Antonis Kotsonas, 'Homer and the Archaeology of Crete', Audio Recording Only, Seminar Series, Discipline of Classics and Ancient History, The University of Queensland (Australia)

The relationship between the Homeric epics and archaeology has been approached through the lens of Homeric archaeology, which involved matching the epics with the archaeological record and identifying realia of Homer’s heroes. However, a range of new approaches have recently revolutionised this field. Drawing from these approaches, this public lecture offers a regional and diachronic analysis of Homeric stories about Crete, an assessment of the reception of these stories by the island’s inhabitants throughout antiquity, and an account of their impact on Medieval to modern literature and art. The lecture shows how Cretan interest in Homer peaked in the Hellenistic period. . I also argue, however, that Homeric stories were familiar to some Cretans from much earlier. This argument relies on an analysis of the archaeological assemblage of a Knossian tomb of the 11th century BC, which included a range of arms that is exceptional for both Aegean archaeology and the Homeric epics. In the epics, this equipment is carried only by the Knossian hero Meriones, whose poetic persona can be traced back to the late bronze age on philological and linguistic grounds. This lecture argues that the Knossian burial assemblage was staged to reference the persona of Meriones, therefore suggesting the familiarity of some Cretans with early poetry that eventually filtered into the Homeric epics

Ceramic styles in Iron age Crete : production, dissemination and consumption ; a study of pottery from the Iron age necropolis of Orthi Petra in Eleutherna

The present thesis describes and interprets a large corpus of ceramic material from the ongoing excavations of the University of Crete in the Iron Age necropolis of Orthi Petra, at Eleuthema, Crete. Given that the site is mostly known from preliminary reports, I offer an account of the geology and topography of Eleuthema and the surrounding region, as well as a detailed review of the archaeological remains, with particular emphasis to the Iron Age and the necropolis of Orthi Petra. The core of the study is, however, a formal analysis of ceramics from the latter site. Despite my sustained preoccupation with the chronology and typology of the Eleuthemian pottery, evidence from the whole of Crete is systematically integrated in the discussion. Hence, the analysis of the local ceramics is largely converted into a study of the Iron Age pottery of Crete. To meet the emerging challenges, I embark on building a format of ceramic analysis that facilitates and enhances the reader's understanding of my interpretation of stylistic development. I further pursue a synthetic picture for the chaíne opératoire of the local pottery by laying emphasis on its technology, as well as on the modes of and the interplay between ceramic production, dissemination and consumption. The concept of consumption is also applied to imported pottery and other classes of artefacts from the necropolis to engender a holistic and diachronic assessment of social interaction manifested in the funerary ritual held at Orthi Petra. Imported pottery is further appraised against a Cretan-wide background with regards to its origins, type, distribution and impact on local wares. Issues pertinent to the dissemination of stylistic change, the Orientalizing phenomenon and the interactions between Eleuthema and sites in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean are explored. Lastly, the history of the necropolis is outlined and the issue of the date and cause of its abandonment is reviewed

The discovery of Eleutherna:from the formation of the modern Cretan state to H. Payne's excavations (1899-1929)

Located in west-central Crete, the ancient city of Eleutherna attracted considerable scholarly interest at the end of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Drawing on largely unpublished archival information, this paper sheds light on the first archaeological explorations of the site, describing their aims, scope, vicissitudes, and results. Emphasis is given on the plans that the Italian School of Archaeology at Athens developed for Eleutherna and the excavations conducted there, first by the local ephor, E. Petrulakis, and then by the British School at Athens. The ‘discovery of Eleutherna’ is assessed with reference to the shifting scholarly agenda of Cretan archaeology in that period and its relation to major developments in the island's political history.Η Ελεύθερνα, μια αρχαία πόλη ευρισκόμενη στο κεντρικό προς δυτικό τμήμα της Κρήτης, προσήλκυσε το έντονο ενδιαφέρον των αρχαιολόγων κατά τα τέλη του 19ου και τον πρώιμο 20ο αιώνα. Αντλώντας πληροφορίες από αδημοσίευτο κυρίως, αρχειακό υλικό, η παρούσα μελέτη επιχειρεί μια ανασύνθεση των πρώτων αρχαιολογικών ερευνών στην αρχαία πόλη, εξετάζοντας τα κίνητρα και τους στόχους τους αλλά και τις δυσκολίες και τα αποτελέσματά τους. Έμφαση δίδεται στα σχέδια της Ιταλικής Αρχαιολογικής Σχολής Αθηνών για την Ελεύθερνα, αλλά και στις ανασκαφές που διενέργησαν στη θέση πρώτα ο τοπικός έφορος αρχαιοτήτων, Ε. Πετρουλάκις, και αργότερα η Βρετανική Σχολή Αθηνών. Η «ανακάλυψη ιης Ηλεύθερνας» εξετάζεται σε σχέση με τις μεταβαλλόμενες ερευνητικές προτεραιότητες της κρητικής αρχαιολογίας της περιόδου αλλά κοα σημαντικές αλλαγές σιην πολιτική ιστορία του νησιού.</jats:p

Population viability and conservation strategies for the Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus) in Southeast Europe

The Eurasian Black Vulture is a globally threatened raptor that in Southeast Europe only occurs in an isolated population in Greece. We examined the population viability for the species under demographic fluctuations and conservation scenarios. The current population showed no possibility of extinction for the next 100 years. However, simulated scenarios showed that the most important factor affecting the viability of the species was medium and high poisoning, leading to 94.8% and 100% probability of extinction, respectively. Furthermore, high reduction of supplementary feeding highlighted an 18.6% extinction possibility. Also, a high increase of wind farms in the area may result in 17.4% extinction possibility. Additionally, the non-establishment of the feeding station in 1987 in the study area would have resulted in an extinction risk of 7%. The species can be translocated to the Olympus National Park by releasing 80 juveniles over 10 years. The implementation of the conservation scenarios concerning the establishment of a supplementary feeding site network, and the reintroduction of the Eurasian Black Vulture in its historic range, along with the elimination of threats posed by poisoning, low food availability, and wind farms would increase the probability of the species persistence and allow the population to become a source for dispersal across Southeast Europe

From Gabii And Gordion To Eretria And Methone: The Rise Of The Greek Alphabet

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111984/1/bics12000.pd