The Sanctuary of Despotiko in the Cyclades. Excavations 2001–2012

Auf der heute unbewohnten Insel Despotiko, südwestlich von Antiparos, im Zentrum der Kykladen, liegt an der Stätte Mandra ein Heiligtum. In dessen Zentrum befinden sich das sog. Nord-Temenos und der Südkomplex. Außerhalb davon wurden mindes- tens sechs weitere bauliche Anlagen nachgewiesen. Das von einem Peribolos geschützte Nord-Temenos war der Mittelpunkt der kultischen Aktivitäten. Es setzt sich zusammen aus den Gebäuden A, Δ, Ε, ›Stoen‹ und zwei Zugängen. Im Zentrum liegt ein halbkreis- förmiger Altar. Der Nordteil des Gebäudes A war der ›Tempel‹ des Heiligtums; der Südteil diente vielleicht für Bankette. Die Gebäude Δ und E dienten ebenfalls kultischen Zwecken. Der Südkomplex besteht aus den Bauanlagen Ι and Θ, wobei letztere einen Raum einschließt, der versuchsweise als Kultbad bezeichnet wird. Reiche archäologische Funde bezeugen die Funktion des Heiligtums vom 8. Jh. v. Chr. bis in die hellenistische Zeit – und die Hauptgottheit Apollon. Die baulichen Aktivitäten beschränkten sich auf das 6. und 5. Jh. v. Chr.The sanctuary of Despotiko lies at the ›Mandra‹ site, on an uninhabited island situated to the southwest of Antiparos, in the centre of the Cyclades. The central part comprises the North Temenos and the South complex. Outside at least six other structures were traced. The North Temenos, protected by a peribolos, was the center of the cult activity. It is formed by Buildings A, Δ, Ε, ›stoas‹ and two entrances. In the centre lies a semicircular altar. The North Part of Building A was the ›temple‹ of the sanctuary, the South Part perhaps served for banqueting. Buildings Δ and E served cultic purposes as well. The South Complex consisted of the Building units Ι and Θ, the last including a room tentatively identified as a cultic bath. Rich archaeological finds attest the function of the sanctuary from 8th cent. B.C. to the Hellenistic period – and the main deity, Apollon. The building activity was restricted to the 6th and 5th cent. B.C

Perspectives of the Antifa Movement in Cyprus

The article examines two different leftist, Antifa actors in Cyprus, a political party and a societal group (i.e., an organized football fan group), in relation to two issues. First, we scrutinize their action repertoire in order to identify the type of activities they embrace to tackle the fascist/far-right threat and activity. Second, we study their perceptions regarding the extent of the fascist threat and the use of violence in their treatment of far-right organizations and activists. The article seeks to understand how antifascists in Cyprus understand resistance against far-right organizations, and violence in particular as one manifestation of this resistance. The methodology relied on fieldwork that combines two different methods: analysis of social media posts over a span of 11 years (2010-2021) and selected interviews with activists and cadres from the two actors. We find that they share similar perceptions about the extent and the nature of the fascist threat in Cyprus. They also share similarities with regard to the overall toolkit they use to deal with the far-right. However, they deviate significantly in the way they perceive the use of violence against fascists

Mediating the nation: news, audiences and identities in contemporary Greece

This thesis investigates the relationship between media and identities in contemporary Greece. Acknowledging the diversity of Greek society, the study follows the circulation of discourses about the nation and belonging and contrasts the articulation of identities at a local level with the discourses about the nation in the national media. Through a series of case studies I examine how people of Greek, Cypriot and Turkish origins living in Athens articulate their identities through everyday practices and media use. At the same time I investigate the television news discourse which is nationalized, largely projecting an essentialist representation of identity that does not reflect the complexity of the society it claims to describe. The study follows the shifts in peoples' discourses according to context and observes that it is in their encounters with the news media, compared to other contexts, that some of the informants express a more closed discourse about difference and belonging. This points to the power of the media, through a number of practices, to raise the boundaries for inclusion and exclusion in public life. Hence, while for the majority of the Greek speakers the news is a common point of reference, for the Turkish speakers it is often a reminder of their `second class citizenship' and exclusion from public life. Public discourse, much dominated by the media in the case of Greece, is a complex web of power relations, subject to constant negotiation. This is an interdisciplinary study that draws upon a number of theories and approaches by means' of a theoretical and methodological triangulation. The thesis aims to contribute primarily to two literatures, namely media and audience studies —particularly the developments towards a theory of mediation — and the literature that addresses the relationship between media and identity. In the light of the analysis of the empirical findings the study argues that neither of the hitherto dominant paradigms in theorising the relationship between media and identity (namely, strong media/weak identities and weak media/powerful identities) is adequate to describe what emerges as a multifaceted process. What is proposed is an approach that takes into account both a top-down and a bottom-up perspective. Media and identities should be understood in a dialectical fashion where neither is foregrounded from the start. The concepts of culture and the nation are understood through a historical perspective that recognises their constructedness and diversity. Identity is conceptualised as relational and performative rather than fixed and stable

Emerging Evidence for Neolithic Ithaca

The article presents new evidence for the Neolithic habitation on Ithaca, consisting of ceramic and stone finds, recognised among material from the University of Ioannina excavations at the site of Agios Athanasios-School of Homer in the northwest part of Ithaca, Greece. The new Neolithic site is considered within the wider cultural context of the Ionian Islands, in the late 5th/4th millennium BC. Our current knowledge suggests a permanent Neolithic occupation at the site, as opposed to seasonal occupation or to a special purpose occupation. The Neolithic people at the School of Homer may have been part of a dynamic network of Late/Final Neolithic installations in Western Greece, engaging themselves in inter-regional communal connections along the routes of the most ancient seafaring in the Ionian Sea

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