Religion and Cult in the Dodecanese during the first millennium BC
University of the Aegean on Rhodes | 18 October 2018 – 21 October 2018

Religion has always been one of the major components of peoples’ lives, an integral part of social, economic and political contexts, contributing to the formation of culture and history.
In order to study and understand the religious and cult practices of a particular region, it is necessary to explore their various expressions through material culture and written sources.

Important finds illustrate the significant influence exercised by Minoan religion by the end of Late Minoan IA period in the Dodecanese, which can be related to an engagement in religious ceremonies expressed in settlements and mountains. Equally important are the cult remains dated to the end of the tenth and early ninth centuries B.C. and throughout the first millennium B.C. These display the existence of a vibrant island society with various evolving cult practices. As a major stopover on maritime trade routes, the southeastern Aegean was influenced by contacts from throughout the Greek world and beyond. This conference will explore the archaeology and literature that testify to the development and continuation of cults in the Dodecanese, from the Early Iron Age through to the first century B.C.