Panel 7.4 – Financial resources and management in the sanctuaries in Greece (FiReMa)


Organisation/Vorsitz:

  • Annalisa Lo Monaco (Sapienza, Università di Roma)

Vortragende:

Panel abstract

Ancient sources attest for Greece a careful distinction between sacred and public finances. Even if there were certainly separate funds, the reality was far more complicated. The boundary line between sacred finances and city resources was not always easy to recognize. Indeed, spending was huge: sanctuaries needed large economic resources to finance the erection or restoration of buildings, daily or monthly liturgical expenses (victims to be sacrificed, firewood, cleaning of buildings and statues, decorations), and the organization of agonistic festivals. The liquidity inflows mainly derived from taxes and the collection of fines and bequests, as well as from sacred lands, which could be rented, cultivated, or given to pasture. A great resource was also the accumulation of votive offerings in precious material, kept in temples or in special locked buildings. It was a real reserve hoarding, which was withdrawable also for non-religious purposes (normally to refinance wars). Inside the shrines also real banking transactions took place, such as safekeeping of restricted deposits, collective or even individual loans with subsidized rate, minting of coins, currency exchange. Finally, the extraordinary inflow of pilgrims involved the creation of real market areas within the sanctuaries. The administrative management was very varied and complex: it could be operated directly by the priests, by the advisory bodies of the respective poleis, by specific sacred assemblies or even by private citizens.
Conducted by a multi-disciplinary team and combining all kinds of sources (literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic), FiReMa is conceived as a double-panel: the first is dedicated to the financial capacities in the sanctuaries of Greece; the second is focused on financial and administrative management pursued in the holy places by several agents. Both the sections span from the 5th c. BC to the Imperial period.

Paper abstracts

1. John Davies (University of Liverpool)

'Economics' and 'the economics of cult': can a marriage be arranged?
For many years now, some economic historians of Classical Antiquity have been invoking modern economic theory, especially New Institutional Economics (summary in Groenewegen et al. 2010), in order to replace the simplistic Finley-Polanyi-style picture by more complex and realistic models. This paper will attempt to illustrate the possibilities. It will begin by sketching some recent work on the Greek world in this direction (Bresson, Lewis, Ober), and current views on the economics of religion (McCleary ed. 2011), It will then cite an analysis of the medieval Catholic Church as an economic firm (Ekelund et al. 1996) as an example of the applicability to pre-modern cult of modern analytic concepts. It will then present some of my own published and forthcoming work in a similar direction, including studies of temple states, of the economic roles of temples and sanctuaries within a polis framework (stability; response to implicit markets: capital accumulation and lending: etc). It will then commend the general utility of the theory of the firm as an interpretative framework, individual sanctuaries mostly being U-form organisations but poleis themselves largely M-form as managers, controllers, and investors. It will then use the Eleusis cult as a case-study, and will conclude by looking further afield, to Egypt, Babylonia, Judah, and Anatolia, where the economic roles of temples and sanctuaries were plainly paramount and would respond to a similar theoretical approach.

 

2. Peter Londey (Australian National University)

Financing temple building at Delphoi in the 6th century BC
We know, comparatively speaking, quite a lot about the financing of and expenditure on the temple of Apollo built at Delphoi in the mid-4th century BC, thanks to the surviving sequence of building inscriptions (CID 2). By comparison, beyond a small number of historical references (starting with Hdt. 2.180 and 5.62), we know very little about the financing of the grand construction works carried out in the 6th century, which included a radical remodelling of the temple terrace. The Delphic Amphiktyony was no doubt involved in all this, but some recent assumptions about the interpretation of the archaeological evidence at Delphoi are vitiated by continued reliance on the fictitious First Sacred War as an explanatory tool (see recently Scott 2010: 52–60; Londey (2015); for a summary of the limited historical evidence, see Sanchez 2001: 84–91). The 6th century works are an excellent example where archaeological, epigraphic and historical evidence must be used together to explain how a small albeit famous sanctuary, situated in a remote area of central Greece, could undertake a major building program in the late Archaic period.

Londey, P. (2015), “Making up Delphic history – the 1st Sacred War revisited”, Chiron 45: 221–238
Sanchez, P. (2001), L’amphictionie des Pyles et de Delphes (Stuttgart, Franz Steiner)
Scott, M. (2010), Delphi and Olympia: the spatial politics of panhellenism in the archaic and classical periods (Cambridge, CUP)

 

3. Rita Sassu (Sapienza, Università di Roma)

The treasures of Athena: Hoarding processes in the sanctuaries of Athens and Argos
Studies concerning the Greek polis have not hitherto properly considered the role played by sacred areas in public economy, particularly in the establishment of a financial deposit of collective resources during the Archaic and Classical age.
Epigraphic, literary and archaeological evidence indicates that, before Hellenism, a series of hoarding processes were taking place in the poliadic sanctuary.
In this regard, Athens and Argos turn out to be an exemplary case studies. Athenian Acropolis’ edifices were progressively built and spatially organized to meet the polis’ religious needs but also to address the necessity to create a financial collective deposit, established through a hoarding process requiring a complex and highly structured management system. The Acropolis acted as the place where public resources were preserved and controlled through a dedicated staff of officials since the Orientalizing age; from the Archaic age, a dedicated temple was built to preserve sacred resources, that were composed by both civil and religious revenues and could be spent on both the sanctuary’s and the polis’ expenses, especially in emergency situations such as wars. A similar situation can be observed in Argos, where the concentration of public assets within Athena’s poliadic sanctuary is documented since first half of the VI century B.C. Also in this context, the hoarded resources could be managed and used directly by the polis, which is lastly the co-owner of the goddess’ funds.

