Hellenistic Greece

The Great Tumulus of Vergina (Aegae) is considered to be the royal burial complex of the Macedonian kings. Beneath it four tombs were discovered, labeled Tomb I, II, III and IV. Several hypotheses have been proposed for the identities of the occupants of the "royal tombs", but without scientific backing. We present new data from Tomb I ("The Tomb of Persephone"), which contained inhumed (unburnt), in situ and commingled adult skeletal remains, as well as commingled nonadult and animal bones. We applied a range of scientific techniques, including radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA (aDNA), strontium and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, supported by osteological and odontological observations on the adult and nonadult bones found in Tomb I to provide concrete evidence for the date of burials, sex, age at death and origin of the individuals interred in this tomb. Our results show that, with the exception of four bones that were identified as female, all the adult bones are male according to the aDNA and osteological results, and they belonged to a man aged 25-35 years with a stature of approximately 167 cm. Radiocarbon dating places this burial in the first half of the 4th century calBC, specifically between 400 and 367 calBC, and by applying a potential collagen offset correction this is slightly shifted to 388-356 calBC at the latest. The female bones date to the same period. However, all the nonadults and animal bones, date to the Roman period from 150 calBC, the earliest to 130 calAD the latest. Therefore, these are not related to the primary adult burials. The male occupant was most likely an important Macedonian royal of the Argead/Temenid house who died in the period 388-356 calBC and was probably honored or worshipped in the shrine above and entombed likely together with a female. Previous suggestions that the skeletal remains belong to Philip II, his wife Cleopatra and newborn child are not scientifically sustainable.

During Classical Antiquity, central mainland Greece was characterized by important historical events that shaped the Greco-Roman world. Positioned in this key region, Thebes had a tumultuous history and played an important part in these events. The concomitant socio-political shifts significantly affected the lives of the city's population, making it an ideal setting for studying changes in health and lifestyle over time. This paper focuses on human skeletal remains excavated from the northeastern cemetery of Thebes. Skeletal indicators related to mechanical stress were examined, namely osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease, apophyseal joint arthritis, Schmorl's nodes, entheseal changes and long bone cross-sectional geometric properties. The frequency of mechanical stress markers was rather low for both periods, as expected given the urban setting of this population. Although we would expect more hardship during the Hellenistic period, as attested in adjacent contemporary populations, most markers exhibited comparable frequencies for the two periods, while detailed comparisons showed a complex pattern. Similarly, with regard to sex differences, a complex pattern was revealed, suggesting that males and females engaged in different activities diachronically, however, involving overall comparable physical demands for both sexes. ☆ This paper is part of the VSI 'Proceedings of ICAS-EMME 4′, edited by M. Desai et al. (2025).

El propósito de este trabajo es abordar el tema del centro y la periferia en el Mundo Antiguo, centrándose en los viajeros griegos y la literatura de viajes del período helenístico. Para ello, se tomará como punto de partida el artículo de Francisco Javier Gómez Espelosín, "Viajes de verdad, viajes de mentira: literatura de viajes del período helenístico", en el que analiza los planteamientos de algunos autores ante lo desconocido y establece las pautas que componen los ejes del desarrollo de las narraciones, reales o fabulosas, sobre regiones remotas aún inexploradas en esa época.

The scientific work of Pierre Cabanes is a major contribution to our knowledge of the Greece of the ethne and of the Illyrian-Epirot confines. At the time of his first works, which culminated in his thesis, published in 1976, titled L’Épire, de la mort de Pyrrhos à la conquête romaine (272-167) [Epirus, from the death of Pyrrhus to the Roman conquest (272-167)], north-western Greece was a terra incognita, the scientific interest of which was revealed by other pioneers such as N.G.L. Hammond, D. Evangelidis and S. I. Dakaris. Pierre Cabanes’ work explores a vast region, deconstructing its supposed marginality and backwardness, which were mainly based on an ancient and academic Athenocentrism.
This collection brings together scattered texts, presented thematically, and introduced by Pierre Cabanes’ students or close collaborators.

This research confirms the important role of Byzantine pottery and material culture in general in providing valuable evidence of somewhere like Middle Byzantine Argos for which there are only scant, fragmentary mentions in the written sources. This ceramic material documents the existence of a vibrant society, which – though located far from the Byzantine capital – was connected with the main trends of the time, due to some extent to the desire of the middle classes to purchase semi-luxury products, like glazed pottery, to beautify their homes.

