Recent discoveries near the village of Nea Agathoupoli, in Pieria, Greece have revealed the remains of an ancient town, identifiable with the ancient town of Methone, a putative Eretrian colony founded, according to Plutarch, in ca. 733 BC. From the material excavated so far, the town’s zenith was in the Late Geometric and Archaic periods, well documented by the high amounts of imports from all regions of the ancient world, especially by imported transport vessels. The significant percentage of transport amphorae in comparison to that of fine pottery strongly indicates the settlement's commercial character and suggests that Methone was operating as a redistribution centre which supplied Macedonia's hinterland with goods. This study is based on unpublished pottery analyzed here, for the first time. Among the regions, whose products are most popular in Methone are Chios and Athens, although more Eastern Greek towns such as Samos and Miletus had trading relations with Methone, too. Settlers from the these regions may have established themselves in Methone, but the initiative for the foundation of the town was, most probably, taken by Euboeans, whose activity in the Northern Aegean, in the Geometric period, was strong. Alongside the abundant imported vessels, a large amount of locally made transport vessels was unearthed. These early archaic amphora types (early 6^th century BC), which have also been found in other sites in the Northern Aegean and possibly Northern Ionia, have been known in literature by my study. The discovery of these local transport vessels reveals participation by the local population in trading transactions and manufacture of a product which was packaged and circulated among the Northern Aegean towns. A mixed cultural environment starts to form in archaic Methone and includes Euboeans, Eastern Greeks, local Thracians and others, including Macedonian neighbours. Having emerged as the most powerful military force of the area, the Macedonians residing in nearby Bottiaia, constantly expanding, were, arguably, involved in the commercial activities at Methone. This study suggests that because of Methone's geographical location and proximity to the capital of the Macedonian kingdom, Aigai (modern Vergina), Methone functioned as the capital's face to the sea, as the royal harbour of Macedonia, until it was destroyed by Philip II, in 354 BC when all activities related to trade moved to neighbouring Pydna. Methone's finds together with other Northern Aegean settlements mentioned in this study reveal how important, even indispensable, this part of the ancient world was to the commercial networks of the archaic Mediterranean. The Northern Aegean is, therefore, not only well integrated into networks connecting southern and Eastern Greece, Egypt and the Levantine coast, but constitutes a vital part of them from the 8^th century BC, onwards.

Les mutilations corporelles constituent un ensemble de pratiques qui révèle non seulement la perception qu’une société a de son corps, mais aussi le rapport qu’elle entretient avec celui des autres. Si les sciences sociales modernes ont abandonné cette appellation pour des expressions plus neutres telles que « modifications corporelles », elle se justifie encore pleinement pour l’Antiquité dont nous avons hérité une vision stéréotypée du corps beau assortie d’un rejet de toute forme d’altération. Après une nécessaire définition des cadres du sujet, nous proposerons une étude lexicale du vocabulaire grec de la mutilation corporelle avant de nous pencher sur notre problématique : les sources antiques aussi bien que l’historiographie moderne associent les mutilations corporelles avec le monde « barbare », c’est-à-dire non grec. S’agit-il d’un cliché, remonte-t-il à l’Antiquité ? les Grecs n’ont-il pas témoigné fidèlement de pratiques observées ? Nous approcherons ces questions en distinguant trois axes : la mutilation en tant que châtiment barbare, punir le corps mort dans les cultures non grecques et la mutilation comme l’expression d’une autre vision du corps. Nous tâcherons de distinguer dans les sources grecques ce qui relève d’une part de stéréotypes et d’autre part d’informations ethnographiques. Un telle démarche permet au chercheur d’appréhender les pratiques de mutilations corporelles ayant cours dans l’Antiquité et la perception qu’en avaient les Anciens. / Physical mutilations can be defined as a set of practices which is relevant to the way a society sees its body but also to the connection it has with the body of the Other. Social sciences have abandoned this term for a more neutral designation such as “body modification”, however for the purpose of our study the old name is still adequate for we have inherited from Antiquity a stereotyped way of considering the beauty of the body and of rejecting all kind of alteration. We will start by an essential definition of our subject before offering a complete lexical study of the Greek vocabulary dealing with mutilation. Then, our main problematic will concern the issues which appear characteristic of ancient and modern historiography: are physical mutilations – as a typical “barbarian”, i.e. non Greek, feature – a cliché that goes back to Antiquity? Did the Greeks give any kind of truthful evidence of practices that were effectively observing? We will approach these questions from three angles: mutilation as a barbaric punishment, chastising the dead in non Greek cultures, mutilation as the expression of a different way of seeing the body. We will aim at separating in the ancient Greek sources what can be regarded as stereotypes from true ethnographic information. This might help scholars to understand body modifications that were in use in Antiquity as well as the way the Ancient were viewing them.

