Given to a Deity? Religious and Social Reappraisal of Human Consecrations in the Hellenistic and Roman East

Various cases of human beings ‘dedicated’ to deities are attested in Greek epigraphic evidence. Are these kinds of offerings comparable to the dedication of inanimate objects? Besides, does the fact that someone is said to be ‘sacred’ to a specific deity necessarily involve that he went through a process of dedication? This article aims at providing a global picture of different situations in which processes of dedications took place. Among the several issues that are tackled, the cornerstone of this article consists of two questions: for what purposes did some people decide to consecrate a human being to a deity and what were the consequences for the consecrated individuals on religious and social levels? Different categories of persons will be contrasted, in terms of processes through which they acquire their new status but also in terms of the freedom/lack of freedom which is conveyed by this new status. It will also be shown that, as far as method is concerned, it is necessary to complete a lexical analysis with a contextual perspective for a deeper understanding of the problem

Neither amateurs nor professionals: The status of Greek Athletes

The aim of this chapter is to question whether it is reasonable to apply the labels "amateurs" or "professionals" to Ancient Olympics, whether they fit the specific features of ancient athletics, and whether they are useful tools or mere obstacles for an understanding of the ancient phenomena. This article argues that neither of the two terms helps in understanding the social reality of ancient athletes