Expanding the Boundaries of Cultic Space: An Investigation of Nature in Greek Cultic Spaces in the Argolid and Messenia (2800–146 BCE)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The importance of landscape to ancient Greek cultic activity has been long acknowledged. Beliefs and stories about Greek gods and lesser deities were firmly situated in the visible physical world. Despite our acceptance that this was a widespread practice, few modern archaeological studies consider these visual and topographical relationships on a regional scale, and focus on individual sites and particular periods. Recognizing the benefits of a multi-scalar approach, this paper investigates the natural topographies of multiple Greek sanctuary spaces surveyed within the regions of the Argolid (2400 sq. km) and Messenia (3000 sq. km) (Greek Peloponnese) used between the Bronze Age through Hellenistic period (2800–146 BCE). With careful consideration for each sanctuary’s "life history" (Ashmore 2002: 1173), in conjunction with phenomenological data, time-phased GIS analyses (e.g. viewshed and prominence), and 3D modeling, I identify particular cases where the natural landscape should be considered as a functional part of the cultic arena – specifically, to convey sociocultural authority, for asylum and protection, or crowd control. Ultimately, by investigating a wide array of previously unconsidered evidence, and applying a broad geographical and temporal scope, this research will provide a more nuanced picture of the Greek cultic landscape than is currently available.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24671