Going against the flow. Wells, cisterns and water in ancient Greece.

Published by the Swedish Institute at Athens. Distributed by Eddy.se AB. All content available with open access at https://ecsi.se/actaath-8-23/.

Despite the prevalent picture of the water supply in the ancient world as being dominated by fountains and aqueducts, the large number of excavated wells and cisterns show that these were the primary water sources for most individuals. Yet, little research has been done on their construction, function and use. This prompted the organization of the workshop Going against the flow. Wells, cisterns and water in ancient Greece, held at the Swedish Institute at Athens on 28–29 September 2017, and subsequent publication of the contributions in this volume. The ten papers presented here offer new evidence as well as a wide range of new perspectives on the use and function of wells and cisterns in ancient Greece. Considering the ubiquity of these installations in every type of setting during antiquity, from pan-Hellenic sanctuaries and civic centres to domestic workshops and remote farmhouses, it is hoped that the breadth of interest among the authors will allow other scholars to advance their own work further, illuminating new and exciting aspects of life in ancient Greece.

Chapter abstracts and author affiliations listed below.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Patrik Klingborg, ‘Introduction. Wells, cisterns and the water supply in ancient Greece’, 9-30

Martin Finné & Inga Labuhn, ‘Hydro-climate in the Aegean from 700 BC to AD 300. Links between climate and freshwater availability’, 31-54

Yannis Lolos, ‘Water provisioning in a marine terrace environment. The cases of Corinth and Sikyon in the north-eastern Peloponnese’, 55-75

Pavlos Karvonis, ‘The water supply in the Late Hellenistic houses of Delos’, 77-90

Jutta Stroszeck, ‘The cisterns of the Athenian Kerameikos. Distribution and recent documentation’, 91-112

Stephanie Kimmey, ‘The Nemean wells. Water management and sanctuary deposition’, 113-134

Johanna Fuchs, ‘The water supply of the Heraion of Samos’, 135-159

Patrik Klingborg, ‘Wells and cisterns in Greek literature’, 161-178

Hamish Forbes, ‘Cisterns and loutses in a traditional Peloponnesian village. Aspects of function, use and monumentality’, 179-202

Dylan K. Rogers, ‘Epilogue. The social side of Greek water collection’, 203-221

Bibliographical information

JPatrik Klingborg, ed., Going against the flow. Wells, cisterns and water in ancient Greece (Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Athen, 8°, 23), Stockholm 2023. ISSN 0081-9921. ISBN 978-91-7916-067-8. Hardcover: 221 pages. https://doi.org/10.30549/actaath-8-23.

Published by the Swedish Institute at Athens. Distributed by Eddy.se AB. All content available with open access at https://ecsi.se/actaath-8-23/.