A reappraisal of the relations between the Seleucids and Crete between the 3rd and the 2nd century BC. After a general overview, the paper analyses the rise of the Cretan officer Lasthenes to the second most important role in the Seleucid kingdom to show how the power dynamics changed at the Seleucid court in less than a century. Moreover, the author provides a first English translation of a treaty between Seleucus II and Hierapytna (SEG LXIII 746) found in 2006.

The NSRF 2007-2013 project entitled “Protection, configuration, enhancement and connection of the archaeological sites of ancient Sparta” was implemented from 2011 to 2015, initially by the former 5th
Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, and from 2014 until its completion, by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Laconia. In the project’s course works and interventions were carried out at the archaeological
site of ancient Sparta’s acropolis and its monuments. The Acropolis, together with the Agora, constituted the political, administrative and religious centre of the Classical and Roman city and of the Early Christian Lacedaemon. The implementation of the project contributed to the protection and promotion of the antiquities and to the increase of their educational and cultural value. As a result, the archaeological site has become a living part of the everyday life of the region and a pole of attraction for visitors.

Sparta stands out as a prominent city-state of ancient Greece, renowned for its significant historical impact. Its legacy is marked not only by its involvement in major historical events but also by the 'peculiarities' attributed to the constitution and societal life of the Classical city. Ancient written sources often portrayed Sparta as a militaristic and patriotic model of severity, discipline and austerity, crafting narratives that emphasised these traits. Over time, these narratives have fascinated various audiences and frequently been used for ideological and political purposes. Locally, these historical narratives have affected aspects of the contemporary Spartan society and the expectations of visitors and scholars. Projects for the enhancement of Spartan archaeological sites were systematically implemented rather late, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This article discusses this development and explores the ways in which organised and accessible archaeological sites and their narratives can engage diverse audiences. It also considers how such efforts can challenge and revise established narratives, impacting local identity and regional development.

Jewellery has long been a symbol of beauty, tradition, and personal expression for women across cultures and generations. From dainty earrings to elaborate necklaces, each piece tells a story. In today's modern world, women's jewellery continues to evolve while retaining its timeless allure.

Macedonia was an ancient Greek kingdom which was founded around the 8th century B.C. in the northern part of the Greek world by the Argead dynasty, members of which, were Philip II and Alexander III known as Alexander the Great.

While the official state of North Macedonia and many of its citizens acknowledge nowadays their Slavic identity and the fact that they have no relation to the ancient Macedonians who were Greeks, there are some extremist circles in Skopje that still try to distort the Greek identity of the ancient Macedonians and usurp their history based only on a copied historical name.

This essay contains some of their most famous distortions and debunks every one of them based on irrefutable evidence!

В тезисах дана краткая характеристика трех разновидностей сельских усадьб Греции эллинистического времени, выделяемых на основе площади, планировки и функциональных признаков / The article provides a brief description of three sorts of rural settlements in Hellenistic Greece, allocated based on area, layout and functional features / L'article est consacré à une brève description de trois variétés de sites ruraux en Grèce hellénistique, attribués en fonction de la superficie, de la disposition et des caractéristiques fonctionnelles

The chapter examines some examples of inscribed documents from the Hellenistic cities, most notably laws and decrees, which lay out actual archaiologiai (taken as local histories) of the communities in which they were enacted. In turn, they also detail a civic history of the community which is inextricably connected to Athens and its legacy. The chapter considers two case studies. First, the republication in Iasos and Troizen of Attic decrees from the Classical age. By republishing these documents relating to the Persian Wars and the Persians in the fifth and early-fourth century, these decrees draw an ancestral history of the city in which Athens plays an important role. Secondly, the chapter canvasses the cultural milieu of a couple of renowned anti-tyrannical laws (from Eretria and Eresos). These laws and their conceptualisation of tyrant killing reveal a close interaction with the Athenian cultural perception of tyranny and the threats it poses (e.g., in Eresos, through the medium of the Peripatetic Phainias). The chapter thus unveils how some crucialpieces of the early Hellenistic documentary record engage with the intellectual elaborations of the past and the cultural primacy of Athens.

