Religious history (up to c. 500)
More general subjects:
Clashing Religions in Ancient Egypt
Exploring Different Layers of Religious Beliefs
What did ‘religion’ mean for the Ancient Egyptians? Was the state involved in acting as a unifying and founding force for Egyptian religion or can we still identify some clashes between different religious practices? To what extent did different rituals practices and beliefs intersect and merge across time and space? Such questions have long preoccupied scholars working in the field but they have often only been considered through the lens of official ‘centralized’ texts. Yet increasingly there is an acknowledgement that such texts require calibration from archaeological data in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of how people must have lived and worshipped.
The chapters gathered in the volume aim to offer a thorough exploration of Egyptian cultural and religious beliefs and to explore how these impacted on other areas of daily life. Contributors explore the connection between religion and central power the paradigms around burial and access to the afterlife the interconnections between religion demonology magic and medicine and the impact of multicultural interaction on the religious landscape. What emerges from this discussion is an understanding that the only truly identifiable clash is that between modern Eurocentric perspectives and the views of the ancient Egyptians themselves.
Sacred Landscapes in Central Italy
Votive Deposits and Sanctuaries (400 bc – ad 400)
Veneration of the supernatural was in ancient times interwoven into the fabric of the surrounding landscape. Caves rivers lakes mountains and water springs all formed conduits for a relationship between divinity and nature and sanctuaries were established as dedicated sites of worship. Taking Central Italy as its main focus this volume unravels layers of history and archaeology in order to shed light on the religious practices sacred sites and profound connections that have long existed between landscapes and religious places in this region. Through a synthesis of archaeological evidence and scholarly analysis the chapters gathered here unveil the significance of temples sanctuaries ex-votos religious productions and ritual spaces and provide a comprehensive understanding of how Etruscan and Roman societies engaged with their sacred surroundings. The result is an important reassessment of the religious dimensions that helped to shape the antique landscape of Central Italy.
Gnosticism and Its Metamorphoses
Dynamics of Development and Reworking of Gnostic Texts and Motifs from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century
The complex and multifaceted religious phenomenon called Gnosticism continues to fascinate both specialists and the wider audience. This volume explores the “metamorphoses” of Gnosticism through the analysis of selected examples. Late antique Gnostic groups and schools of thought developed and even changed their ideas when interacting with other religious groups and with various sources. Confrontation and polemics with the so-called “Great Church” and with other Christian groups were crucial to doctrinal elaboration of all parties involved. On a different side one can trace the metamorphoses of Gnostic ideasthrough the centuries as these ideas influenced and were reinterpreted by other religious and cultural traditions and currents from Manichaeism to medieval dualistic movements modern esotericism and even contemporary literature.
The essays gathered in this volume focus on two main topics namely how ancient Gnostic groups developed their doctrines by interpreting and reworking their wide range of sources (Jewish early Christian Platonic ones etc.) and how ancient Gnostic ideas and motifs survived – with new forms – in later philosophical religious and literary works up to the twentieth century.
The volume consists of three sections the first being dedicated to early anti-Gnostic controversy in texts embedding Jewish-Christian and Petrine traditions and using Gnostic motifs for polemical purposes; the second to some treatises from the Nag Hammadi corpus and other Gnostic manuscripts (plus Epiphanius’ Panarion) so as to provide fresh insights into late antique Gnostic texts and groups; and the third to three case studies of the modern reception and reworking of Gnostic writings and ideas.
The Sanctuary of Parthenos at Ancient Neapolis (Kavala), Volume i
Incised and Painted Ceramic Inscriptions from the Sanctuary and in Aegean Thrace
The ancient city of Neapolis (modern Kavala Greece) was founded by Thasos in the seventh century bce at a strategic location where the Thracian hinterlands meet the Aegean Sea. The patron deity of this North Aegean polis was Parthenos (the Maiden) known to us through epigraphic and archaeological evidence. Her sanctuary came to light in the twentieth century during rescue excavations and yielded numerous finds most of which date from the Archaic period.
This monograph provides a discussion of the history of excavations at this sanctuary as well as a contextual examination of the material leading to a new interpretation of Parthenos’ identity. Among the wealth of finds from the site the corpus of incised and painted ceramic inscriptions stands out as it offers a unique glimpse into the history of the cosmopolitan temenos and the dedicatory practices and rituals that took place there. The inscribed vessels carry dedications numerical and other graffiti and dipinti as well as the initials of the goddess which designate them as sacred equipment. When considered in the context of the ceramic inscriptions from sanctuaries across Aegean Thrace they further underscore the important role of Neapolis and the Sanctuary of Parthenos in the commercial networks and cultural dynamics of the Aegean both in the early stages of Greek colonization and in the centuries that followed.
Parthenos: The Patron Deity of Neapolis par’ Antisaran (Νεάπολις παρ’ Ἀντισάραν). A Suggestion regarding her Identity
This paper approaches the question of the identity of Parthenos patron deity of Neapolis through a new perspective based on Pausanias’s description of Polygnotos’s Nekyia the painted composition that decorated the Lesche of the Knidians at Delphi. This painting depicted among other heroes and heroines of the ancient Greek pantheon the Parian priestess Κleoboia carrying the cult objects of Demeter to Thasos. It is argued here that this Kleoboia a maiden (parthenos) according to the traveller could be the deified heroine that lies behind the name of Parthenos the elusive deity worshipped at the Thasian colony of Neapolis.
