AIA-6A: Small Worlds of the Milesian Colonial System (Colloquium)

Sponsored by:

AIA Eastern Europe/Eurasia Interest Group and the AIA Anatolia Interest Group

Organizers

Owen Doonan, California State University Northridge

Overview Statement

Miletus was one of, if not the most important, city in the formation of archaic Greek (seventh–sixth centuries B.C.E.) culture: the birthplace of Greek philosophy, prolific founder of archaic colonies, and a key center in the development of early Greek art and trade. Despite the centrality of Miletus and its influence as founder of dozens of colonies, there is still no clear sense of how or even if the community of Milesian foundations functioned as a cultural and social system and the role of periurban monumentality and ritual in establishing relationships with the local communities. The proposed colloquium brings together multidisciplinary landscape-focused projects in Miletus and six Black Sea colonies: Parion, Apollonia Pontica, Histria, Olbia, Sinope, and Tieion. A “small-worlds” framework is encouraged for the analysis of each case study, considering the city or the site as components within a larger system that also includes the ecological and physical settings, multiple settlements and other use sites (across cultures), infrastructure, economic, and social systems.

• Were the landscapes within and around Milesian colonies modified through infrastructure, funerary landscapes, and other forms of monumentality to shape relationships with indigenous communities?
• Were colonial landscapes shaped in ways that mimicked the familiar organization of the chora of Miletus?
• Were chorai organized to produce commodities that supported other parts of the colonial system?
• How did these relationships evolve over time?

The history of Miletus as founder of a colonial network is particularly interesting for a number of reasons. The city was deeply involved in maritime trade and so there may well have been an interest in establishing commercial networks among its population. Trade in food staples and strategic natural resources may have supported a growing city under population and land pressure. The demographic background of the colonial phenomenon is not well understood. By the fourth century B.C.E. the Milesian colonies had coalesced into a loose cultural and economic bloc centered upon the idea of a shared Milesian heritage. We propose that by examining the production, export, and consumption of ceramics, sculpture and high value small objects of metal, ivory, and semiprecious stones in Miletus and its colonies we can clarify the importance of visual culture in the creation and maintenance of colonial relationships and identities.

“Small Worlds of Milesian Colonial Landscapes” offers the first detailed presentation of results from the excavations of a key colonial system in the Mediterranean and Eurasian world.