Votive offerings, Greek sanctuaries

Στη Σαντορίνη σώζονται σήμερα περίπου 43 μύλοι, ερείπια ή αποκατεστημένοι. Οι λιθοδομές, η τρούλλα, το αξόνι, οι αντένες, τα πανιά, η ρόδα της κίνησης, οι μυλόπετρες αποτελούν σημαντικά στοιχεία της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς του κάθε τόπου, συνδέοντας τις ιστορικές χρονικές περιόδους. Αυτό έχει γίνει κατανοητό από πολλούς από τους σημερινούς ιδιοκτήτες των μύλων και πολλοί ανεμόμυλοι έχουν ήδη χαρακτηριστεί ως ιστορικά διατηρητέα μνημεία από του Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού.

Immediately after the Persian Wars, several Athenians already started to resume the practice of dedicating statues and statue groups on the Athenian Acropolis, which served as lavish dedications and also as forms of self-representation. The following article aims to reconstruct and interpret a number of life-sized or slightly larger than life-sized bronze equestrian monuments of the fifth century BC consisting of an Athenian citizen or a groom leading a horse, which have remained either unidentified or hardly discussed by researchers; regarding typology, they stood in a tradition that developed in the late sixth century BC. These groups were dedicated regardless of whether the donor was actually the victor of an equestrian event at an Athenian or Panhellenic festival, and occasionally included a portrait statue of the donor. Two of them were re-inscribed for a Roman honorand or rather for a client king of Rome. These monuments constitute important evidence for the remarkable diversity of Athenian honorific monuments in the first century BC and the Julio-Claudian period and beyond that, as well as for just how traditional the overall image of the Athenian Acropolis must have remained in the Roman imperial period.

In the overlap of space between community, territory, geography and the gods is the landscape of religion. Rather than an isolated perspective on the interference of the divine in the affairs of humans, this landscape represents a kaleidoscope of intentions, narratives, and practices that coa-lesce into a logic of space unique to its locale. Multiple layers of agencies go into constituting sacred landscapes, including those who occupy it (or desire to occupy it), their cosmologies, beliefs and desires, as well as the morphology of the terrain itself. Equally important are the arteries of these landscapes that allow passage, either en route or as destination, and the circulation of ideas, goods and practices that sacred travellers bring with them. Sacred landscapes are cultural artefacts, rooted in natural phe-nomena, legends and myths from the deep past, and contemporary percep-tions of ancient rituals. They evoke by definition a sense of timelessness, yet at the same time are constantly under construction through local and regional processes, often in response to social pressures. Subject to many influences, these geographies are never the sole product of the local elite or (supra)regional governance, but can appear very different to different viewers under different conditions.

The article presents a critical approach to the archaeological complex at Arbanas quarter in the town of Radomir. Its excavator identified the site as important production and trade centre that was built near a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera. After its destruction ca. middle of 3 rd c. AD, at the beginning of the 4 th c. AD a walled Early Christian martyrial complex was built on the place with two single-apse buildings, subsequently transformed into a monastery. The thorough analysis of the available archaeological information allows to propose a different function of the site. According to it, a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera was established sometimes in the second half of the 1 st c. AD. After its demolition by the raids of the Costobocs (170s AD) or the Goths (the middle of the 3 rd c. AD) the sanctuary was rebuilt with walled temenos and two apse temples placed in a peristyle courtyard. Two votive altars reused as building material in the nearby villa at Bela voda quarter of Pernik most probably originate from the sanctuary in question. Both are dedicated to Zeus Στοβουστορηνος what was probably the local name under which the two deities were worshipped in the sanctuary at Arbanas.

The northwestern Peloponnese played an important role in Greece during the Geometric and Archaic periods. This has only become clear with the research of the last three decades. The sanctuaries of Achaia and northern Arkadia made significant contributions to early temple architecture. Their range of finds attests to both supra-regional connections and regional specificities. The 17 papers in this symposium provide an overview of the state of research on Early Greek sanctuaries in the northwestern Peloponnese and neighbouring areas. Well-studied sanctuaries are discussed alongside lesser-known ones in order to provide as complete a picture as possible. Sanctuaries of supra-regional importance such as Ano Mazaraki, Lousoi and Nikoleika are discussed, as well as local cult sites in caves that are difficult to access (Tria Goupata, Drakaina). The focus is on the interpretation of ceramic assemblages. The functional analysis of the pottery allows conclusions to be drawn about ritual and profane activities in the temene. Together with the votive offerings, it also provides information about the composition of the cult communities and their concerns for the worshipped deity. The origin of the pottery provides information on the connectivity of the sanctuary. Special emphasis is placed on archaeometric analyses of pottery and the function of miniature vessels. Other papers deal with early sacred architecture and the design of sacred precincts.

