This thesis explores those processes which led to the creation and definition of social groups among the inhabitants of what was later to become the territory of Classical Lakonia. Its chronological focus is the early period of Spartan state formation (ca. 1200-600 BC, and especially the latter part of this period from 800-600 BC), and emphasis is placed on cult and ritual practice, especially the material record of sanctuaries. Emphasis on the sanctuary record reflects the fact that the extant evidence in the case of Lakonia comes almost exclusively from sanctuaries where one would expect people to make statements about themselves and their community[ies]. The aim is to define the theoretical framework built around the formation and function of the Spartan state in its early stages- a framework delimited by existing theoretical discussions of the different social groups within Lakonia. The relationship between this framework and the way/s in which the extant archaeological evidence has been a assessed to date will then be assessed critically. Both the framework and the material evidence are examined in their own terms. Rather than using established historical notions to interpret the existing literary and archaeological evidence,these notion are themselves tested against the existing data, both literary and archaeological.

The monograph proposes an analysis of the period ca. 478-461 B.C. of Athenian history and of the events related to Cimon, son of Miltiades, within the contemporary context. The study of Athens, and more in general of various Aegean Hellenic communities, during the first ‘post-Persian’ years, is organised into two parts: the former reviews in chronological order available evidence, mostly literary, on political and military activities of Athens, as leader of the Hellenic alliance; the latter offers a broader view based on the previous analysis, looking for an assessment of the period and of the character leaving apart literary stereotypes and conditionings. Within such an approach I propose a reflection, moving from the brief Thucydidean treatment, on the dynamics through which tradition has deformed and settled available information, leading to the definition of a ‘Cimonian era’ which is possible to question in some of its fundamental traits. I thus aim to propose an assessment of the period devoid of several elements, essentially prominent in the Plutarchean approach, which appear alien to the context of the former part of the V century: the main themes are those of Athenian imperialism, of philolaconism, of democracy/oligarchy bipolarity and of political and mythological propaganda. The contacts of Athens with Sparta, the Ionians, and further entities of the Aegean world is read in the light of available evidence about the character of the instability and weak balance born in the aftermath of the withdrawal of Persian forces. The proposed portrait of Cimon is that of an undoubtedly prominent figure in contemporary politics but, at the same time, one who was strongly influenced and sometime shrouded by the Athenian political scenario, characterised by the need and will to fulfil those objectives which tradition would turn into archetypical elements of the democratic paradigm.

This thesis utilizes ceramic legacy data to examine the influence of human agency upon the formation of tableware distribution patterns in Hellenistic Greece and Asia Minor. The formation of distribution patterns is a neglected area in Hellenistic pottery studies; differences between sites are usually taken at face value, paying scant attention to the human choices and behaviours responsible for observed variations. Tableware from Athens and New Halos in Greece and Ilion, Ephesus, Sardis, Gordion and Sagalassos in Asia Minor is employed for comparative analysis. Agency and network theory is utilized, along with a close reading of the wider contextual background of the case-studies, to explore local consumer choices and address distributional differences. This approach is enabled by the systematic collection of tableware data in the ICRATES database. This research shows that differences between sites, in terms of tableware consumption, can only be understood as reflecting human behaviour and choice. It is demonstrated that New Halos focused on Hellenistic shapes of more ‘Classical’ appearance and relied primarily for its tableware supply upon the wider region. Athens principally used local tableware focusing on a more properly Hellenistic repertoire, but an antiquated shape like the bolsal was produced specifically for the foreign market. Ilion, Ephesus, Sardis and Sagalassos similarly made different choices in tableware production and consumption. Observed differences relate to preferences, practices, and opportunities. Consumption at Ilion is influenced by Pergamum, whereas Ephesus develops a repertoire partly specific to itself. At Sagalassos producers and consumers used a repertoire which, while distinct and building upon local traditions, forms part of more widely shared tableware preferences. This study shows that within a general pottery koine various sub-koinai existed and interacted, reflecting varying contextualized choices. The results have important and wide-ranging implications for current approaches to cultural interaction, material culture and society.

Throughout their history interactions with foreigners had a profound influence on the Greek sense of' self and the development of a Panhellenic identity. In many ways, Greek culture developed out of interactions with ' others'. However, Greek ethnicity did not operate as a polarity with strictly defmed categories but was a sliding scale. The endpoints were strongly structuralist understandings of 'Greek' and 'Barbarian', with various intermediary points to accommodate those who did not conform to these precise categories. Greek ethnicity was complex and fluid, meaning different things at different times to different people. The texts examined in this study, Homer's epic poems, Herodotus' Histories, and Ctesias' Persica, all variously display what it meant to be Greek, 'other', and the shades and subtleties inherent in such concepts. Homer's Trojans, although traditionally considered to be similar to the Greeks, exhibit several characteristics of 'others' as typified in fifth-century concepts of the Barbarian, demonstrating that such stereotypes have long roots. Although several contemporary texts emphasise the differences between Greeks and Barbarians, Herodotus provides an extremely sophisticated portrait of ' others' by refraining from relying upon simple stereotypes. While Homer and Herodotus present the shades and subtleties inherent in conceptions of ethnicity and alterity, Ctesias' work functions on the premise of polarity between Greeks and ' others'. Ctesias imagines Persia as a fantastical 'other', the opposite of Greece in almost every way. He plays to the stereotypes, revealing the complexities inherent in notions of ' self and 'other' . This project demonstrates that it is possible to understand contemporary Greek political thought through a backwards reading of Greek texts about 'others' . The authors examined respond to contemporary political concerns, particularly discussions of wealth, access to power, and decision making, in various ways, providing unique insight into the contemporary political thought that influenced each of these authors.