 

4. Spencer Pope (McMaster University) / Peter Schultz (North Dakoka State University)

The Management and Location of Public Treasures in Athens in the Fifth Century BC
Despite the existence of numerous decrees on civic monies, many mysteries remain regarding the management and location of the Athens’ public funds. The Treasury of Athena is associated with a space known as the “Opisthodomos,” but the designation is unclear and might refer to two discrete locations on the Acropolis. The completion of the Parthenon provided a new locus for the goods belonging to Athena. Annual inventories of public and sacred property reveal that the interior of the building was filled with a wide range of objects ranging from the extremely valuable (gold crowns) to the dubious (rotten arrows). Conspicuously missing from the inventory accounts, however, are the coins that constitute the vast majority of the city’s wealth. Ancient sources describe up to 10,000 Talents held in the treasury. While no inscriptions refer to the location of the city’s coined wealth, it has long been known that temples were used as banks. The principal spaces of the Parthenon were already utilized for display and for the storage of goods. However, its design includes a third served space: a staircase built into the Parthenon’s eastern cella wall. Like the famous staircases in several Sicilian temples of the Archaic and Classical periods, this staircase led to the temple’s attic. Safe, accessible, easily controlled, and sanctified by the goddess’s own power, this large, neglected space may have played a more central role in the Parthenon’s form and function than previously thought.

 

5. Valentina Mussa (Paris Sorbonne, Paris IV)

Economical officials and management of attic sanctuaries in classical Athens
In Athens, during the classical period, a high level of administrative complexity and institutional articulation characterized the religious administration. A policy of gradual centralization in the management of the fortunes of the Attic sanctuaries became manifest, from the last third of the 5th century BC, when the polis multiplied the boards of its sacred officers and a new treasure was created, under the supervision of the treasurers of the Other Gods, in order to keep on the Acropolis the cash wealth of many Attic sanctuaries.
The collaboration between the boards of treasurers on the Acropolis and the capillary network of the various local administrators made the system function and last until the beginning of the Hellenistic period. But to what extent was it truly rational and coherent?
At an institutional level, it had existed a certain fragmentation and overlap between various fields of competence. Moreover, Attic sanctuaries had different statuses which made it difficult to adopt a single administrative model. Finally, we must not forget the weight of demes and private associations in the administration of certain shrines, which enjoyed a shared management between the city and its components.
The interpretation of evidences from a selection of urban and extra-urban sanctuaries will allow us to reflect on the diversity of the administrative methods adopted by the polis in order to administer the sacred finances in the most efficient and autonomous way possible.

 

6. Manuela Mari (University of Cassino and Southern Latium)

Sacred goods and local conflicts in Hellenistic Macedonia
The paper aims at analyzing the dynamics of conflicts between civic authorities and sanctuaries which were in various ways connected with the administration of sacred goods in Hellenistic Macedonia. The analysis of some well known inscriptions testifying the interventions of the Antigonid kings in this field (from within and outside Macedonia proper) will suggest further reflections on the following topics: 1. the exact legal nature of the documents; 2. the nature itself of the king' interventions (is he acting in his capacity of 'High priest' of the state?); 3. the limits of the cities' autonomy in exploiting the economic resources of sanctuaries lying in their territories; 4. the relevant economic role of at least two Macedonian sanctuaries (that of Herakles Kynagidas in Beroea and that of Serapis in Thessalonike).

 

7. Elisabetta Interdonato (Université Charles de Gaulle Lille 3)

Fundraising systems and management of the revenues in sacred spaces: The case of the Asklepieion of Kos
The sanctuary of Asklepios in Kos, investigated by R.Herzog in the eaaly twentieth century and subject of some Italian research and restoration in the 1930s, is one of the most clearly laid out sacred complexes in Greece and Asia Minor. After its discovery and early explorations, however, the vicissitudes of history led to the dispersal of some finds and, most significantly, the abandonment of analytical studies of a large part of these finds.
The deep research lead by the author on the entire documentation of the sanctuary has permitted to bring to light many aspects of the Asklepieion, that were so far ignored, such as the fundraising systems and the management of the revenues, that are the focus of this work.
It has been possible, through an analytic study of the rich epigraphic collection, to understand the economy of this sanctuary.
In fact, on one hand, several sources of revenues have been identified : collection of fines, sale of priesthood, entrance and sacrifice fees, sacred lands and animals, private donations, loans and safekeeping deposit. On the other, it has been possible to comprehend how these revenues were administrated: the epigraphic evidence seems to reveal the existence of two different thesauròi and of an articulate banking system.

