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8 - Rural Sanctuaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 October 2022

Peter Thonemann
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

This chapter reconstructs the typical physical form of the rural sanctuaries of Roman Hieradoumia, as well as their landholdings and distinctive labour regimes. The exiguous evidence from excavations and surveys is set alongside a lengthy inscription from a sanctuary of Apollo Kisauloddenos that describes the sacred buildings and their associated furniture. The mechanisms by which these sanctuaries accumulated their large landholdings are discussed, with a focus on the evidence for semi-compulsory ‘tithes’ on secular land-transactions. Sacred woodlands and groves were a standard feature of sanctuaries’ landholdings, and poaching from these woodlands was very widespread. Although these sanctuaries had a small permanent staff of sacred officials, much of the rural labour on their estates was provided through the Hieradoumian institution of ‘sacred slavery’, under which villagers were expected to offer their labour as hierodouloi for a fixed term of service. Low-level resistance to this compulsory labour service was endemic, illustrating the structural tensions that existed between Hieradoumian villagers and the powerful sanctuaries of the region.

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Chapter
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The Lives of Ancient Villages
Rural Society in Roman Anatolia
, pp. 241 - 283
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Rural Sanctuaries
  • Peter Thonemann, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Lives of Ancient Villages
  • Online publication: 28 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009128452.009
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  • Rural Sanctuaries
  • Peter Thonemann, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Lives of Ancient Villages
  • Online publication: 28 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009128452.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Rural Sanctuaries
  • Peter Thonemann, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Lives of Ancient Villages
  • Online publication: 28 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009128452.009
Available formats
×