Aegean Interactions

Book excerpt: The third century BC was a particularly troubled period of ancient Greek history, when the Aegean sea became the main stage for power struggles between various royal circles and dynasties, including the Antigonids and the Ptolemies. This volume addresses the history of interaction in the Aegean world during this time by focusing on the island of Delos, which housed one of its most important regional sanctuaries. It draws on contemporary network theory and approaches to regionalism, as well as thorough investigation of the Delian epigraphic and material evidence, to explore how and to what degree the islands of the southern Aegean formed active networks of political, religious, and cultural interaction. Four case studies examine different types of networks on and around Delos, covering the federal organisation of islands into the so-called 'Islanders' League', the participation of Delian and other agents in the processes of monumentalisation of the Delian landscape, the network of honours of the Delian community, and the social dynamics of dedication through the record of dedicants in the Delian inventories. They reveal not only that these kinds of regional interaction in the southern Aegean were pervasive, but also that they had a significant impact on the creation of a regional identity; one that persisted despite the political changes of the age.