Greek Archaeology
More general subjects:
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.
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.
Lamps
The present study is a discussion of the known types of lamps and their function(s) at the Sanctuary of Parthenos represented by thirty-three select characteristic and diagnostic examples followed by an overview of the local production trade relations and influences from other centres. The Catalogue is divided into three sections wheel-made lamps mould-made and candlesticks. The first two are further subdivided into different categories according to types represented in the temenos. The chronology of the lamps from the Sanctuary of Parthenos spans the Archaic to the Late Roman periods. Based on the taxonomized fragments it appears that the largest group of lamps dates to the Archaic period. This is in contrast to the tendency observed in most Greek sanctuaries where there is usually a significant increase of lamps starting in the Late Archaic period that gradually peaks in the Roman era.
Transport Amphoras
Excavations at the Sanctuary of Parthenos at ancient Neapolis (modern Kavala) brought to light an important assemblage of (primarily archaic) East Greek and mainland Greece transport amphoras. The first part of this publication provides a summary of the amphora types found in the deposits of the sanctuary their key identifying features and evidence for their places of production. A catalogue of diagnostic fragments accompanies the presentation of each type including a detailed fabric description. Lastly there is a discussion about the economic dimension and the ritual use of transport amphoras from the sanctuary. All drawings and photos are by the author.
La frontière absente
Études réunies en l’honneur de François de Polignac
À l’occasion des soixante-dix ans de François de Polignac nous sommes réunis autour de ce projet d’édition pour développer des sujets de recherche inspirés de ses publications et de son enseignement à l’École pratique des hautes études. Ce volume prend la forme non pas de mélanges mais d’essais sur des thématiques autour de l’Antiquité grecque de la structuration de l’espace et des constructions identitaires combinant des sources archéologiques et textuelles et propose une réflexion dans le temps et l’espace. Nous voulons ainsi montrer par des cas d’étude comment François de Polignac a su aborder les civilisations antiques par une vision aussi précise que large en intégrant les données sur la longue durée et en évitant d’adopter un modèle interprétatif uniforme dans le processus de la rédaction historique. L’aspect comparatiste s’est révélé important entre des régions et des époques différentes du monde gréco-romain jusqu’à la Mésopotamie et la Chine. Une partie des textes est consacrée au commentaire de ses travaux dans le but d’expliquer comment ceux-ci nous inspirent et ouvrent des perspectives à d’autres réflexions et recherches.