Panel 7.1 – Religious Investment and Ritual Consumption in Peloponnesian Sanctuaries


Organiser/Chair:

  • Stefan Feuser (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel)

Panel abstract

The sacred landscape of the Peloponnese is formed by a distinct mixture of Pan-Hellenic sanctuaries, urban sanctuaries and smaller extra-urban and rural cultic places. Since Archaic times these sanctuaries must have formed an important part of the Peloponnesian economy, however, their economic significance was largely overlooked in modern scholarships so far. Thus, the panel aims at bringing together leading experts on Peloponnesian sanctuaries to take a fresh look on their economic role from Archaic to Hellenistic times by looking at (1) religious investments as well as (2) ritual consumption. (1)The investment in the religious infrastructure was manifold with the construction, extension and embellishment of temples, altars and sacred precincts. Furthermore, buildings closely related to the cultic activities such as treasuries, banquet buildings, theaters and infrastructure facilities like water supply were also erected. Key questions concerning these buildings could be: What was the driving force behind the investment in religious architecture and cultic infrastructure (e.g. competition among sanctuaries/cities/rulers, changes in cult practices, destruction through war/earthquake/fire/decay)? What might have been the economic rules and logics behind these investments? (2) The ritual consumption was one of the most important parts of ancient cults: it comprised the offering of votives (statues, statuettes, reliefs, vessels, etc. all of different material) and of sacrifices (animals, vine, food, flowers, etc.) as well as the performance of processions (clothing, ephemeral constructions, etc.). Possible questions might be: Concerning their material/ideational value and quantity, what different kind of commodities were offered? Is it possible to estimate the importance for and impact on the urban, local and regional economy of the ritual consumption? Were there production sites of these commodities adjacent to the sanctuaries, in the surroundings or were they imported? And: What did it mean for the ancient economy that an offering or a sacrifice was detracted from the economic circle by consigning it to a goddess or a god?

 

Paper abstracts

1. Stefan Feuser (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel)

Religious Investment and Ritual Consumption in Peloponnesian Sanctuaries – Theoretical and methodical introduction

 

2. Oliver Pilz (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)

The Economy of Votive Practice: Olympia and Kombothekra in the Geometric and Archaic Perio
Ancient dedicatory practice continues to be primarily interpreted as a symbolic means of communication in a religious context and has rarely been analyzed as an economic phenomenon. Yet, many dedications in sanctuaries throughout the Greek and Roman world were of considerable material value. Moreover, a substantial part of the objects deposited in sanctuaries are commodities produced for the sole purpose of dedication.
The sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and the nearby cult place of Artemis Limnatis at Kombothekra rank among the best known Peloponnesian sanctuaries in terms of the publication of the votive material from the Geometric and Archaic periods. Olympia and Kombothekra are therefore well suited for investigating the dedicatory patterns in these sanctuaries during the periods in question. Drawing on this data, the paper not only explores the economic dimension of dedicatory practice in a pre-monetary society, but also aims to embed the ritual consumption of commodities in a social context.

 

3. Raimon Graells (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum)

A diachronic research on the votive offerings in the sanctuary of Olympia (From the 10th to the 5th century BC)
The paper presents the first results of a DFG-project between the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz and the Athens Department of the German Archaeological Institute. It analyses the diachronic development of the largely metal votive offerings in the Zeus sanctuary of Olympia from the Protogeometric to the Classical period (10th–5th century B.C.), using consistently archaeological and statistical methods. The archaeological data used considers the already published Metal votive offerings discovered in Olympia. The final purpose is to provide a substantial contribution to the history of the pan-Hellenic cult place in the first half of the 1st millennium B.C.

