Telling Stories: The<scp>M</scp>ycenaean<scp>O</scp>rigins of the<scp>P</scp>hilistines

Abstract

Summary The story of the P hilistines as M ycenaean or A egean migrants, refugees who fled the A egean after the collapse of the palace societies c .1200 BC , bringing an A egean culture and practices to the E astern M editerranean, is well known. Accepted as essentially true by some, yet rejected as little more than a modern myth by others, the migration narrative retains a central place in the archaeology and historiography of the E astern M editerranean in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age ( LBA / EIA ). In recent years, and despite an increasingly shaky theoretical basis, the migration hypothesis has nevertheless seemed to drown out other interpretations and characterizations of the period, claiming a normative position that is undeserved. In this paper I explore the continuing power of this nineteenth century narrative and seek to show why it is less convincing than its prominent status would suggest.