The Helike Society Publications
To
broadly circulate the results of the Helike Project work, the Helike
Society has organized three International Conferences entitled Ancient
Helike and Aigialeia and has published the Proceedings volumes. The
results of the work carried out by the Helike Project from the time it
began in 1988 until 1995 were presented in the 1995 International
Conference (Helike II) and the results of the work conducted between 1995
and 2000 in the 2000 International Conference (Helike III) respectively.
The Proceedings volume of the 1995 Conference, entitled Ancient Helike and
Aigialeia, Helike II, edited by D. Katsonopoulou, S. Soter and D.
Schilardi, was published in 1998. The Proceedings volume of the 2000
Conference, entitled Ancient Helike and Aigialeia Archaeological Sites in
Geologically Active Regions, Helike III, edited by D. Katsonopoulou, S.
Soter and I. Koukouvelas was published in 2005. To present the finds from
the unique Early Helladic settlement at Helike, discovered by the Helike
Project in the plain of Helike in recent years, the Helike Society organized
in 2007 the Fourth International Conference dedicated to the Early
Helladic Peloponnesos.
HELIKE II, 568 pages
The
Helike II volume entitled Ancient
Helike and Aigialeia includes papers presented during the Second
International Conference on Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized by the
Helike Society and the
Part
III entitled Geology of the
Aigialeia Region and the Helike Delta includes 6 papers on
catastrophic events in the area of Helike (Postma),
liquefaction (Sotiropoulos),
marine geology (Lykoussis et al.)
and seabed pockmarks (Hovland).
The last two papers deal with the 373 BC Helike earthquake (Papadopoulos)
and the most recent 1995 Aigion earthquake regarding macroscopic anomalies
(Soter).
HELIKE
III, 312 pages
The
Helike III volume entitled Ancient
Helike and Aigialeia, Archaeological Sites in Geologically Active Regions
includes the papers presented during the Third International Conference on
Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized by the Helike Society and the
Part
II entitled Geoarchaeology and Geomorphology, includes 10 papers focusing on
geological, geophysical and geomorphological studies conducted in the
major Helike area, the neighboring region of Aigion and the area of Lokris
across the
HELIKE IV (Abstracts volume), 48 pages
The Helike IV abstracts volume entitled The Early Helladic
Peloponnesos includes the abstracts of 25 papers presented during the
Fourth International Conference on Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized
by the Helike Society and the
The possibility that the beginning of the Bronze Age in
HELIKE IV, 336 pages
The
new volume Helike IV was recently published by the Helike Society, edited by
the Society President Prof. Dora Katsonopoulou. In the new volume, under
the specific title PROTOHELLADIKA-
The Southern and Central Greek Mainland, are included 18 papers of
well known Greek and foreign scholars regarding results of studies and
research in Ancient Helike and other Early Helladic sites of the southern
and central Greece.
In
the first paper of the volume, an important issue of the Greek prehistory
is discussed, namely the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Greece and
its possible connection with broader migration movements of Indo-European
speakers in SE Europe and NW Anatolia (J.
Coleman). Then, the role of local topography in supplying boundaries
for EH settlements is examined, using examples from the Peloponnese and
central
In
the next session, the EH I period is examined in the area around the
eastern
The volume Helike IV as well as volumes II and III can be ordered at Mrs. Maria Karvela (Secretary General of the Helike Society) and/or at www.andromedabooks.gr .
HELIKE V, 312 pages
The new volume Helike V was recently published by the Helike Society, edited by the Society President Prof. Dora Katsonopoulou. The volume is the fifth in the series of Proceedings of International Conferences on Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized by the Helike Society and held in the region of Aigialeia about every five years. In the new volume, under the specific title POSEIDON, God of Earthquakes and Waters. Cult and Sanctuaries are included 16 scholarly papers presented during the Fifth International Conference on Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, which took place in Aigion from 4-6 October, 2013. Main purpose of the Conference was to present (a) the most recent data on Poseidon’s cult in the Helike region and other areas of the Peloponnese, and Ionia in Asia Minor where the god was strongly worshipped as Helikonios and (b) seismic phenomena, and especially the 373 BC earthquake in connection with Poseidon’s primordial capacity as god of earthquakes and waters.
