Chapter 3 Citizens as Drinkers? A Glimpse from the Countryside of the Archaic Argolid
In: Politeia and KoinōniaSearch for other papers by Gunnel Ekroth in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
This paper explores the Argolid in the Archaic period, taking as its starting point a cult place in the Berbati valley, east of Mycenae, excavated by the Swedish Institute at Athens in 1994. The pottery assemblage dates from the early/mid-seventh century to the first quarter or half of the sixth century BCE, and shows that the worshippers would have consumed food prepared on the spot, but most of all liquids in the form of wine. The range of shapes, consisting of Argive kantharoi of different sizes, fewer and often more elaborate skyphoi, one-handled mugs and stemmed krateriskoi, as well as Corinthian kotylai, suggest groupings among the participants and drinkers of different status. When contextualised with epigraphical and archaeological evidence from Mycenae and Tiryns, the Berbati deposit offers a glimpse of the religious activity of the local community, and may also illuminate additional facets of what it meant to be a citizen in the Argolid in the Archaic period.