Nestorbecher Mykene (Nationalmuseum Athen)

The Cup of Nestor or dove cup is a gold goblet discovered in 1876 by

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeolog ...

in Shaft IV of Grave Circle A, Mycenae. The goblet is 14.5 cm high and 14.5 cm across; it weighs 295.8 grams. It has a stem, a Vapheio cup–shaped body, and two handles in the style of a kantharos. Each handle is decorated with a golden bird, which Schliemann observed was reminiscent of the cup of Nestor described in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

''. The birds have since been identified by Spiros Marinatos as falcons, rather than the doves which are on the Iliadic cup. J.T. Hooker suggests that the cup is an adaptation of a Cretan design made by a craftsman on the Greek mainland.

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Works cited

* * * * * Archaeological artifacts Iron Age Greek art Mycenaean Greece Mycenae Mycenaean art National Archaeological Museum, Athens Ancient Messenia Individual ancient Greek vases Archaeological discoveries in Greece Ancient Greek metalwork Gold objects {{Greece-archaeology-stub