The 16 papers of the volume are divided into two parts. Part I, entitled Cult and Sanctuaries of Poseidon, includes nine studies on Poseidon’s cult in Helike and other areas of the Peloponnese, also in Ionia of Asia Minor. Part II, entitled Poseidon and Earthquakes: Helike and the Gulf of Corinth, contains seven papers on the area of Ancient Helike and the seismic history of the Gulf of Corinth, focusing on the remarkable 373 BC earthquake and its impact.
Part I begins with the presentation of new elements about the cult of Poseidon Helikonios in Helike based on available literary evidence and the new archaeological data from excavation work of the Helike Project in the area (Dora Katsonopoulou). Next, the metrological and iconographic contexts of all the known Helike coins are for the first time examined and it is concluded that they were part of a small, one-time issue sometime around 300 BC (Robert Weir). The next three articles of the volume by Hans Lohmann, Hans Lohmann and Özge Özgul, and Frank Hulek about Panionion, the central sanctuary of the Ionian League in Asia Minor, where Poseidon was worshipped as Helikonios, present the latest evidence on its location from archaeological excavations and geoarchaeological research conducted at Mt. Çatallar Tepe in the Mykale region. The meaning of the Homeric epithets and titles of Poseidon enossigaios, enosichthon, and gaieochos is explored next by IoannisPetropoulos, and Poseidon’s special connection with the Peloponnese and his cult in the early historic times is analysed by Ελένη Μαράντου. The beginning and the development of Poseidon’s cult in Troezenia are presented in detail in the following study by Eleni Konsolaki Yannopoulou, and the sanctuary of Poseidon Gaieochos in Mikri Dragonara of the island of Kythera is next described by Άρης Τσαραβόπουλος and Γκέλη Φράγκου.
Part II begins with the presentation of the results of geophysical prospection at the Mycenaean cemetery in the area of Ancient Helike (Grigoris Tsokas et al.) and of petrographic and geochemical analyses of pottery from the Early Helladic Helike settlement (Ioannis Iliopoulos and Vayia Xanthopoulou). A different approach is next presented regarding the possible causes of Helike’s natural destruction in 373 BC in conjunction with terrestrial flooding as a medium of catastrophe (Nikolaos Kontopoulos, Dora Katsonopoulou and Asimakis Koutsios) while similar conclusions are reached via the geological study of the area by Κωνσταντίνος Τρίκολας. The 373 BC catastrophe and its impact at the site of Delphi are investigated next via a new ‘reading’ of the architecture of the sanctuary as a whole by Elena Partida. The last papers of the volume refer to the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. Initially, the palaeoseismological history of the Kenchreai Fault in Korinthia is re-considered by Ioannis Koukouvelas and Elena Korka, and next, the geological history of the ports of Lechaion and Kenchreai after the late Roman period is presented by Νίκος Μουρτζάς and Ελένη Κολαΐτη.
The volume Helike V can be purchased in “ANDROMEDA BOOKS” in Athens. Email: archeolo@otenet.gr; www.andromedabooks.gr
ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝ, 400 pages
The volume dedicated to Stephen Miller, and edited by Dora Katsonopoulou and Elena Partida, includes twenty-five scholarly papers dealing with a variety of topics to reflect as many as possible of the dedicatee’s own interests in architecture, athletics, sculpture, history, epigraphy, numismatics, ethnography, philosophy, and, of course, Nemea.
In the first paper of the volume, a different approach to coinage and its meaning is attempted by Frank Holt who examines the coins as if they could themselves affect their own evolution. Turning to numismatic evidence from the neighbours of Nemea, Sikyon and Corinth, the volume hosts the first publication by Robert Weir of the 107 coins found in the first twenty years of survey and excavation in the area of ancient Helike in Achaea. Next, contributions pass on to monumental athletic installations and how the ancient stadion lent its name to the competition of foot-racing and also to the venue where foot-races were held. In particular, Barbara Rieger-Dimde reviews the change, over time, in the appearance and the infrastructure of these installations and discusses functional changes in stadia from venues for gymnastic competitions to staging gladiatorial combats. Data concerning the Olympic Games that were held in Macedonia are, then, analyzed by Evangelos Albanidis revealing that actually two Olympic Games were held in Northern Greece, one at Dion, and another in Beroia.
