Marios Kamenou

The unparalleled dynamism of the Hellenistic age in terms of political and social changes mirrors an exceptionally rich religious context that tested the possibilities of the Greek religion to innovate and revive its practices. An eye-catching characteristic of the period is the introduction and expansion of foreign gods and goddesses such as the Mother of the Gods, Isis and Serapis. Particularly, the introduction of the cult of the Mother of the Gods from Phrygia into the Greek world resulted in a multiform hellenisation and presents a case of great interest for the study of appropriation of foreign gods into the Greek religious practices.

Based on that premise, my project investigates in the first place the possible impact of the Hellenistic dynasties and Rome on the broad affirmation of Mother of the Gods in Asia Minor and the Western coast of the Black Sea. Second, within the same geographical framework, it studies the practices of appropriation that enhanced the anchoring of Cybele in the complex and diverse world of Greek socio-religious experience. Such are the different names to address the goddess, the attribution to her of spheres of competence, her association with other divine actors, the designation of religious specialists entitled to serve her sanctuaries and the construction of rituals that allowed individuals and communities to communicate with the divine. I argue that the multifaceted nature of the rituals related to the Mother of the Gods prompted various instances of resonant interaction between the practitioner and the ritual practice that allowed the practitioners to develop a direct relation with the goddess, such as, among others, rituals of initiation, ecstatic dances and ceremonies exclusively concerning women. Their study from the perspective of resonance theory reveals a wide field of religious experiences derived through the interpretation and integration of the Anatolian goddess. My project aims to examine those experiences by applying different perspectives as the modes of religious communication and the construction of religious identities that will enable us to better define the Hellenistic Mother of the Gods and contribute to the study of the processes of anchoring new deities in “traditional” religious contexts.  

Curriculum Vitae

• Since October 2021: PhD student at the Institute of Classics, University of Graz, Austria, as part of the IGS "Resonant World Relations in Socio-Religious Practices in Antiquity and the Present" of the of the Universities of Erfurt and Graz.
• Since 2015: Member of the SISR: Società Italiana di Storia delle Religioni.
• 2010: MA in Archaeology and Cultures of the Ancient World, Department of Ancient History, University of Bologna, Italy.
• 2008-2009: Erasmus placement at the University of Sevilla, Spain.
• 2008: BA in Ancient History, Department of Ancient History, University of Bologna, Italy. 

Publications

Kamenou, M. 2021. “From the tower of Kronos to the island of Achilles: Placing Leuke in the Greek conception of heroic apotheosis”, in G. R. Tsetskhladze, A. Avram and J. Hargrave (eds.), The Greeks and Romans in the Black Sea and the Importance of the Pontic Region for the Graeco-Roman World (7th century BC-5th century AD): 20 Years On (1997-2017). Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Constanţa – 18-22 September 2017) Dedicated to Prof. Sir John Boardman to celebrate his exceptional achievements and his 90th birthday, 137-141. Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1pdrqhw.24.

Kamenou, M., Dimitrova, A. 2018, “Hephaestus Dabatopios and the divine patronage of metallurgy in Moesia Inferior”, in P. Pavúk, V. Klontza-Jaklová, and A. Harding (eds.), ΕΥΔΑΙΜΩΝ. Studies in honour of prof. Jan Bouzek (Opera Facultatis philosophicae Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis 18), 423-438, Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University.