Foundation Myths and Politics in Ancient Ionia

Considers foundation myths in ancient Ionia, exploring issues of identity, ethnicity and the negotiation of cultural differences.

Naoíse Mac Sweeney (Author)

9781107037496, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 November 2013

252 pages, 11 b/w illus. 8 maps
25.3 x 17.9 x 1.6 cm, 0.63 kg

This book examines foundation myths told about the Ionian cities during the archaic and classical periods. It uses these myths to explore the complex and changing ways in which civic identity was constructed in Ionia, relating this to the wider discourses about ethnicity and cultural difference that were current in the Greek world at this time. The Ionian cities seem to have rejected oppositional models of cultural difference which set in contrast East and West, Europe and Asia, Greek and Barbarian, opting instead for a more fluid and nuanced perspective on ethnic and cultural distinctions. The conclusions of this book have far-reaching implications for our understanding of Ionia, but also challenge current models of Greek ethnicity and identity, suggesting that there was a more diverse conception of Greekness in antiquity than has often been assumed.

1. Introduction: identity and the construction of cultural difference
2. Foundation myths and politics
3. Ionia
4. Miletus: violence and bloodshed
5. Chios and Samos: land and island
6. Colophon and Ephesus: founding mothers
7. Being Ionian: the Ionian League, Ionian migrations, and Smyrna
8. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]