Date of Thesis

Spring 2020

Description

Competition and victory at the Panhellenic sanctuaries of Olympia and Delphi reached far beyond athletic contests. The sanctuaries, sacred locations dedicated to gods and goddesses, were places of worship and religion, athletic festivals, political and military activism, and cultural display. The monuments and commemorations found at these sites today provide clues to these sites’ wider roles in ancient Greek society. Ancient authors, such as Pausanias, fill in gaps in the archaeological record. By examining statues and monuments referenced in Pausanias’ account, as well as those noted by a variety of other ancient authors and modern scholars, this thesis will analyze non-traditional athletic victory monuments, war commemorations, and dedicatory treasuries at Olympia and Delphi. These sanctuaries valued the best aspects in society and thus many victory monuments and commemorations were constructed in order to positively present an individual, a city-state, or Hellas. Although archaeologists have found thousands of examples of simple victory statues of winning athletes, my thesis focuses on complex commemorations in order to reveal the far-reaching societal roles of Olympia and Delphi, concentrating primarily on the era of Classical Greece. By looking through the lenses of these victory monuments, whether it be for an athletic victory, military accomplishment, or a cultural feat, this thesis explores how Olympia and Delphi persisted as microcosms of all of Hellas and constructed a fuller Greek identity.

Keywords

Ancient Greece, Archaeology, Sanctuaries, Dedications, Military, Athletes, Dedicatory Treasuries, Athletics

Access Type

Honors Thesis (Bucknell Access Only)

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Classics & Mediterranean Studies

First Advisor

Kevin F. Daly

Second Advisor

Stephanie Larson

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