The ‘Hero Cult’ and the ‘Tomb Cult’ in Early Greek Society AMY QUINN In ancient Greece, heroic figures were known for performing magnificent feats of skill and bravery and while they were not gods, the fact that they lived and died as mortals only made their achievements all the greater. After death they were bestowed with honours such as sacrifices and prayers as well as shrines and altars established in their name and they were commemorated in athletic games and works of literature. Several different types of hero existed including local, epic and mythic heroes, warriors, city founders and healers. By the Late Classical period (c.400-336 BCE) athletes and the ordinary dead were heroized (Antonaccio 1995, 1). Cults developed devoted to the worship of these heroes and are of much interest to us today, with scholars undertaking valuable research into the subject and contributing their ideas to the discussion, some of which I will detail here. How the practice of these so-called ‘hero cults’ (and the closely related ‘tomb cult’) came into being is one of the most elusive factors that archaeologists and historians are still considering. Following the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization in c. 1100 BCE, there was a notable change in the material culture of the Early Iron Age, often characterized as an era of decline and sometimes referred to as the ‘Dark Age’ (c. 1100-750 BCE). There was a decrease in the wealth, quality and quantity of materials and many sites were abandoned. Tombs are our best source of Iron Age information alongside evidence collected from sanctuaries. In most regions there was a shift from traditional group burials in chamber and tholos tombs to individual graves and a certain aspect of Mycenaean culture lingered in the secondary use of some Mycenaean tombs (Antonaccio 1995, 2-3). In later Iron Age society (9 th and 8 th centuries BCE), pan-hellenism became a unifying force amongst the various regions with the Olympic games, Delphi oracle and common artistic styles becoming familiar to most around Greece. Along with a distinct rise in population and nucleated settlements being favored, the development of poleis and ethnoi forms of political organization began. At this important stage in Greek history there was yet another great advancement with the spread of the Homeric myths. This is significant especially in regards to the rise of hero cults as these myths spoke of the great