HKAK03211U KL. ARK Classical Archaeology: Insularity and Religious Change in the Hellenistic Aegean
Classical Archaeology
Islands played a central role in the economic, political, and cultural landscapes of the Hellenistic Aegean. They were not isolated spaces, but connected nodes within maritime networks of mobility, exchange, cult practice, and political negotiation. In this seminar we will look at them through the Lense of ancient religion. Sanctuaries on islands could function as local places of worship, regional meeting points, and trans-Aegean spaces of communication. Their histories therefore offer an important perspective on religious change in the Hellenistic period.
The course takes insularity as a starting point for discussing central questions of classical archaeology and the archaeology of religion. It asks how island sanctuaries were shaped by local traditions, regional connections, political transformations, and the movement of people, objects, and ideas. Rather than treating sanctuaries as static cult places, the course approaches them as religious landscapes with long biographies, in which ritual practices and spatial organization changed over time.
In the course, we will discuss selected examples from the Hellenistic Aegean, with particular attention to Samos, Rhodes, and Delos. These islands offer different perspectives on the relationship between insularity and religious change: Samos with the long biography of the famous Hera sanctuary and its changing votive practices; Rhodes with its urban, civic, and regional cult landscapes; and Delos as a major religious and commercial hub shaped by mobility, migration, and religious plurality. Together, these case studies allow us to examine how island sanctuaries responded to new political constellations, expanding networks, and changing forms of social participation.
Particular attention will be paid to the material and spatial evidence of religious practice. Terracotta votives, inscriptions, dedications, architecture, cult topographies, and find contexts will be considered as means of cult transformation. We will ask how objects and spaces were used, how sanctuaries were accessed and experienced, and how local traditions interacted with broader Aegean and Mediterranean developments.
Methodologically, the course combines object-based analysis, spatial and contextual interpretation, and theoretical approaches such as sanctuary biography, object biography, material religion, mobility studies, and network perspectives. Students will work with archaeological evidence from island sanctuaries and learn to evaluate material in relation to its spatial and historical contexts.
The course aims to strengthen students’ ability to analyse religious practice through objects, monuments, and archaeological contexts. Students will learn to move from close observation to broader historical and theoretical interpretation. They will also practise presenting archaeological arguments in object autopsy, discussion and short presentations. Regular attendance, active participation, and preparation for the sessions are expected.
The course will use selected archaeological case studies together with modern theories. The full reading list will be provided in Absalon. Core readings may include:
- Alcock, Susan E. und Robin Osborne, Hrsg. 1994. Placing the Gods: Sanctuaries and Sacred Space in Ancient Greece. Oxford: Clarendon Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198149477.001.0001
- Angliker, Erica und John Tully, Hrsg. 2018. Cycladic Archaeology and Research: New Approaches and Discoveries. Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv170x408
- Barringer, Judith M., Gunnel Ekroth, und David Scahill, Hrsg. 2025. Logistics in Greek Sanctuaries : Exploring the Human Experience of Visiting the Gods. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004720909
- Beck, Hans und Julia Kindt, Hrsg. 2023. The Local Horizon of Ancient Greek Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009301862
- Bonnet, Corinne, Thomas Galoppin, Elodie Guillon, Max Luaces, Asuman Lätzer-Lasar, Sylvain Lebreton, Fabio Porzia, et al., Hrsg. 2022. Naming and Mapping the Gods in the Ancient Mediterranean: Spaces, Mobilities, Imaginaries. Berlin: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110798432
- Collar, Anna und Troels Myrup Kristensen, Hrsg. 2020. Pilgrimage and Economy in the Ancient Mediterranean, Leiden: Brill.
- Constantakopoulou, Christy. 2007. The Dance of the Islands: Insularity, Networks, the Athenian Empire, and the Aegean World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Dawson, Helen. 2019. „Island Archaeology“. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, hrsg. von Claire Smith. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1
- Eidinow, Esther. 2011. „Networks and Narratives: A Model for Ancient Greek Religion“. Kernos 24, 9–38. https://doi.org/10.4000/kernos.1925
- Haug, Annette und Asja Müller, Hrsg. 2020. Hellenistic Architecture and Human Action: A Case of Reciprocal Influence. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://doi.org/10.59641/k3679nw
- Hoffmann, Sanne. 2023. Between Deity and Dedicator: The Life and Agency of Greek Votive Terracotta Figurines. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
- Horden, Peregrine und Nicholas Purcell. 2000. The Corrupting Sea: A Study of Mediterranean History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
- Huysecom-Haxhi, Stéphanie und Arthur Muller, Hrsg. 2015a. Figurines grecques en contexte. Présence muette dans le sanctuaire, la tombe et la maison. Villeneuve d’Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion.
- Kouremenos, Anna und Jody Michael Gordon. 2020. „Introduction: Mediterranean Archaeologies of Insularity in the Age of Globalization“. In Mediterranean Archaeologies of Insularity in an Age of Globalization, hrsg. von Anna Kouremenos und Jody Michael Gordon, 1–27. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
- Kowalzig, Barbara. 2018. „Cults, Cabotage, and Connectivity: Experimenting with Religious and Economic Networks in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean“. In Maritime Networks in the Ancient Mediterranean World, hrsg. von Justin Leidwanger und Carl Knappett, 93–131. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108555685.006
- Mazurek, Lindsey. 2016. „Material and Textual Narratives of Authenticity? Creating Cabotage and Memory in the Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean“. In Across the Corrupting Sea: Post-Braudelian Approaches to the Eastern Mediterranean, hrsg. von Cavan Concannon und Lindsey A. Mazurek, 39–61. London: Routledge.
- McHugh, Maeve. 2019. „Going the Extra Mile: Travel, Time and Distance in Classical Attica“. Annual of the British School at Athens 114: 207–40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26845271
- Papantoniou, Giorgos, Athanasios K. Vionis und Christine E. Morris. 2022b. „Religious and Insular Identities in Context: An Introduction“. In Unlocking Sacred Landscapes:Religious Insular Identities in Context, hrsg. von Giorgos Papantoniou, Athanasios K. Vionis und Christine E. Morris, 1–5. Basel: MDPI – Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
- Polinskaia, Irene. 2013. A Local History of Greek Polytheism: Gods, People, and the Land of Aigina, 800-400 BCE. Leiden: Brill.
- Rieger, Anna-Katharina. 2020. „Spatialising Sacralised Places: Landscape as Analytical Category for Understanding Social Relations and Spatial Interaction of Graeco-Roman Sanctuaries in the Hauran“. In Sacred Landscapes in Antiquity: Creation, Manipulation, Transformation, hrsg. von Ralph Häussler und Gian Franco Chiai, 311–32. Oxford: Oxbow Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13pk5nv.31
- Category
- Hours
- Lectures
- 42
- Class Instruction
- 42
- Preparation
- 154
- Total
- 238
- Credit
- 15 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Other
- Examination prerequisites
- Aid
- Only certain aids allowed (see description below)
Materials permitted at the exam appears from the curriculum.
Course information
- Language
- English - Partially in Danish
- Course code
- HKAK03211U
- Credit
- 15 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Spring
Study board
- Study Board of Archaeology, Ethnology, Greek & Latin, History
Contracting department
- SAXO-Institute - Archaeology, Ethnology, Greek & Latin, History
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Humanities
Course Coordinators
- Sabine Neumann (14-7967686f746b34746b7b73677474466e7b7334717b346a71)