Zosimos of Panopolis (fl ca 300 AD) is the earliest historical figure recognisable amongst the Hellenistic alchemists whose works we possess. He was a prolific author who exerted a strong influence on the subsequent alchemical tradition, but only a small portion of his works survives in the original Greek. These texts have been edited and studied, and summarised translations have been printed of texts attributed to him that survive in Syriac. This thesis, the first in-depth study of the Arabic writings attributed to Zosimos and of his wider reception in the Arabic/Islamic world, adds to our understanding of the development of the alchemical tradition and of the nature of the Greek heritage in the Arabic/Islamic world. The thesis begins by assessing Zosimos's influence on and reputation in Arabic literature, which is shown to be generally less pronounced than has been suggested by previous scholars, but still greater than in the analogous literature of the Greek-speaking world. The corpus of Arabic texts attributed to Zosimos is divided into 4 groups: (1) directly authenticated translations; (2) indirectly authenticated translations; (3) dialogues and (4) forgeries. In group (1) the first Arabic translations of extant Greek works of Zosimos (or, indeed, any Greek alchemical author) are identified and analysed. The authenticity of the texts in group (2) is argued for on the basis of similarities to the Greek Zosimos texts. Finally, the texts in group (3) are shown not to have been translated from the Greek, but to contain much authentic material, and the first Latin version of an Arabic Zosimos text is identified.

Analysis of ground stone technology from the Neolithic of Greece rarely goes beyond incomplete descriptive accounts to focus on the activities performed with these tools and the contexts of their use. Ground stone products are seen as mundane static objects devoid of meaning and lacking significance. The aim of this thesis is to move away from incomplete accounts of ground stone technology and static typologies. Drawing upon the concepts of the chaine operatoire and 'object biographies' this thesis investigates ground stone technology as a social practice focusing on the life-cycle of artefacts from raw material selection to final deposition. The underlying premise is that a contextual approach can contribute to understanding the ways in which the production, consumption and discard of ground stone artefacts were structured within different forms and scales of social practice and the manner in which these differences articulated different meanings and social understandings. The aims of the thesis were materialised through the study of the rich ground stone assemblage from the LN settlement of Makriyalos, Greece. The analysis of the chaine operatoire of the Makriyalos ground stone assemblage revealed diverse technological choices expressed throughout the cycle of production and use. Established traditions existed according to which specific materials were considered to be appropriate for the production of different objects. Furthermore, detailed analysis suggests that the resulting objects were far from mundane artefacts but were instead active media for expressing choices informed by cultural understandings of appropriateness. Building upon analysis of the chaine operatoire, spatial analysis of the Makriyalos assemblage indicated distinct depositional patterns of different categories of ground stone within and between the two phases of Makriyalos. This analysis offers significant insights into the way(s) these implements were incorporated into the social life of Makriyalos. Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates that ground stone artefacts were actively employed in the creation and negotiation of varied and distinct identities (individual vs. communal) that could be transformed through different contexts of practice.

No description available.

From a materialist realist perspective, when a state surrenders power preponderance considerations, that is a state’s relative weakness in terms of material power, should provide the bulk of the explanation for the surrender. Yet, weak states have surrendered quickly and slowly and on occasion have done so only to soon challenge their conquerors. This thesis is driven by a puzzle concerning whether material power and (actual or projected) victory in war can explain logics of surrender and, if not, what this may mean for our understanding of surrender, realism and IR more widely. This study focuses our attention on the fact that surrendering highlights that realism’s core assumption - that states seek survival-is in fact underspecified and problematic. On one hand, state survival seen as autonomy is theoretically paradoxical because in practice it can be easily sacrificed in some instances of surrender. On the other hand, survival as autonomy is underspecified since under different conditions it can be traded off at too high a price making state death and Annihilation a real possibility. Recognition of this is evaded in standard realist approaches. This thesis develops a perspective on surrender which shares some aspects of a cost-benefit approach characteristic of realism, the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA), but innovates by not assuming an abstract view of rationality. Guided by SCA, this thesis problematises surrendering and seeks to explain surrendering from the actor’s own perspective. To explicate surrendering We concentrate on three case studies focused on analysis of surrendering in ancient Greece. The thesis argues that states’ logic of surrendering relates not only to appeasement and opportunistic bandwagoning but also to such non-realist reasons such as gratitude, seduction and recognition. If we do not start from realist assumptions, argued here to be characterised by victor bias and which lead to status quo bias, we can observe certain reasonable, ethically-inspired, and at the same time high-risk actions in the surrendering logics of states. The case studies of surrendering developed here explain both delayed and very fast surrendering and account for the surprising rise of instability in response to some surrenders. Overall, it demonstrates that non-material and psychological factors can over-ride concerns about physical security. This analysis of surrender highlights the potential weaknesses of realist theoretical assumptions when applied to study of surrender and demonstrates that close analysis of surrender logics allows us to better understand not only war and stability but also what is at stake in how we approach theorising IR.

