ARCHAEOLOGY OF SICILY AND MAGNA GRECIA

The course aims to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the processes underlying the foundation and development of the Greek apoikiai in Magna Graecia and Sicily through the study of archaeological evidence. Particular attention will be devoted to the analysis of urban and territorial dynamics and to the different cultural components of the Greek West.

Special emphasis will be placed on the organization of sacred spaces and on the various manifestations of cult practices, with particular reference to the contexts of Magna Graecia. Through the analysis of major sanctuaries, architectural remains, votive evidence, and material culture, the relationships between sacred spaces, cities, and territories will be examined, with a focus on Demeter cults and the spread of the cult of Demeter Thesmophoros.

By the end of the course, students will have acquired a sound knowledge of the main archaeological contexts of Magna Graecia and Sicily and will be able to critically analyse and interpret archaeological evidence, recognizing its characteristics, functions, and diachronic transformations and placing it within the broader historical and territorial framework of the apoikiai. They will also develop the ability to critically assess material evidence and interpretative models, acquiring a command of the specialist terminology of Classical Archaeology and the History of Ancient Religions, as well as the methodological tools necessary to undertake independent study of the archaeological contexts of the Greek West, in accordance with the Dublin Descriptors

The course explores the processes of mobility and foundation of the Greek apoikiai in Magna Graecia and Sicily through the analysis of archaeological evidence and the main historiographical and interpretative issues. The different components of the Greek West will be examined, with particular attention to the Euboean, Doric, Achaean, and Rhodian-Cretan apoikiai, as well as to the dynamics of interaction with local populations.

Particular attention will be devoted to urban development and territorial organization, with specific regard to the definition and function of sacred spaces. Through the analysis of major sanctuary contexts, architectural remains, votive evidence, and material culture, the various manifestations of cult practices and the relationships between sacred spaces, cities, and territories will be explored, with particular reference to the contexts of Magna Graecia.

Special emphasis will be placed on Demeter cults and, in particular, on the spread of the cult of Demeter Thesmophoros in Magna Graecia, through the study of archaeological evidence from major sanctuaries and their relationship with the urban fabric and the surrounding territory. The course will be developed through the analysis of significant case studies.

- Mario Torelli, Dei e Artigiani. Archeologie delle colonie greche d’Occidente, Bari 2011, pp. 186.

- Francesco Gioacchino La Torre, Sicilia e Magna Grecia. Archeologia della colonizzazione greca d’Occidente, Bari 2011, pp. 350.

- Valeria Parisi, Oltre le Tesmoforie. Spunti di riflessione sul sacrificio al femminile, in Scienze dell’Antichità 23, 2017, pp. 171-187.

- Valeria Parisi, L’archeologia del culto nelle colonie greche d’Occidente. Breve nota sullo stato degli studi tra vecchie e nuove prospettive di ricerca, in Enzo Lippolis, Rita Sassu (a cura di), Il ruolo del culto nelle comunità dell’Italia antica tra IV e I sec. a.C. Strutture, funzioni e interazioni culturali, Thiasos Monografie 10, Roma 2018, pp. 91-128.

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