Synopses & Reviews
Early in the archaic period of Greek history, Messenia was annexed and partially settled by its powerful neighbour, Sparta. Achieving independence in the fourth century BC, the inhabitants of Messenia set about trying to forge an identity for themselves separate from their previous identity as Spartan subjects, refunctionalising or simply erasing their Spartan heritage. Professor Luraghi provides a thorough examination of the history of Messenian identity and consequently addresses a range of questions and issues whose interest and importance have only been widely recognised by ancient historians during the last decade. By a detailed scrutiny of the ancient written sources and the archaeological evidence, the book, which was originally published in 2008, reconstructs how the Messenians perceived and constructed their own ethnicity at different points in time, by applying to Messenian ethnicity insights developed by anthropologists and early medieval historians.
Synopsis
This 2008 book traces the history of Messenian ethnicity from the archaic period to the Roman Empire.
Synopsis
Traces the history of Messenian ethnicity from the archaic period to the Roman Empire. Once Messenia became independent from Sparta, its inhabitants reinvented their past history. Using archaeological and literary evidence, this 2008 book investigates the recreation of the past and its implications for the ethnic memory of the Messenians.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction; 2. Delimiting the Messenians; 3. The return of the Heraclids and the mythical birth of Messenia; 4. The conquest of Messenia through the ages; 5. Messenia from the Dark Ages to the Peloponnesian War; 6. The Western Messenians; 7. The earthquake and the revolt: from Ithome to Naupactus; 8. The liberation of Messenia; 9. Being Messenian from Philip to Augustus; 10. Messenians in the Empire; 11. Conclusion.