This essay investigates the archaeological evidence that indicate water management intended for agricultural optimization in Minoan Crete. The geographical, geomorphological, climatic,...Show moreThis essay investigates the archaeological evidence that indicate water management intended for agricultural optimization in Minoan Crete. The geographical, geomorphological, climatic, palaeoenvironmental and chronological contexts of Minoan Crete are examined as an introduction. A brief overview of the water management solutions encountered in settlement environments follows. The main topic is analyzed through the evidence provided by the island of Pseira, the valley of Choiromandres in Zakros, the region of Kavousi, the coastal area of Gournia and the plain of Malia. Parallels from Kythera Island and the Mycenaean Tiryns are used to broaden the image of the Late Bronze Age agricultural life in the Aegean region. The modern-day irrigation techniques found on the island of Crete are discussed in the place of an ethnographic study.Show less
This thesis is on Greece in Late Antiquity. There is much attention for Roman Greece, but mostly, this attention goes to the periods of the Late Republic and the Early Empire. The period of Late...Show moreThis thesis is on Greece in Late Antiquity. There is much attention for Roman Greece, but mostly, this attention goes to the periods of the Late Republic and the Early Empire. The period of Late Roman Greece is less discussed. This thesis gives an overview on the historical background of the Late Roman period, it gives an overview of the archeaological data that have been found for all Roman periods in four major Greek cities Argos, Athens, Thessaloniki and Corinth and an overview of the most well-known surveys in Greece. By combining all these information this thesis decribes the situation of Late Roman Greece. What effects had the events in the Late Roman Empire on the people living in the Greek cities? And what on the people living in the countryside? What effects had the situation in the Greek cities on the countryside, and vice versa?Show less
In this thesis the political, social, demographical and geographical relationships between the demes of Attica and the city of Athens are investigated. Because of the size of the polis and the...Show moreIn this thesis the political, social, demographical and geographical relationships between the demes of Attica and the city of Athens are investigated. Because of the size of the polis and the political organization of it Athens was an anomaly in the ancient world. Democracy was first implemented in Attica in 508/7 and therefore Athens played a unique role in history. The large number of settlements, or demes, that together formed the polis of Athens shared political power in the Ecclesia and the Boulé and although this power was never divided among them equally, the system worked for almost two centuries. Many demes housed larger populations than a normal-sized polis outside of Attica did so we must wonder how they were organized and how their size influenced their political power in the polis of Athens. Through archaeological remains and written sources the importance of several unique demes is clarified and the balance of power that existed in democratic Athens is confirmed. Through research we come to find out that very large demes located in the rural or coastal areas could very well have less political power than a much smaller deme within the city-walls of Athens. The reason for this is simple, the Ecclesia, or assembly, was the only legislative power in the polis and the great majority of its members came from the direct vicinity of the city since they were the only ones able to participate in the democratic processes of the polis on a daily basis. The rural and coastal areas of Attica therefore wielded less legislative power despite their superiority in numbers of inhabitants. Through equal representation in the Boulé the demes retained a certain amount of power though so the system, that was implemented by Kleisthenes in 508/7, essentially worked.Show less
The aim of the present work is to trace and stress the intercultural relations between the Arab-Islamic power and Christian Byzantium. The struggle for supremacy between these two great powers in...Show moreThe aim of the present work is to trace and stress the intercultural relations between the Arab-Islamic power and Christian Byzantium. The struggle for supremacy between these two great powers in the Mediterranean, which lasted from the middle of the seventh century to the twelfth, vividly appears in the primary sources, Arabic as well as Byzantine, and it can be gleaned with sufficient clarity in spite of numerous lacunae. Nevertheless, information about the cultural relations between these two powers of the time is sparse and incoherent in all sources and the task of modern scholars to trace them is confronted with great difficulties. An attempt has been made in the present work to take a panoramic view of various aspects of the Arab-Byzantine cultural relations in literature, art and naval technology, hoping to demonstrate that in spite of the continuous rivalry between Byzantium and the Arabs, an ongoing; undercurrent cultural communication existed between them.Show less
In the last fifty years the subject of Byzantium has received more attention by scholars. However one aspect of the Byzantine Empire has still been largely ignored: the lavish garments worn by both...Show moreIn the last fifty years the subject of Byzantium has received more attention by scholars. However one aspect of the Byzantine Empire has still been largely ignored: the lavish garments worn by both the emperor and his people. Dress can say much about a people: how were women seen, were they dressed similar to the men and did they have power? How was the imperial family dressed, and could an empresses power be visible from her garments? Was a sort of fashion already present at this early time or did clothing styles not change at all? And how were the children dressed? Were the imperial children dressed differently from the elite, and were the elite dressed like their parents? From images it is clear that both emperor and empress wore the same lavish garments that were exclusive to the imperial family and which carried great meaning. At least from the eighth to the eleventh century women dressed exactly like their husbands, even in the world of the elite. Variations did occur, just like garments that were only worn by women such as the veil. Only in the early and late Byzantine Empire differences in dress appeared between men and women, possible due to the pressure from barbarians invading the country. The men had to show a more military styled garb in these periods. Even though many fashion historians claim that fashion only started in the middle of the fourteenth century it is certain that some basic form of fashion was already in place in the middle Byzantine Empire. New styles of dress were often adopted from the outskirts of the Empire and these new fashions were later also seen in the center. In this way turbans and western styled dresses traveled from the Islamic world and the west through the borderlands towards the capital. From historical sources it is also known that people were obsessed with looking good and fashionable, the clearest indication one would wish for an early notion of fashion. Children of the imperial family were dressed exactly like their mother and father in the beautiful royal garments. Brothers to the heir were not discriminated (even though girls were sometimes omitted from family portraits). Clearly all of the imperial children were cherished, not only the heir. Girls were important tools in order to gain alliances with important families and were cherished. Elite children, like imperial children, were dressed like their parents, at least on official occasions and holidays. On not so formal occasions they were likely dressed in special garments for children which gave them more room to move and play. It is also possible that these garments were owned by the less fortunate who were not able to afford the expensive luxurious clothes of the most important families.Show less
