Studies of the ancient Greek world have typically focused on the life histories of elite males as the group that has made the most distinct mark on ancient Greek literature, art and material culture. As a result, the voices of foreigners, the physically impaired, the impoverished and the generally disenfranchised have been silent, which has substantially complicated the creation of a historical narrative of these marginalised groups. To address this lacuna, previous research has turned to the limited evidence found in literature and material culture to reconstruct societal attitudes toward disenfranchised peoples. This book departs from that approach by primarily considering the skeletal remains and burial contexts of the individuals themselves. Drawing upon literary, artistic, material and biological evidence, it sheds new light on groups of individuals who were typically relegated to the periphery of Greek society in the Late Archaic and Classical periods. Offering the first comprehensive treatment of the biological evidence for marginality in the ancient Greek world, this book argues that intersectionality was the driving factor behind social marginalisation in the Late Archaic and Classical Greek world.

In December of 2016, the University of the Aegean's Department of Mediterranean Studies held a symposium in Rhodes on the topic of "Religion, Politics, and Culture in the Mediterranean from the 8th to the 6th Centuries BC." The conference was organized by the Aegean Egyptology group and Laboratory of the Ancient World of the Eastern Mediterranean and was directed by Panagiotis Kousoulis. This volume publishes a selection of the papers presented at the symposium.

Human remains and burial customs are often considered separately in studies of ancient Greek populations. In this seminal work, Carrie Sulosky Weaver synthesizes skeletal, material, and ritual data to reconstruct the cultural practices of Kamarina, a city-state in Sicily. Using evidence from 258 recovered graves from the Passo Marinaro necropolis (circa the fifth to the third century BCE), Sulosky Weaver suggests that Kamarineans were closely linked to their counterparts in neighboring Greek cities. Evidence of violence, like head trauma and a high young adult mortality rate, indicate exposure to a series of catastrophic events. Other evidence at burial sites allude to Kamarina's mixed ancestry, ethnicity, and social hierarchy. Despite the tumultuous nature of the times, the resulting portrait reveals that Kamarina was a place where individuals of diverse ethnicities and ancestries were united in life and death by shared culture and funerary practices.

The Ancient Art of Transformation: Case Studies from Mediterranean Contexts examines instances of human transformation in the ancient and early Christian Mediterranean world by exploring the ways in which art impacts, aids, or provides evidence for physical, spiritual, personal, and social transitions. Building on Arnold van Gennep's notion of universal rites of passage, papers in this volume expand the definition of "transformation" to include widespread transitions such as shifts in political establishments and changes in cultural identity. In considering these broadly defined "passages," authors have observed particular changes in the visual record, whether they be manifest, enigmatic, or symbolic. While several papers address transitions that are incomplete, resulting in intermediary, hybrid states, others suggest that the medium itself can be integral to interpreting a transition, and in some cases, be itself transformed. Together, the volume covers not only a broad chronological span (c. 5th century BC to 4th century AD), but also an expansive geographical range (Egypt, Greece, and Italy). Reflecting upon issues central to a variety of Mediterranean cultures (Egyptians, Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, and early Christians), The Ancient Art of Transformation documents how personal, societal, and historical changes become permanently fixed in the material record. The Ancient Art of Transformation examines the visual manifestation of human transformation in the ancient and early medieval Mediterranean world, exploring the role of art and visual culture in enabling, hindering, or documenting physical, spiritual, personal, and social transitions such as pregnancy and birth, initiations, marriage, death and funerals. The definition of "transformation" is also expanded to address instances of less personal and more widespread transitions such as shifts in political establishments and changes in cultural identity in geographic locations. Additionally, although the ancient material record documents certain rites of passage such as marriage and death extensively, artifacts and their accompanying images are often studied simply to reconstruct these social processes. Authors here suggest that material evidence itself can be integral to interpreting a transition, and in some cases, be itself transformed. Further, several papers address transitions that are incomplete, resulting in intermediary, hybrid states that are very often reflected in the visual record such as Athenian vase-painting imagery forecasting the bride as a mother, displays of nudity that reflect intermediate life stages in Etruscan art and Octavian's visual transformation into Pharaoh and Augustus in Egyptian architecture and material culture. At its core the volume establishes current methods for understanding how ancient visual culture shaped, informed, and was affected by processes of transformation. Together, these papers offer a close examination of various types of visual evidence from several cultures and periods (e.g., Etruscan, Greek, Roman, early Christian), and document how personal, societal, historical changes become permanently fixed in the material record.