This thesis reconstructs the royal Acropolis at Babylon and selected adjacent areas as they likely appeared during the late 6th century B.C. Today, all that remains of Babylon is scant archaeological ruins of building foundations. It is difficult to appreciate that the site had been home to even a provincial town, much less one of the most magnificent capital cities the Middle East has ever known. Through the use of archaeological reports and iconography, the author analyzed the architecture to determine the most probable appearance of Babylon’s lost monuments. The product of this research reconstructed the massive palatial complexes and their defensive enclosures in the form of a three-dimensional digitized AutoCAD model. This interpretation postulates the most accurate portrayal of the Babylonian Acropolis during the height of its occupation. By examining the fortifying architecture, this study offers a unique perspective into the defensive nature of the Babylonian mindset and through it shows how Babylon came to be considered one of the marvels of its time.

A society that regards nature as divine is constantly reminded of its dependence on the gods. It comes, therefore, as no surprise to find the sanctuary as major focus of the Greek community, in Athens literally occupying the centre of the city, the Acropolis. A central part of ancient religious life was the practice of offering gifts to the gods. The abundance of dedications on the Acropolis - which includes the full range from the simple terracotta figurines to exquisitely decorated pottery and life size marble sculpture - gives ample evidence of this. The Acropolis offers a unique opportunity to study the dedications of Athens' city sanctuary in its most important period of growth and power. The continued use of the sanctuary over centuries is not on all accounts a blessing. The history of the Acropolis and its buildings has yet to find a conclusive interpretation owing to the destruction of earlier evidence by later building phases. In Chapter II I give a brief summary of the different theories and their limits in satisfying all the evidence. The chapter is not intended as a detailed architectural study, but to establish as closely as possible when cults were introduced on the Acropolis and when building activity might have influenced the storage and disposal of dedications. The survival of the dedications themselves has been affected by the length of the sanctuaries' use. Different classes of objects have better chances of survival than others, some classes will have left no record in corpore. In Chapter III I introduce all sources: the objects (pottery, bronzes, sculpture, terracotta, etc.), the epigraphic and the literary evidence, and assess their value and completeness. The chapter is also an archaeological and iconographical study of the dedications. The objects are classified by type, and changes in decoration and shape of chosen dedications are explored. Flow charts show numerical changes in classes and types of objects during the centuries. In some cases it is also possible to make more conclusive statements about the dedicators. Inscribed names give the opportunity to recognize persons we know from history. I enquire into the identities and status of some of the dedicators and their motive for dedication and try to show how these motives might have changed with time. In Chapter IV the evidence concerning the placing of the dedications on the Acropolis is collected. What kind of dedications were stored in temple treasuries and if they were in the open (as statues), where were they placed on the Acropolis? In the conclusion I try to point out how changes in society and religion are reflected in the dedications.

No description available.

Akademisk avhandling--Stockholm. / Includes bibliographical references.

Akademisk avhandling--Stockholm. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

This thesis explores the relationship between the Classical Greek legacy and today’s world by examining the past two hundred years of controversy surrounding Lord Elgin’s removal of the Parthenon Marbles from Athens. Since the Marbles were purchased by the British Museum in 1816, they have become symbols of democratic values and Greek cultural identity. By considering how the Parthenon Marbles are talked about by different people over the years, from art connoisseurs and Romantic poets of the early 19th century to nationalist political activists of the late 20th century, this thesis demonstrates that the fight for the Marbles’ return to Greece is about more than just the sculptures themselves. It is about national heritage and cultural identity.

(in English): The thesis is focusesd on evaluation of archaeological situations in the northern acropolis of Třísov oppidum (dist. Český Krumlov) and evaluation of local findings, which were collected mainly during excavation conducted by J. Břeň. The aim of the thesis is to focus on dominant place - acropolis - of archeological settlement and role of the acropolis within Bohemian Oppida. I will describe the hypothetical function of the acropolis and confront these conclusions with the situation of the acropoli of Třísov Oppidum.

Au cours de l’époque classique, la gestion des cultes et des richesses sacrées d’Athènes devient de plus en plus centralisée autour de l’Acropole. La cité en effet met en place un système de gestion plus rationnel et cohérent de ses biens sacrés en même temps qu’elle se dote de structures administratives et institutionnelles lui permettant de gérer un empire maritime en expansion. Ce système, loin d’être figé, repose sur la mobilisation des pratiques et instruments comptables qui conduisent à une connaissance plus précise des fortunes des sanctuaires et à une organisation et exploitation plus efficaces des trésors sacrés. La structure administrative semble bien s’adapter aux statuts variés des sanctuaires attiques ainsi qu’aux spécificités liées à leur positionnement géographique. La polis décline en effet de façon différente ses interventions dans la gestion économique des lieux de culte dispersés sur son territoire : elle procède souvent au maintien des spécificités régionales dans l’administration des sanctuaires mais elle adapte en même temps ces différentes réalités administratives aux nécessités d’une gestion centralisée et unitaire. A la lumière de perspectives évoquées, la recherche en cours se consacre à étudier l’articulation et l’évolution au fils du temps des formes et des méthodes de l’administration économique et financière des richesses sacrées athéniennes ainsi que le rôle et l’action de ses acteurs principaux : la polis et les autres instances civiques, les sanctuaires et le territoire. / At Athens, since de development of the maritime Empire, the management system of sacred finances became increasingly centralized on the Acropolis. The city developed a more rational and coherent method of administration of its sacred properties. This system was based on several practices and instruments of accountability that allowed the Athenian State to better control the wealth of attic sanctuaries and to better exploit it in order to finance religious life. Furthermore, attic sanctuaries bore different statuses and different economic roles inside Attic boundaries. For these reasons, Athens declined in a different way its interventions in the economic management of its sacred treasures. The Polis maintained, anyway, regional diversities in the administration and harmonized it inside a unified and coherent management system. Thus, the current study is devoted to study the articulation and evolution over time of the forms and methods of economic and financial administration of Athenian sacred wealth as well as the role and action of its main actors in this system : central and local civic authorities, sanctuaries and the territory.

This research project analyzes 5 middens from the Lower Rio Verde valley sites of Río Viejo and Yugüe, Oaxaca, Mexico, during the Terminal Formative period (150 BC to AD 250). The middens are analyzed to further our understanding of socio-political events in public spaces at both sites during this time. The study suggests a greater distinction in use of public spaces between the two sites than within Río Viejo. Frameworks established by Dietler and Hayden for the analysis of feasts do not seem to apply well to the middens analyzed here. Although I argue that evidence from Rio Viejo's middens does not dispute the viability of previous arguments regarding Terminal Formative Río Viejo ritual authorities', potentially elites, efforts to create regional-scale political affiliations, the level to which middens at Río Viejo are evidence of “scaled-up” versions of local practices at outlying sites is inconclusive. Though there is potential for larger feasts at Río Viejo, taken alone the Yugüe midden appears larger. The Río Viejo middens demonstrate greater likelihood for the diminished conspicuousness of status differentiation during the associated events.