Greek domestic ritual largely relied on the portable and multi-functional objects to create temporary sacred spaces within the house. The ritual of egainio, however, created permanent sacred spaces that became part of the fabric of the house. This foundation ritual was performed during a building’s construction or renovation, when numerous vessels were deposited with sacrificial detritus in a pit and then burned in situ before being buried underneath a new floor. These rituals resulted in the removal of these vessels from circulation within the household. Foundation rituals in Greek domestic contexts, where they are essential to understanding the full picture of domestic religion, are understudied, addressed mainly in archaeological reports (a notable exception is Rotroff 2013). This paper examines foundation deposits associated with houses in dialogue with their architectural environs, to analyze the effect these deposits have on the formation and experience of domestic space. The burial of these foundation deposits permanently but invisibly altered the character of
the household’s space, imbuing it with sacred significance. These practices blurred the boundaries of sacred and profane within the house, encouraging a reevaluation of the terms as they apply to the Greek house and sacred space in the Greek world writ large.

Αncestral-Traditional Cults of the Macedonians Dr Kalliopi G. Chatzinikolaou Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki The minting of Macedonia includes types with the ancestral-traditional gods of the Macedonians (Zeus, Heracles, Apollo) and a horseman, usually on the reverse type, even before the Hellenistic period. It is the reverberation of the dynastic cults where the traditional Olympian pantheon holds a special place. The numerous material remains that are associated with the form and substance of Zeus prove that he is the most important worshipped deity in Macedonia. A large number of votive and funerary monuments, statues and artifacts of a decorative nature also affirms the significance of the cult of Heracles. The rich and wide subject of Heracles poses the question about how he became the ancestor of the Dorian kings, as well as many other dynasties that followed, including the Macedonian dynasty. His special effect on society since he became the racial ancestor of the Macedonians incorporated him into their ancestral tradition due to political reasons. At the same time and in combination with the abovementioned, we examine the matter of the cult of the hero horseman or the heroes with the attribute of the horseman, which will lead to the peak of this phenomenon and the depiction of this particular iconographic type on votive and funerary reliefs during the Roman period. From the first half of the 5th century BC until the late Imperial period the Macedonian minting, in combination with the types of gods, such as Zeus or Heracles, proves the significance of the theme of the horseman in Macedonia, an area where horse breeding and the use of horses in the army were quite common. The origins of the cults of heroes in Macedonia are traced back to the depiction of the horsemen of the reigning Macedonian class. This will lead to the wide spread of the cult of the hero horseman with the numerous votive reliefs of local heroes and the even more numerous funerary reliefs of the heroized dead on the iconographic type of the hero horseman that is commonly used throughout the Roman period. We attempt a presentation and a discussion of the abovementioned issues, such as the detection of the reasons for these choices and their combination during the formation of the religious character of Macedonia from the death of Philip II onwards thus including the period of the Antigonids.

This paper outlines the development and design of educational resources by the Peopling the Past project, a collaborative digital humanities initiative that produces and hosts open-access multimedia resources for teaching and learning about people in the ancient Mediterranean, West Asian, and North African worlds.  Project resources include blogs, videos, and a podcast, which can be integrated into relevant courses to promote authentic and significant learning. Learning science research demonstrates that student engagement can be enriched through the use of media that target different modalities of learning, particularly interactive tools and rich-format content; learning is further enhanced by the integration of media presenting the work of numerous specialists, broadening the voices and perspectives presented to students. This multivocality is critical in the field of Ancient Mediterranean Studies,  which remains deeply entangled with racist and exclusionary agendas that have impacted how scholars communicate knowledge. By promoting multivocality and multimodality, the teaching media produced by Peopling the Past can be used by instructors to develop student-centered constructivist learning experiences that provide opportunities for significant learning and for students to engage more deeply with peoples and histories that are chronologically and geographically distant.

Es handelt sich um die Rezension zu Peter Mittags Buch "Geschichte des Hellenismus". Der Band versteht sich als Hilfestellung für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene, hat einen Darstellungsteil, einen Forschungsteil und eine nach den Inhalten sortierte Literatur. Der Verfasser der Rezension äußert ausschnittweise die Meinung zu den Leistungen (Vorteile und Nachteile) des des sicherlich nicht zu unterschätzenden Buches, ohne den Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit.

This study aims to discuss some archaeological and epigraphic documents related to the prices, contracts and economy of flooring of the ancient Greek world. The analysis will focus on financial operations relating to marble floors registered in the building accounts of the Greek sanctuaries of the Classical and Hellenistic age. In particular, four main aspects of the documentation will be analyzed: 1. The prices of materials for the production of marble floors and mosaics. 2. The payment of craftsmen involved in the construction of marble floors and mosaics. 3. The relationships between craftsmen and buyers involved in the construction of marble floors. 4. The financing models related to the fabrication of mosaics and marble floor. The information inferred from research, compared with the archaeological data, could provide an initial framework of the economic, financial and productive processes of the floors of the ancient Greek world.

