The Epigraphy And History Of Boeotia

Over the past 20 years, Boeotia has been the focus of intensive archaeological investigation that has resulted in some extraordinary epigraphical finds. The most spectacular discoveries are presented for the first time in this volume: dozens of inscribed sherds from the Theban shrine of Heracles; Archaic temple accounts; numerous Classical, Hellenistic and Roman epitaphs; a Plataean casualty list; a dedication by the legendary king Croesus. Other essays revisit older epigraphical finds from Aulis, Chaironeia, Lebadeia, Thisbe, and Megara, radically reassessing their chronology and political and legal implications. The integration of old and new evidence allows for a thorough reconsideration of wider historical questions, such as ethnic identities, and the emergence, rise, dissolution, and resuscitation of the famous Boeotian koinon. Contributors include: Vassilios Aravantinos, Hans Beck, Margherita Bonanno, Claire Grenet, Yannis Kalliontzis, Denis Knoepfler, Angelos P. Matthaiou, Emily Mackil, Christel Müller, Nikolaos Papazarkadas, Isabelle Pernin, Robert Pitt, Adrian Robu, and Albert Schachter.

From Document to History, edited by Carlos Noreña and Nikolaos Papazarkadas, presents a series of new studies in Greek and Roman epigraphy, highlighting the contribution of documentary evidence to our understanding of ancient Greek and Roman history.

Robert Buck's history examines the archaeological record, takes a fresh look at what the ancients said about the Boeotians and at the references of classicists of more recent times, retells the legends, and reconstructs the history of the region from the heroic Bronze Age to the Pelopponesian War.

This book investigates the epigraphic habit of the Eastern Mediterranean in antiquity, from the inception of alphabetic writing to the seventh c. CE, aiming to identify whether there was one universal epigraphic culture in this area or a number of discrete epigraphic cultures. Chapters examine epigraphic culture(s) through quantitative analysis of 32,062 inscriptions sampled from ten areas in the Eastern Mediterranean, from the Black Sea coast to Greece, western to central Asia Minor, Phoenicia to Egypt. They show that the shapes of the epigraphic curves are due to different factors occurring in different geographical areas and in various epochs, including the pre-Greek epigraphic habit, the moment of urbanization and Hellenization, and the organized Roman presence. Two epigraphic maxima are identified in the Eastern Mediterranean: in the third c. BCE and in the second c. CE. This book differs from previous studies of ancient epigraphic culture by taking into account all categories of inscriptions, not just epitaphs, and in investigating a much broader area over the broadly defined classical antiquity. This volume is a valuable resource for anyone working on ancient epigraphy, history or the cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean.

A collection of papers on various aspects of Boiotian epigraphy: Imperial letters, decrees of proxenia, military catalogues, manumissions, statue dedications, tombstones and graffiti. The texts discussed come from many parts of Boiotia but with a certain concentration from the Kopaïs. A few of the papers are reprinted from previous publications but many are here published for the first time and they are extensively illustrated. In addition to discussions of the various genres of text there are full onomastic and prosopographic comments on all names cited.