Theodore Spyropoulos ( el, Θεόδωρος Σπυρόπουλος) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

who is a regional official of Greece's

Central Archaeological Council The Central Archaeological Council and Museums Council ( el, Κεντρικό Αρχαιολογικό Συμβούλιο και Συμβούλιο Μουσείων), commonly known simply by its older abbreviation KAS (Κ.Α.Σ.), is the supreme ad ...

Excavations at Tanagra

Tanagra Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The ...

, Spyropoulos began excavating a large Mycenaean cemetery in 1968. Every year, until Spyropoulos moved to the ephorate at

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, the excavation site yielded larnakes, pottery and terracottas. The chamber tombs uncovered were apparently in use from LH IIIA up until the end of LH IIIB and perhaps beyond.

Excavations near Thebes

Near Thebes, Spyropoulos excavated the supposed tomb of

Amphion and Zethus Amphion ( ()) and Zethus (; Ζῆθος ''Zēthos'') were, in ancient Greek mythology, the twin sons of Zeus (or Theobus) by Antiope. They are important characters in one of the two founding myths of the city of Thebes, because they constructed ...

between 1971 and 1973. He identified the structure of the tomb as a step-pyramid or ziggurat built during the 3rd millennium BC.

Excavations at Pellana

Spyropoulos discovered an alternative site for the palace of

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

Pellana Pellana (; Greek: ἡ Πέλλανα, Paus. iii. 20. § 2; τὰ Πέλλανα, Strabo viii. p. 386; Πελλήνη, Xen. ''Hell.'' vii. 5. § 9; Polyb. iv. 81, xvi. 37; Plut. ''Agis'', 8), was a city of ancient Lacedaemonia, on the Eur ...

located 25 kilometers north of Sparta. The site itself is near a series of large Mycenean chamber tombs. This has led Spyropoulos to believe that his excavations uncovered the lost

Homeric Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

capital of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

. The palace itself is 32 meters by 14 meters and is dated to around 1200 BC.

Cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

walls surround the palace and a wide road leads up to the entrance. During Antiquity, the tombs were all plundered. However, the palace was unscathed since it yielded jewelry, wall paintings, pottery, and a plethora of

Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...

tablets. Currently, there exists a major clash of interpretation between Spyropoulos and members of the

British School at Athens , image = Image-Bsa athens library.jpg , image_size = 300px , image_upright= , alt= , caption = The library of the BSA , latin_name= , motto= , founder = The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, called the foundation meeti ...

. The former believes that Pellana was the Mycenean capital of Laconia and the latter believe that the Menelaion was the capital.Castleden, pp. 16-17. "An alternative site for the Palace of Menelaus has recently been uncovered by Theodore Spyropoulos at Pellana, 25km north of Sparta. The alleged palace site is close to a series of large Mycenaean chamber tombs and Professor Spyropoulos believes that what he has found is ancient Lakedaimon, the lost Homeric capital. The principal building is 32m by 14m, apparently a palatial building on the same scale as the 'palace' at Mycenae. Associated finds date it to 1200 BC. Cyclopean walling protects it and a wide road leads up to the entrance. The nearby tombs were plundered in antiquity, but not the 'palace', which has yielded pottery, jewellery, wall paintings and many Linear B tablets. There is a major clash of interpretation between Spyropoulos, who is convinced that Pellana was the Mycenaean capital of Laconia, and the British School at Athens, who believe that the Menelaion was the capital. The archive tablets at Pellana may help to resolve the issue."

References

Sources

*Carter, Jane Burr and Morris, Sarah P. ''The Ages of Homer: A Tribute to Emily Townsend Vermeule''. University of Texas Press, 1995. *Castleden, Rodney. ''Mycenaeans''. Routledge, 2005. *Fagan, Garrett G. ''Archaeological Fantasies: How pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and misleads the public''. Routledge, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spyropoulos, Theodore Archaeology of Greece Mycenaean archaeologists Greek archaeologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)