Amisos nekropolünde karşımıza çıkan kiremit çatma mezarlar, kentin mezar tipleri içerisinde önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Genel olarak çatılar için üretilerek kullanım gören çatı kiremitlerinin kullanım alanı oldukça çeşitlidir. Adını, kullanımıyla ilişkili olarak mekân çatılarının örtülmesinden alan çatı kiremitleri, birçok yerleşimde olduğu gibi Amisos'ta da farklı işlevlerde kullanım görmüştür. Kentin arkeolojik verileri bu formdaki kiremitlerin mezar yapılarında çıkça tercih edildiğini göstermektedir. Kentteki kiremitlere ilişkin verileri ise genel olara k mezar yapılarından öğrenmekteyiz. Karşılıklı çatılarak yapılmış olan bu formdaki mezarlar, buluntularıyla birlikte değerlendirildiğinde genel olarak kentin MS 2.-3. yüzyıllarına tarihlenmektedir. Bu çalışmada ise yeni açığa çıkan mezarlardaki çatı kiremitleri ve buluntuları üzerinde durulmuştur. Özellikle buluntulardan stoter ve tegula terimleri ile lagynos ve lagoena olarak isimlendirilen tek kulplu testiler üzerinde durularak adlandırılmalarına dair çeşitli çıkarımlarda bulunulmuştur. Buluntular, katalo g olarak hazırlanarak çizimleriyle birlikte ele alınıp bir bütün olarak sunulmaya çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca kentteki çatı kiremitlerinin tipolojisi detaylı olarak ele alınmış ve tipolojileri ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır.

Die Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Philipp II. von Makedonien und Demosthenes, dem berühmten athenischen Redner und Politiker, prägen das Bild einer politisch und militärisch zerrissenen Epoche des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Während Philipp sich durch geschickte Diplomatie und militärisches Geschick als zentrale Machtfigur Griechenlands etablierte, kämpfte Demosthenes unermüdlich für die Verteidigung der athenischen Freiheit und gegen die makedonische Expansion. Doch zwischen den zahlreichen polemischen Reden gegen Philipp
findet sich ein bemerkenswerter Ausreißer: die „Rede über den Frieden“.

This exaleiptron, and pieces similar to it, have been identified as being of Corinthian, and even Etruscan, manufacture. However, magnetic testing of samples taken of the fabric of this piece confirm a high iron content of the clay typically found in Attic pottery. The first item to be noted is that the interior rim of the piece is rolled over a quarter of the way to the bottom. This is presumably to prevent the spillage of the expensive liquid contents when the exaleiptron is moved. The most prominent exterior feature is the three (3) equally spaced, rounded, and pierced straight through, lugs. These lugs can be attached to three (3) separate chains that are attached to a single chain (see example below). Combined with the spill prevention design, this suspension is ideal to keep the piece stable in the pitch and roll of a ship at sea.

Il contenuto risponde alle norme della legislazione italiana in materia di proprietà intellettuale ed è di proprietà esclusiva dell'Editore ed è soggetta a copyright. Le opere che figurano nel sito possono essere consultate e riprodotte su supporto cartaceo o elettronico con la riserva che l'uso sia strettamente personale, sia scientifico che didattico, escludendo qualsiasi uso di tipo commerciale. La riproduzione e la citazione dovranno obbligatoriamente menzionare l'editore, il nome della rivista, l'autore e il riferimento al documento. Qualsiasi altro tipo di riproduzione è vietato, salvo accordi preliminari con l'Editore. Le opere pubblicate nella collana sono sottoposte a peer review nel sistema a doppio cieco.

This article presents a new reading of a published inscription from Mylasa. The inscription is a dedication of an altar to an emperor and Zeus Olympios by the inhabitants of a street, for the sake of hon­oring Dionysides son of Demetrios, the olympic victor (olympionikes). It was engraved on a white marble round altar with profiles above and below. The inscription was published by Ph. Le Bas in 1870 and sub­sequently by G. Cousin in 1898, afterwards it was revised by L. Robert in 1937 and by W. Blümel in 1987. In December 2023, the altar was refound in Mylasa (modern Milas) in the garden of a private house and it was brought to Milas Museum. The new study has enabled a sub­stantial reading of the lines 1-2 and 4-5 which were undecipherable in the earlier editions. The new reading of the lines 1-2 indicates that the altar was dedicated to Augustus and Zeus Olympios, therefore the inscription should be dated to the reign of Augustus. Besides, the lines 4-5 clarify that the dedicators of the altar were “the inhabitants of a mesoplateia” (mesoplateitai) from “the street of Labraun­da” (plateia Labraundike). The street of Labraunda (plateia Labraundike) is attested for the first time in inscrip­tions of Mylasa. More importantly, mesoplateites (inhabitant of a mesoplateia) is a new word, which is not known from any literary or epigraphic document.