Est-il possible de parler d’un savoir-vivre grec antique ? La sociologie contemporaine définit le code de politesse comme un ensemble de règles proposant des modèles de conduite adaptés aux différentes occasions de rencontre. La pensée grecque antique, quant à elle, ne formula jamais une idée pareille : entre le VIIIe et le Ve siècle av. J.-C., les Grecs semblent plutôt avoir évalué la conduite sociale en fonction d’un principe de correspondance entre d’une part l’aspect et les manières de chaque individu et d’autre part la disposition de son esprit. Ce travail vise à la fois à mettre en lumière les spécificités culturelles de cette idée antique et à étudier les manières dont celle-ci orientait le jugement social. L’analyse est menée par le biais de catégories inspirées des recherches du sociologue américain Erving Goffman, entièrement réélaborées afin de les adapter aux sources. L’attention est d’abord focalisée sur l’épopée homérique, dont l’examen permet de cerner des principes majeurs de la politesse en Grèce ancienne. Ensuite l’étude se concentre sur le rôle social qu’ont eu ces principes aux époques archaïque et classique, notamment en ce qui concerne la conversation, la gestuelle et les occasions de sociabilité. / Is it possible to talk about politeness in ancient Greece ? Modern sociology defines politeness as a system of rules, which establish behavioural patterns in accordance with different social situations. Ancient Greek thought never conceived a similar idea. Instead, between the 8th and the 5th century BC, the Greeks seem to have appraised social conduct through the lens of a principle of correspondence between one’s aspect and demeanour and the virtue of one’s soul. This study aims at shedding light upon the cultural features of this Greek idea, and to outline the ways in which it oriented social judgement. The analysis is conducted through categories inspired by the research of the sociologist Erving Goffman, entirely readapted in order to apply them to ancient sources. The prime focus of the work is on Homer. This is followed by a study of the role of the principles of ancient Greek politeness, as gleaned from the epics, with regard to conversation, gestural expressiveness and meeting occasions in the Archaic and Classical periods. / Si può parlare di buone maniere per la Grecia d’epoca arcaica e classica ? La sociologia contemporanea definisce il codice di buona educazione come un insieme di regole che propongono modelli di comportamento adatti alle diverse occasioni d’incontro. Il pensiero greco antico non formulò mai un’idea simile: tra l’VIII e il V secolo a. C., i Greci sembrano piuttosto aver valutato la condotta sociale in funzione di un principio di corrispondenza tra l’aspetto e le maniere del singolo individuo e la sua virtù spirituale. Questo lavoro si propone di mettere in luce le specificità culturali di tale idea antica e di studiare i modi in cui essa orientava il giudizio sociale. L’analisi è condotta mediante categorie ispirate alle ricerche del sociologo americano Erving Goffman, completamente rielaborate per adattarle alle fonti. Ampio spazio è dedicato allo studio dell’epos omerico, l’esame del quale permette d’individuare alcuni principî di buona educazione tipici della Grecia antica, il cui ruolo sociale in epoca storica viene quindi studiato nell’ambito della conversazione, della gestualità e delle riunioni mondane.

This thesis wishes to draw attention to the economic, social and political implications of the rise and establishment of the institutional Church in Early Christian Greece, particularly by exploring the pilgrimage, philanthropic and industrial function of the churches’ annexes. The diverse functions of churches annexes, besides reflecting a social dimension, they also reflect economic and political realities that require the development of an interdisciplinary approach, based on civil and ecclesiastical legislation, archaeology, epigraphy, history and theology, in order to explore the extent and the effects of the institutional Church’s activity in Greece. Interpreting Christian archaeology in key excavated sites of Greece by interweaving literary and material evidence both of ecclesiastical and secular origin, will help not only to ascertain how churches stood in relation to adjoining buildings combining religious and economic purposes, but also to restore to the most possible extent the Early Christian Greek urban and rural topographies.