The Sanctuary of Parthenos at Ancient Neapolis (Kavala), Volume ii
Pottery, Stone Inscriptions, and Small Finds
The ancient city of Neapolis (modern Kavala Greece) was founded by Thasos in the seventh century BCE at a strategic location where the Thracian hinterlands meet the Aegean Sea. The patron deity of this North Aegean polis was Parthenos (the Maiden) a goddess often associated with Artemis and known to us through epigraphic and archaeological evidence. Her sanctuary came to light in the twentieth century during rescue excavations and yielded numerous finds most of which date from the Archaic period.
This edited volume draws together the material evidence from the Sanctuary of Parthenos with a particular focus on the ceramic wares stone inscriptions and small finds from the site. Published as a counterpart to an earlier publication in this series Amalia Avramidou’s monograph The Sanctuary of Parthenos at Ancient Neapolis (Kavala): Incised and Painted Ceramic Inscriptions from the Sanctuary and in Aegean Thrace the essays gathered here nonetheless form a stand-alone volume that sheds light on both the importance of the site as a place of cult and more broadly the role that it played within the commercial networks and cultural dynamics of the Aegean.
Corinthian Pottery
This paper presents some observations from the study of Corinthian pottery from the Sanctuary of Parthenos at ancient Neapolis (Kavala). Despite our limited knowledge regarding the stratigraphy and context of the finds the article discusses the Corinthian imports in relation to the total pottery finds and addresses each shape based on its use e.g. symposium-related vases oil and cosmetic containers vases with a votive and ritual function. Moreover it examines questions of iconography dating and frequency in an attempt to trace preferences of shapes recurrence of types and variations popularity of painters and workshops and how this assemblage compares to Corinthian pottery from other sanctuaries in the north Aegean southern Greece and southern Italy.
Front Matter (“Indice”, “Elenco delle Illustrazioni”, “Ringraziamenti”, “Le parcours européen d’Ivan Gargano : histoire et archéologie de la Dacia Ripensis à la fin de l’Antiquité, au cœur de frontières en mouvement”, “A Roma ad Insulam : l’étude de la Dacia Ripensis par Ivan Gargano et les initiatives lilloises sur l’archéologie et l’histoire des Balkans”)
Dacia Ripensis
Topografia e cristianizzazione di una provincia danubiana nella Tarda Antichità
La Dacia Ripensis fu una provincia danubiana la cui esistenza si data fra gli anni ‘80 del III secolo e i primi anni del VII. Il suo territorio funse da cerniera fra il medio ed il basso corso del Danubio e al tempo stesso da raccordo fra il barbaricum e l’entroterra illirico. L’urbanizzazione vi ebbe un modesto successo; cionondimeno essa favorì la romanizzazione della provincia dove la militarizzazione si manifesta invece in modo evidente grazie a quanto noto dalla Notitia dignitatum e dall’archeologia. L’attenzione per la difesa dell’area era del resto giustificata per via della pressione esercitata da popolazioni come Goti Unni Slavi e Avari che condizionarono la storia dell’intera penisola proprio attraversando la Dacia Ripensis.
Dalle fonti letterarie è noto che la provincia fu anche interessata dalla diffusione della religione cristiana le cui prime testimonianze si datano ai primordi del IV secolo. Il processo rese possibile l’ascesa di sedi vescovili assai implicate nelle dispute teologiche e nella lotta a dottrine eretiche localmente diffuse ancora nel VI secolo. L’archeologia ha permesso di riconoscere la graduale formazione di questa rete ecclesiastica che in forme monumentali è riconoscibile sia in ambito urbano che rurale. Nonostante la sua importanza questa provincia è stata finora studiata solo occasionalmente e questo volume vuole ovviare a questo problema proponendo uno studio aggiornato mirato a definire le conoscenze storiche e archeologiche necessarie alla comprensione generale della topografia provinciale così come alla contestualizzazione del processo di cristianizzazione di questa porzione dell’area danubiana.
Handmade Pottery
This article presents the results of the study of handmade pottery found at the Parthenos Sanctuary at ancient Neapolis modern Kavala during the excavations of the previous century. Based on typological observations and comparanda the material (c. sixty sherds) can be arranged in two chronological phases: the first one spans from the end of the eighth until the beginning of the seventh centuries bce and the second covers the second and third quarters of the sixth century bce. The vessels comprise plain and decorated examples including a fragment of a baking tray and a peculiar anthropomorphic handmade object perhaps a miniature incense burner or altar. The handmade vases from the Sanctuary of Parthenos fit the characteristics of the ceramic category known as ‘handmade Iron Age pottery’ of Macedonia whose homogeneity is explained by the fact that it was manufactured by local craftsmen (Thracians).
