The palace accounts of The Palace Economy also name the people at the top. Their titles, read with the spelling rules of Mycenaean Words and Their Descendants, give us a glimpse of how a Mycenaean state was run.
Key idea
The wa-na-ka (wanax) ruled the palace state; the ra-wa-ke-ta (lawagetas) ranked next; a qa-si-re-u (later basileus, "king") was a lesser local official. The title wanax survives in Homer as anax, "lord".
| Signs | Spelled | Greek | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 𐀷𐀙𐀏 | wa-na-ka | ἄναξ anax | king, lord |
| 𐀨𐀷𐀐𐀲 | ra-wa-ke-ta | λαός + ἄγω lawagetas | leader of the people, an official ranked after the wanax |
| 𐀁𐀤𐀲 | e-qe-ta | ἕπομαι hequetas | follower, companion (an official) |
| 𐀣𐀯𐀩𐀄 | qa-si-re-u | βασιλεύς basileus | a local official (later the word for king) |
Who was who
- The wanax stood at the head of the state, with religious and economic roles. Craftsmen are sometimes described as working for him.
- The lawagetas, "leader of the people" (from lawos, people, and agō, I lead), ranked second. His exact duties are debated; some think they were military, others religious or administrative.
- The e-qe-ta (hekʷetai, "followers") were officials or companions attached to the palace.
- The qa-si-re-u (gʷasileus) was a local official, in charge of a group of bronzesmiths for example, far below the wanax.
Notice what the titles do not tell us: the names of the men who held them. The tablets speak of "the wanax" as an office, the way a modern form says "the mayor". So we know a Mycenaean state had a ruler and a second-in-command, but not, for certain, who any particular wanax of Pylos or Knossos was.
Why it works
Why did a minor title become the word for "king"? When the palaces fell (The End of the Palaces), the wanax and his court vanished. The local leaders survived, and with no palace above them, they became the most important men around. Their title, basileus, rose with them. By Homer's time and in Classical Greek, basileus meant king, while anax lived on mainly in poetry and for gods.
Common mistake
Reading qa-si-re-u as "king". In the tablets the basileus was a minor official; the word rose in status only after the palaces fell. Check: in a Linear B text, the ruler is the wa-na-ka; translate qa-si-re-u as "chief" or "official".
Worked example: Rank them
Put in order from highest to lowest: qa-si-re-u, wa-na-ka, ra-wa-ke-ta.
- The wanax ruled.
- The lawagetas ranked next.
- The basileus was a local official.
Answer: wa-na-ka, ra-wa-ke-ta, qa-si-re-u
Worked example: Then and later
What did basileus mean in the tablets, and what did it mean in Classical Greek?
- In the tablets: a local official.
- After the palaces fell the title rose; in Classical Greek it means king.
Answer: A local official then; king later.