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UBC Theses and Dissertations

Sacred land in Classical Athens Williams, Arden Lorraine

Abstract

An important group of land-holders within Classical Athens were the gods and heroes worshipped by the community. This sacred property consisted not simply of that land on which the temples and altars were situated, but also a variety of agricultural land and buildings. These properties, like those belonging to ordinary citizens, were used for the support of cult sites and especially for the funding of religious festivals. Because deities were, in effect, absent from the land they owned, administration of this land was left in the hands of the people of the polis. The evidence for this land is mainly epigraphical. This thesis will study the unique collection of inscriptions which comes from the polis of Classical Athens with respect to the administration of sacred land and its social and economic functions in the community.

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