Posts Tagged by ancient borders
Crossing the land-borders of Attica
| February 8, 2012 | Posted by Sylvian Fachard under Art/Archaeology, Blog, Epigraphy/Papyrology, History |
We all share personal tales of border-crossings. Whether it involves coming back to the US or passing through several Jordanian check-posts near the Golan Heights, border-crossing is subject to rules and interdictions. Personal effects can be searched at the border. Even if you cross a border without being checked, you are still spontaneously supposed to respect the border regulations. Modern nations impose rules on the movement of persons and goods. In fact, whole arrays of modern regulations characterize modern border-crossing, such as banning the import of meat or a gallon of olive oil. In some cases a visa of entry can be denied. In other cases, the required conditions in order to obtain a visa are such that you might just prefer to stay home instead. Ancient Greek cities had their own rules. In general, people were free to travel during peacetime, but different controls were enforced. At some time,… more
Were there territorial waters in Ancient Greece?
| November 29, 2011 | Posted by Sylvian Fachard under Blog, Epigraphy/Papyrology, History |
The topic of the present post, maritime borders in Ancient Greece, was inspired by N. Papazarkadas’ comments on my previous post. Most of Attica’s borders, as well as those of many other Greek poleis, were delimited by the sea. What does this mean, concretely? Did the coasts mark the borders, or were the borders offshore? To put it more simply: were there territorial waters in Ancient Greece? The formula κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν, found in some Eretrian proxeny decrees, and offering protection to the city’s benefactors “on land and sea,” [1] would seem to argue for the existence of territorial waters. However, it is likely that protection, in this case, was not granted beyond the harbor, as specified in the fifth-century BC asylia agreement between Oiantheia and Khaleion in Lokris [2]. I tend to believe that only harbours and internal bays were viewed as an extension of the chora. Nowadays, the… more
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