Excavations at Nemea IV: The Shrine of OpheltesThe Sanctuary of Zeus at ancient Nemea has been a rich resource for archaeological investigation and analysis conducted by the University of California over the past forty years. The Sanctuary hosted one of the preeminent athletic festivals of ancient Greece, the Nemean Games. Just as the Olympics were celebrated in connection with the cult of Pelops at Olympia, the games at Nemea were founded on the worship of the hero Opheltes. The Shrine of Opheltes in the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea offers one of the best examples of an ancient Greek hero cult documented in the archaeological record. This final and most significant volume in the Excavations at Nemea series presents the results of the excavation of the Shrine from 1979 through 2001 and analyzes the Shrine's features and contents in order to understand its history and use. A study of the literary and artistic evidence about the myth and cult of Opheltes contextualizes the archaeological findings and illuminates the hero's significance to the Sanctuary and its renowned festival, the Nemean Games. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
CHAPTER ONE The Physical Remains | 3 |
CHAPTER TWO The Faunal Remains from the Hero Shrine ... | 79 |
CHAPTER THREE The Myth of Opheltes and the Origin of the Nemean Games ... | 101 |
CHAPTER FOUR Representations of the Hero Opheltes in Art ... | 141 |
CHAPTER FIVE The Shrine of Opheltes in the Context of Greek Hero Cult ... | 171 |
Catalogue of Artifacts | 183 |
The Curse Tablets from the Hero Shrine | 297 |
Testimonia on the Myth and Cult of Opheltes and the Nemean Games ... | 323 |
| 349 | |
| 373 | |
| 377 | |
Common terms and phrases
4th century 6th century B.C. Adrastos Agora altar Amphiaraos ancient Archaic Heroön Archemoros Argive Argos Aryballos band base black glaze blocks bones brown clay Munsell burnt clay Munsell 10YR construction fill context Corinth Corinthian crown curse tablets curve deposits DIAM Discovered June Early Hellenistic Heroön edge embankment Euripides excavated exterior festival figurine foundation fragments funeral games Greek handle Herakles hero cult Hesperia Hypsipyle Isthmia Isthmian Isthmian Games Kallimachos kotyle krater layers letter lot G lots F Lykourgos Mended miniature mound myth Nemea Nemean Games oinochoe Olympia Opheltes Pache pale brown clay Pausanias Pelops perirrhanterion pottery lot preserved Profile Pronax resting surface ring foot ritual rubble sacrifice Sanctuary of Zeus Section F side skyphos slope snake Statius stone traces underside upper vase votive wall wild celery δὲ ἐν ἐπὶ καὶ μὲν οἱ τὸ τὸν τοῦ τῶν