Paliohora - THE AUSTRALIAN PALIOCHORA-KYTHERA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - Abstract of Lecture delivered by Timothy E Gregory, to the Archaeological Institute of America

Timothy E. Gregory
Ohio State University

Aphrodite, Minoans and the Pirates: Archaeology of the Island of Kythera

The island of Kythera is a remote and little-known part of he Greek would, mid-way between the Peloponnesos and Crete. Difficult to get to and often difficult to leave, Kythera claims to be the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite, but its landscape is today almost completely deserted as a result of mass migration, largely to Australia, over the last century. During the past ten years Kythera has begun to attract archeological attention, in part because of the discovery of substantial remains of Minoan Civilization on the island, including a Minoan sanctuary recently excavated by Ioannis Sakelarakis. The Australian Paliochora-Kythera Archeological Survey has taken a somewhat different tack in its exploration of the Kytherian landscape. The Project focuses on the deserted medieval settlement of Paliochora in the northern part of the island. This city was founded on a nearly invincible cliff, probably in the 12th century, and it developed a wealth and prestige that is still legendary. The city was, nevertheless, sacked by the notorious pirate Barbarossa in 1537, its in habitants slaughtered or taken into captivity, and the site forever deserted. The Australian Paliochora-Kythera Archeological Survey seeks to explore the roughly 65 sq. km, hinterland of Paliochora in all periods, but with a special focus on its period of efflorescence in the Middle Ages. One aspect of this program is the study of the many churches in the region, some of which certainly date to the Byzantine period. This lecture will focus on the investigations of the Australian Paliochora project and what it can tell us about the culture that once dominated this way-station in the Mediterranean.

From Paganism to Christianity in the Temples of Greece

At the end of antiquity Christianity replaced paganism as the dominant religion of the Mediterranean world. As the new religion gained prominence the old pagan sanctuaries fell into disfavor: some of them were abandoned, others were destroyed, and still others converted to Christian use. Not infrequently Christian churches were built on or near the ruins of former pagan temples and sanctuaries. This lecture will examine evidence for this process of transformation in the sanctuaries of Greece. It will discuss the reasons why the Christians chose to re-occupy certain pagan sites while avoiding others. This will naturally involve a consideration of the religious continuity between paganism and Christianity and the extent to which paganism lived on under a Christian façade. The lecture will explore the Christianization of some of the most famous pagan sanctuaries if Greece—Delos, Olympia, and Delphi—but it will also include some of the less well-known cult sites, such as the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Athens and that of Poseidon at Isthmia. The site as Isthmia will play an important role in the lecture since Professor Gregory is Director of the Ohio State University Excavations at Isthmia and he is involved in the study of that sanctuary and its transformations at the end of antiquity.

Link, and entry into the Archaeological Institute of America web-site, go to:

http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10224&lid=22