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Dion. The sanctuary of Demeter : the lamps

Μελέτες

• Πινγιάτογλου, Σεμέλη

The lamps found in the sanctuary of Demeter in Dion constitute a large category of finds, which spans from the beginning of the 5th c. BC until the end of the 4th c. AD. They are all made of clay except for a bronze plastic one in the form of a negro’s head testifying the lost wealthier wares and the more luxurious offerings of the sanctuary.The majority of classical lamps are particularly interesting as they compose the earliest group found in a Macedonian sanctuary. The attic Ceramei- kos types are prevalent, whereas examples of ionic workshops and local production imitating the attic ones, although fewer, are also represented. During the hellenistic period the attic types decline. Antithetically, the presence of types attributed to workshops of Asia Minor —mainly of the Ephesos type— becomes more intense. In the roman period the influence mainly of Corinthian and attic workshops is noted in Dion. With these, however, coexist, creations, fewer though, of asian minor workshops and of the Italian «factory- lamps». The lamps dated in roman years are more abudant, and this is understandable when we take under account that the roman phase is the last phase in the sanctuary’s life. Their multitude also reflects the popularity of lamps during the late roman period.The lamps of the 5th and 2nd c. BC, 1st c. BC / 1st c. AD and 3rd c. AD are more abudant, as indicated on the graphic illustration depicting the distribution of lamps during the different chronological periods (PI. 34). Their obvious numerical superiority during the certain periods reflect flourishing of the sanctuary, while their lack coincides with decline, probably following periods of destruction in the sanctuary. Thus, the 5th c. BC lamps seem to correspond to the first period of prosperity for the sanctuary. Those of the 2nd c. BC coincide with its reconstruction after the destruction of Dion by the Koinon of Aetolians under Scopas in 220 BC. The lamps of the end of the 1st c. BC and the beginning of the 1st c. AD correspond to the foundation of the roman colony of Dion, while those of the 3rd c. AD to the acme of the Severe’s dynasty, observed in all the expressions of the settlement’s life. Indeed, these ascertainments will be more valid, when they will be confirmed with analogous observations made on the other categories of finds in the sanctuary, saved in great numbers, such as clay vases and figurines.During the classical period the imitation of attic types manifest the activity of local workshops. In the centuries that followed, especially after the introduction of the use of mould for the construction of lamps, their reproduction was an easy procedure. Thus, the lamps found in Dion were probably made in local workshops with the help of moulds imported from the workshops of Attica, Corinth or Asia Minor.The lamps in the sanctuaries had a twofold use. They served for the lighting and they were used for worship purposes, as offerings and cult vases. Their low value constitute them as the most accesible, thus popular, votives for the majority of worshippers. That the lamps found in Demeter’s sanctuaries are more than those found in sanctuaries of other deities, is also confirmed in Dion, when, for example, the number of roman lamps of Demeter’s sanctuary is compared to those found in the contemporary flourishing sanctuary of Isis. This is attributed to the individuality of Demeter’s cult which included night ceremonies as well as initiation rites, during which lamps were used. In addition, it is possible that they comprised, together with torches, a basic constituent element of rites representing episodes of the myth of Demeter and Kore. Furthermore, during the initiation rites, the lighting of the lamp must have been a symbolic act of resurrection or rebirth. According to archaeological data, written sources and inscriptions, lamps were also used in preliminary purifying ceremonies, in sacrifices and lamp - based oracles (ly- chnomanteiai). The increase of their number in late antiquity is concomittant with their broader use during worship practices. The diffusion of lamps from hellenistic times and on is associated with the spread of oriental and egyptian religions —in which lamps always played an important role.

• History and Archaeology
• Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)
• Κλασσικές αρχαιότητες
• Ιστορία, Αρχαία
• Θρησκεία

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