Landscapes are intricate, complex and multi-layered products of social dynamics and cultural practices within specific environments. Over the past decade researchers have advanced the study of the perceptions and experiences of past people by studying the organization of social space. The growing international recognition of landscape studies highlights the neglect of landscape in contemporary Byzantine studies. It is vital that Byzantine studies consider new approaches to the organisation of landscape and how it is experienced, in order to move beyond a dehumanised history reliant on the discussion of historically-recorded political events. This thesis addresses these issues, analysing space as an expression of social identity, and increasing our understanding of the interplay between Byzantine rural society and eastern Mediterranean landscapes. The heart of this thesis is a detailed historic analysis of the spatial composition of the landscapes of two contrasting case-studies, Pisidia (Turkey) and the Troodos Mountain foothills (Cyprus). To achieve this retrogressive landscape analysis and Historic Landscape Characterisation has been implemented. These modern techniques map the historic processes that shape the landscape. These methods are combined with the results of ceramic survey to provide further chronological definition to the historic landscape study. This is a unique and innovative methodology that has not been previously attempted in historic landscape analysis. This methodology draws on both high-quality research generated by international research teams (Sydney Cyprus Survey Project and Pisidia Survey Project) and original fieldwork by the author. This explores the relationships between Historic Landscape Character and the ceramics found within the landscape. The results of this thesis have revealed new historical landscape narratives, demonstrating how the combination of methodologies revealed a much richer history than each technique alone would provide. This detailed framework of the past allows a more comprehensive exploration of the influence of landscapes on the experience and perceptions of people in the past.

Minoan archaeology is dominated by the study of Palaces. The establishment of such monumental structures with assumed central authority across the island of Crete at the beginning of the MBA has promoted historical questions which focus exclusively on the emergence of social complexity. Almost without exception such studies have been framed within a regional background. However, although Region has been considered the scale of analysis par excellence for understanding the rise of the Palaces, a more thorough investigation of the dynamics which generate regional patterns seems to be lacking in current studies. This thesis argues that the directionality imposed to Minoan studies by the focus on palatial emergence generates inadequate accounts of social change. Moreover, the uncritical equation of regional conformities with social integration, reduces regionalism to an accidental phenomenon and impedes the investigation of the relationship between local and wider processes. An alternative approach is put forward whereby social practices are at the centre of inquiry. It is argued that social relations are negotiated through particular social practices which prove more relevant for the articulation of identities, thereby becoming social arenas. The recurrent investment in common social arenas through time generates particular understandings of region as a sense of community. Region is perceived here as an ongoing process of belonging and not as the concentration of people and objects in a bounded geographical area. The Mesara in south-central Crete has been considered the 'ultimate' region in Minoan studies by virtue of its distinct topography and its unique cultural pattern. The thesis examines the social processes which generated such an impression of regionalism for the Mesara, from the FN to the end of the Protopalatial period. It is argued that the scale at which belonging was practised, marked the extent and the density of the relevant region. The emergence of the First Palace of Phaistos is re-evaluated through this alternative perspective. It is suggested that the geographical distinctiveness of the Mesara did not always warrant the social cohesion of its communities. Instead the Mesara consisted of different regions throughout its history, which reflected the scale at which community was felt and actively performed.

No description available.

The aim of this thesis is to show both how the contemporary Greek landscape has been represented through photography and to what degree has such an operation been determined or influenced by dominant western culture. To do so, if focuses on the Athenian environment, exploring it both theoretically and practically.

No description available.

Following recent advances in the study of the perioikoi of Laconia, especially those focusing on their political status and their respective poleis, I offer the first full-length study of the perioikoi, in order to highlight their relevance and positive contribution to the Lacedaemonian state. This work acts both as a stand-alone piece and a supplement to existing seminal studies in the fields of Spartan and helot studies. It looks at Sparta and Laconia from a perioikic point of view, with a focus on the role of the perioikoi as a people and as fellow Lacedaemonians. Limited to the classical period, this study examines and analyses all the appearances of Lacedaemonian perioikoi in textual sources and in material culture with the aim of shedding more light on what has always been an obscure group. This study begins with the difficulties posed by both ancient sources and modern scholarship. Since textual evidence for the perioikoi is scarce, there have been few studies devoted to them, whereas studies of Spartans and the helots have become ever more common over recent decades. However, when we begin to explore who the perioikoi were, in the general sense of the word, and what it meant to be a Lacedaemonian then we can appreciate that these perioikoi were a complex group because of their status as Lacedaemonians, something which differentiated them from other perioikoi in the Greek world. As Lacedaemonians, they interacted with the many groups that inhabited Laconia, especially the helots, and shared the same objectives as the Spartans when it came to controlling and keeping watch over the helots. Furthermore, they enjoyed a professional and cordial relationship with the Spartans. Most importantly, however, we find that, as fellow-Lacedaemonians, they enjoyed exceptional freedom when operating in the Lacedaemonian army. As individuals they could hold high-ranking positions, command soldiers, and even be trusted with missions that could change the course of action in war; and as collective groups they could fight in strictly elite units. The Spartans knew they could rely on the skills of the perioikoi as soldiers. The fact that Lacedaemonian perioikoi rebelled extremely rarely is testament to their loyalty not just to Sparta but to Laconia as well. This study shows that the perioikoi of Laconia were not a psychologically, economically or socially subdued group. They enjoyed all the freedoms and advantages of being Lacedaemonians in their own right and by working alongside one of the most powerful city-states of classical Greece, Sparta. It also shows that Laconia was more than just Sparta and the cities that surrounded it. The common link between Sparta and the perioikoi was their shared identity as Lacedaemonians. The Peloponnesian War, as we know it today, was fought between Sparta and Athens, but in antiquity it was viewed as Athens against the Lacedaemonians. That is why there existed a Lacedaemonian army, Lacedaemonian religion, and a Lacedaemonian culture.

