Mycenae, Rich in Silver

Whilst gold is the metal that is most commonly associated with Mycenae -mostly because of Homer's reference to that city, but also because of the fabulous death masks that were uncovered by Schliemann in the shaft graves of Grave circle A, relatively little is known about the role and appreciation of silver in the Mycenaean world. Silver artefacts have been found only sporadically at Mycenaean sites, suggesting that the metal was rare, yet there is good evidence that the Mycenaeans were already mining silver in the Laurion, south of Athens. This article will try to explain this apparent dichotomy, by exploring the role and importance of silver in the Mycenaean world.