Building activity in the sanctuary of Apollon Maleatas and Asklepios at Epidauros did not cease during Late Antiquity. A perimetric stoa built around the central area of the sanctuary and the numbering and marking with symbols of a great number of altars testify to the reorganization of the cult in the 4th century AD.
The preliminary results of the ongoing “post-excavations” in the so-called Building K, where more than 35 statues and votive statuettes of gods were found in 1886, reveal a rearrangement of the edifice for a rather mystical cult. In the city of Epidauros, the study of the last phase of the theatre dated to the 4th or 5th century AD has also provided us with strong evidence for the existence of a pagan, mystical cult. The late 4th century statuette of the young Asklepios, holding a scroll, draws upon the iconography of Christ.
These data agree with the written sources that Epidauros at the end of the 5th century was still not fully Christianized, although a Christian Basilica had been erected just outside the sanctuary in the early 5th century.

From the excavation of the sanctuary dedicated to Demeter Thesmophoros at Bitalemi (Gela), a very small quantity of iron weapons has been recovered, seven in all, including thrown weapons and dagger blades. These pieces were offered during the first phase of frequentation of the sacred area, from the last quarter of the 7th to the middle of the 6th century BC. The few finds, regularly offered over time, make it difficult to suggest that even in Bitalemi the dedication of weapons had a significant role in the ritual, as proposed for other contexts sacred to Demeter. They require therefore a different explanation, which can be related to their use also for different functions, as for example instead of knives or skewers during the sacrifices and the following ritual meals.

In this year dedicated to food, we will seize the opportunity of this conference to discuss how the new measurement tools offered by different sciences applied to archeology allow us to specify the uses of food and drinks in archaeological contexts. Our study concentrates on the use of food and drink in two votive deposits belonging to the phase preceding the construction of a Hellenistic domus in the Daunian center of Arpi (Foggia).

In the ancient Mediterranean the role of children changed over time based on the context, and this panel intends to be a benchmark for the reconstruction of their – exclusive or shared with other people – presence in cult places located in Greece and Hellenized countries, dated between the late 4th and the 1st century BCE. Despite the relevance of infancy and transitional phases in the Hellenistic world and the existing literature concerning childhood and sanctuaries related to children, a broader Mediterranean perspective on their material and immaterial traces recorded in cult places is still lacking. So, the panel aims at identifying, categorizing and reconstructing contexts, activities, lifestyles and cultural behaviours, mainly exploring the following aspects: 1) cult activities by children; 2) transitional phases linked to rites of passage and education, visible in sanctuaries; 3) gender differentiation in cult places and activities there performed; 4) children’s identity, sociality (religious, economic, cultural, public and private roles) and ideology; 5) gods for children: the relation between deities and childhood.

The multidisciplinary approach, including written sources clearly referring to cult places, topographical and archaeological data – objects (sculptures, terracotta figurines, pottery, votives and other finds) as well as traces of ritual activities –, iconographic and anthropological studies, is the key to the reading of the topic addressed by the panel. The wide geographical framework, including the Mediterranean space and conterminous countries representing pivotal case studies from different cultural areas (i.e. Anatolia, Mesopotamia...), allows comparisons among distant people and different cultures.

Naukratis has yielded a small amount of mainly Archaic Laconian pottery, less than 1% of the total painted Greek pottery assemblage preserved from the early excavations. The range of shapes is restricted to mainly cups and kraters with few pouring vessels; most feature black-figure decoration, but some are also painted with simple patterns and figures in silhouette or are black-glazed. The hands of three major Laconian vase painters are represented: the Naukratis Painter, the Borads Painter and the Painter of the Taranto Fish.

Laconian fine ware arrived at Naukratis perhaps as early as the early 6th century BC, but the majority dates from between 575 and 550 BC, the main period of production for Laconian fine wares. Thereafter small amounts continued to trickle in until the early 5th century BC. Never a large scale import, Laconian pottery probably found its way to Naukratis via a number of different routes, mostly brought by traders and other travellers for use in ritual banqueting and as dedications.

The Corinthian fine ware pottery from Naukratis is a small yet interesting group, representing some 4% of the extant corpus of Greek fine wares found at the site and comprising a range of shapes and styles. Examples of the Transitional style, dated between 630 and 620/615 BC, are rare; numbers peak during the Middle Corinthian period and dwindle significantly by c. 550 BC. Few examples continue until the 4th century BC. The majority of pieces with known findspots come from the sanctuary of Apollo, but there are also finds from the sanctuaries of the Dioskouroi and Aphrodite.

