A selection of essays on symbola, as the tokens of Classical Athens were called, bringing together scholars of various disciplines and professional categories (numismatists, historians, museum curators) that intends to reshape our knowledge on the roles these objects played in the Athenian Democracy. This is a series of case studies which aspires to test old theories and probe new assumptions. The first section explores the extent to which our knowledge has evolved since symbola were first distinguished from coins. Four essays demonstrate how tokens, as material manifestations of particular institutions, contributed to the formation of civic and political identity in the city-state of Athens and the roles they played in ensuring legal and political equality. The second section of the volume on new finds aims to develop expertise in studying tokens and increase relevant knowledge. Finally, a third section contains comparative studies from Sicily, Jerusalem and Ephesos, aiming to adopt a comparative methodology for a better understanding of the characteristics and roles of tokens from across the ancient Mediterranean. Contributors: Vera Geelmuyden Bulgurlu, Tumay Hazinedar Coscun, Antonino Crisà, Yoav Farhi, P. J. Finglass, Mairi Gkikaki, Irini Karra, James Kierstead, John H. Kroll, Stamatoula Makrypodi, Christian Mondello, Daria Russo, Martin Schäfer. An Open Access edition will be available on publication.

Thirteen essays explore how the study of tokens has advanced in recent decades, and what the potential is to advance our knowledge of the roles tokens played in Athenian democracy. The emphasis is on Athens, where the majority of evidence is found, with additional material from Sicily, Israel and Turkey.

The Material Dynamics of Festivals in the Graeco-Roman East explores the various ways in which the experience of civic festivals in the Graeco-Roman East was created and framed by material culture. By the second and third centuries AD, Greek festivals were thriving across the eastern Mediterranean. Much of our knowledge of these festivals, and their associated processions, rituals, banquets, and competitions, comes from material culture-- inscriptions, coins, architecture, and art-works. Yet each of these pieces of material evidence was the result of a conscious act, of what to record, and where and how to record it, with varying patterns discernible across different areas, and in different media. This volume draws attention to the choices made in a variety of different forms of material culture relating to Greek festivals from the Hellenistic to Roman periods, and unpicks the ways in which they encode or forge particular social relationships and power structures, as well as creating senses of community or communication between different groups. These helped to fix ephemeral events into public memory, to present particular views of their significance for the wider community, and to frame the experience of their participants.

A unique and accessible introduction to an underutilised source, Roman tokens, and their value for ancient social history.

The pioneering ideas of John Kenyon Davies, one of the most significant Ancient Historians of the past half century, are celebrated in this collection of essays. A distinguished cast of contributors, who include Alain Bresson, Nick Fisher, Edward Harris, John Prag, Robin Osborne, and Sally Humphreys, focus tightly on the nexus of socio-political and economic problems that have preoccupied Davies since the publication of his defining work Athenian Propertied Families in 1971. The scope of Davies' interest has ranged widely in conceptual, and chronological, as well as geographical terms, and the essays here reflect many of his long-term concerns with the writing of Greek history, its methods and materials.

First full study of ancient Greek democracy in the Classical period outside Athens, which has three main goals: to identify where and when democratic governments established themselves; to explain why democracy spread to many parts of Greece; and to further our understanding of the nature of ancient democracy.