 

4. Stephanie Kimmey (University of Missouri, Columbia) / Kim Shelton (University of California, Berkeley)

Well Deposits and Changes in Ritual Consumption at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Nemea
Nemea is known as the site of the panhellenic Sanctuary to Zeus and yet can also be considered a rural location of cult activity due to its placement within the Nemea Valley, removed from large polis centers. The Nemea Valley was well watered and perhaps was a factor in the location of the sanctuary. The custodians of the site not only manipulated the Nemea River but also took advantage of the natural resource by building aqueducts and a series of wells across the sanctuary. These wells, while providing water for a variety of functions, are also a set of relatively closed archaeological contexts that provide evidence for the ritual activities occurring during the festivals and games.
A close examination of the artifacts deposited in the wells reveals changes in ritual consumption at Nemea from the Archaic/Classical to the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic periods. The preponderance of regionally-sourced drinking vessels is an Archaic period trend, while a resurgence of activity in the later 4th century BCE corresponds with new building projects and more diverse sources of the commodities used at the site. The well assemblages and associated facilities attest to a small ceramic production center within the sanctuary along with the importation of goods by the panhellenic visitors. These wells are important loci for different activities that correspond with the surrounding architecture and provide a different way to trace ritual consumption within the eastern Peloponnese.

 

5. James Lloyd (University of Reading)

Producing the Spartan Lead Votives
The Spartan lead votives represent one the largest productions of Greek votive offerings: over 100,000 from the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, and around 6,000 from the Menelaion, in addition to smaller numbers from other Spartan sanctuaries and locations outside Laconia.
Since Wace 1929 there have been few studies on the production of the lead votives and what their production might reveal about Archaic Spartan economics and religion. Boss 2000 is a major exception, also of importance is Gill & Vickers 2001, who argued, based on Pb isotope analysis of 12 votives, that the source of the lead used to produce the votives was the Laurion silver field.
This paper presents new Pb isotope analysis of 19 Spartan lead figurines in the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology, concluding that East Lakonia is a potential source for the lead too.
The paper also hypothesises, drawing on evidence from new XRF analysis of 59 lead votives, and comparative examples, that the figurines were produced on a small, frequent scale and produced either within or nearby the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia and the Menelaion.
Finally, I will suggest initial calculations as to the cost of producing such a large quantity of figurines.
The lead figurines, as tempting as it is, should not be seen as symbols for an austere sixth century Spartan culture, but as evidence for wider Spartan individuality and of relatively complex economic mechanisms.

 

6. Maria Spathi (Institut of Messenian Archaeological Studies)

Small votive offerings from the Sanctuaries of ancient Messene and their value in terms of religious, political and economic significance
The city of ancient Messene in the southwest Peloponnese, founded in 369 BC by the Thebans, was one of the largest and more distinguished cities in Greece with a high level of social and economic status. The aim of this paper will be to highlight the parametres that appear to influence the production and consumption of votive offerings in the various sanctuaries of the city of Messene, whilst taking into consideration local disitinctive peculiarities that form aspects of private and public religious life. The political circumstances and pursuits, played an important role in the formation of the votive spectrum, and an example of this might be the promotion of the national identity and ethnicity. Aside from the religious and political reasons that prompted the dedication of specific types of votives in the Messenian sanctuaries, is important to discuss the possible economical reasons for the preference. This discussion might be able to help answer the following questions: Does the dedication of specific types of offerings also reflect a practice imposed by economic reasons? Does the restricted economy of the sanctuaries have an impact on the dedicatory praxis or even a wider one in the economy of the city? Do different variety offerings, not only the small and less valuable but also the more expensive, affect the economy of the “sacred and if so, in what way?

 

7. Dimitrios Ath. Kousoulas

Heraion of Argos in comparison to the Temple of Apollo in Bassae
In the classical Period, several temples are erected in the Peloponnese either replacing earlier buildings, which were destroyed, or honouring new deities, such as the Asklepieion in Epidauros. Among them, two temples stand out for their artistic value and the certain references to the Attic art: the Heraion in Argos, which was destroyed due to fire in 426/5 BC, and the temple of Apollo Epikourios. These monuments are significant, because they occupied famous artist of the period. Earlier studies have shed light on the costs required for these buildings and the number of craftsmen that were necessary.
Aim of this paper is to compare the statistical and economic data available for these monuments, based on archaeological, literary and other sources, with comparison to contemporary Attic buildings.

