SOME REFLECTIONS ON EUBOEAN SANCTUARIES, CULT PRACTICES AND POLITICS
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-02-23

Much progress has been made in our knowledge of the sanctuaries of Euboea as a result of the archaeological field surveys, excavations and studies of finds carried out in recent years by a wide number of scholars and institutions. Indeed, recent fieldwork has provided illuminating new evidence on the location and layout of some of the main urban and nonurban sanctuaries of the island. Besides, thorough study and interpretation of votive materials have resulted in major advances in our understanding of the cult activities that took place in these sites from the Early Iron Age to the Roman Period. In this paper I will highlight several features concerning the sacred landscape of Euboea by combining old and new archaeological data along with literary and epigraphical testimonia. Obviously, I do not aspire to present a comprehensive account of all Euboean cult sites. Rather, I will focus on just a few, albeit, outstanding sanctuaries and will deal with some intriguing issues and processes such as the assignment of new traits to divinities, the appropriation and monumentalization of these cult places and the close relationship between politics and religion in Euboea.


Author(s): Arjona, Manuel (Independent researcher)