Perspectives in World Art
October 9, 2009
Essay #2
The Ancient Greek tholos, or beehive, tomb is a prime example of what Mimi Lobell
describes as the archetypal “Great Round” or “World of the Goddess,” although is seen as a
transition period between peaceful goddess centered culture and more militaristic cultures.
Specifically, the Treasury of Atreus was built in about 12000 BCE in the city of Mycenae in the
hills of Greece. Originally in Mycenae, burials took place in simple shaft graves that were about
twenty feet deep into the ground. Over time, though, tombs began being built into above
ground hillsides with domes up to forty-five feet and sprawling megalithic entryways that only
faced north or south.
The large door to the tomb employs the use of a corbelled arch, in which no mortar is
used to withstand the pressure of the dome above it. This engineering feat proves that the
people of Mycenae were very skilled mathematicians and engineers seeing as they had to
calculate the pressure and strength of each stone when building these tombs. In addition, the
tomb’s dome was so calculated and measured that the dome would radiate up with each stone
leaning slightly in, so as to allow all of the stones to meet at one central stone at the top.
Mycenae during this time was primarily agricultural while interested in the
development of art, as Lobell would expect. For example, both in the tholos tombs and around
the city of Mycenae, images of bullhorns and serpents appear. In contrast to Lobell’s
description of the circular archetype, however, Mycenaean people were militaristic and
fortified their cities with massive stonewalls. This may be in part, because the Mycenaean
people existed during a time of transition between peace and militarism. Thus, the tholos
tombs could fit with both Lobell’s “Great Round” and the “Four Quarters” theories. Though,
while the people of Mycenae were prepared at all times for battle, they lived through a
relatively peaceful and prosperous time, which allowed people to interact with each other and
ponder life’s bigger questions. Mycenaean people were knowledgeable about astronomy and it
was thought that they were polytheistic and based many of their gods on traditional Greek sky-
deities.
Another point of differentiation between this tholos tomb and Lobell’s idea of the
archetypal circle is the fact that these people were not egalitarian in nature. The tombs were
only built for royalty and the uppermost class in society and contained all of their jewels and
royal artifacts, similar to burial practices in Egypt. While it is true that the fortified city walls
protected everyone in the city, there was a distinct ruling class of kings and princes.
It was also in transition from matrilineal rule to more patriarchic, so many of the king’s
decisions were based upon the advice made by oracles that were primarily priestesses. Greek
people of this time relied heavily on intuition and the mystical wonders that oracles possessed
as Lobell suggested in the psyche of the archetype. These oracles would spout off incoherent
phrases after inhaling the earth’s natural gases that we now know contained hallucinogenic
natural gases. A male priest would then decipher and relate the phrases to the questioning
male king. As you can see, both matrilineal and patriarchic rule exist in Mycenaean culture at
this time.
Thus, the Mycenaean tholos, or beehive, tomb is a great example of what Lobell would
classify as the archetypal circle. An example of Lobell’s archetypal cross within a square or
“The Four Quarters” is the gothic cathedral at Chartres in France.
The Chartres Cathedral was first constructed in 1134 and is prolific in many ways as it
embodies the high gothic style of architecture using mainly stone and glass. The floor plan
dictates the archetype that Lobell mentions as the nave and transept intersect at the crossing
to form a cross shape surrounded by side aisles, the apse, radiating chapels, ambulatory, and
choir. The four sides of the cathedral are lined up with the cardinal points protecting the most
holy place in the cathedral where the “Lord of the Four Quarters” resides as according to
Lobell. However, traces of the pyramidal structure are visible on the façade of the building as
well.
There is a royal portal composed of three doors beneath a rose window of stained
glass. The spires on either side of the rose window direct the focus to the rose window as the
central point of the entryway or gates. The existence of contrasting light and dark, as Lobell
mentions, could be present in the stained glass windows, which give off a different ambiance
depending on the time of day, season, or cloud movement. Flying buttresses on the exterior
allow for half of the wall to be made of stained glass windows through pairings of lancets and
small circular windows called oculi; without the buttresses, the glass would not be able to
withstand the weight of the towering vaults above.
Symbolism and mythic images concerning the Lord of the Four Quarters are clearly
present in the Chartres Cathedral as we can see the recurring numbers three (the world of the
trinity), four (the material world), and seven (the combination of the two / seven gifts of the
holy spirit). The doors and stained windows are adorned with images from the life of Jesus and
the jambs near the entrance host images of Old Testament Kings and Queens, symbolic of the
close relationship between the church and French state. In addition, the cathedral supposedly
housed important relics, or objects believed to be used or present somehow during the time of
Jesus. These relics were later sent on tour to England to raise money to fund the reconstruction
of this cathedral after a fire inside in 1194.
Lobell suggests there would have been secret male societies and primarily male rule in
cultures employing the “Four Quarters.” This is true of the Chartres Cathedral in that after the
fire of 1194, powerful bishops, royal and aristocratic patrons, and cathedral officials all helped
to raise money for the reconstruction. It is interesting to note that the Cathedral Clergy and
bishop tried to make up some of the deficit by raising feudal and commercial taxes and were,
thus, exiled for four years (Note: the ruling class both within and outside of the church was
primarily made up of men. We can see traces of the pyramid structure in society here once
again with hierarchical rule within the church and outside of it). Once work began, however,
the ornate sculptures were created by mason guilds and other specialized workers. The
cathedral stands today with it’s 140 ft ceiling made of ribbed vaults with pointed arches and is
a primary example of Lobell’s “Four Quarters” archetype.
http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/Mycenaean-tholos-tombs.html
http://dartmoo.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/19.html
Stokstad
