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Margaret Kammerer
Professor Vaughn
English 2089
21 November 2016
A Comparative Genre Analysis Concerning Pylos Excavations
A body has been found. Not to worry, though; this person died over thousands of years
ago, so there is no need for an investigation. More important than the body is the tomb in which
it was found. For the first time, archaeologists in Pylos, Greece have discovered a complete,
entirely intact, tomb of a warrior containing more weapons and jewelry than had ever been
unearthed before. This discovery meant wonders for the classical and archaeological world, so it
is no surprise that there was immediate attention to the discovery. Even still, since this occurred
in October of 2015, there is ongoing investigation and therefore publication of what effect this
excavation will have on the studies of antiquity. While adhering to the conventions of the genre
they are writing in, three authors of articles concerning the Pylos excavations approach them in
different ways dependent upon their background and audience.
In his article Grave of Griffin Warrior at Pylos Could Be a Gateway to Civilizations
published at The New York Times, Nicholas Wade approaches the discovery. It is a very simple
article, focused on summarizing the events concerning the discovery of the Griffin Warrior and
goes into little detail concerning what effect this can have on archaeology and the understanding
of the Greeks. Wades focus is on giving a background to the story and information he is
presenting, because the majority of his audience is not well-versed in the Classics and will
therefore not know the historical significance of the discovery.

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In an article for the UC Magazine, UC Team Discovers Rare Warrior Tomb Filled with
Bronze Age Wealth and Weapons, M.B. Reilly notes that It was UC archaeologist Carl
Blegenwho initially uncovered the remains of the famed Palace of Nestor in an
olive grove in 1939. Just like this quote, every person she names in her article, is followed by
how that individual is connected to the University of Cincinnati. Reillys focus is very clearly the
work that UC has put into the discovery. She even includes a list of everyone involved with the
university and includes pictures of the archaeologists at work, listing below how they are linked
to UC. The intent of UC Magazine is to nurture an appreciation for the entire university in ways
that will indirectly cultivate financial gifts, student recruitment, faculty recruitment, Alumni
Association memberships, campus visits and favorable public relations (Defining the Mission of
UC Magazine). Therefore, the focus of the article has to be on what a great accomplishment this
is for the university.
Dr. Emily Egan, in her 2015 PhD dissertation from the University of Cincinnati,
Nestors Megaron: Contextualizing a Mycenaean Institution at Pylos takes a different approach
entirely to the subject. While the approach or focus of both of the mainstream articles is the
excavation of the warrior grave specifically, Egans dissertation is more generally Nestors
palace itself. Sensibly, this is because the discovery of the grave was incredibly rare and
important and will therefore make headlines. Egan focuses on Nestors palace and the artifacts
found there and really digs into what that can tell us about the Greek society at the time.
Besides the focus of the piece, word choice is very important in establishing genre.
Egans piece, a work of scholarship, looks very clearly like such, with the inclusion of words and
phrases such as claimed, influenced by the works of and archaeological literature.
Additionally, Egan occasionally includes Greek in her dissertation. For example, as she starts her

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discussion, she gives the proper names of the different parts of the megaron and distinguishes in
meaning the terms megaron and Megaron, saying:
In discussions of excavated Mycenaean palaces the capitalized term Megaron (or
Megaron proper) is frequently used to convey the first Homeric definition, i.e., that of a
single large hall, whereas the lowercase term megaron refers to a suite of rooms
consisting of this hall (also termed the hearth room, throne room, , or
/domos) together with the shallow anteroom (the vestibule or
/prodomos) and formal entryway with two columns in antis (the porch,
portico, or /aithousa) by which it was accessed (Egan 35).
This inclusion of Greek words is necessary in the dissertation to not only use the correct
terminology when referring to places or concepts but also in order to establish and prove the
authority of the author. It is almost impossible to accurately translate certain words across
languages while maintaining every nuance that the word entails in its native tongue. However, as
in the former example, Egan will often give a translation along with the Greek word, instead of
just using the Greek. This makes the readings slightly more accessible to an audience (for
example, an archaeologist or anthropologist who doesnt know the language but is still interested
in the discovery) and also makes reading the dissertation faster for those who are not fully
proficient in Ancient Greek. To be able to understand this work at all requires a rather extensive
knowledge of the Greek culture, specifically burial practices and ways of living. If the reader
does not have this knowledge, he or she will gain nothing from the reading. Therefore, unlike the
New York Times article and even the UC Magazine piece, the audience is limited, but that
limitation allows Egan to go into great detail concerning the discoveries and what they can say
about the society without needing to worry about the audience being able to follow along.

