Conference Paper

This paper draws on recent research into the diverse range of activity at shrines in northwest Greece and especially the Ionian islands, where terrestrial/maritime boundaries are complex and multi-faceted. Building on observations in my 2003 Early Greek States, I return to the use of shrine locations to mark routes and boundaries through and within the palimpsest of ‘territories’ that defined the various forms of activity undertaken within them. My paper thus offers a critical exploration of the idea that the religious identity of a polis is tightly territorially bounded.