The gold wreaths and crowns originated in ancient times when leaves and flowers were commonly used to mark festive occasions like processions or special dinners. Golden crowns were the privilege reserved for honors on behalf of the community or as funerary reverence.
Wreaths of
leaves were recognized as prizes for those victorious at competition games,
marking a moment of triumph for the athlete. The most famous event was the
Olympic Games, where the winner received a crown of olive leaves. Variants are
laurel, Apollo’s sacred tree, at
However, they were also appropriate on many other occasions. Those attending a Symposium would wear wreaths made of roses, violets, or myrtle leaves. Such wreaths appear clearly in Oliver Stone's movie Alexander in the wedding scene of King Philip.
The ritual of crowning even extended to altars, statues, and temples. Wreaths were also part of funerary practices as the deceased would be crowned; the urns containing their ashes had a wreath, or the wreath was placed inside the tomb.
However, most of
the finds are on display at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (see: Exploring the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki). The wreaths come, for instance, from Cassandreia, Apollonia, Sedes, Aenea,
and the greater area around
It is a pure pleasure to wander through the museum’s rich collections to find, for instance, two myrtle wreaths, one splendidly executed with colored flowers, and another funerary one with bronze gilt leaves and clay gilt fruit (Aenea) from 350-325 BC. Two olive crowns, one from Tomb A and another very elaborated one with the knot of Heracles from Cassandreia (3rd century BC). The gold ivy wreath was found in Apollonia and dated 350-325 BC. The gold oak crown, very typical for the Macedonian court, was also unearthed in Cassandreia and carried the fascinating knot of Heracles as well.
Eventually, wreaths appeared on funerary monuments or were painted on their walls. In time, a wreath might be carved on the tomb to mark the site.
It is noteworthy that wreaths were sacred objects. It was a sacrilege to wear somebody else’s crown without authorization. It was also forbidden to remove a wreath or dispose of it if you were not supposed to touch it.
Crowns were not
a privilege of
How many more such treasures remain hidden, waiting for us to discover them?
[Picture from Oliver Stone's movie Alexander. The crown from Tillya Tepe is from the Australian]
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