The Kingdom of Pylos

Ancient
Pylos hasd long captivated travelers, archaeologists, and historians
familiar with Homer's Iliad and his account of the kingdom of Nestor, the prudent elder
counselor in the Trojan War. Excavations begun in 1939 unearthed the storied
Palace of Nestor in Messenia, an epicenter of Mycenaean civilization at a
crossroads between Crete, Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt.



Princes of Pylos features
spectacular works of art and craft, many recently excavated at sites across
Messenia, including goldwork of unparalleled artistry, masterfully carved
sealstones, weapons, and wall paintings. Essays by an international team of archaeologists
examine key discoveries, including the Linear B tablets-the earliest written form of the Greek
language-that which
document the political, religious, and economic
organization of the prosperous Pylian community. New research and
cutting-edge science cast light on the 2015 find of the Grave of the Griffin
Warrior, an extraordinary, intact burial that preserved thousands of
artifacts, including the celebrated Pylos Combat Agate, one of the finest
works of the Aegean Bronze Age. With over 300 illustrations, Princes of Pylos is the first major
publication in English to reconstruct life in the kingdom of Pylos during the
Late Bronze Age.