Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Origins of War: Violence in Prehistory. By Jean Guilaine, Jean Zammit, and Melanie Hersey.John E. RobbJohn E. Robb Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 110, Number 1January 2006 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Views: 5Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3764/aja.110.1.167 Views: 5Total views on this site Copyright © 2006 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

Polykleitos - W. G. Moon (ed.): Polykleitos, the Doryphoros, and Tradition (Wisconsin Studies in Classics). Pp. xii + 364; ills. Madison and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. £44.95. ISBN: 0-299-14310-4. - Volume 47 Issue 2

The Agora - R. F. Townsend: The East Side of the Agora. The Remains beneath the Stoa of Attalos. (The Athenian Agora, 27.) Pp. xxi+248; 45 ills; 14 figs; 62 plates. Princeton, NJ: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1995. Cased, $120. - Volume 46 Issue 2

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

A monograph on Delphi is that really needed? Are there not enough of them already? No, a check in the bibliography shows that monographs on the subject are very few and that there seems to be nothing comparable. So this new book is certainly to be greeted with gratitude. To start from the last chapter there is a short but concise expose on the research history of the site, from the discovery by Cyriac of Ancona in 1438 to the denomination 'archaeological area' in 1972, the salvation from the construction of an aluminium factory in 1986 and the entering into UNESCO's list of cultural inheritance in 1988. A special reference is made to the regrettable controversy concerning the research and publication of the inscriptions at the turn of the century. There is an introductory chapter on the landscape and the environment giving a survey of the Corycan cave, the stone-working in the environment, and valuable notices on geology and botanies. A survey of earthquakes and important travellers, both ancient and modern, is also given. In the historical chapter, Maass stresses that the 'first holy war' of 595-585 was not called holy but should be called Kirrhan or Crisean, and that the first holy war should be the one of 457 (on p. 4, however, a line of holy wars from the sixth to the third century is mentioned), further that it is as controversial whether the Persians sacked Delphi in 480 as how far the Celts reached in 278, that Delphi had its own coinage in classical times, and that Delphi avoided being compromised in the Perseus war. Augustus had the Amphiktyoni reorganised by inserting Nicopolis and erasing the obsolete Dolopians from it. The role of Plutarch, and the later history of Delphi with its confusion with Amphissa and the lacunae in its history in Late Antiquity, are also mentioned. The chapter on the oracle naturally deals with many controversial points. It is uncertain whether there was any oracle before Apollo and whether the references to Pytho (as the site was called until the fifth century) in Homer can be trusted. Concerning the references to oracular guiding for colonies M. stresses that already the earliest colonies have a cult of Apollon Archegetes which points to the genuineness of the tradition. Concerning the emanations from the rock considered geologically impossible which guided the Pythia, M. considers them spiritual, not chemical. We get references to catalogues of oracular responses (already from 200 BC) and modern lists of attempts at bribing the oracle. The book has about a hundred photographs, some of them in colour, of good quality and well chosen and variegated. On the other hand, there are few drawings (except some reproduced from illustrations by early travellers). The plans are few but almost sufficient (I should like to see a plan of the vicinity, too). There is an extensive section of notes and a seemingly vast bibliography, but a closer study of the notes shows that numerous works mentioned in the notes are not included in the bibliography, which could thus in fact be much longer. There is also a well chosen glossary of terms; on the other hand there is unfortunately no index of any sort. Half of the book is dedicated to the large chapter on the sanctuary itself, including sections on the temple, the treasuries and other buildings, the votives and the dedications. It is a thorough description including many photographs of objects in the museum (on which there is no separate section). The chapter on the sanctuary at Marmaria is of course much shorter but informative of how little we know about it. The description of Pausanias is not of much help, and we are not informed of the function of the tholos, not even by Vitruvius, although he tells us that its architect wrote a book on it. And we do not know the function of the Mycenaean idols on the spot (which are numerous also in the sanctuary itself). Finally the chapter on the feasts and their sites is rather short. We are informed that the Pythian games existed already before 582 BC and that there were also other games like the Soteria. We get information on the functionaries, the authors of winners' lists and the scanty information of participation by women. The stadion and the theatre and their history are also described, but nothing is said about the undiscovered hippodrome, which is supposed to have been situated in the valley below. The gymnasion, on the other hand, is found included in the chapter on the town, springs, fortifications, necropoleis, Christian monuments, and mosaics. The book is well produced and almost without misprints (there is of course the all too common Flaminius for Flamininus, s.v. Chamoux in the bibliography).

E. Poulsen: Asine II: Results of the Excavations East of the Acropolis, 1970–74. Fasc. 6 The Post-Geometric Periods, Part 2 The Post-Geometric Settlement Material and Tombs of the Hellenistic Period. (Skrifter Utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Athen, 4, xxiv: 6, 2.) Pp. 52; 41 figs, 5 plates. Stockholm: Paul Åström, 1994. Paper. - Volume 45 Issue 2

(F.) Blondé and (J.) Perrault Ed.Les ateliers de potiers dans le monde grec aux époques géometrique, archaïque et classique. (BCH Suppl., 23.) Athens (Ecole Française) and Paris (de Boccard), 1992. Pp. vi + 207 + illus. Fr. 600. - Volume 115

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.