Bronze Age Representations of Aegean Bull-Leaping

Abstract

There were three main systems for depicting Aegean bull-leaping in the Late Bronze Age. Type I was described by Evans, Type II by Mrs. Sakellariou, while Type III is here presented for the first time. Though Types I and III seem to reflect several aesthetic considerations, Type II may illustrate the sport more accurately. All three types include several examples that come with known proveniences and from dated contexts. These examples suggest that Type I was a Cretan schema with a floruit in LM I, Type III a Mycenaean schema with a floruit in LH IIIB, and Type II a Cretan and Mycenaean schema dating primarily before the beginning of LB IIIB. If Type II depicts bull-leaping accurately then the sport may not have been practiced after LB IIIA:2.