The Fellow's Fellowship: Part 1

The past three months have been frighteningly quick. Only 5 more months left of my Fellowship. Okay, so what have I accomplished?

The remains of the east façade of the temple of Enodia in Pherai (modern Velestino), Summer 2012

Most of the research that I’ve been doing for the Institute has centred around the digitization of the archives. I’ve been writing summary reports of the various archaeological projects of the CIG. I have so far worked on reports for Kastro Kallithea, Ancient Eleon, Stymphalos, Zaraka and Karpathos. It has been very interesting to read about such a wide variety of sites and time periods, from the Bronze Age to the Mediaeval Period, from fortified cities to a Cistercian abbey. It was enlightening to look at the different archaeological approaches taken by the different teams in their research. For this project, I have had to read through numerous reports and permit applications and I am becoming more familiar with the archaeological bureaucracy of Greece, which will most certainly be useful for future projects.

Gino standing in front of the inner fortifications at the Kastro at Patras, 28 October 2012

My own personal research project is on the spread of the cult of the goddess Enodia, an important regional deity in Thessaly. I first became aware of the cult of Enodia during my work with the Canadian excavations in Kastro Kallithea in Thessaly. I have since written a Master’s thesis on certain aspects of the cult. I am currently researching the spread of the cult of Enodia throughout the Greek world, which travelled as far west as Syracuse, as far east as Thera, as far south as Egypt, and as far north as Perseis (near modern Debrešte, FYROM). I am currently researching the socio-political factors for the spread of the cult. The rise of the cult’s popularity in Thessaly owes a great deal to the patronage of the tyrants of Pherai, which is evident in the sudden growth of the material evidence for the cult at Pherai during the 4th century BC.

The restoration work inside the Parthenon, facing west, 14 December 2012

I am concurrently working on collecting data for what will probably be my doctoral dissertation, on the distribution and development of Thessalian sanctuaries. By some stroke of Zeus-ordained luck, the British School happened to be hosting a conference on Thessalian cults and sanctuaries earlier this month (of which I was ignorant prior to my arrival in Athens). I attended every lecture and learned so much new information on current work on Thessalian religion. I was also able to make very important contacts for my research. I will be taking a little trip to Thessaly this weekend to check out some of the new information that I learned from the conference. I am eager to present a preliminary report of my research during my lecture at the Canadian Institute next term.

Gino standing inside the opisthodomos of the Parthenon, facing west, 14 December 2012

I’ve been greatly enjoying my Fellowship in Athens so far. I did some day trips with our intern Rachel to Patras and Eleusis, and I also did a quick afternoon trip to Sounion. I was also fortunate enough to be able to join the group from the American School during a trip inside the Parthenon. It was an amazing experience to finally be on the other side of the rope around the temple. I’m also thoroughly enjoying how tight the archaeological community in Athens is. It’s been amazing getting to know everyone and I look forward to another 5 months of darts at the Red Lion pub on Tuesday nights.

Gino Canlas
Alföldi-Rosenbaum Fellow, CIG