Logistics in Greek Sanctuaries

Journal of Archaeology and Ancient History (JAAH), 2019

This article presents the newly started project “Water at ancient Greek sanctuaries: medium of divine presence or commodity for mortal visitors?”, the aim of which is to explore water usage at Greek sanctuaries in Archaic to Hellenistic times. In order to do so the project is divided into three separate studies. The first is how water was used in sanctuaries: where was water accessible through natural and man-made infrastructure, for what activities was it utilized, and which of these can be considered ritual and/or utilitarian? The second focuses on the means by which water was utilized, i.e. how was water management infrastructure adapted to ritual and utilitarian needs, and how did the need and access to water shape ritual and utilitarian activity at the sanctuary? The third part is an overarching analysis, combining the first two parts, which will expand our knowledge of perceptions of human activities in the god’s dwelling: how did ritual and utilitarian uses of water differ at a perceptual level?

E. Stavrianopoulou (ed.), Ritual and Communication in the Graeco-Roman World, Kernos supplement 16, 69-110, 2006

This article reviews the newly started project 'Water in ancient Greek sanctuaries: medium of divine presence or commodity for mortal visitors', the aim of which is to explore the use of water in Greek sanctuaries in Archaic to Hellenistic times (700-31 BCE).

Klio, 2023

Scholars have long highlighted the importance of water for rituals in Greek sanctuaries, but little is known about when and how it was used in prac- tice. Considering the importance attributed to water in rituals at Greek sanctu- aries, this article aims to explore water as a purificatory agent for humans and things and as an offering, pure or water mixed with wine, to the gods in the form of libations. Throughout the paper we argue that these activities were located on a spectrum from mundane to religious and can be viewed within a “spatio-temporal” framework where they functioned as visual cues in order to structure activities. To achieve this, we closely and critically examine the empirical material, epigraphic and literary, supported by archaeological and iconographic evidence.

Logistics in Greek sanctuaries. Exploring the human experience of visiting the gods, eds. J.M. Barringer, G. Ekroth & D. Scahill, Leiden, 2025

G. Deligiannakis and Y. Galanakis (eds.), The Aegean and its Cultures. Proceedings of the first Oxford-Athens graduate student workshop organized by the Greek Society and the University of Oxford Taylor Institution, 22-23 April 2005. Oxford: Archaeopress 2009, 59-67

2020

Ancient written sources emphasise the importance of water sources for Greek sanctuaries. However, this significance is only mirrored in exceptional cases in an elaborate architectural staging of fountains or springs. Despite an often very prominent location within the temenos, they usually do not play any role in the structuring and hierarchisation of spaces. The ritual use of water differs significantly from this. Sacred space was explicitly constituted and structured performatively through various lustral rituals in which water played a dominant role. These ritual acts usually took place in front of or behind the actual architectural entrance, often a monumental propylon, as proved by the corresponding basins and fountains. Ritual and architectural boundaries were therefore not identical. Architecture and ritual, or the experiences of crossing the architecturally marked border and the performative rite de passage, are thus to be regarded as clearly differentiated phenomena despite their spatial proximity.

2022

Métis 21, 183-210, 2023

Inès Medjkoune-Quand le luxe est au service du pouvoir. À propos des reines barbares dans les discours grecs d'époque classique. .