This chapter presents the evidence and sets it into its wider context, considering in particular the question of trade routes and the patterns of use and consumption of Corinthian pottery at Naukratis.

By the late 7th century BC, when the earliest Corinthian material arrived at Naukratis, Corinthian wares were widely traded and common at sites throughout much of the Greek world. However, unusually for a Greek sanctuary site, at Naukratis column-kraters are the most common shape, follo¬¬wed by drinking cups (kotylai and kylikes). The character of the assemblage at Naukratis suggests that, especially between 595 and 570 BC, Corinthian wares arrived not so much as trade items, but more as individual dedications destined for the local sanctuaries.

The Chian pottery at Naukratis represents the largest group of Archaic Greek pottery at the site. The total amount of Chian fine wares stands at approximately 30% of the entire corpus of Greek pottery imports preserved from the early fieldwork at Naukratis and about 40% of that dating to the 7th and 6th century BC. It is one of the most important collections of Chian pottery known from any site, both in terms of the diversity in the range of shapes and the variety of styles.

The article presents the achieved level of knowledge about the megalithic
monuments in Thrace. It provides an overview of the state of research on
dolmens and the main hypotheses about their occurrence in the southeastern parts of the Balkans. The dependence on the distribution of the dolmens on the nature of the geological base and the presence of suitable rocks for splitting and forming large stone slabs is substantiated.

What is the relationship between the workshop, the place of worship and their surroundings? Are there workshops in the sanctuary? Right next to it? Structurally linked to it or set up there opportunistically? Permanent or temporary? This collective volume is an attempt to answer these questions. It brings together the proceedings of two scientific events: a study day of the Société française d'Archéologie classique, held in Paris in October 2014, and an international colloquium of the Centre Jean Bérard, held in Naples in October 2016. This volume is in open access: https://books.openedition.org/pcjb/8683 
My contribution (https://books.openedition.org/pcjb/8781) focuses on the production of figurative terracotta intended for sanctuaries and tombs. This took place in potters' workshops, where coroplasty was only a secondary activity alongside the production of vases. These workshops took advantage of the proximity of one or more sanctuaries and made offerings that were also suitable for them; the manufacture of specific offerings was rarer. The largest workshops, on the outskirts of towns, often delocated the production of terracotta into the town, sometimes in the home and hands of the potter's family - his wife and children - and sometimes in a shop on the agora, which also sold vases: this was an opportunistic rapprochement with the clientele.

Résumé. Quels sont les rapports entre l’atelier, le lieu de culte et leur environnement ? Trouve-t-on des ateliers dans le sanctuaire ? Juste à côté de celui-ci ? Structurellement liés à lui ou installés là de manière opportuniste ? Des ateliers permanents ou provisoires ? Ce volume collectif est une tentative de réponse à ces différentes questions. Il réunit les actes de deux manifestations scientifiques : une journée d’étude de la Société française d’Archéologie classique, tenue à Paris en octobre 2014, et un colloque international du Centre Jean Bérard, tenu à Naples en octobre 2016. Ce volume est en accès libre : https://books.openedition.org/pcjb/8683
Ma contribution (https://books.openedition.org/pcjb/8781) envisage le cas de la production des terres cuites figurées, destinées aux sanctuaires mais aussi aux tombes. Elle se fait au sein d’ateliers de potiers où la coroplathie n’est qu’une activité annexe à côté de la production de vases. Ces ateliers profitent du voisinage d’un ou de plusieurs sanctuaires et fabriquent des offrandes qui pouvaient leur convenir également ; la fabrication d’offrandes spécifiques est plus rare. Les ateliers les plus importants, en périphérie des agglomérations, délocalisaient souvent le façonnage des terres cuites en ville, tantôt dans la maison et dans les mains de la famille du potier – sa femme, ses enfants –, tantôt dans une boutique de l’agora, qui proposait aussi des vases : il s’agit là du rapprochement opportuniste de la clientèle.

Our knowledge about Minoan culture and its religious activities is almost entirely based on archaeological research and comparison of findings and parallels in other prehistoric mediterranean cultures. Amongst the most important sources for our understanding of Minoan culture are the „peak sanctuaries“, which are crucial for our understanding of any religious actions in Bronze age Crete. By comparing Minoan religion and rituals with what we know from other religions that are based on nature or come from an agricultural society, a narrow archaeological view can be expanded into a more pictorial and therefore more detailed imagination that focuses more on the activity that happened in the sanctuaries than on their actual remains. Peak sanctuaries also offer the opportunity to approach, by their function as places for trading and centres of administration, an insight into what one might call a Minoan common identity that, as we know, politically never existed.

