Urban Rituals in Sacred Landscapes

Abstract

In this book, I have asked the question why autochthonous, local or regional sanctuaries were so vital to the development of poleis in Hellenistic Asia Minor even though they were located at great distances from the urban center. Although I have focused this research on a few case studies, the phenomenon was fairly common, as discussed in the introduction with the list of cities whose major sanctuaries were situated at a distance, sometimes even in faraway places (Table 1.1). In examining current approaches from archaeological and historical studies, it soon becomes apparent that available models are tailored to answer very different questions, regarding either the rural setting of urban sanctuaries in the context of Archaic and Classical Greece, or the degree of autonomy and economic, social or political dimensions of sanctuaries in Asia Minor. While both approaches have informed the framework of analysis applied here, they nonetheless leave a gap in interpreting the urban roles of major sanctuaries in the chora of poleis in Hellenistic Asia Minor, particularly regarding the dynamics of change that many of these local or regional shrines underwent as they were drawn into the orbit of the polis to become its primary sanctuary. The difference between the two main approaches lies not only in the nature of the disciplines of archaeology and history, but also in the different kinds of material or epigraphic data. I have attempted a synthesis, but have also noticed that the major studies in this area are largely informed by dualistic paradigms, with core-periphery, urban-rural, civilized-wild, and even Greek-non-Greek polarities that are more reflective of modern concerns than ancient realities. Since such biases will inevitably steer the results, I took a step back to look to other disciplines in order to gain a broader perspective on some of the fundamental issues at hand. Perceptions of space and landscape, ritual, cross-community contact, and identity are often taken at face value in studies of antiquity, yet are central concerns to the cognitive, social and spatial sciences. These disciplines help problematize these issues from very different angles, even if they require some tweaking before being applicable to the ancient world. This current study incorporates relevant issues drawn from these various approaches that should be taken into account. The resulting framework of analysis, discussed in Chapter 2, provides a holistic tool that can help assess the multifarious contexts of sanctuaries in Asia Minor in the Hellenistic period. No two sanctuaries were alike, nor were their relationships with their