Alix Galumbeck

Topic

The Cultic Significance of Wheelmade Terracotta Figures in Late Helladic III C Eleon, Greece

Department of Greek and Roman Studies

Date & location

• Tuesday, March 19, 2024
• 9:00 A.M.
• Virtual Defence

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Trevor Van Damme, Department of Greek and Roman Studies, University of Victoria (Supervisor)
• Dr. Brendan Burke, Department of Greek and Roman Studies, UVic (Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Evanthia Baboula, Department of Art History and Visual Studies, UVic

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Doug Mollard, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies, UVic

Abstract

Without written records, the evolution of religious practices can only be ascertained from the evaluation of cultic objects. During the Late Bronze Age in mainland Greece, a significant shift in sacred rites occurred. With the decentralization of Greek society after the so-called collapse near the end of the Late Bronze Age, it appears that rites performed at palatial centers were now executed at non-palatial areas. Recently discovered artifacts consisting of wheelmade terracotta figures excavated at Eleon, a non-palatial site extant during this period, were evaluated to ascertain not only their cultic significance, but also to determine if distinct cultic spaces were located at this site. The findings were analyzed using novel frameworks to categorize both their typology and ritual significance. Through the lenses of cultic continuity, cultic progression, and regional variation, correlation to similar finds on mainland Greece, Melos, and Crete suggest that indeed Eleon had both cultic objects and shrines.