| The aim of this research is to interpret how major rural sanctuaries in Hellenistic Asia Minor were used to express and create civic identity in the landscape of their corresponding cities. As platforms for power and diplomacy, sanctuaries in remote areas extended the political dimension beyond the city into its territory. Extensive studies have been made of these issues for the Archaic and Classical Greek worlds, but rarely for the Hellenistic period. Yet questions of territory became increasingly dynamic in the Hellenistic period as cities gained power and sought to expand their spheres of influence, but also as allegiances to royal power shifted, frontiers were redrawn and new cities were being created. Through reorganizations, royal benefactions and civic display, rural sanctuaries were often the linking pin between these various forces. This research project uses an interdisciplinary approach based on archaeological and epigraphical data, spatial analyses, and literary sources where applicable to research the wider cultic network, the influence of cities and rulers, reception by the public, and periods of change in which rural sanctuaries played an important role. |
