Dissertation committee:
Βαλαβάνης Παναγιώτης, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή
Παλαιοκρασσά Λυδία, Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή
Πέππα-Παπαϊωάννου Ειρήνη, Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή
Κατάκης Στυλιανός, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή
Ψωμά Σελήνη, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή
Ανεζίρη Σοφία, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή
Μπαρτζώκα Αλεξάνδρα, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας-Αρχαιολογίας, Πανεπιστήμιο Πατρών
Summary:
The present thesis examines religious activity in the Bouleuteria of the ancient Greek city-states in mainland Greece and in Asia Μinor, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. Elements such as the cult names of the gods and the morphology of rituals, attested by the sources and the remains at the Bouleuteria and their surroundings, are used to clarify the character of the cults and to draw general conclusions about the nature of religious activity in the Bouleuteria. At the same time, the evolution of this activity over the centuries is explored, whether it is a matter of organized cults or of individual acts of worship accompanying political activity within the institutions, while factors contributing to this evolution are also highlighted. Finally, an attempt is made, when possible, to clarify the relationship between the religious activity found in the Bouleuteria and the more general religious activity in the Agorae, and to draw conclusions about the specific nature of the cults found in the political and administrative centres of the cities. The aim is to clarify the particular interconnection between polis religion, administration and politics, as demonstrated by the operation of the Bouleuteria, within the defined local and temporal contexts, and to place it in the general context of the relations between these agents in the Ancient Greek World.
The thesis consists of four parts, and the material examined is presented in chronological order. The first part analyses the religious activity in Bouleuteria of Archaic and Classical cities, while the second one analyses the findings in Bouleuteria of Hellenistic cities. The material examined in each part is divided into three main chapters, presenting: (1) religious activity in Bouleuteria that have been identified, (2) religious activity in Bouleuteria known from the sources, and (3) disputed cases (Dubia). The third part analyses the overall cults and rituals associated with the institutions in question, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. Finally, the fourth part presents the findings of the research and makes a general and brief comparison of the cults found in the Bouleuteria with those found in the Agorae of the city-states.
In conclusion, the expected correlation between these institutions and the cult of Hestia, which usually bears the epithet Boulaea, is concluded, given their origin from the precursor buildings of early historical times (Basileia/Prytaneia), which served as the religious and political centres of tribal states and city-states, around the hearth of which the council of elders initially and later the Boule convened, following sacrifices and libations. The connection of the Bouleuteria with other deities, the attributes of which are consistent with the powers of the Boule, especially Zeus Boulaeus, or Eubulaeus, but also Athena Boulaea and Zeus Orkios, is also demonstrated. The association of the Bouleuteria with cults of Apollo, the predominant god-counsellor, but also with dominant or important cults of the cities, for a variety of reasons, as well as their connection with the cult of heroes, the cult of personified concepts and the cult of Hellenistic rulers are demonstrated as well. The rituals associated with the Bouleuteria are mainly sacrifices, libations, prayers and oaths, accompanied by sacrifice or not, with the offering of aparchae and incense burning and the crowning and adornment of cult statues added during the Hellenistic period. They take place at the beginning of the year or the beginning of the term of the Boule, before the regular meetings of the political body or on various other occasions.
During the Hellenistic period an enrichment of the cults and rituals related to the institutions, as well as a strengthening of the importance of the Bouleuteria is to be observed, as they evolve into symbols of the city-states, hosting a variety of religious rituals, not necessarily related to the activity of the Boule. In this way, the Bouleuteria, in addition to being top-level political institutions, become important centres of the polis religion, acquiring the dual political-religious character that has hitherto been reserved to the Prytaneia, and competing with them in terms of their symbolic role for the political communities. An examination of the religious activity associated with the institutions in cities such as Priene, Cyme and Pergamum of the late Hellenistic period indicates the high prestige acquired by the still democratically elected Boule, a fact that heralds changes completed in imperial times, through the oligarchization of the political body.
The cults that are attached to the Bouleuteria correspond to a large extent to those which are generally found in the Agorae, within or on the outskirts of which they are placed. The particular symbolic character that the institutions have for the cities, especially during the Hellenistic period, corresponds to the analogous function which the Agorae as a whole hold, if not from their very beginning at least since Archaic times, as they gradually bring together all the basic activities of the cities. In both cases, religion is the means by which political communities seek to ensure their well-being, to strengthen bonds between their members and to crystallise their own identity, while also being the vehicle for the messages they wish to convey in every direction.