The prominence of athletics and equestrian sport in the life of our ancestors is clearly demonstrated in Xenophon’s dialogue, Hiero, as analyzed by Thomas Heine Nielsen. The longevity of the Games is reflected on a cameo of 1250 AD, today in the Kunsthistorischen Museum of Vienna, associated by Ingomar Weiler with the ancient Isthmia. Next, Istvan Kertesz, focuses on standards of fair play as safeguarded by the organizers of the ancient Olympic Games, and the punishment of sportsmen who violated these standards. Comparatively less known are the maritime contests, incorporated in religious festivals of ancient Athens, a topic discussed by Athena Trakadas in her contribution. Tracing the origins of the modern Marathon race, Thomas Scanlon next unfolds the ancient parallels between warfare and.
A herm depicting the philosopher Plato with the victory fillets of an athlete is discussed by Heather Reid who supports Miller’s argument philosophically, showing how gymnastics functioned in Plato’s theory of moral education. Next, the marble head of a young athlete, today in the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, is presented and discussed by Hans Rupprecht Goette, and in the following paper the fragment of an attic sarcophagus, today in the Athens National Museum is discussed by Stelios Katakis, who suggests that the relief depicts a scene of the Kentauromachy. A number of marble statues made by the renowned Parian sculptor Skopas of the 4th century BC for the cities of Sikyon and Argos in the Peloponnese, are discussed in the next contribution by Dora Katsonopoulou, in the light of reviewed literary and archaeological evidence, and in connection to Skopas’ long and prolific career. Following the quest on another work of the same Parian master, Angelos Delivorrias in his paper explores the possibility for some statue types of Eros to actually represent Phaethon accompanying together with Pothos the cult statue of Aphrodite for her temple in Samothrace. Next another ancient figure, this time a mortal historical person, namely Aristis, son of Pheidon of Kleonai, winner of four victories in the pancration at the Nemean Games is presented by Emmanuel Voutiras.
The region of Nemea itself is revisited by Charalambos Kritzas, in his paper, on account of three brief epigraphic testimonies from Nemea, proposing new readings and interpretation. Continuing on Nemea, Jeannette Marchand offers an explanation for the supposedly problematic placement of Nemea on a map of Roman roads in Greece, known as the Peutinger table. The temple of Nemean Zeus at the end of the 17th century, as seen by a Venetian official, is next presented by Kostas Tsiknakis who also comments on the circumstances of that visit.
Moving on to the field of architecture, Elena Partida evaluates what the ancient builders learnt from natural catastrophes brought upon religious edifices, focusing on the sanctuary at Olympia and the repercussions of the Helike catastrophic earthquake in 373 BC. Remaining in the field, the direct links between Etruria and Macedonia are noted by Vincent Jolivet on account of architectural elements observed on the Etruscan tomb of Grotte Scalina dating to the late 4th century BC. Turning then to Vergina, the large burial monument with an Ionic façade, probably of a military man, presented by Stella Drougou, adds to our knowledge of Macedonian tombs of this type, known from a few examples so far. Staying in the field of sepulchral architecture, Yannis Lolos discusses a Roman mausoleum dated to the 1st century AD, located in the heart of the modern town of Patras.
The next paper, by Pantos Pantos, takes us to the beginning of the 20th century and the adversities encountered in those early times, when archaeology was not yet a fully-fledged faculty, via a presentation of archival reports on the excavations conducted by Nikolaos Pappadakis at the site of the Pyre of Herakles on Mt Oeta. From archival records, we turn to iconography and the symbolism behind devices on ancient Greek diskoi, interpreted by Wendy Raschke. Also metaphorical is probably the inscription on a fragment of a Laconian pan-tile found in the Athenian Agora, thought to announce the victory of a man named Δόλιχος in a game related with stones, and now re-interpreted by Panos Valavanis.