J.J. SANCHEZ | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

Anatolia is an area of the ancient world with a remarkable borderland
character between the Greek and the Near Eastern worlds. The present
book studies several ancient Anatolian cults and sanctuaries, focusing
on the process of interaction between local cultures (Lycian, Carian,
Pisidian, Cilician, Lydian, Pontic), Persians, Greeks and Romans. Which
Greek practices did the natives adopt as part of their own tradition,
especially in far-flung regions such as Pontus or Pisidia? How did these
practices, together with the survival (or even revival) of ancient
traditions, help forge a sort of regional identity in local sanctuaries?
Which were the different roles played in this process by the local
elites and the rural native populations? To answer such questions, each
specific contribution presents a case study with a thorough analysis of
the available epigraphic, numismatic, literary and archaeological
evidence from a linguistic, historical and religious perspective.
Gathered from a vast geographical area - from Ionia to Cilicia - this
book explores different examples of these interactions expressed through
local versions of major Greek and Anatolian deities: the Xanthian Leto,
Ma of Comana, the Carian Sinuri, Mên Askaenos, Meis Axiottenos, Apollo
Syrmaios, Artemis Sardiane, Meter Sipylene, a Cilician Zeus Ceraunius
and the river gods.