This thesis is a survey of Mount Amani, the northwestern province of Chios island (east Aegean). The thesis examines the natural environment and explores the landscape using different kinds of information, in order to reconstruct the medieval historical topography of this region and to contribute to the problématique of the history and evolution of the Byzantine village and its remarkable longevity. The methodology applied ranges from the scanty literary sources, and visible archaeological evidence, and extends to the tracing of any sign of human activity on the landscape. Additionally, toponmy, ethnography and oral tradition are implemented for the examination of other aspects, such as the peasant architecture and material culture. From many perspectives, the study is paramount. It presents archaeological evidence for sites, for which there are no literary sources to rely upon. It highlights their share in the economy of Chios during the Byzantine and the Genoese periods. Finally, it aims to contribute to the debate over the ‘depopulation’ or ‘demographic decline’ of mountainous terrains in the ages prior to the eleventh century.

The term apotropaia is conventionally understood to refer to a specific type of protective magic in which an object possesses a supernatural ability to avert evil from its human users, the practice of which is generally assumed to be a facet of human behavior so fundamental in nature that it is applied universally and rarely subjected to critical review. The application of such a universal approach to the tutelary magic of ancient Greece is problematic, particularly in light of the concept’s origination in outdated treatments of the ancient world. This study intends to examine the human agency that directs the selection and use of protective magic in the art of Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece, to explore how, why, and under whose agency the visual expression of apotropaic motifs developed, and to situate all of these answers in their relevant historical and cultural contexts. A chronological examination of the evidence reveals a distinct shift in agency over time, in which early appeals to the gods for protection gradually give way to a preference for human ritual behaviors that purport to provide the same security. The apotropaic element of the iconography of the ancient gorgon is developed gradually, as it grows from an image that symbolizes divine action to one that can be used by humans with individual, non-divine agency, all of which occurs against a backdrop of larger changes in the perception of the roles of gods and men. These shifts reveal the existence of a clear human need, in the years following the Hellenistic period, to secure protection from non-standard sources, or, in those cases where the Greek gods are preferred, to use the deities as tools in service to human needs. Furthermore, these diachronic shifts in tutelary agency correspond to periods of socio-economic crisis, perhaps as the result of general losses of faith in the divine. As a result, a pattern emerges in which the early reliance on the gods for protection gives way to a human need to assert control over one’s circumstances by any means necessary. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / May 5, 2017. / apotropaic, evil eye, gorgon, protective magic, ship eyes / Includes bibliographical references. / Christopher Pfaff, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Levenson, University Representative; Svetla Slaveva-Griffin, Committee Member; Daniel J. Pullen, Committee Member.

Greco-Roman religion in the ancient Mediterranean permeated aspects of everyday life, including seafaring. Besides cargo, ships transported mariners' religious beliefs from port to port, thus disseminating religious culture. Shipboard ritual, however, remains largely inferred from Latin and Greek texts, iconography, and isolated archaeological finds. Several accounts record that tutelary statues were carried on board to deliver a ship from peril. These accounts are supported by iconographic representations of deities on the hull and a relief scene which shows the use of altars and incense in shipboard ritual. Moreover, ritual objects, including altars, small statuary, incense burners, and lustral basins, have been found among shipwrecks, but prior archaeological research has been particularistic, singling out ritual objects in shipwrecks. Their presence, however, does not necessitate shipboard ritual since these items may have been cargo. To distinguish between personal items and cargo on board ancient shipwrecks, I analyze such objects both objectively and subjectively: first focusing on an object to discern a potential purpose and then again within a spatial context to define its actual purpose. Additionally, I develop religious and social space theories for shipboard analysis, identifying ritual at the bow and stern and concluding that the stern in particular served as an axis mundi, a central location for divine communication. Furthermore, because of this comprehensive approach, large ritual objects such as altars and lustral basins often can be identified primarily as cargo. Ultimately, applying social space theory to shipwrecks can redefine our interpretation of religious activity on board the ship, an intermediary in the dissemination of culture.

The miracle-workers and magicians we meet in the Greco-Roman world and on the pages of Greco-Roman narratives are among the most difficult characters for modem scholars to understand. While Greco-Roman writers presume their readers will share their socio-cultural script and understand how one distinguishes between a legitimate miracle-worker and an illegitimate magician, this script is lost on modem scholars. Hindered first by absolute definitions for miracle and magic from social anthropology and then by relative definitions from the sociology of knowledge, this thesis calls for a re-engagement of the "historic imagination" with respect to these sorts of characters. In particular, this thesis suggests that a detailed investigation into the operation of characters labelled as performers of miracles or magic can reveal the criteria which distinguished the two in the minds of Greco-Roman Mediterraneans as well as revealing the practical outworking of the criteria themselves. Two narratives are chosen for this task-the canonical Acts of the Apostles, representing a Jewish- Christian angle, and Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana, representing a pagan angle. Methodologically the study proceeds by converting these narratives into "narrative worlds" and then subjecting the narrative worlds to a social investigation using models suggested by the work of Mary Douglas and Peter Brown. Under the rubric of "gaining power, " "intersecting power, " and "defending power" the two narrative worlds projected by these texts are compared and contrasted with respect to the criteria being used to distinguish miracle-worker from magician. The conclusion reached is that in both texts legitimacy for a mediator of divine power is found especially in demonstrating power without appearing desirous of personal gains. A miracle-worker is successful in this regard; a magician is one who fails in this regard.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universität Bonn, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [260]-290).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universität Bonn, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [260]-290).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept of Visual Arts, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-133).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Life. Bibliography: p. 64.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Life. Bibliography: p. 64.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universität Bonn, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [260]-290).