Ancient Greek Commons: Negotiating the anchoring of innovation at Attic sanctuaries

The project will use Attic sanctuaries as a case study to study governance, change, and innovation for ideas, practices, and physical features in sacral settings, by applying the theoretical framework of commons. Commons, in short, is defined as a shared resource, collectively governed by a distinct group, often but not necessarily within a defined physical setting. The project comprises the first comprehensive study of potential commons in ancient Greek society and aims to introduce the concept of commons as an interpretative framework to the field of Classical Archaeology. The focus on sacred settings and the presence of the divine in the case study presents an additional opportunity to gain knowledge on immaterial, religiously focussed commons, combined with physical resources.

Religion, whether ritual practice, built environment, or the gods themselves, is often perceived as inherently stable and unchangeable, still it changes. Change, or innovation, is essential to commons, and it is the shared decision-making structure that legitimises, or anchors, the change, often augmented by claims of ancestral custom, i.e. vertical anchoring. The tension between permanence and change is thus found both in ancient sanctuaries, in commons, and in the concept of anchoring innovation. This overlap is promising for the prospect of adding to the knowledge of sanctuaries, to religious institutions as drivers of societal change, and to the development of anchoring innovation as a concept.

Although Attic state, deme, and tribal sanctuaries will constitute the case study, the evidence within a broader part of society will be treated in order to understand the possible presence of commons in Greek society at large. The project will analyse archaeological, literary and epigraphical material, and also take into consideration the landscape.