]The third-century BC Achaean leader, Aratus of Sicyon, was a powerful and controversial figure and there were varying views about him and his leadership during and after his lifetime. This article charts some of these different perspectives by exploring the presentation of Aratus in six texts: Aratus’ own Memoirs, Phylarchus’ Histories, Polybius’ Histories, and Plutarch’s Aratus, Cleomenes, and Philopoemen. It considers how these authors and texts defined and redefined Aratus’ leadership and
engaged with each other through their textual choices to shape the memory and reputation of this leader and the Achaean League for their own purposes. It also investigates how these literary reconfigurations contributed to the transformation of the historical Aratus into a symbol of heroism, brilliant leadership, and pride for the Achaean League and Peloponnese in the centuries after his death.

There is currently no satisfactory etymology for the name Hellenes." (Wikipedia en: Names_of_the_Greeks). The etymology of Hellas can, however, be derived by carefully applying geograpical and linguistic methods. The result is that the Hellenes were originally the inhabitants of the wetlands (floodplains) in southern Phthiotis with Hellas derived from ἕλος 'wetland'. The name of the Helloi of Dodoni uses the same root, as does the region's name Hellopia. Such a common simple natural motivation for a name, however, does not imply by itself any historical or ethnic relation. The name Hellas did not 'migrate somehow' from Dodoni south, as some have assumed. Dodoni itself contains the pre-Greek ie. root for 'river, water', precisely describing a basic feature of the basin where it is situated. En passant, we offer a pre-Greek etymology for Dolopia, meaning "region of river canyons" (ie. dol- "below" + -op- "water, river").

Parallel to the hymns of the traditional type known to us from the Archaic period, numerous hymns, which I call "new", are attested in the Hellenistic and, above all, Imperial period, which show particular characteristics both in the elements of content with which they praise the divinity and in the formal and structural resources they use to achieve this praise. Moreover, the boundary between hymn and prayer or even ex-voto is becoming increasingly blurred, and the hymn as a genre is becoming more and more difficult to define. This paper presents the main characteristics of these new hymns and also the most prominent subgroups.

The pantheon of Iasos must have been constituted in archaic times in an environment open to both a world of predominantly Carian culture and a world oriented towards defining itself as Greek. It would thus be wrong to label the major cults known to have existed in Iasos as either Greek or Carian, although some might be more properly ascribed to one or the other.
A network of evidence suggests, for example, that already in Archaic times, the cult of Zeus in the city had features that coincided with the god who, in the interpretatio graeca first recorded by Herodotus, is known as Zeus Stratios of Labraunda. Even in the Hecatomnid period, the cult of this god seems to have represented a strong link with the Carian world.

This rare book published in 1774 is a comprehensive scholarly work that seeks to unravel and distill the essential truths embedded within the mythologies of various ancient civilizations. The first volume of this work explores the mythological systems of the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Canaanites, and Greek tribes like the Hellenes, Ionians, Leleges, and Dorians. Bryant presents a methodical approach to separate the original truths of ancient myths from later embellishments and transformations.

The work covers a broad spectrum of religious, mythological, and cultural figures, emphasizing the fundamental ideas and themes common across these cultures. It also explores the development of these mythologies over time and seeks to uncover their roots. Through detailed analysis, Bryant proposes that ancient myths hold not just symbolic or religious meaning but contain elements of historical truth that, when properly interpreted, can reveal insights into the origins of human culture, religion, and philosophy.

The first volume delves into the sacred texts and traditions of these civilizations, examining how their mythologies influenced their social structures, political systems, and daily lives. By comparing different mythological traditions and seeking out the universal themes within them, Bryant aims to restore the "original purity" of ancient myth and provide a clearer understanding of the ideas that shaped early civilizations.

This work combines elements of comparative mythology, religion, history, and philology, presenting a scholarly perspective on how mythological stories evolved across different cultures. Bryant's analysis is an attempt to trace back to the "roots" of mythology, considering both historical and linguistic evidence in the context of the ancient world.