 

8. András Patay-Horváth (ELTE, Budapest)

Temple building in Archaic and Classical Arkadia
Surprisingly many temples were built in Archaic and Classical Arkadia and some of these buildings were at the same time substantial monuments. In addition to their elaborate architecture, they were often erected at strangely remote places, or were orientated differently from the usual Greek temples. Some special cases (such as Bassae and Tegea) apart, there is practically no written evidence about the identity and the underlying motivations of the temple-builders and the historical circumstances of a temple-building project can only be reconstructed tentatively, mainly based on the actual remains and their findplace. The current historical interpretation assumes that the buildings expressed the identity of the local communities which commissioned these temples mainly in order to demonstrate their independence from the menacing power of Lacedaemon. Based on practical considerations and comparable cases across the Greek world, my paper challenges this view and tries to offer an alternative interpretation. It is argued that most of these temples were connected with some kind of social mobility and/or migration.

 

9. Stylianos Katakis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Wiederverwendete Statuen auf der Skene des Theaters von Epidauros
Das weltberühmte spätklassisch – frühhellenistische Theater im Heiligtum des Apollon und des Asklepios in Epidauros war reich mit Skulpturen ausgestattet, die 137 Jahre nach ihrer Entdeckung noch immer unpubliziert sind.
Im Bereich der Orchestra und des Skenegebäudes wurden folgende Skulpturen gefunden: eine überlebensgroße Asklepiosstatue aus der Mitte des 1. Jhs. n. Chr., die einzige, deren antiker Aufstellungsort bekannt ist, eine klassische Peplophoros und drei hellenistische Statuetten von zwei Mädchen und einem Jüngling. Es ist offensichtlich, dass sie irgendwann in römischer Zeit im Theater wiederverwendet wurden. Hinzu kommen zwei Basen, von denen die eine zu einer Statue der Livia gehörte. Bemerkenswert ist jedoch, dass das Theater im Asklepiosheiligtum kein für die römischen Theater typisches Charakteristikum wie die halbkreisförmige Orchestra und/oder eine prächtige scenae frons aufweist.
Untersucht werden sollen die Bedeutung der Skulpturen an ihrem ursprünglichen Aufstellungsort sowie die Funktion, die sie nachträglich im Theater erhalten hatten. Im Heiligtum von Epidauros war es geläufig, dass ältere Statuen, Statuenbasen und auch Architekturteile in späterer Zeit aus finanziellen Gründen an anderer Stelle wiederverwendet wurden.

 

10. Katia Perna (University of Catania)

Greek artefacts and ritual consumption in the indigenous sanctuary of Polizzello (Sicily)
The site of Polizzello lies at the center of Sicily, near the modern village of Mussomeli. During the eighth century B.C., a sanctuary arose there, which housed round buildings, surrounded by a temenos wall that marked the sacred area.
From the mid of the seventh through the mid of the next century, a large amount of Greek artefacts (Corinthian and black painted ware, personal ornaments in bronze, amber, bone, ivory and silver and bronze and iron weapons) were dedicated in the sanctuary.
The offering of these objects (all pertinent to the types offered in the main Archaic Greek sanctuaries) testifies a profound change in ritual actions and goods consumption, but also presupposes the establishment of new economic and political relationships.
This change can be understood in the wider context of the expansion of the Greek colonies in central-western Sicily; the presence of colonists in this area, in fact, led to the creation of a complex interaction network and enacted processes of religious syncretism.
This paper aims to analyze Greek artifacts from an economic point of view, as trade goods, but also paying attention to the role that they played in the activation of social strategies - especially during religious performances - and cultural and political transformations.