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The Christianization of the Peloponnese: The Topography and Function of Late Antique Churches
- Journal of Late Antiquity
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2010
- pp. 203-261
- 10.1353/jla.2010.a404237
- Article
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Abstract:
Primary data for the late antique Peloponnese consist mainly of the archaeological remains of churches, some epigraphic material, and a small number of historical sources. The application of theories such as creeping determinism, issues of memory, and spatial analysis permit a re-examination of architecture, enabling a discussion of both the function of churches and the Christianization process. It is suggested here that the monumentalization of Christianity spread through network hubs and that Christianization involved a calculated use of space to enable a smooth adoption of the new religion that consolidated the role of the church in the economic and socio-political life of the Peloponnesian communities through the use of memory and the use of new foci.