Tags:
Ancient Mythology, Jacob Bryant, Comparative Mythology, Babylonian Myths, Chaldean Myths, Egyptian Myths, Canaanite Myths, Hellenic Myths, Greek Mythology, Ionian Greeks, Dorian Greeks, Leleges, Mythological Deities, Ancient Gods, Religious Myths, Mythological Truths, Heroes in Mythology, Ancient Civilizations, Mesopotamian Mythology, Ancient Religions, Creation Myths, Ancient Gods and Goddesses, Ancient Fables, Sacred Texts, Mythological Heroes, Greek Pantheon, Egyptian Pantheon, Mythological Symbolism, Heroes and Gods, Religious Symbolism, Mythological Studies, Dorian Religion, Ionian Religion, Canaanite Religion, Mythological Themes, Historical Myths, Ancient Truths, Origins of Mythology, Ancient Wisdom, Mythological Origins, Cultural History, Philology, Comparative Studies, Theories of Mythology, Ancient Rituals, Mythological Archetypes, Myth and History, Historical Religion, Anthropology of Myth, Ancient Philosophy, Early Religious Systems, Prehistoric Religions, Sociopolitical Mythology, Deity Worship, Classical Mythology, Ancient Greek History, Early Egyptian Religion, Sumerian Myths, Babylonia’s Influence, Chaldean Deities, Egyptian Theogony, Canaanite Gods, Hellenic Theogony, Dorian Culture, Ionian Myths, Classical Heroes, Greek Religious Practices, Ancient Myth Structures, Mythical Cosmology, Ritualistic Mythology, Origin of Gods, Greek and Egyptian Mythology, Mesopotamian Deities, Egyptian Creation Myths, Babylonian Creation Myths, Genesis of Myths, Ancient Textual Analysis, Mythical Cosmologies, Philological Approaches, Ancient Myths in Culture, Social Structures and Myth, Political Systems in Mythology, Greek Heroic Literature, Mythic Symbolism in History, Comparative Theories of Mythology, Ancient Moral Systems, Mythical Ethics, Heroic Archetypes, Mythological Evolution, Pagan Gods, Pantheon History, Classical Heroes and Gods, Ancient Comparative Religion, Sacred Rituals, Babylonian Mythological Figures, Egyptian Mythological Figures, Greek Myths and Their Meaning, Ancient Hero Myths, Hellenistic Mythology, Mythology and Early Societies, Mythical Themes Across Cultures, Comparative Religious Myths, Egyptian vs. Greek Myths, Canaanite vs. Babylonian Myths, Ancient Origin Stories, Mythological Syncretism, Cultural Exchange in Myths, Early Mediterranean Myths, Origins of Ancient Mythologies, Myth as Social Explanation, The Role of Myth in Ancient Society, Polytheism and Mythology, Mythological Influence on Early Thought, Ancient Philosophical Myths, Sacred Mythologies of Ancient Egypt, Babylonia and Religion, Ancient History of Greece, Mythological Origins in Egypt, Gods of Babylonian Mythology, Role of Heroes in Ancient Myths, Divine Kingship in Mythology, Heroes and Deities in Ancient Greece, Mythical Histories, Old World Myths, Sacred Texts and Their Impact, Rituals in Babylonian Mythology, Religious Influence on Greek Myths, The Role of Creation Myths, Ancient Myths and Modern Interpretations

l'analisi degli onori concessi agli evergeti ha promosso già da tempo una serie di studi, a conferma dell'interesse suscitato dall'argomento: basti citare ph. gauthier, p. herrmann e l. robert, i cui lavori abbracciano per intero questo tema 1 . prendendo spunto da tali analisi, è stato ideato e svolto un lavoro di ricerca riguardante le élites cittadine d'asia minore, dedicato in particolar modo ai notabili di mileto, priene e Kyme in età ellenistica 2 . il metodo adottato per condurre questo studio è stato quello di selezionare i documenti che hanno mostrato come intento ciò che potremmo definire il «riconoscimento sociale», ossia una ricerca di stima da parte della comunità e una ricerca di visibilità monumentale. il potere delle immagini costituisce, infatti, un notevole strumento di autopromozione e quindi un aspetto che può contribuire all'individuazione di un gruppo sociale. nel corso dell'analisi del materiale sono emersi in particolare quelli che furono gli onori più significativi da questo punto di vista, ossia i funerali pubblici e la sepoltura intra moenia. Strettamente associato alla sepoltura cittadina, le iscrizioni indicano essere l'onore dei funerali pubblici che, come è noto, mentre in età classica veniva concesso unicamente ai soldati morti in guerra, a partire dalla fine del ii secolo a.c. si moltiplica. attraverso i decreti si apprende che, dopo la scomparsa del benefattore, i funerali potevano essere celebrati in maniera solenne, con un corteo composto dai magistrati cittadini, ma anche da bambini e ragazzi accompagnati dal ginnasiarca e dai paidonomoi, e talora una corona d'oro veniva offerta al defunto 3 . il corteo aveva la funzione di simbolizzare la città che si riunisce dietro al suo benefattore: efebi e magistrati sfilavano nell'ordine corrispondente ai 1

