The nexus of inter-regional relations established by creators and artisans in the Ancient sanctuary and the town of Delphi

Abstract

Relations, contacts and the chain of influence may be approached from different viewpoints: details of treatment and experimentation in design, workforces operating side by side, interaction between contemporary worksites and co-operation of artisans, clues in epigraphic sources about the origins of artists, imported qualities of stone that demand specialized craftsmen, mud-brick structures and their potential function as workshops. With regard to regional specialization, we review the recognizable contribution of artists from Argos, Thebes, the Aegean, Pergamon and the coast of Asia Minor, the East (oriental immigrant artists) and the West, including affinities between the Riace statues and Delphi. Eventually we assess what can be deduced from the ancient town of Delphi and its necropolis about imports and imitations, how the cultural interactions within the sanctuary affected the indigenous population. Local workshops and Delphian craftsmen are to be taken into account.

Keywords

• worksites
• workshops
• regional specialization
• itinerant artists
• eastbound and westbound connections