This thesis is an examination of how Greek tyranny in the fourth century and the early Hellenistic age was influenced by Achaemenid Persia and the Ancient Near East. The introduction lays out the problems of interpreting the Ancient Near East through Greco-Roman sources, via Ephippus' description of Alexander the Great, as well as discussing two important examples of Persianisation that have been examined in detail in the past: Pausanias of Sparta and Alexander the Great. The relevant Classical Greek and Achaemenid sources concerning Persian kingship are then considered, in order to establish four categories by which to examine the tyrannical dynasties chosen as case studies: Appearance, Accessibility, Dynasty and Military Function. Using these four categories, the dynasties of the Dionysii of Syracuse, the Clearchids of Heraclea Pontica, the Hecatomnids of Caria and Agathocles of Syracuse, chosen for their geographical and temporal variance, are examined individually over the next four chapters. Appearance concerns the ruler's dress and body presentation, the use of status items such as crowns and sceptres, and the display of luxury. Accessibility concerns the use of architecture and fortifications, as well as court protocol and bodyguards, in order to control access to the ruler. Dynasty concerns family trees, marriages and the role of women, and the role of close family and subordinates in important administrative positions. Military Function concerns the role of the ruler in warfare as well as power symbols, titles and epithets. The analysis of the tyrannies taken altogether using the same categories forms the basis of the subsequent chapter, and allows for comparison with the Achaemenid Persian evidence in order to determine whether there is any significant correlation. This chapter also examines the potential methods of transmission. The thesis concludes that there are significant similarities in some aspects of tyrannical rule with that of Achaemenid kingship, and demonstrates that tyrants were engaging in the political and philosophical discourse of the era. The 'royal nature' as demonstrated by Xenophon proves to be something that tyrants aspire to, without becoming kings in name. The thesis also concludes that thinking of Greek tyrants in rigid characterisation is no longer acceptable, whether temporally as alter and junger tyranny, or geographically as Greek rulers of Greek cities with no contextual influence.

Κατά την διάρκεια της ύστερης αρχαιότητας στην Β. Πελοπόννησο, ισχυροί σεισμοί έχουν πλήξει κατοικημένες περιοχές, προκαλώντας μεγάλες καταστροφές. Στην παρούσα εργασία εξετάζονται δημοσιευμένες συστηματικές ή/και σωστικές ανασκαφές, που οι ενδείξεις των ευρημάτων τους οδηγούν στο ότι συγκεκριμένες περιοχές έχουν πληγεί από σεισμούς. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, μελετήθηκαν 12 αρχαιολογικές θέσεις στην περιοχή της Β. Πελοποννήσου τη χρονική περίοδο από τον 1ο αιώνα μ.Χ έως και τον 6ο αιώνα μ.Χ. Με την παρούσα εργασία έγινε δυνατός με μεγαλύτερη ακρίβεια ο χρονικός προσδιορισμός της εκδήλωσης των σεισμικών γεγονότων σε σύγκριση με τις υπάρχουσες καταγραφές σε καταλόγους ιστορικών σεισμών ή προστέθηκαν επιπλέον σεισμικά γεγονότα ή αφαιρέθηκαν σεισμοί ανάλογα με το αν έχουν ή δεν έχουν αναγνωρισθεί στις αρχαιολογικές ανασκαφές, Συσχετίσθηκαν ρήγματα με ισχυρούς σεισμούς του παρελθόντος με βάση την γειτνίαση ή την διασπορά των καταστροφών σε αρχαιολογικές ανασκαφικές μαρτυρίες. Τέλος σύμφωνα με τα συμπεράσματα της παρούσας μελέτης, ισχυροί σεισμοί επηρέασαν την περιοχή της Β. Πελοποννήσου σε αρχαιολογικές θέσεις στον δυτικό και ανατολικό Κορινθιακό προσθέτοντας νέα στοιχειά στην χρονολόγηση και στην ένταση τους. Με βάση τα στοιχεία αυτά καταδεικνύεται ότι ο Ανατολικός Κορινθιακός παρουσιάζει συχνότερη σεισμική δραστηριότητα έναντι της δυτικής απόληξής του. / During the late antiquity in northern Peloponnesus, strong earthquakes have hit residential areas, causing considerable damage/major disasters. In the present study published systematic and / or rescue excavations are examined, whose finding evidence lead to the fact that specific regions are affected by earthquakes. More specifically, 12 archaeological sites in Northern Peloponnese have been studied from the period from the 1st century AD to the 6th century AD. In the present research the time of the occurrence of seismic activity was detected with greater precision in comparison with the existing records in the lists of historical earthquakes. Moreover, seismic activities were added or earthquakes were removed, depending on whether or not they have been identified in archeological excavations. Cracks have been associated with strong earthquakes of the past based on the vicinity or outspread of disasters in archaeological excavation evidence. Finally, according to the conclusions of this study, strong earthquakes have affected the area of North Peloponnesus, at archaeological sites in western and eastern Corinthian Gulf, adding new elements to their dating and their intensity. Based on these data it is demonstrated that the East Corinthian Gulf has more frequent seismic activity than its western part.

