Fossey, J.M. & Smith, P.J. (Ed.) Antiquitates Proponticae, Circumponticae et Caucasicae II 1997 Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Archaeology and History of the Black Sea (McGill University, November 1994). Contributors: R. Doneva, J.M. Fossey, G. Gauvin, D. Kacharava, L. Kamperídis, S.A. Krebs, V. Licheli, J. Morin, G. Tsetskhladze, K. Tuite. MUMCAH 19 (1997), 190 p. + pocket map. 21x29 cm. - 66.00 EURO, ISBN: 9050634788

The study presented here aims to make a practical contribution to a new understanding and use of digital 3D reconstructions in archaeology, namely as ‘laboratories’ to test hypotheses and visualize, evaluate and discuss multiple interpretations.

Contributors: D. Baronowski, A. Foley, J.M. Fossey, G. Gauvin, R. Greenfield, J. Morin, P.J. Smith.

This is a study of Hellenistic athletics from the perspective of the victors. By analyzing agonistic epigrams as poetry on commission, it investigates how successful athletes and horse owners and their sponsors wanted their victories to be understood. Based on the identification of recurring motifs that exceed the conventions of the genre, a multiplicity of agonistic cultures is detected on three different levels - those of the polis, the region and the empire. Kings and queens used athletics in order to legitimate their rule, cities tried to compensate for military defeats by agonistic successes, and victorious aristocrats created virtual halls of fame to emphasize their common regional identity. Without a doubt, athletic victories represented far more than just leisure activities of Hellenistic noblemen. They clearly mattered in terms of politics and social status.