Los problemas cutáneos provocados por factores internos o externos al cuerpo humano han sido motivo de estudio desde la Antigüedad. En el siglo II Galeno de Pérgamo redactó el De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus, una obra sobre remedios simples entre los cuales encontramos tratamientos utilizados todavía hoy en día para curar erupciones, eccemas, abscesos, etc. Este tratado fue traducido al siríaco, árabe y latín, y es esta última, la versión latina realizada desde el árabe por Gerardo de Cremona en el siglo XII, la que despierta mayor interés, ya que recoge las recetas descritas por Galeno, pero con las aportaciones de los griegos, sirios y árabes, no solo en su contenido, sino en el léxico técnico empleado. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar, a través del De simplicibus medicinis de Gerardo, la traducción latina del tratado de Galeno, la visión que la Baja Edad Media occidental tenía de la medicina natural de Galeno para curar afecciones de la piel, y el vocabulario médico, fuertemente arabizado, utilizado en dicha traducción.

In the autumn of 2020 and spring of 2021, archaeological and geological field surveys were conducted within the Nessebar and Pomorie municipalities, as part of the project “Archaeology of Landscape: Patterns of Reconstruction of the Ancient Environment.” The project aims to reconstruct the landscapes of the Southern slopes of The Emine Stara Planina Mountain during Antiquity, as well as investigate human impact on the environment and archaeological sites. During the surveys, 102 new archaeological sites were discovered (see Fig. 1). Two sites date back to the Late Chalcolithic period, four to the Late Bronze Age, and nine small settlements to the Early Iron Age. These settlements were located along the banks of the Aheloy River and Hadzhiiska River. The majority of the sites (51 settlements) date back to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. Eleven settlements were dated to the Archaic and Classical periods, and ten to the Hellenistic period. Thirty sites did not yield enough di...

Die Fundmünzen von Priene im Kontext, in: W. Raeck – Axel Filges – H. Mert (Hrsg.), Priene von der Spätklassik bis zum Mittelalter. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschungen seit 1998. Asia Minor Studien Band 94 (Bonn 2020) 249–286, Taf. 64–71.
Fundmünzen bieten verschiedene Möglichkeiten zur Kontextualisierung. Der Ort Priene ist gut geeignet, diese Möglichkeiten paradigmatisch anzuwenden. Der Umstand, dass bei den weitaus meisten antiken Münzen die Angabe zum Fundort fehlt und an vielen Orten der Türkei die Fundmünzen noch nicht adäquat aufgearbeitet sind, erhöht die Bedeutung der Befunde in Priene für die Forschung

The study of high flow characteristics within the Alpine catchments represents one of the most challenging tasks for the modern hydrological science, because of high vulnerability response of these areas to the global and regional climate changes, including to the proven positive air temperature trends. The current picture of the hydro-climatic processes in the Rila Mountain – the highest mount within the Balkan Peninsula, is not exception. Study area covers eight Alpine catchment areas, located above 1600 m sea level in the Rila Mountain. The aim of this research is to perform a spatio-temporal analysis of the extremely high streamflow characteristics within the researched drainage basins. Study period includes six years in the beginning of the XXІ century: there are very dry (2001), very wet (2005) and four normal water years. The analysis is based of Threshold level method (TLM) with fixed constant threshold value: 5th percentile of all discharge daily data for the given term. Re...

Full Citation:

Marconi, Clemente and Farinholt Ward, Andrew: Armi e pratica rituale nel settore meridionale del grande santuario urbano di Selinunte, in: Scarci, Azzurra, Graells i Fabregat, Raimon und Longo, Fausto (Hrsg.): Armi votive in Sicilia: Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi Siracusa Palazzolo Acreide 12-13 Novembre 2021, Heidelberg: Propylaeum, 2022 (RGZM – Tagungen, Band 48), p. 151-170.
https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.1127.c15484

Monumentalisation is an elaborate way of building memory in and through the landscape. Taking the sanctuary of Athena Alea in Tegea as an example, this paper focuses on two constants in the relationship between monumentalisation and memory in ancient Greece. Firstly, the interaction between the two reinforced the myth of the alleged perpetuity and statism of monuments, thus contributing to make identities more resilient and inflexible and to their understanding as essentialist realities. Secondly, this interaction was used as a way of legitimising the dominant ideology, helping to naturalise it and its expressions. All this is analysed through a specific example, namely, the sanctuary of Athena Alea in Tegea.

Rezension zu: Valia Schild-Xenidou, Corpus der boiotischen Grabund Weihreliefs des 6. bis 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung, Zwanzigstes Beiheft. Publisher Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008. 365 pages, 48 plates.