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Even the titles speak to different genres and/or audiences. Titles are very important to a
work, because the title is what makes the reader interested. The title of the article in UC
Magazine, UC Team Discovers Rare Warrior Tomb Filled with Bronze Age Wealth and
Weapons is an exciting, quick summary with the focus very clearly laid out: a UC team
accomplished this. Wade, in Grave of Griffin Warrior at Pylos Could Be a Gateway to
Civilizations, simply lays forth the exact happenings and what this can mean for future
archaeological study. Egans dissertation, Nestors Megaron: Contextualizing a Mycenaean
Institution at Pylos is very clearly a work of scholarship. Most people do not even know what a
megaron is, so clearly this is appealing to a very specific group of people.
In addition to titles, the introduction of a work is also very important to the reading and
reception of said work. The beginning of the dissertation is almost overwhelming to the casual
reader, for it is over 30 pages of acknowledgments and lists of figures and plates referenced in
the text. However, this is expected from an academic work. Visuals are often very necessary to
fully understand the points being made in the piece, especially when the piece is discussing
works of art and how specific items found look. In contrast to Egan, Reillys article starts as
though it is a story. This is done in order to immediately get the reader into the events. For
newspaper or magazine articles in particular, introductions are almost more important, because if
it is not interesting enough, there is very high probability that the reader will stop reading.
Wades first sentence states that Archaeologists digging at Pylos, an ancient city on the
southwest coast of Greece, have discovered the rich grave of a warrior who was buried at the
dawn of European civilization. The inclusion of rich grave and dawn of European
civilization appeals to the interest of the audience and is enough to make them continue reading

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to the next paragraph which discusses everything the archaeologists found in the graveonce
again, very shiny, eye-catching information.
Both Reillys and Wades articles are very similar in the sense that they are both
journalism pieces. One hallmark of a news article is interviews, and both these articles include
them in order to provide first-hand information for their readers. However, they go about doing
this in different ways. Reilly only has direct quotes from the UC archaeologists. This, once again,
makes her article more interesting to UC-related readers and impresses the magnitude of UCs
involvement and exemplary work at the site. However, almost the entirety of Wades article is
direct quotes from a variety of people: directors of schools and study institutes and
archaeologists on the site. This establishes Wades credibility to be writing the article in the first
place and gives his audience a very good sense on what it was like to be there for the discovery
and what this can mean for the future. Though Egan does not have interviews, she does include,
like many scholarly authors, a continual stream of references to previous publication by people
in the field. This proves that she is well-read on the scholarship already being published and can
therefore most accurately add her work to this existing body of scholarship. Both Wade and Egan
are using the appeals of ethos and logos, which make the information easily believable because
of the sources they draw upon.
Knowledge of audience and approach to writing makes all the difference in how a topic is
handled. Understanding of a text is key, and it is the ultimate goal for any reading. Without
following conventions of genre, texts would be impossible to be read, understood, and enjoyed.
A piece simply on the discovery of the warrior grave is not acceptable as a dissertation because a
dissertation requires proving that the author has the intense knowledge of the minute details of
the topic and discussion. Likewise, that same format of the dissertation makes it impossible to be

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handled as a work of journalism for it is too long and detailed for it to be expected to be read by
the masses. But specifications in each genre are important to be considered as well. A reader of
The New York Times would not care about how involved the University of Cincinnati was in the
dig, but that is very important to people at the University of Cincinnati. Therefore, a texts
intended audience must be examined carefully for it to be received most effectively.

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Works Cited
Defining the Mission of UC Magazine. University of Cincinnati, University Relations,
magazine.uc.edu/aboutus/missionstatement.html.
Egan, Emily Catherine. Nestors Megaron: Contextualizing a Mycenaean Institution at Pylos.
Dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2015.
Reilly, MB. "UC Team Discovers Rare Warrior Tomb Filled with Bronze Age Wealth and
Weapons." UC Magazine. University Relations, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2016.
Wade, Nicholas. "Grave of Griffin Warrior at Pylos Could Be a Gateway to Civilizations." New
York Times. The New York Times Company, 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/science/a-warriors-grave-at-pylos-greece-could-bea-gateway-to-civilizations.html>.