The significant few. Miniature pottery from the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia

Miniature pottery is omnipresent in the ancient Greek world, especially in sanctuaries, from the Prehistoric to the Hellenistic period. This article will present and discuss a significant absence of miniature pottery in one of the best-known sanctuaries in Greece, the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia du...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World archaeology 2015-01, Vol.47 (1), p.170-188
Main Author: Barfoed, Signe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient Greece
Archaeological artifacts
Archaeological research
Archaeology
Archaic
Ceramics
dedications
Greece
Greek civilization
Miniature pottery
Miniaturization
Olympia
Pottery
Rites & ceremonies
Shrines
Zeus
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Summary:Miniature pottery is omnipresent in the ancient Greek world, especially in sanctuaries, from the Prehistoric to the Hellenistic period. This article will present and discuss a significant absence of miniature pottery in one of the best-known sanctuaries in Greece, the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia during the Archaic period. The reasons behind this scarcity are at one level clearly related to the pan-Hellenic character of the sanctuary. However, by comparing the assemblages at Olympia with other sanctuaries, largely in the Peloponnese, it becomes clear that the roles of miniature pottery may be quite complex. This absence in at least some pan-Hellenic contexts, in combination with the kinds of shapes that are most common in particular assemblages, suggests that miniature pottery has significance that goes beyond the 'votive', as traditionally construed by Classical archaeologists, to include commemorative and possibly ritual roles.
ISSN:0043-8243
1470-1375
DOI:10.1080/00438243.2014.992077