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New Approaches to the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
This volume brings together the proceedings of an international and interdisciplinary symposium held at Budapest between 8th and 10th May 2014. It was the first event dealing exclusively with the temple of Zeus at Olympia, which was, at the time of its construction, the largest temple in mainland Greece, and which has remained the largest ancient building of the Peloponnese ever since. Contributors come from eight countries, namely Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and the UK, and from several different fields of classical studies, including archaeology, ancient history, numismatics, epigraphy and architecture. The contributions deal with widely different aspects of th...
Transformations of Pelops
This volume is the first monograph in English dedicated to the study of the Greek mythical hero Pelops, taking a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the study of this obscure figure. Suitable for students and scholars of ancient Greek history and mythology, classical philology, and archaeology.
Transformations of Pelops
This volume is the first monograph in English dedicated to the study of the Greek mythical hero Pelops. While popular in antiquity, Pelops’ popularity has since faded; this book presents a comprehensive treatment of his character and legacy. Ancient tradition held that Pelops was the son of Tantalus and the ancestor of the Atreids, Agamemnon and Menelaos, who appear in the Homeric poems as leaders of the Greek forces against Troy. After arriving in Greece from the east, Pelops was eventually worshipped in Olympia, became the eponym of the Peloponnese, and was celebrated as one of the founders of the Olympic Games. However, his character is morally problematic, his family were heavily conde...
Greek Geometric Animal Figurines and the Origins of the Ancient Olympic Games
According to the prevailing scholarly opinion, Geometric bronze animal figurines found at Olympia represent cattle and horses which were put under the protection of the divinity in this form. This view is challenged here for various reasons including literary testimony and comparisons with contemporary shrines containing similar dedications (especially Kato Syme on Crete). This paper argues that the bovines depicted were feral, and the figurines were offered by foreign aristocrats visiting the sanctuary especially for the sake of hunting these animals. Similarly, the horse figurines are interpreted as depicting feral equines, which were presumably captured and taken away by the visitors. After examining the cultic regulations related to the Olympic Games (timing, crowns, exclusion of married women and the penteteric periodicity), it is suggested that excessive hunting led to the extinction of some game animals and thus to a radical shift in the cult practice and ultimately resulted in the introduction of athletic events, i.e., in the Olympic Games.
The Origins of the Olympic Games
Even in antiquity it was debated when and why the Olympic Games had been established and by whom. Modern scholarship has also advanced a great number of hypotheses on the origins of the games (ranging from funeral games to harvest ceremonies/vegetation magic or even initiation rites), but a truly convincing reconstruction has not yet been formulated. The present volume off ers a new comprehensive explanation for the phenomenon and argues that the Games evolved from hunting and from animal ceremonialism observed among various hunting groups. This explanation is admittedly a hypothetical one, based mainly on the interpretation of the archaeological material and some ethnographic parallels, but conjecture is necessary due to the complete absence of contemporary written evidence. In addition, although it is essentially a simple theory that simultaneously explains many perplexing features of the Games in a coherent way, it must remain without definitive proof, as with all other previous similar explanations. "Anyone who takes issue is allowed a simple remedy: to off er something better, something that is coherent and constructive as an alternative."
Pagans and Christians in Late Antique Rome
This book sheds new light on the religious and consequently social changes taking place in late antique Rome. The essays in this volume argue that the once-dominant notion of pagan-Christian religious conflict cannot fully explain the texts and artifacts, as well as the social, religious, and political realities of late antique Rome. Together, the essays demonstrate that the fourth-century city was a more fluid, vibrant, and complex place than was previously thought. Competition between diverse groups in Roman society - be it pagans with Christians, Christians with Christians, or pagans with pagans - did create tensions and hostility, but it also allowed for coexistence and reduced the likelihood of overt violent, physical conflict. Competition and coexistence, along with conflict, emerge as still central paradigms for those who seek to understand the transformations of Rome from the age of Constantine through the early fifth century.
Our Beloved Polites: Studies presented to P.J. Rhodes
Twenty-eight contributions pay tribute to one of the most remarkable historians of ancient Greece, Professor P. J. Rhodes, to celebrate his life and work which has been and will continue to be a major reference for scholars around the world. The volume is organised in four sections: History and Biography, Law, Politics, and Epigraphy.
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Avar-Age Polearms and Edged Weapons
In Avar-Age Polearms and Edged Weapons, Gergely Csiky offers a presentation of close combat weapons of a nomadic population that migrated from Inner Asia to East-Central Europe. During the late 6th – early 7th centuries, the Avars led successful military campaigns against the Balkan realms of the Byzantine Empire, facilitated by their cavalry’s use of stirrups for the first time in Europe. Besides the classification, manufacturing techniques, fittings, suspension, distribution, and chronology of polearms and edged weapons known from Avar-age burials, a special emphasis is laid on the origins and cultural contacts of these weapons, among them the first edged weapons with curved blades: the sabres. The social significance and, function of these artefacts is discussed in order to place them in nomadic warfare.
