Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Classics

Supervisor

Greene, Beth

2nd Supervisor

Canlas, Gino

Co-Supervisor

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the continuity and discontinuity of religious identity between the Greek colony Corcyra and its mother city, Corinth, during the Greek Archaic period. The concept of social memory is used to interpret the significance of Corcyra’s religious iconography in relation to the hostile socio-political relationship of Corcyra and Corinth between c. 735 BCE and c. 500 BCE. The research explores the three major temples of the Archaic settlement and the major votive deposits. In combining influences from a multitude of styles, the Corcyraeans developed their own distinctive style. It is argued that Corcyra used religious iconography to distinguish itself from Corinth and solidify their identity as a Greek polis independent from its Corinthian origins.

Summary for Lay Audience

The foundation of settlements around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea was an important part of Archaic Greek history. City states, called mother cities, sent out settlers to form the settlements, which were called colonies. The colonies had some ritual and kinship (common descent) ties to their mother city, but they were mostly independent Greek city states. The main research questions that guided this project were: what does colonization look like in the Archaic period and does the material culture in a colony reflect that of their mother city? I chose to explore the colony Corcyra and her mother city Corinth. I specifically focused on how iconography on temples and votive (offerings) in Corcyra may have shown whether or not styles had continued from Corinth.

The foundation of settlements around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea was an important part of Archaic Greek history. City states, called mother cities, sent out settlers to form the settlements, which were called colonies. The colonies had some ritual and kinship (common descent) ties to their mother city, but they were mostly independent Greek city states. The main research questions that guided this project were: what does colonization look like in the Archaic period and does the material culture in a colony reflect that of their mother city? I chose to explore the colony Corcyra and her mother city Corinth. I specifically focused on how iconography on temples and votive (offerings) in Corcyra may have shown whether or not styles had continued from Corinth.

Corcyra and Corinth are known for their intense hatred for each other in the Classical period (479 BCE to 323 BCE), which, according to ancient historians, began in the Archaic period (800 BCE to 480 BCE). Their background is important for determining their political and social relationship with each other. Older scholarship used to say that the temples and other material culture on Corcyra was based in a Corinthian identity, but that is now shown to be inaccurate. I first looked at the iconography on the three major temples: the Heraion, the temple of Artemis, and the Kardaki temple. All three of the temples demonstrated a variety of styles and influences from around the Mediterranean, including from their mother city, Corinth. However, none of the temples were exact copies of Corinthian building projects and the combination of styles seemed to be more of a reflection of Corcyra developing its own cultural identity. I then explored the votives at four deposit sites: the Heraion, the sanctuary of Apollo of Corcyra, the “Small Sanctuary” of Artemis, and the Vlachopoulos deposit. The votives had a similar pattern to the temples. Corcyra was manufacturing their own terracotta and pottery, which allowed them to create their own style. I concluded that, since Corcyra was a developing polis, the creation of its own style distinguished its cultural identity from its mother city’s identity.

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