The development and deployment of AI tools in virtually all areas of personal and communal life add another layer of ethical complexity to contemporary practice. The way we respond to practical challenges will largely determine the level of trust and ultimately the impact of AI on society and its future. This paper, firstly, addresses conceptual and epistemological issues regarding the ways we perceive and characterise these systems. Notes of caution are struck concerning the use of metaphors, such as “artificial agency”, “autonomy”, “reasoning”, “decision-making capacity”, etc., outside the technical vocabulary of scientific bibliography. These metaphors, when entering ordinary language vocabulary uncritically, run the risk of blurring fundamental distinctions between human mentality or agency and the operations of algorithmic systems, thereby generating  serious impact on human moral and emotional relationships. Secondly, the paper engages in a normative analysis of current major socio-ethical challenges, followed by an ethical analysis, the aim of which is to establish a solid ethical framework for addressing them. Decisions concerning the social uses of AI technologies involve value judgements, which are not simply a matter of statistical risk assessment analyses. They are linked to certain objectives pursued (e.g. health protection, social welfare, human productivity, etc.), which in turn require normative, including moral, reasoning for their justification. The paper proposes a principled, agency-based normative framework as the ground for a techno-ethics of responsibility, inspired by Kantian philosophical themes. The development of AI is not a  mere technical issue to be addressed by experts, called upon to incorporate ethical standards by default and by design. It is a matter of collective concern that requires a wider socio-ethical perspective. We need to identify the morally legitimate goals, the fundamental principles and values at stake that we seek to defend and implement through AI applications, before we rush to develop it just because we can. In this endeavour, an agency-based, philosophically grounded,  ethical approach proves indispensable.

We present here an interdisciplinary inquiry exploring why a sacred site was established on the southern peak of Mt. Lykaion and developed into a major Greek sanctuary to Zeus, documented by ancient authors and in use for thousands of years. The site offered many attractions, but most compelling may have been the dynamic expressions of natural forces experienced there: powerful earthquakes, ground motion, lightning, and thunder. Scientific quan-tification of the frequency of lightning and thunder identifies Mt. Lykaion as one of the best places in Greece to see lightning and hear thunder, and the place in the Peloponnese where the most distant lightning could be viewed and thunder heard.

This article offers new readings and supplements in an Athenian honorific decree, dating c. 200 BC, inscribed and erected at Priene in Western Asia Minor (I.Priene 45 = I.Priene B-M 99 = IG II/III3 1, 1239). The proposed restorations in the lower part of the text show that the decree likely honoured the people of Priene with a crown and announcement at the Dionysia festival. The article then provides brief historical analysis of the ongoing diplomatic, religious and kinship relationship between Athens and Priene, from the Classical to the Hellenistic period. It argues that the decree provides important evidence for an inter-polis relationship that was unusually sustained, and unusually reminiscent of the earlier interaction between imperial Athens and subject communities.

The Ptolemies fostered a literature of exquisite polish and slender proportions, most strikingly embodied in Callimachus, whose aesthetic principles became synonymous with Alexandrian artistry. At the same time, however, they had a penchant for ostentatious display and gigantism, as evidenced, for example, in Ptolemy Philadelphus' 'Grand Procession'. While these two impulses might appear to be at odds, we argue that Ptolemaic patronage embraced a 'situational aesthetic', accommodating both the grandiose and the diminutive: these rulers understood that different situations (and their respective audiences) call for different aesthetic approaches.

The essay deals with the Ambracian Gulf in Northwest Greece from a geographical and historical perspective. In the more recent treatises on the Ambracian Gulf, the towns on its shores (riparian areas) have not been the subject of a separate study, ,while the neighboring ancient landscapes of Epirus, Amphilochia and Epirus, Amphilochia and Acarnania have been the subject of increased research in recent years.

This introduction to the "Innovation and Discovery in the Hellenistic World" conference on 25th September 2024 outlines the establishment, development and relaunch of the longest-running research centre in the department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter.

