The Symbolism of Jewelry in Hellenistic Greece

Student paper for credit in HIST 2210, LC
Written by: C. Yabut

Introduction and Context

When I tell you about ancient jewelry, what first comes to mind? Perhaps you will first picture the jewels that graced Marie Antoinette’s neck? Or the jewelry of the Victorian era? What do you imagine when I tell you to picture the jewelry of the ancient Greeks? Do you picture the same jewelry that I do? I find that when we think about jewelry from Greece, we do not expect an abundance of gemstones. Rubies, emeralds, opals, are often not what first comes to mind. Greece is well known for its metalworks. If I could peer into your mind for a moment, I imagine you pictured was all the gold, silver, and bronze that circulated around the ancient world.
Sometimes, jewelry was worn to enhance beauty or simply for the aesthetics. However, jewelry also took to function as religious offerings, or as charms to gain the aid of different deities. 

Today we will look into the functionality behind jewelry. For some context, what purpose did it serve other than being something that was just meant to be worn? There are religious, sociological, aesthetic, and symbolic reasons that speak into why people wear and purchase jewelry. Of course, not everyone can afford jewelry, so we can only make assumptions about jewelry through a wealthier eye. Regardless, we want to look into how women represented themselves through the jewelry they wore, and why. What do archeological finds suggest about the functions of jewelry in Hellenistic Greece? 

(C) The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artifact Analysis

The armband above is from around the 3rd to 2nd century B.C. The main component of this armband is the gold that has been moulded into delicate filigree and rosettes. Its centre is inlaid with emeralds and garnets. When I asked you to picture ancient Greek jewelry, did you picture something like this? 

This armband in itself would have represented great wealth (just look at the material!). In antiquity, trade was one of the few methods the wealthy could get their sumptuous materials, and what better way to show that off than by ending up with a fancy piece of jewelry. Made with precious stones and expensive metals, “Hellenistic jewelry represented an accessory only attainable by the upper strata of … society” (Contestabile, 2013, p. 6). Gold and other precious stones were most likely to have been imported into Greece from the East (i.e. Egypt). Trade in gems especially flourished during the Hellenistic period (Thoresen & Schmetzer, 2013, p. 201). Of course, it was not that gems were not being used prior to the Hellenistic era, they were, simply put, rarer. Use of garnets became especially prolific during this time and can often be seen in a variety of jewelry (Thoresen & Schmetzer, 2013, p. 201), like this armband! 

However, here is the catch: this armband does not just symbolise wealth. If I told you there were aspects to it that stood into Greek values and religion, would you have believed me? This armband is packed with symbolism; from the rosettes, which often represent the Greek value of fertility, to the shape of the knot at the centre. Yes, even the twist in the middle means something. 

The knot at the centre is named after the famed Greek hero himself, Heracles. Though the knot is named after Heracles, no one really knows why. Some think he invented it. The Heracles knot (Herakleotikon hamma or nodus Herculeus) (Nicgorski, 2013, p. 178) is an important and widespread motif in Hellenistic Greece. It is a motif that speaks not only to the religious symbolism of jewelry, but to its sociological functions. 

What are some universal meaning behind a knot? We know that knots bind things together. Symbolically speaking, knots can be seen as something that could “strengthen love and marriage” (Nicgorski, 2013, p. 177); thus, jewelry with the Heracles knot could be given as a wedding gift. This counts as a sociological function, as jewelry would be seen as an item that would aid in the building of a family. The motif itself was seen as protection and was believed to have been “endowed with apotropaic power” (Nicgorski, 2013, p. 178), power to ward off evil spirits. 

In the Hellenistic period, the knot becomes a motif that spans over a variety of mediums, especially in jewelry and even seen in clothing and hairstyles. It is believed that it grew in popularity because of Alexander the Great, and his use of it as a symbol to associate himself with his own kinship with the gods (Nicgorski, 2013, p. 180-181). Due to this, the knot becomes a marker of “Hellenic identity” (Nicgorski, 2013, p. 182). The aspect of associating oneself with the gods becomes a common thread of symbolism throughout jewelry during the Hellenistic era. So, the next time you see a similar knot in other jewelry, you will know what period that piece of jewelry would have come from. 

Literary Analysis

Recall that even a small piece of recovered jewelry can hold a thousand meanings. First, we will study Haley Contestabile’s article, “Hellenistic Jewelry & the Commoditization of Elite Greek Women” (2013). With the questionable title aside, the discussion of the act of adornment as a method of presentation of wealth and beautification provides us with insight regarding the culture at the time, and their uses of jewelry. 

