Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece

Studies on Ancient Greek Death and Burial

Edited by Nikolas Dimakis Edited by Tamara M. Dijkstra

Book cover: Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece

Extent: 204 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Classical Studies, European Prehistory, Mediterranean Archaeology

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(January 2020)

ISBN: 9781789694420

8.07 x 11.42 inches

Price: $50.00

In stock

This volume brings together early career scholars working on funerary customs in Greece from the Early Iron Age to the Roman period. Papers present various thematic and interdisciplinary analysis in which funerary contexts provide insights on individuals, social groups and communities.


Even though, at death, identity and social status may undergo major changes, by studying funerary customs we can greatly gain in the understanding of a community’s social structure, distribution of wealth and property, and the degree of flexibility or divisiveness in the apportionment of power. With its great regional diversity and variety of community forms and networks, ancient Greece offers a unique context for exploring, through the burial evidence, how communities developed. Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece brings together early career scholars working on funerary customs in Greece from the Early Iron Age to the Roman period. Papers present various thematic and interdisciplinary analysis in which funerary contexts provide insights on individuals, social groups and communities. Themes discussed include issues of territoriality, the reconstruction of social roles of particular groups of people, and the impact that major historical events may have had on the way individuals or specific groups of individuals treated their dead.

Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece: A Prologue - Nikolas Dimakis and Tamara M. Dijkstra Death Practices and Social Change Protogeometric Thessaly: An Integrated Study of Burial Practices and Isotope Analysis of Human Remains - Eleni Panagiotopoulou Liminal Spaces, Burial Contexts and Funerary Practices in the pre-Classical Marathon (Attica) - Vicky Vlachou Funerary Variability in Late Geometric Attica and its Implications: A Closer Look at the Neglected Late 8th-century Cremations - Alexandra Alexandridou Mortuary Practices in the Ancient Rural Demoi of Southeastern Attica under the Light of Recent Evidence from Five Cemeteries in Mesogaia - Panagiota Galiatsatou Urbanism and its Impact on Human Health and Diet: A Preliminary Study of the Human Remains from Hellenistic to Late Antique Knossos, Crete - Anna Moles Social Identity and Treatment in Death Defining Social Identities at Cemeteries of Late Classical Argos: Age- and Gender-Groups on the Basis of Distinctive Funerary Gifts - Georgia Ivou Pot Burials in Ancient Thera: The Presence of Infants in the Cemeteries of the Ancient City from 8th to 6th Century BC - Olga Kaklamani Premature Death and Burial in Classical and Hellenistic Attica - Nikolas Dimakis Monumental Commemoration and Identity The Creation of a Deathscape: The Monumental Tomb at Agios Milianos in Lindos - Vasiliki Brouma Building for the mos Romanus in the Peloponnese: The Columbaria Monuments - Georgios Doulfis Mortuary Practices at Roman Sparta - Maria Tsouli Burial Monumentality and Funerary Associations in Roman Kos - Nikolas Dimakis and Vassiliki Christopoulou Grave Markers (Semata) of the Koan Necropoleis (3rd century BC-3rd century AD) - Chrysanthi Tsouli,

Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece: A Prologue – Nikolas Dimakis and Tamara M. Dijkstra
Death Practices and Social Change
Protogeometric Thessaly: An Integrated Study of Burial Practices and Isotope Analysis of Human Remains – Eleni Panagiotopoulou
Liminal Spaces, Burial Contexts and Funerary Practices in the pre-Classical Marathon (Attica) – Vicky Vlachou ; 
Funerary Variability in Late Geometric Attica and its Implications: A Closer Look at the Neglected Late 8th-century Cremations – Alexandra Alexandridou
Mortuary Practices in the Ancient Rural Demoi of Southeastern Attica under the Light of Recent Evidence from Five Cemeteries in Mesogaia – Panagiota Galiatsatou
Urbanism and its Impact on Human Health and Diet: A Preliminary Study of the Human Remains from Hellenistic to Late Antique Knossos, Crete – Anna Moles
Social Identity and Treatment in Death
Defining Social Identities at Cemeteries of Late Classical Argos: Age- and Gender-Groups on the Basis of Distinctive Funerary Gifts – Georgia Ivou
Pot Burials in Ancient Thera: The Presence of Infants in the Cemeteries of the Ancient City from 8th to 6th Century BC – Olga Kaklamani
Premature Death and Burial in Classical and Hellenistic Attica – Nikolas Dimakis
Monumental Commemoration and Identity
The Creation of a Deathscape: The Monumental Tomb at Agios Milianos in Lindos – Vasiliki Brouma
Building for the mos Romanus in the Peloponnese: The Columbaria Monuments – Georgios Doulfis
Mortuary Practices at Roman Sparta – Maria Tsouli
Burial Monumentality and Funerary Associations in Roman Kos – Nikolas Dimakis and Vassiliki Christopoulou
Grave Markers (Semata) of the Koan Necropoleis (3rd century BC-3rd century AD) – Chrysanthi Tsouli
  • Edited by Nikolas Dimakis
  • Edited by Tamara M. Dijkstra

The essays differ greatly in length, outlook and scope, but as a whole, the volume provides an engaging study of much of the recent work done on the subject of Greek death und burial, and a contextual analysis of different aspects of mortuary practices. Without doubt, its interdisciplinary approach marks one of the most valuable aspects of the publication, which constitutes a necessary update for many topics in the field and is especially useful for a specialist audience.’ – Annarita Doronzio (2022): sehepunkte 22 (2022), Nr. 4