The present thesis explores how the personality, image, and deeds of Alexander the Great have been interpreted, reshaped, and exploited by the Greeks from Antiquity to the Modern era. The main focus is the understanding of the metamorphosis of the historical persona of Alexander into a god-like mythological figure and a Hellenic national hero, researching the origins of the Alexander-myth and how it operates in response to different historico-political, social and cultural stimuli for the Greeks. The thesis is structured in two sections: first, the modern, and secondly, the ancient, which, while displaying its variety, also highlight the overall organic nature of the ongoing Greek Alexander-Reception. The first section offers an introduction to the peculiarities of the Modern myth-making of Alexander (chapter one); it explores the reshaping of the Macedonian hero in Hellenic folk production, such as tales, myths, traditions, spells and songs (chapter two), and in Theodore Angelopoulos’ debated film Megalexandros (chapter three). The second section discusses the Ancient myth-making of Alexander and its relevance in the twenty-century Greek cultural and political milieu (chapter four); specifically, it focuses on the reshaping and interpretation of the king of Macedon by Ptolemy I (chapter five) and by Julian the Apostate and his entourage (chapter six). This section concludes with a study on the early representations of Alexander, which shows how his contemporary historians borrowed from Herodotus narrative tropes and descriptions of the Achaemenids to explain the Macedonian campaign against Persia, making him a Herototean-like Persian king and creating a fictional character that, to a certain extent, dates back before the historical persona. The case-studies jointly argue that Alexander is a historiographical mirage constantly reinvented by the Greeks, who ascribe to him new deeds, legends, and characteristics according to their historical and cultural needs. The Macedonian hero moves forward into the next period charged with all the previous meanings, which he will deliver to his new audience. In this way, Alexander is both the recipient and the bearer of the Greeks’ cultural identity.

The past century and a half of our era has seen a plethora of research, analysis and comment on the two major Greek historians of antiquity. Seminal commentaries have appeared, notably those of Macan (1895, 1908), of How and Wells (1913), and of Asheri, Lloyd and Corcella (1988-1998) on Herodotus, and of Gomme, Andrewes and Dover (1945-1981), and of Hornblower (1991-2008) on Thucydides. These have concentrated, as one would have expected of historical commentaries, on analysing the texts from an historical viewpoint although all, to a greater or lesser extent (Hornblower's fully), do comment in their introductions or appendices on matters of composition, language and style. There have also appeared many studies of both historians, either in book or article form, most of which are well known and cited often in this thesis. The post-modern revolution in the study of language and literature over the past century has also had a significant effect upon historiographical studies and thus upon this thesis. Its progress into the twenty-first century is well described in summary by Dewald (2005, 1-13), and analysed in the case of Herodotean studies by Luraghi (2001, 1-9). Meanwhile the corresponding revolution in Thucydidean studies is pithily summed up by Connor (1977), while excellent summaries of the progress of Herodotean and Thucydidean scholarship over the same period are provided by Marincola (2001, 1-8), and by Dewald and Marincola (2006, 1-7). An important offshoot of this revolution, not least because of its effect upon the subject of this thesis, has been the rise of narratology, the most illuminating explanation of which so far for classical students has been written by de Jong (2014) in her book Narratology and Classics; this thesis takes cognisance of this relatively new science. Despite the advances in the study of both historians, however, there had still been few attempts comprehensively to compare their Speeches, until the important work appeared, in German, of Scardino in 2007. In addition, there has been the recent 4 publication, in 2012 during the writing of this thesis, of a complete book devoted to a comparison of Herodotus and Thucydides, edited by Foster and Lateiner and containing articles by Pelling, Stadter and, again, by Scardino, all three of which are directly relevant to this topic and which I cite passim. Other recent works of direct relevance are de Bakker (2007) and Zali (2014). Nevertheless, the controversy about the origins of the Speeches and the respective contributions made by our two historians to this medium in the history of historiography is still far from settled. And yet it is the use of speeches that provides one of the most obvious similarities methodologically between the two Histories. Indeed the Speeches may hold the key to a better understanding of their authors' overall methodology and message, and thus to their individual and combined contribution to the early development of historiography.