In any case it is from the Egyptian monuments of this period that we obtain the clearest evidence for contact between the true Mycenean civilisation and that 'sub-Mycenean' or 'Achaean' type which followed it. The warriors of the invading forces[285] are represented as armed with swords of the regular Mycenean pattern or with spears of no very great length. Some of them—the Pulesatha and Tchakaray—wear a peculiar head-dress, apparently made of feathers[286], which recalls the type used in later times by the Lycians according to Herodotus (VII 92). On the other hand the Shardina are depicted with very elaborate helmets[287], which, except that they have no plumes, are almost identical with those borne by the figures on the Warrior Vase (cf. p. [185]). The Shardina and many of the Pulesatha also carry round shields, held in one hand, as in the case of the warriors represented on the Vase[288] and the Stele. This fact is especially noteworthy, since the round shield seems to have been totally foreign not only to the Egyptians themselves, but also to the Hittites and all neighbouring peoples[289], while even in the Aegean area it was apparently not used in centres of Mycenean civilisation[290]. On the other hand both these features correspond to the type of armature described in the Homeric poems. It would not be correct of course to say that the portraits of the Shardina might be taken as faithful representations of Homeric warriors. We find no trace of greaves, while the body-armour is of a less elaborate type than that described in the poems[291]. The Homeric type of armature—represented by the Warrior Vase as well as in the poems—belongs clearly to a later stage of development than the Shardina type, and therefore probably to a later age than the early part of the twelfth century. Yet there is sufficient resemblance between the two to render it more than likely that the one is descended from the other.
Whatever may have been the causes which brought about the movement encountered by Rameses III, some of the other references point distinctly to bands of mercenary soldiers, rather than to national migrations. This is especially clear in the case of the Shardina, who are mentioned for the first time as serving under the Egyptians in Palestine. But the earliest reference—in the Tell-el-Amarna letters—carries us back to the destruction of the Cretan palaces, if Dr Evans' date for this catastrophe is correct. It has been remarked that, in striking contrast with Mycenae and other early centres of civilisation in Greece, the Cretan palaces were almost entirely unfortified; and the explanation commonly given of this fact is that their owners ruled the seas. If this is true we must conclude that the earliest maritime expeditions of the Shardina and their confederates did not take place without their consent.
In the course of this discussion we have seen that, though historical evidence for the Greek Heroic Age is entirely wanting, later tradition points to the eleventh century as the time to which the poems and legends refer; and further, that, unsatisfactory as it doubtless is, this evidence is corroborated to a considerable extent by the results of archaeological investigation. In much earlier times various parts of the Greek world possessed a high civilisation, which has left remains of magnificent palaces and many elaborate works of art. The evidence of these remains does not correspond at all to the state of society revealed in the poems. But at the close of this earlier period many new objects—belonging, it would seem, to a new population—make their appearance; and these latter do fulfil the conditions required. Lastly, it is of interest to note that from the fourteenth to the twelfth century Egypt and the Levant were frequently visited by bands of soldiers, who seem to have come from the Aegean or neighbouring regions and who outwardly bear a somewhat striking resemblance to the warriors described in the poems. It would appear that at this time the East must have been more familiar to the Greek world than Greek records would lead us to expect. This is the more noteworthy since during the following centuries the Greeks seem to have had but little contact with foreign nations.
FOOTNOTES:
[250] Chiefly because the description of the shield (vv. 139-320) appears to correspond to the art of that period.
[251] The κύκλοι embraced much more than the story of Troy; cf. W. v. Christs Geschichte d. griech. Litteratur5, § 47 f. The relationship of these works to the poems may be compared with that of Völsunga Saga to the heroic poems of the Edda.
[252] Schol. to Euripides, Troades, 822.
[253] Eusebius, Chron., ad Olymp. 53. The same authority however also attributes it to Cinaithon of Lacedaemon (ad Olymp. 4).
[254] Fragm. 6 (Bergk), from Pausanias, IX 9. 5.