Cult and Society in Early Athens. Archaeological and Anthropological Approaches to State Formation and Group Participation in Attica. 1000-600 BCE

A groundbreaking doctoral thesis challenges the long-held assumption that the cult of Athena on the Acropolis was the sole and initial unifying force for Early Iron Age Attica. It reveals that the 'Athenaioi' (Men of Athena) emerged as an elite group confined to the Athenian plain, while other autonomous regional groups proliferated throughout Attica from the 8th century BCE, leading to political fragmentation. The study argues that a process of cultic exchange between these groups, spanning the late 7th to mid-6th centuries BCE, paved the way for social and political integration, culminating in Cleisthenes' reforms (508/7 BCE). By synthesizing extensive cultic remains from 1000–600 BCE, this research offers a new narrative of early Athenian state formation, emphasizing the dynamic interplay between cult practices and societal organization.

Floris van den, E. (2011). Cult and Society in Early Athens. Archaeological and Anthropological Approaches to State Formation and Group Participation in Attica. 1000-600 BCE. Mnemosyne, 64(3), 530. https://doi.org/10.1163/156852511x548496