In a small village in Halkidiki’s hinterland, one with a long history, the old Karvia, settled those persecuted from their Asia Minor homeland Syllatini. The refugees, even at the cost of their own lives, rescued and transferred part of their religious relics, which for them were much more than artistic creations of glorification of the Divine. These days, this precious treasure is found in the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary of Nea Syllata in Halkidiki.  It is proposed through new technologies and interactive chronology and virtual reality - applications which have upgraded the cultural sites - to become important tools for the active participation of each member who is seeking information even within the temple itself. The aforementioned technology will be used to capture the fullest possible picture of each object, the rich history and the disclosure of its environment. Additionally, highlighting the connections with the collective memory and integrating interested persons will make them shareholders so that they can directly experience through contact and their own experiences and perceptions, creating new individualized memories or additional parts of the old collective one, in lasting feedback.
Σε ένα μικρό χωριό της Χαλκιδικής ενδοχώρας, με μακρότατη όμως ζωή, την παλαιά Καρβιά, εγκαταστάθηκαν οι διωγμένοι από την Μικρασιατική πατρίδα τους Συλλατινοί. Οι πρόσφυγες με κόστος ακόμη και την ίδια τους την ζωή, διέσωσαν και μετέφεραν μέρος των θρησκευτικών κειμηλίων τους που για αυτούς αποτελούσαν πάρα πολλά περισσότερο από καλλιτεχνικές δημιουργίες εξύμνησης Του Θείου. Στις ημέρες μας, ο πολύτιμος αυτός θησαυρός απόκειται στον Ιερό Ναό Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου Νέων Συλλάτων Χαλκιδικής. Προτείνεται μέσω των νέων τεχνολογιών και συγκεκριμένα του διαδραστικού χρονολογίου και της εικονικής πραγματικότητας - εφαρμογές οι οποίες έχουν αναβαθμίσει τους χώρους πολιτισμού– να αποτελέσουν σημαντικά εργαλεία για την ενεργή συμμετοχή του κάθε μέλους το οποίο αναζητά πληροφορίες ακόμα και μέσα στον ίδιο το ναό. Με την ανωτέρω τεχνολογία θα επιτευχθεί, η ανάδειξη της πληρέστερης δυνατής εικόνας εκάστου αντικειμένου, του πλουσιότατου ιστορικού του και η γνωστοποίηση του περιβάλλοντός του. Επίσης, η επισήμανση των συνδέσεων με την συλλογική μνήμη και η ένταξη του ενδιαφερόμενου στα παραπάνω θα τον καταστήσουν μέτοχο ώστε να βιώσει άμεσα μέσω της επαφής και των δικών του εμπειριών και αντιλήψεων δημιουργώντας νέες εξατομικευμένες μνήμες ή πρόσθετα τμήματα της παλιάς συλλογικής σε μια διαρκή ανατροφοδότηση.

Einleitung 10 Die Beziehungen zu den Lakedaimoniern 12 Das Verhältnis zwischen Ägypten und Lakedaimon 12 Eine neue weltpolitische Situation 13 Ein mögliches Zusammengehen zwischen Amyrtaios und den Spartanern 15 Nepherites I. und die Lakedaimonier 18 Die Situation in Kleinasien nach dem Fall des Kyros 20 Ein Bündnis zwischen den ionischen Städten und Ägypten 21 Die Aktivitäten des Thibron in Kleinasien 24

At the end of the archaic period, the representations of the symposion in Greece are numerous, varied and attentive to detail. They allow a fine analysis of the ideological variations that emerge from the general organization of the space as well as the specificities of the furnishings and all the utensils that accompany the guests. The iconographic repertoire of Attic red-figured vases, which is the most complete, allows us to highlight two main competing models – that of the individual aristocratic banquet of the oriental royal type and the collective banquet of the citizens – which give rise to significant variants that exploit the space of tolerable deviations from the canonical norm. This is even clearer in the late-archaic representations coming from the edge of the Greek world. Four funerary representations of symposia from the margins are taken into consideration: a painted sarcophagus from Akanthos in Thrace, the stone sarcophagus of Golgoi in Cyprus, that of Gümüşçay in Troy and the tomb of the Diver of Poseidonia in Campania. It is proposed to recognize in the iconographic programme of the latter a complex representation of the transfer of a guest – the deceased – from the eastern end of the banquet of the mortals on the southern slab to the western end of the banquet of the blessed on the northern slab, through a triple movement of the guest on the western slab, of the drink on the eastern slab and of the diver on the cover slab.