Degree Date
2024
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
Abstract
Despite the impact of scholarly models for the distribution of Greek sanctuaries, this is the first comprehensive and critical study of “border sanctuaries,” a type of sacred site that has been strongly associated with territorial borders of poleis in ancient Greece. When used as a distinct site type, it correlates location in a border zone with specific functions related to that border, such as community definition or territorial control. Focusing on the Archaic and Classical periods, and building on scholarship of borders, religion, and landscape, this study presents four border zones throughout the Peloponnese, and treats each sanctuary within it at three scales: case by case, in a regional context, and on the level of the Peloponnese. Within a landscape approach, the archaeological remains of a sanctuary are recorded, but also its relationships with its terrain, proximity to roads, settlements, fortifications, and borders, as well as local myths. The sanctuaries, as recorded in the material record and in textual sources, vary in scale, composition, and development, and host a range of deities. There is a noticeable prominence of Apollo, a god connected to the development of the polis and territorial claims, and Artemis, typically associated with wild and so-called “liminal” places. Votive materials also vary, but deposits of dedicated arms and armor are present at many of the sanctuaries. The usage of, and access to, the sanctuaries are dependent on their relationships to regional routes as well as the local political histories, and can be traced through both votive material and written records, including disputes and arbitrations. Some sites reflect changing control of their associated border, while others suggest functions as places of connection and communication between territories. While the framework of “border sanctuary” does not result in a strict typology of site, it does provide a productive lens through which to approach an array of sacred places and to bring them into dialogue with their regional religious landscapes, moving beyond models which revolve around the polis. This project has implications for our understanding of Greek polytheism in general and for the interconnected religious landscapes of the ancient Peloponnese.
Citation
Dunn, Shannon M., "In Search of Border Sanctuaries: Religion, Landscape, and Territory in the Peloponnese," Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr College, 2024.