Ancient Greek Civilization

Minoan Crete and became common throughout Mycenaean and later Greek civilization. Today, thousands
of Greek and Minoan seal stones survive, many of exquisite beauty and refined craftsmanship. Seals were
sometimes made by carving in ivory or soft stones, but most commonly they were made of harder
gemstones. The artist would engrave an image in INTAGLIO; that is, he would carve into a flat surface
of the gem a design in the shape of a lion, say, or, as here (figure 29), of two dolphins swimming. Then,
either a small hole would be drilled through the stone so that it could be worn on a string around the wrist
or neck, or the gem could be set into a metal ring and worn on the finger. The purpose of the seal was to
make an impression in wax or clay, the design in the impression appearing in RELIEF; that is, the lion or
the dolphins would stand out from the flat surface of the background, like the figures on today’s coins.
(Indeed, the invention of coinage, probably in Lydia in the seventh or sixth century BC, owes its
inspiration to the techniques of seal engraving; coinage was enthusiastically adopted by many Greek
poleis already in the sixth century BC, and some of the same devices that had long been popular on seals
were engraved as well on the iron dies that were used to create gold and silver Greek coins: figure 30.)
In this way the wax or clay impression was used to “seal” a written document or jar or storeroom. This
could not, of course, prevent an unauthorized person from reading the document or taking the contents of
the jar or storeroom; the purpose of the seal was, rather, to give assurance that no tampering had in fact
taken place or, in the event the seal was broken, to provide evidence of trespass. In the latter case, the
person, generally a slave, who had been entrusted with the sealed object could be appropriately punished.
The seal, then, is a unique mark of ownership and serves as an assertion of authority and authenticity.
Authority, of course, is the province of the wealthier and more powerful members of society, the very
ones who can afford the services of skilled craftsmen to engrave the seals and who can afford to own the
gems on which the seals are carved. Further, they are the people who own property and who use
documents requiring a seal. They are also the participants in the symposium.