Monkey Business in the Bronze Age Aegean: The Amenhotep II Faience Figurines at Mycenae and Tiryns

Abstract

Two small blue frit monkey figurines inscribed with the cartouche of Amenhotep II have been found in Late Bronze Age contexts at Mycenae and Tiryns in Mainland Greece. The questions of the findspot of the Mycenae figurine and of an Egyptian or a Syrian origin for the Tiryns figurine are addressed. The usefulness of the two figurines for chronological studies and possible explanations for their purpose and presence in Mainland Greece are also addressed. Other occurrences of monkey figurines, amulets, and representations in the Bronze Age Aegean are included for comparative purposes.