Event

Title: Maintaining a Common Polity: Shared cult in the koina of the imperial Greek mainland

Abstract: This colloquium will include a short presentation and then discussion of a pre-circulated paper (Penn credentials are required for access). The pre-circulated paper is an excerpt of an in-progress monograph manuscript by Eliza Gettel (Assistant Professor of History, Villanova University). The monograph examines the durability and dynamism of the koinon or so-called ‘federal state’ in the Greek mainland within the Roman Empire. The monograph argues against the prevailing notion that ‘time ran out’ for the koina of the Greek mainland with the coming of Rome. Instead, it uncovers how these structures remained deeply embedded in the local landscape, supporting communities of various scales within the Greek mainland. Ultimately, it argues that individuals could draw on the model of the koinon to conceptualize and negotiate their place within the Roman state. Specifically, the excerpt circulated for discussion explores the continued connection between koina (with special attention to the koinon of the Boeotians) and traditional, federal rituals and festivals in the imperial Greek mainland.

Eliza Gettel is an Assistant Professor of History at Villanova University. Her current research focuses on the social and political history of the Greek mainland within the Roman Empire. Previous publications have addressed such topics as displaced individuals in the Hellenistic Mediterranean and connections between early anthropological scholarship and the Classics. Her research has been supported by fellowships from DAI-AEK, CAORC, SSRC, and the US-UK Fulbright Commission, among others. She is currently co-chair of the Committee on Teaching for the Association of Ancient Historians.   

A pre-cirulated paper is available here. Penn credentials are required.

Registration is required for Penn CLST colloquia this semester.

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