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Ancient Messenians: Constructions of Ethnicity and Memory

by Nino Luraghi

The Messenians spent the greater part of the archaic and classical ages enslaved by Sparta, only gaining their freedom in 369 as a result of the invasion of Epaminondas. Messenian culture and traditions during these centuries are, not unsurprisingly extremely poorly documented, and much current debate focuses on whether there was any cultural continuity between Messenia pre and post Spartan domination, a question which ancient authors, such as Pausanias also asked. This book looks at how the Messenians perceived their own history concluding that if at times "for the Messenians the past was more important than for any other community of Greeks this is precisely because they had so little of it". Concepts of ethnicity are central, and the author draws not only on the meagre literary sources, but also on archaeological evidence to produce a stimulating study of a sense of identity constructed under a unique set of circumstances in Ancient Greece. 389p (Cambridge UP 2008)

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