The main aim of this thesis is to examine the spatial dimension of religious movement and to understand its role in creating a sacred landscape. It takes an inter-disciplinary approach towards the archaeology of religion and practice in the Byzantine capital that suggests that sacred landscapes are not static amalgams but that they exist and are transformed through experience. In medieval minds Constantinople was the queen of cities, a world-famous jewel under the protection of God and His mother the Theotokos. The city's sacred landscape hosted the relics of saints and was perceived as being like a church; it was a landscape characterised as a guide of faith and Orthodoxy. The city was the location of religious processions, historic and commemorative, whose echoes are found in various primary sources. These processions are recorded as having salvific and protective properties and as a link to the divine. During these processions churches, but also civic sites like the Forum or even open spaces outside the city walls, were within a sacred sphere. Time, landscape and text are active agents that shape but are also shaped by religious practice. The thesis presents an analysis of the spatiotemporal relationships of text, material culture, religious practice and is aiming to approach an understanding of the litanic character of the sacred landscape. To do so, the argument is based on discussions of the way the Byzantines perceived processions and the way they engaged with practice itself, including the role of emotion and memory and affect. Furthermore the thesis explores the processions of the two liturgical cycles of the 10th century cathedral rite and discusses where possible the origins of these processions. With the use of GIS, it analyses the meaning of their spatiotemporal relationships, proposing at the same time new ways for their visualisation.

The thesis discusses the relationship between geography and history in Boiotia between the middle of the sixth century and 335BC. The study is based on the belief that the history of Boiotia is rendered more intelligible when seen through the processes of geographic construction in which its inhabitants were involved. After an introduction that outlines the theoretical basis of the work in postmodern geography, landscape phenomenology, and the Annales School of history, the thesis is divided into three principal parts. The first seeks to understand the physical environment of the region, as well as the natural and man-made changes that affected the region in the period before the sixth century. The chapter also discusses the ecology of the region as well as its demographic, economic, and cultural background. The second part investigates the objective, built environment and the physical aspects of the way in which individuals and communities shape and change the world around them. Aspects considered include the processes of delimiting borders, the effect of city-walls, watchtowers and sanctuaries on social and political dynamic of the region. The third part focuses on the subjective, imagined environment, which seeks to explore the way in which Boiotians (and those outside the area) interpreted the geography of the region. The final part of the thesis is an attempt to apply the ideas developed in the main body of the thesis to a specific event: the destruction of Thebes by Alexander the Great. The work is followed by an annex, which seeks to provide a broad diachronic overview of the history of Boiotia from 550-335BC.

This dissertation offers a new biography of Manuel II Palaiologos (1350-1425), attempting to depict him as a ruler, writer and personality. The dissertation is organized as a chronological narrative, each chapter dealing with a time period in Manuel’s life. For the first time, this study offers an in-depth analysis of Manuel’s complete literary, philosophical and theological oeuvre. Some of the key discussions are Manuel’s self-representation and how he adopts various stances and personas under specific conditions, his literary style, the innovations he introduces to topoi and the allusions he makes to Classical authors in order to display his wit and to give different layers of meaning. An attempt is made to gain an insight into Manuel’s thoughts and feelings, his pastimes and his relationships with the literati, family members and foes. This study also strives to envisage Manuel’s surroundings and everyday life, such as his environment in Constantinople and other cities, his travels, the conditions in the campaigns in which he participated, his daily life in the palace, fashions and food. Finally, through an analysis of Byzantine, Western and Ottoman sources, the dissertation studies the political history of the period.

This thesis examines literary and cultural influences upon descriptions of warfare in Byzantine historiography, focusing on events of the ninth to twelfth centuries. Its main aim is twofold: to account for the appearance in historiography of more ‘heroic’ accounts of battle from the late tenth century, and to identify the sources Middle Byzantine historians employed for military events, particularly since this material appears to have had a significant role in the aforementioned development. Study of Middle Byzantine historical works grants insight into general features of war writing. Moreover, it also reveals much about the working methods of historians and the written sources they employed for military episodes. These sources, now lost to us, are determined to have primarily been campaign reports and biographical compositions. Once an understanding of the nature of such texts is reached, one may demonstrate that they presented their military subject according to contemporary ideals of valour and generalship. It is suggested that the appearance of promotional literature of the military aristocracy in the tenth century was instrumental in the development of a more ‘heroic’ form of war writing, with Homeric-style descriptions of battle, cunning military stratagems, and courageous displays more evident in historiography from this time.