USD $180.00
Search Results
Author:
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.
Author:
This paper addresses the animal bone material from ancient Qumran, from the comparative perspective of zooarchaeological evidence recovered in ancient Greek cult contexts. The article offers an overview of the paramount importance of animal bones for the understanding of ancient Greek religion and sacrificial practices in particular, followed by a review of the Qumran material, taking as its starting point the zooarchaeological evidence and the archaeological find contexts. The methodological complications of letting the written sources guide the interpretation of the archaeological material are explored, and it is suggested that the Qumran bones are to be interpreted as remains of ritual meals following animal sacrifices, as proposed by Jodi Magness. The presence of calcined bones additionally supports the proposal that there was once an altar in area L130, and it is argued that the absence of preserved altar installations in many ancient sanctuaries cannot be used as an argument against their ever having been present. Finally, the similarities between Israelite and Greek sacrificial practices are touched upon, arguing for the advantages of a continued and integrated study of these two sacrificial systems based on the zooarchaeological evidence.
Author:
Abstract
Greek altars have received ample attention in scholarship as to their appearance, construction, and location within a sanctuary, as well as their importance as the central feature for the rituals allowing communication with the gods. The immediate surroundings of altars have not been considered to the same degree. This paper explores the context of Greek altars and some of the features located here, for example, rings for fastening animals, stone-lined pits, and remains of previous sacrifices. Of particular interest is the use of the top of the altar for ritual purposes in relation to the space surrounding the altar. A study of the wider contexts of altars, as to their use and the material remains found here, may provide a better understanding of the complex ritual reality of the ancient Greeks.
Visits to the Underworld from Antiquity to Byzantium
Round Trip to Hades in the Eastern Mediterranean Tradition explores how the theme of visiting the Underworld and returning alive has been treated, transmitted and transformed in the ancient Greek and Byzantine traditions. The journey was usually a descent (katabasis) into a dark and dull place, where forgetfulness and punishment reigned, but since ‘everyone’ was there, it was also a place that offered opportunities to meet people and socialize. Famous Classical round trips to Hades include those undertaken by Odysseus and Aeneas, but this pagan topic also caught the interest of Christian writers. The contributions of the present volume allow the reader to follow the passage from pagan to Christian representations of Hades–a passage that may seem surprisingly effortless.
Visits to the Underworld from Antiquity to Byzantium
Round Trip to Hades in the Eastern Mediterranean Tradition explores how the theme of visiting the Underworld and returning alive has been treated, transmitted and transformed in the ancient Greek and Byzantine traditions. The journey was usually a descent (katabasis) into a dark and dull place, where forgetfulness and punishment reigned, but since ‘everyone’ was there, it was also a place that offered opportunities to meet people and socialize. Famous Classical round trips to Hades include those undertaken by Odysseus and Aeneas, but this pagan topic also caught the interest of Christian writers. The contributions of the present volume allow the reader to follow the passage from pagan to Christian representations of Hades–a passage that may seem surprisingly effortless.