It stands that the attractiveness of a woman was considered valuable, and what better way to enhance beauty than by adorning oneself with beautiful jewelry. The concept of kosmesis pertains to the process of adornment, which “served as a popular method of beautification [throughout] ancient Greece” (Contestabile, 2013, p. 2). The extravagance of the jewelry and certain motifs worn by women would often represent the preferred aesthetics throughout the time period (Contestabile, 2013, p. 2), as can be seen with the Heracles knot. Other divinity that can be seen in various jewelry pieces are Aphrodite, Eros, Nike, and Dionysus. Aphrodite was especially important to women and their methods of beautification. Aphrodite could be compared to the likes of Megan Fox and her influence on beauty standards. It was believed that “Aphrodite had the authoritative power to persuade women that they too could look like a goddess, as long as they could afford [kosmesis]” (Contestabile, 2013, p. 3). Thus, incorporating symbols that embody ultimate beauty like that of Aphrodite’s acts as a means to connect oneself to the goddess, and incorporate her beauty into their likeness, and to be presented as beautiful by their society’s standards. 

With regards to Eros, incorporating his image into jewelry would act as a charm of sorts. Through jewelry presenting Eros, a woman from Hellenistic Greece could express “her sexuality and desire for Eros’s assistance in pursuing [a lover]” (Contestabile, 2013, p. 3). 

Greek literature often suggests that love was brought upon by external entities (i.e. Eros or Aphrodite sending two people to pine for one another) (Contestabile, 2013, p. 4). Thus, as a child of the goddess of love, and a god that is known to fill hearts with love and passion, he becomes a constant representation in jewelry worn my young women (Contestabile, 2013, p. 3). 

It was a common practice to associate yourself with divinity. This is apparent with the religious imagery in jewelry. A young woman could focus her prayers and offerings on Eros and Aphrodite to ensure their assistance and support in hopes of finding a lover; thus, she would wear jewelry pertaining to them and keep them close by (Contestabile, 2013, p. 4). Other women perhaps, would wear jewelry with images of Dionysus to aid with fertility, or jewelry with the imagery of Nike to bring about victory. 

Jewelry is an item we become intimately involved with. For women in Hellenistic Greece, jewelry would represent her culture and aesthetic preferences, while the materials and iconography would pertain to her wealth and status. Each of those aspects provide insight into the functions for jewelry as they “[illuminate] Hellenistic ideas about wealth, fertility, sexuality, and beauty” (Contestabile, 2013, p. 8). 

Now recall where we might find jewelry. A lot of the jewelry we have now were unearthed through archaeological digs. Archaeological digs like that documented by Alexis Q. Castor in “An Early Hellenistic Jewelry Hoard from Poggio Colla (Vicchio Di Mugello)” provide us with a variety of reasons why jewelry was found as they were. What does buried jewelry tell us about its functions? 

A lot of our finds might have been accidental. Now, I do not mean our finds are accidental. Contextually, some people were meant to have buried their jewelry temporarily. If there were external threats like that of attacks or war, many would keep their wealthy possessions safe by burying them. If jewelry were being buried in such a way, it would only prove how important it was to its owner (Castor, 2009, p. 248). However, some of our finds are also votive offerings, or even extractions from burial grounds. This context gives us an idea to why archaeological findings are so important. Jewelry was important enough to a person to be buried with it, to be given as a religious offering, or to be protected from threat. 

Greek sanctuaries devoted to goddesses are especially common places to find jewelry and other personal adornments (Castor, 2009, p. 249). Seeing items that could have been votive offerings draws importance, again, to the religious functions of jewelry. A single piece can allow us to ponder on the uses of jewelry that are not just for fashion. Archaeological evidence suggests that a variety of personal circumstances (i.e. marriage, childbirth, and other familial/sociological concerns) would prompt the donation of jewelry (Castor, 2009, p. 250). 

Now comes the end of my rambling. I have provided you with some ideas of the functions of jewelry that go past pure aestheticism. Now try comparing what your views on jewelry are, with those of a woman in Hellenistic Greece. Think to yourself, what are some other functions we might not have talked about? What other symbolism could jewelry hold? 

References 

Castor, A. (2009). An Early Hellenistic Jewelry Hoard from Poggio Coll (Vicchio Di Mugello). Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, 54, 245-262. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25750542 

Contestabile, H. (2013). Hellenistic Jewelry & the Commoditization of Elite Greek Women. Berkeley Undergraduate Journal of Classics, 2(2), 1-13. 

Nicgorski, A. (2013). Apollo Akersekomas and the Magic Knot of Heracles. Regionalism and Globalism in Antiquity, 177-200. 

Oliver Jr., A. (1966). Greek, Roman, and Etruscan Jewelry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 24(9), 269-284. doi:10.2307/3258219. 

Thoresen, L., & Karl S. (2013). Greek, Etruscan and Roman garnets in the antiquities collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The Journal of Gemmology, 33(7-8), 201-222.