This book is the first to be published from a wider research project, still in progress, about the sanctuaries of Poseidon and Athena on the promontory of Sounion (southeast Attica). The aim of this volume is to present, for the first time, a comprehensive examination and interpretation of a wide selection of unpublished small finds. These last, of different categories and materials, were discovered in the bothroi (pitdeposits) and the landfills; they are set into their contexts. The illustrations of the finds are integrated within the relevant text for easier reference and a detailed catalogue complements the discussion. The limited archaeological records concerning the work in the sanctuaries, conducted by Valerios Stais between 1897-1915, and which still remain the only extensive excavations undertaken, are re-evaluated. The author revisits the two sanctuaries, reviewing the structures within them to cast light on the early phases of their establishment and development, as well as their significance for the socio-economic growth of south east Attica. This is realized by drawing upon the evidence of archaeological data and the ancient literary sources alike. The research thus provides a fresh insight into the early cults, with emphasis on the identity of the deities worshipped at Sounion from the Late Geometric to the dawn of the Classical period.

The honorand of this volume, Matti Egon, has been a great benefactor to museums, schools, universities and hospitals in the UK and also in Greece: all areas that her background and life's interests have made dear to her. One of these is the Greek Archaeological Committee UK, that she helped found in 1992: an organization dedicated to informing academe and the public in Britain of archaeological work carried out in Greece, and of enabling the 'brightest minds' of Greece and Cyprus to pursue post-graduate research at British institutions, to the mutual enrichment of both. Some fifty-five graduates have so benefited. This volume offers essays by a good half of those so assisted: roughly split between the sexes, they range between post-graduates still completing their studies in the UK, up to those with doctorates, almost half the group, now successfully in employment at Universities and similar Institutions in the UK, Greece, Cyprus and the USA, with rather fewer working in Museums, within the Greek Ephorates and even at a Foreign School in Athens. The hugely varied topics they offer cover the entire range of prehistory and history down to the modern day on Greek and Cypriot soil. Neolithic animal butchery rubs shoulders with regional assessments of the end of the Mycenaean era, investigations into Hellenistic sculptors and lamps, life in Byzantine monasteries and the politics behind modern exhibitions; the Phoenicians and even an Islamic general make cameo appearances. This startling range of subjects accurately reflects the depth of scholarship Matti Egon has nurtured into being; the affection and gratitude expressed by the graduates equally mirrors the deep appreciation they acknowledge for the opportunities so given.