Ancient Greek jewelry is mostly goldwork, and it falls into two great peaks: the Bronze Age Mycenaean and Minoan cultures before about 1100 BC, and the Hellenistic period after Alexander the Great. Greek goldsmiths excelled at filigree and fine sheet work, and they made gold wreaths of leaves so thin they tremble. After Alexander's conquests opened routes to the east, colored stones such as garnet became common, and the Heracles knot became one of the most popular motifs in the ancient world.
Minoan and Mycenaean gold
The Minoans of Crete, in the Bronze Age, were skilled goldsmiths. The best-known Minoan piece is a gold pendant from Malia showing two bees (or wasps) holding a drop of honey, decorated with granulation and filigree. It is now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
On the Greek mainland, the Mycenaeans took up Minoan skills. In 1876 Heinrich Schliemann excavated Grave Circle A at Mycenae and found shaft graves filled with gold, from around the 16th century BC. They held gold death masks, including the one popularly called the "Mask of Agamemnon" (it is centuries older than any Trojan War king), along with gold cups, diadems and hundreds of small gold disks stamped with spirals, octopuses and butterflies that were probably sewn onto burial clothing.
Mycenaean jewelers made beads of gold, carnelian, amethyst and glass paste, and carved seal stones from hard stones. They also used Baltic amber, which shows how far trade reached.
After the Bronze Age collapse
After the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces around 1200 to 1100 BC, Greece entered a long stretch with little gold. Jewelry from the following centuries is mostly bronze, iron and simple gold pieces. As trade with the Phoenicians and the Near East revived in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, eastern motifs and techniques, including granulation, returned to Greek workshops. Gold jewelry from the Archaic period (about 700 to 480 BC) is rare, partly because gold itself was scarce.
Classical jewelry
In the Classical period of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, Greek jewelry became more refined. Goldsmiths made earrings shaped as boats or disks with hanging pendants, necklaces of tiny beads and seed-shaped pendants, and finger rings with engraved bezels. Greek colonies around the Black Sea and in southern Italy produced some of the finest surviving pieces, many of them found in Scythian and Thracian burials. Greek goldsmiths made jewelry for wealthy Scythian clients, with Greek technique and Scythian taste.
Engraved gems were a high art in this period. Greek gem engravers cut intaglios in chalcedony, carnelian and other hard stones, used as seals and set in rings. The Etruscans to the west traded with Greece and learned from Greek engravers and goldsmiths.
Philip II and the gold of Macedon
Gold became far more available in the 4th century BC. Philip II of Macedon took control of gold mines in the Pangaion hills of Thrace, and his son Alexander captured the treasuries of the Persian empire. In 1977 the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos opened royal tombs at Vergina (ancient Aigai) in northern Greece. One tomb, widely attributed to Philip II, held a gold larnax (a small chest for bones) with a star on the lid and a gold wreath of oak leaves and acorns. A second chest held a gold wreath of myrtle leaves and flowers. Those finds are now displayed at the museum at Vergina.
Hellenistic gold wreaths
Gold wreaths are among the most striking Greek jewelry. Real wreaths of leaves were awarded to victors and worn at festivals and religious rites. Gold versions copied oak, olive, myrtle, laurel and ivy leaves in thin sheet gold, each leaf attached to a gold stem by a fine wire so it could flutter. Some carry flowers with centers of glass or enamel and small gold bees or cicadas.
Wreaths were dedicated in temples, awarded as honors and buried with the dead. Many survive from tombs in Macedonia, the Greek cities of Asia Minor and southern Italy. Most were too fragile for daily wear.
The Heracles knot
The Heracles knot is a square knot (a reef knot), made of two loops interlocked. Greeks used it as a protective charm, and it was linked with the hero Heracles. Hellenistic goldsmiths turned it into the centerpiece of diadems, necklaces, bracelets and belts, often with the knot set with garnets or enamel and hung with chains and tassels.
The Romans later linked the knot with marriage, and the phrase "tying the knot" is sometimes traced to it, though that link is uncertain. The motif came back in Victorian archaeological revival jewelry and is still used today.
Garnets after Alexander
Alexander's conquests in the 330s and 320s BC reached Egypt, Persia, Central Asia and the edge of India. Trade with those regions brought new gemstones into Greek jewelry in larger quantity. Red garnet, mostly almandine, became the signature stone of Hellenistic jewelry, cut as smooth cabochons and set into gold frames. Goldsmiths also used carnelian, amethyst, rock crystal, emerald and pearls, the last arriving from the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
This led to a polychrome style, with colored stones, enamel and glass set into gold. Typical Hellenistic pieces include:
- Hoop earrings ending in heads of lions, antelopes, bulls or maenads
- Earrings with pendant figures of Eros or Nike
- Strap necklaces of woven gold chain hung with spear-shaped or bud-shaped pendants
- Snake bracelets and armlets that coil around the arm
- Rings set with large engraved stones or a single cabochon
Filigree and other techniques
Filigree was one of the great Greek strengths. Goldsmiths made beaded and twisted wire and soldered it into scrolls, spirals and leaf shapes, often building complete forms out of wire alone. They also used repousse, stamping, casting, granulation (less dense than Etruscan work) and touches of blue and green enamel. The jewelry glossary explains these terms, and the annealing gold page covers the heating step any goldsmith working sheet and wire must repeat.
From Greece to Rome
Rome conquered Greece and the Hellenistic kingdoms during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, and Greek goldsmiths and gem engravers went to work for Roman clients. Much of what we call ancient Roman jewelry grew directly out of Hellenistic workshops. The jewelry history overview follows the thread forward.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Heracles knot?
It is a square or reef knot used as a jewelry motif in ancient Greece. It was considered protective and was popular in Hellenistic diadems, necklaces and bracelets, often set with garnets.
What gems did ancient Greeks use?
Early Greek jewelry used carnelian, amethyst, amber and glass. After Alexander's conquests, garnet became the main gem, joined by emerald, pearls, rock crystal and engraved chalcedony.
What were Greek gold wreaths used for?
Gold wreaths copied the leaf wreaths awarded to victors and worn at rituals. They were given as honors, dedicated in temples and buried with the dead, and most were too delicate for everyday wear.
Is the Mask of Agamemnon really Agamemnon's?
No. The mask comes from a shaft grave at Mycenae dated to around the 16th century BC, centuries before the Trojan War traditions place Agamemnon. Schliemann gave it the name.