Abstracts
Alexander MAZARAKIS AINIAN
(University of Thessaly)
Addressing and honouring heroes and distinguished dead in Geometric Greece
In this paper I will try to deal with the long-lasting and ongoing controversy concerning the reasons lying behind the phenomenon of the rise of Hero Cults in the 8th c. B.C. Several imminent scholars in the past decades have dealt with the same subject. Some have reached the conclusion that this phenomenon was due to the spread of the Homeric epics. On the other hand, the rise of hero cults coincides with a series of other phenomena, such as the rise of sanctuaries and temples or the re-appearance of images and narrative scenes in art, especially in vase painting. It has thus been argued that the act of honouring distinguished dead and heroes was generated by more complex social and political reasons related to the rise of the polis. My own approach is based mostly on the archaeological data, through which I hope to be able to tackle this question.
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