber

In the antechamber, there was a sarcophagus with a small golden larnax containing the bones of a woman wrapped in a golden-purple cloth with a golden diadem decorated with flowers and enamel. The myrtle wreath was found on the floor next to the sarcophagus. Many leaves and blossoms from the wreath were detatched and found quite a distance away in front of the door still to the main chamber.

Museum and the myrtle wreath

After restoration, there are 80 leaves and 112 flowers. The main wreath, from which the small twiggs sprouted, consits of a narrow cylindrical rod, whose two ends are flattened by twisting together. The internal diameter of the main tube is 0.18-0.16m. while the external is 0.26 - 0.23 m. The gold myrtle wreath is now exposed at Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

References

^[1]

Myrtle wreath (Ancient Greek: στέφανος stéfanos, Latin: corona) at Vergina made of gold myrtle ( Myrtus communis) leaves and flowers is one of the most elegant and valuable finds from the antechamber of the royal Macedonian tombs at Vergina, Greece. From the Hellenistic period (300-30 BC), the gold wreath is thought to belong to Meda, the Thracian princess and fifth wife of Philip II of Macedon. Which is therorized by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos, whom unearthed the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great in 1977. This theory today is still in debate on wether this tomb actually belongs to these royals.

Meaning and Symbolism

Myrtle and Attire

See also: Olive wreath and Laurel wreath A plant sacred to the goddess Aphrodite, myrtle was a symbol of love. Greeks wore wreaths for attire purposes made of real myrtle leaves at weddings and banquets, received them as athletic prizes and awards for military victories, and wore them as crowns to show royal status. Also, only depicted on women. In the Hellenistic period, the wreaths were made of gold foil; too fragile to be worn, they were created primarily to be buried with the dead as symbols of life’s victories. The naturalistic myrtle leaves and blossoms on this wreath were cut from thin sheets of gold, exquisitely finished with stamped and incised details, and then wired onto the stems. Most that survive today were found in graves, such as the “Myrtle wreath of Meda”.

Archaeological

Artifacts found in the main tomb

The royal tombs were excavated by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos. He became convinced that a hill called the Great Tumulus (Greek: Μεγάλη Τούμπα) concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. Andronikos undertook a six-week dig at the Great Tumulus and found four buried chambers, which he identified as undisturbed tombs. The heroon built as the temple for the great tomb of Philip II of Macedon. Tomb II of Philip II, was discovered in 1977 and was separated in two rooms. The main room included a marble sarcophagus, and in it was the larnax made of 24 carat gold and weighing 11 kilograms. Inside the golden larnax the bones of the dead were found and an golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns, weighing 717 grams.

The Antechamber

In the antechamber, there was a sarcophagus with a small golden larnax containing the bones of a woman wrapped in a golden-purple cloth with a golden diadem decorated with flowers and enamel. The myrtle wreath was found on the floor next to the sarcophagus. Many leaves and blossoms from the wreath were detatched and found quite a distance away in front of the door still to the main chamber.

Museum and the myrtle wreath

After restoration, there are 80 leaves and 112 flowers. The main wreath, from which the small twiggs sprouted, consits of a narrow cylindrical rod, whose two ends are flattened by twisting together. The internal diameter of the main tube is 0.18-0.16m. while the external is 0.26 - 0.23 m. The gold myrtle wreath is now exposed at Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

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References