Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.52064/vamz.55.2.3
The Mistress of Dogs and warrior initiation at archaic Trebenishte
Igor Eftimovski
Abstract
The paper analyses and interprets the symbolic meaning of an
iconographic composition consisting of a central Gorgon flanked
by two canines, present on a bronze tripod from the archaic necropolis
of Trebenishte, near Ohrid (6th–5th centuries BC). After
introducing and describing the subject of interest, the author
goes on to analyse the Gorgon in the symbolic role of ‘Mistress of
Dogs’, comparing it to similar representations from geographical
and chronological aspects. This is followed by an overview of the
symbolic role of canines in the prehistoric and ancient Balkans
as part of a wider Indo-European cultural milieu. The observed
findings are then analysed in relation to the archaeological context
of the tripod itself, which was deposited, along with a complementary
krater, in the ‘princely grave’ of a high-ranking male
individual with a warrior identity belonging to the archaic community
buried at Trebenishte. The final conclusions of the author
are that the iconography of the tripod reflects symbolic notions
of liminality and transformation, whereby the object was probably
intended to be used in initiation rituals that derive from the
Indo-European traditions of the ‘Männerbünde’.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
291191
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2022.
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