This thesis examines the lives of women in Classical Greece in the context of war. War is often regarded as the domain of men but actually it is a social phenomenon where everybody is involved. Scholarship has begun to be interested in issues of women and war in Classical Greece, while they are insightful and demonstrate portions of women’s experience, studies to date have not attempted to create a holistic view. In such studies, women are generally depicted as a single homogeneous group, their involvement in war is viewed as limited and exceptional, and they are only seen as the marginal victims of war. This thesis, by contrast, strongly argues for diversity in women’s experiences during war. It demonstrates the centrality of war to women’s lives in Classical Greece, as well as how women’s experience might vary according to (for example) their social and economic circumstances. By analysing both written sources and archaeological material across the Classical period, this thesis intends to produce a broader perspective. By providing the first full-length study on the subject, this thesis, thus, contributes to the disciplines of both gender studies and warfare studies. This thesis begins by investigating the way in which ancient sources outlined wartime boundaries for women. While there were no formal ‘rules of war’, ancient writers nonetheless suggest that there were certain social conventions particular to the treatment of women in Classical Greece at times of war. As chapter 1 shows, perhaps surprisingly, women were not always evacuated from their communities as is commonly thought, they were not supposed to be maltreated, nor killed in Classical Greek warfare. Chapter 2 then examines ancient authors’ positive and negative evaluations on the behaviour of women in war. By analysing the way in which different sources rationalized women’s wartime behaviour, this thesis shows that there existed boundaries for women in war. Having established women’s potential involvement in war, an exploration follows of their contributions to the war effort, both in the city and abroad. Two observations emerge from chapter 3. First, women were heavily involved in crucial wartime activities such as defending the city, distribution of food and missiles, giving military advice, among others. However, they also participated in negative and traitorous wartime behaviour such as facilitating enemy soldiers to escape a city under conflict. Second, their wartime contributions were not perceived to be ‘breaking social norms’ as is commonly maintained in much scholarly discussion. In chapter 4, the analyses of the different social and economic impacts of war on women reveals that war affected them directly through their experience of evacuations and their necessity to find employment due to wartime poverty, but war also affected women in more insidious ways, especially in their family life and relationships. Finally, chapter 5 then analyses the impact of war with special reference to women’s experiences in post-war contexts such as captivity, slavery, and rape and sexual violence. By showing the variety of experiences and how there existed selection processes with regards to women, this chapter demonstrates that not all women were going to experience the same fates after war. The result is the emergence of a rounded picture of the wartime lives of women in Classical Greece.

Ce projet de thèse de doctorat, portant sur Les religions de l’Antiquité classique dans l’œuvre de Voltaire : réception et instrumentalisation, vise à mettre en perspective la démarche critique dont procède Voltaire pour dénoncer les abus de la religion. Bien qu’elles soient dépréciées au XVIIIe siècle, et loin d’être données comme modèle à imiter, les religions de l’Antiquité sont utilisées par le philosophe des Lumières en tant que témoignages dans un cadre philosophique contemporain. C’est dire qu’elles sont délibérément instrumentalisées dans la mesure où elles lui servent de contre-exemples référentiels dans son combat idéologique contre l’extrémisme outrancier des grandes religions monothéistes : judaïsme, christianisme et islam. Investies au profit d’une fin polémique, elles constituent pour Voltaire le principal argument dans sa lutte philosophique contre les idées fallacieuses des religions modernes et les dérives qui peuvent en découler. Aussi conviendra-t-il de replacer ses références aux religions grecque et romaine dans le contexte culturel du XVIIIe siècle sur la base de la polémique philosophique des Lumières et du triomphe de l’esprit nouveau sur les crédulités anciennes. Quoiqu’il procède par une étude comparative et critique des religions de l’Antiquité classique, Voltaire cherche à relativiser les prétentions universalistes du christianisme contemporain. / This doctoral research proposal investigates The Reception and Instrumentalisation of Classical Religions in Voltaire’s Philosophy. Its aim is to contextualise the critical approach used by Voltaire to attack the negative effects of religion. Other 18th Century writers did not see the merit of ancient religions, nor see them as a worthy ideal, but Voltaire discussed them in order to probe the philosophical questions of his time. He did so deliberately, using them as points of reference and counter examples in his ideological fight against the brazen extremism of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Indeed, the ancient religions are Voltaire’s main argument in his polemical struggle against the false notions and corrupting effects of the monotheistic religions. Should Voltaire’s references to the Greek and Roman religions be situated in the cultural context of the 18th Century? Given the Enlightenment’s polemic philosophy and the triumph of the new spirit of rationality over ancient superstition, this may prove fruitful. Although his approach is to compare and critique the religions of Classical Antiquity, Voltaire seeks to put the universal pretensions of contemporary Christianity into perspective.