 

8. Véronique Chankowski (Université Lyon 2)

Sanctuaries and banking activities: Changes from the Hellenistic world to Roman influences
A lot of Greek sanctuaries made use of their financial resources by providing credit to a diverse clientele. This was a way to make prosper the cash of the sacred chest but it also contributed to engage the cities in specific financial networks. After a presentation of several forms of credit in sanctuaries, the paper will analyze the reception of this Greek conception of the public and sacred finances by the Roman power, through several epigraphical sources.

 

9. Francesco Camia (Sapienza Università di Roma)

The economic side of Greek festivals: some examples from Roman Greece
Festivals were among the most expensive events in the religious life of the Greek poleis, and represented a substantial item in the city budget due to the involved spending (sacrifices and other rituals, athletic and theatrical infrastructure for the agones, prizes for victors, remuneration of attendants and artists). Generally speaking, the financing of festivals was secured by a combination of public funding and private munificence. In my presentation, I am going to consider the epigraphic evidence in order to highlight the specific ways by which the poleis coped with the funding of festivals. My analysis will be focused on the cities of mainland Greece during the Late Hellenistic and Imperial periods.

 

10. Sven Schipporeit (Universität Wien)

Frauen und die Finanzierung griechischer Heiligtümer
Frauen treten ab spätklassischer Zeit in der epigraphischen und archäologischen Überlieferung verstärkt als Stifterinnen in griechischen Heiligtümern, insbesondere weiblicher Gottheiten, auf. In den Inschriften werden ihre Spenden häufig als kollektiv gesammelte Beträge präsentiert, deren Summen sich zumeist relativ bescheiden ausnahmen. Auch bei den von Frauen gestifteten Votiven scheint es sich gleichfalls in der Mehrzahl um bescheidene Objekte wie Tonstatuetten gehandelt zu haben, die, zu Tausenden in mäßiger Größe und Qualität, Artemis, Demeter, Hera und anderen Göttinnen geweiht, weder einer weiteren finanziellen Verwendung zugeführt werden konnten, noch den Ruhm des Heiligtums steigerten. Vor diesem Hintergrund soll in dem geplanten Beitrag für den Zeitraum vom 4.-1. Jh. v. Chr. einerseits die Rolle griechischer Bürgerinnen für den finanziellen Haushalt der Heiligtümer weiblicher Gottheiten als Stifterinnen, Kultfunktionärinnen und -teilnehmerinnen beleuchtet werden. Zum anderen widmet er sich der Frage, wie der Betrieb dieser oftmals bescheidenen Heiligtümer, deren Kulte wie im Falle der Demeter Thesmophoros aber durchaus von hohem religiösem Stellenwert für den Bestand und das Wohl einer Polis war, aufrecht erhalten werden konnte.

 

11. Annalisa Lo Monaco (Sapienza, Università di Roma)

I mercati degli dei. Agorai e vendita al dettaglio nei santuari in Grecia
L’afflusso di pellegrini e visitatori in occasione delle feste determina la nascita di vere e proprie agorai ai margini delle aree sacre, spesso nei paraggi delle vie di accesso. In tali circostanze, si potevano vendere cibi destinati al consumo immediato (orzo, grano e cereali, frutta) e altri beni, secondo una regolamentazione precisa che vietava la contraffazione dei prodotti e tentava di salvaguardarne la genuinità. Solo raramente citate dalle fonti letterarie, le agorai sono però note sia epigraficamente (Delfi, Olimpia, Andania) sia, più di rado, archeologicamente (Olimpia). Il presente intervento si propone una rassegna completa della documentazione a disposizione, fornendo una casistica dei beni in vendita ed esaminando la regolamentazione giuridica delle operazioni inerenti il loro commercio.

 

12. Stavros Vlizos (Ionian University)

Metal workshops, production and the sanctuary infrastructure: The case of the Spartan Amyklaion
The most notorious, according to Polybios, sanctuary in Lakonia that of Apollon Amyklaios has been located on the hill of Haghia Kyriaki around 5 km south of Sparta. This study deals with the discovery of traces of workshops inside the sanctuary, unknown until present, associated with the metal findings from geometric to archaic times. The aim of the presentation is to discuss new evidence and interpretations using an economic approach. Many fragments of bronze and iron, together with much broken pottery, were recovered in several dumped deposits near the Temple. Bits of metal, which would be found where casting of bronzes had taken place are valuable sources of information about metal manufacturing techniques and the tools used in the process. From their presence so near to the temple we infer the existence of foundry working in the temenos. There is substantial evidence that a bronze foundry existed on the site. On the basis of these indications of industrial activity, one could reasonably conclude that at least some, though certainly not all, of the metals objects found at the site were made and finished there. The sanctuary is not to be taken as an isolated phenomenon, but put into relation with the surrounding world and life of its city and region. Such edifices were seen as embellishment, closely linked to the community and polis. Therefore, questions of Land use, industry, technology and artistic production will be discussed in this paper.