Small Finds
This chapter brings together select small finds from the Sanctuary of Parthenos at ancient Neapolis (Kavala) made from clay metal stone and bone. They consist of pinakes (clay tablets) amulets tools counters appliqués knucklebones jewellery etc. Although few in numbers and lacking clear stratigraphic information these artefacts are still important to our understanding of the identity of the patron deity of Neapolis the development of her temenos and the range of activities occurring under her auspices.
North Aegean ‘Waveline’ Pottery
The excavations of Georgios Bakalakis and Dimitris Lazaridis at the Sanctuary of Parthenos at ancient Neapolis (Kavala) brought to light an important number of north Aegean ‘Waveline’ pottery fragments. Most of them belong to hydrias followed by lekanai/lekanides oinochoai/jugs table amphoras and stamnoid pyxides or kraters decorated with wavy lines S-curves and horizontal bands. Their chronological horizon covers the turn from the sixth to the fifth century bce. The importance of the Parthenos material lies in the fact that ‘Waveline’ pottery appears to have been used in ritual feasts that took place in the sanctuary.
Parthenos through the Inscriptions
This essay focuses on the three inscriptions on stone discovered in the sanctuary of the goddess Parthenos in ancient Neapolis and on two inscribed Attic decrees that mention the goddess and her role as a patron deity of Neapolis. These texts provide details about the administrative apparatus of this sanctuary and the sanctuary’s role as a political centre of Neapolis. They also reveal how this sanctuary and probably others like it located in frontier zones and serving diverse communities brought together the various groups that frequented it. Individuals from different ethnic and civic backgrounds were able to tap into associations of divine powers names and epithets of gods and cultic iconographies to venerate deities including Parthenos in ways that made sense to them. In so doing they created a toolkit that rendered religious practices in the Mediterranean more fluid and flexible than previously understood.
‘New’ Terracotta Figurines
A ‘new’ group of around two hundred clay figurines from the Sanctuary of Parthenos was ‘rediscovered’ in the Archaeological Museum of Kavala during the study seasons of the Parthenos Project and can now be added to the large assemblage of votive terracottas published in 2014. The ‘new’ coroplastic finds do not significantly change the suggested chronological span and the typological groupings of the 2014 publication. The majority reproduce archaic types very few can be dated to the Classical period and only one-fifth belong to Hellenistic types. Yet among these ‘new’ figurines are certain iconographic types previously unrecorded in the temenos such as the foot-shaped plastic vase the seated plangona (doll) and the boy with a chlamys. Their interpretation further supports the protective qualities of the goddess as an overseer of the transition to adulthood.
Textile Production Tools
The excavations at the Parthenos sanctuary in ancient Neapolis have unearthed a sizeable collection of spinning and weaving tools including thirteen spindle whorls 379 fired clay loom weights six pierced pot sherds and one pierced stone. This chapter provides an overview of the assemblage and discusses the dedication of textile tools at sanctuaries in the Aegean and textile manufacture in cult contexts. Just over half of the loom weights (56 per cent) are round or oval with a biconical or lenticular section. Two pieces are true discs with flat sides. The rest are pyramidal (19 per cent) piriform with a pinched top (19 per cent) semi-discoid with a flat top (4 per cent) including five with a V- or U-shaped notch conical (2 per cent) including probable Corinthian imports. The loom weights are unmarked except for one stamped with a finger ring. There are several sets of identical weights which were probably made used and dedicated at the sanctuary together. The majority of the loom weights are very light (85 per cent fall between 20–80 g) and therefore suited for weaving very fine to medium cloth with yarn that requires very little tension on the loom. The material dates primarily to the Archaic period but later examples occur as well.
Relief ‘Megarian’ Bowls
This paper examines the relief decorated pottery from the excavations in the area of the Sanctuary of Parthenos at Panagia Hill in modern-day Kavala. The discovery of relief bowls (‘Megarian’ skyphoi) from the sanctuary enhances our knowledge of the cult of Parthenos in the Hellenistic period. They are usually decorated with floral patterns while a small percentage bear geometric motifs and to a lesser extent mythological Dionysiac and erotic scenes. Most of the relief bowls from the Neapolitan temenos share similarities with products of Delian and Ionian workshops but also with examples from Macedonia and Thrace. Attic imports are limited.
G 2–3 Ware from the Sanctuary of Parthenos at Ancient Neapolis (Kavala)
The present article discusses the technological and ornamental features of G 2–3 Ware from the Sanctuary of Parthenos at ancient Neapolis the repertory of represented shapes its chronological termini possible consumption patterns and offers interpretation of the nature of the site during the late eighth and the early seventh centuries bce. Since reliable stratigraphic and contextual evidence for G 2–3 Ware is absent the suggested dating and discussion on patterns of use are based on comparative analysis. A comparison with synchronous levels with G 2–3 Ware below the Parian apoikia on Thasos and from the acropolis of ancient Eion allows for the suggested attribution of the phase of activity involving the use of G 2–3 Ware at the site of the Sanctuary of Parthenos to a pre-colonial occupation at the site. It may have been used in the context of a habitation place of a prominent family featuring communal gatherings involving drinking and use of fine tableware rather than in a strictly cult-related one.