L’image que la littérature grecque donne des femmes est souvent négative et l’idéal féminin qui s’en dégage est celui d’une femme silencieuse et peu visible. Or, s’il est vrai que la femme a une place assez réduite dans la cité, elle joue néanmoins un rôle important par ses activités religieuses. L’étude, en s’attachant au facteur socialisant qu’est la pratique rituelle pour les femmes, a alors pour but de montrer le contrôle des rituels féminins par les hommes en confrontant la réglementation qui encadre les femmes à leur représentation littéraire. La recherche vise ainsi à délimiter la place des femmes dans l’espace sacré, en tentant de dégager leur rôle et les règles qu’elles doivent suivre (accès aux sanctuaires, funérailles, participation aux rituels) ; mais elle s’attache aussi aux magistratures religieuses féminines. C’est donc aussi la question de l’implication des femmes dans la cité, par leurs activités rituelles, les magistratures et l’évergétisme, et celle de la « citoyenneté » des femmes qui sont abordées. Un volume d’annexes regroupe le corpus des documents épigraphiques –textes et traductions– utilisés dans ce travail. / Greek literature often gives a pejorative image of women and presents an idealised woman whose qualities are silence and invisibility. If it is true that women had quite a reduced place in Greek city, nevertheless they played an important role through their religious activities. This study, which pays particular attention to the social implications of ritual practices, aims to examin the masculine control over feminine rituals by comparing the rules supervising women with their literary representation.The research intends to establish the woman's place in sacred locations and tries to outline their role and the rules they had to follow (access to sanctuaries, funerals, participation in rituals). It also focuses on religious feminine magistrates. It therefore also deals with the implication of women in cities through their citizenship, ritual activity, office and evergetism. A supplementary volume collects the corpus of epigraphic inscriptions, texts and translations used in this work.

L’objet de cette thèse de doctorat est un homme d’État (diplomate, politique et stratège) de la guerre du Péloponnèse qui a marqué la production littéraire de son siècle, avant de devenir une figure historique présente dans la littérature grecque et latine jusqu’à la fin de l’Antiquité tardive. Son dessein n’est pas de composer une nouvelle biographie d’Alcibiade, mais de proposer une étude renouvelée du personnage en prenant en considération les spécificités du corpus littéraire (genres, aspects fragmentaires, éloignement chronologique, idéologies etc.) et en intégrant les sources archéologiques et épigraphiques, trop peu mobilisées dans les précédentes études biographiques.Le titre de la thèse, Alcibiade entre hybris et tolma (entre démesure et audace) chez Thucydide, décrit par les termes grecs eux-mêmes l’ambivalence du portrait d’Alcibiade dans le corpus des sources littéraires. Il est l’homme des excès, de la démesure, des violences, de l’audace et des grands projets. Son sous-titre, Approche critique des sources, indique la nécessité d’un réexamen détaillé d’un vaste corpus de textes antiques. Nous démontrons cette nécessité dans notre introduction, tout en établissant les problèmes inhérents au texte de Thucydide. / The subject of this PhD is actually a stateman (a diplomat, a politician, a strategist) of the Peloponnesian war who influenced the literary production of his century even before he became a historical figure in Greek and Latin literature, up until late Antiquity. The purpose of this dissertation is not to write a new biography of Alcibiades but to carry out a renewed study of the character by taking into account the specificities of the literary body of works (genres, fragmentary aspects, distance in time, ideologies, etc.) and integrating archaeological and epigraphic sources which have been sidelined too often in previous biographies.The dissertation’s title itself, Alcibiades, between hybris and tolma (between immoderation and boldness) in Thucydides’ work describes even in Greek the ambivalence of Alcibiades’ portrait in literary sources. He is a man of excess, of transgression, of violence, of boldness and great perspectives. The subtitle, A critical approach of sources, indicates that it is necessary to reexamine in a detailed way a vast and detailed body of works. The introduction shows that this reexamination is necessary, though it also shows how difficult it is to study Thucydides’ text.