The Role of the Religious Sector in the Economy of Late Bronze Age Mycenaean Greece

by Susan M. Lupack

Our conception of the Mycenaean economy has been considerably altered in recent times. The palatial administration has gone from being conceived of as a centralized, almost totalitarian bureaucracy that collected and subsequently redistributed goods to the society at large, to one that is conceived of as predominantly interested in mobilizing resources almost solely for the purpose of producing its own elite goods. Alternative foci of economic power have been recognized, the damos and the religious sector. In this work the author thoroughly explores the clues to the latter's economic activities as they appear in the Linear B tablets and the archaeological record in order to better understand the economic role of the religious sector in Mycenaean society. In addition, the author bears in mind that economic power can bring social and political power. Indeed, they are very often intertwined; therefore she also examines, where possible, the indications that the religious sector wielded som