Kommos: An Excavation on the South Coast of Crete: IV: The Greek Sanctuary ed. by Joseph W. Shaw, Maria C. Shaw (review)

HUMANITIES 181 Though the issues addressed are commonplace in contemporary literary theory, the juxtaposition of Donna Haraway B an American feminist theorist of science B and Nicole Brossard B a Québéçois lesbian writer B effectively demonstrates the situatedness of knowledge, the rhetorical role of the body, and the superiority of a conversation model that exalts power-with, not power-over. The other essays shed light on the feminist challenge to the ad hominem fallacy, the problematics of adopting the voice of the victim, the tension between voice and ethos, and the bringing together of standpoint theory and rhetoric to critique aesthetics. In sum, this is an uneven volume, not without merit but desultory in its overall effect. (GREIG HENDERSON) Joseph W. Shaw and Maria C. Shaw, editors. Kommos: An Excavation on the South Coast of Crete: IV: The Greek Sanctuary. Volume 1: Text; Volume 2: Plates Princeton University Press. xviii, 814; xx, 705 photos, 214 line illustrations. US $195.00 The importance of the small Greek shrine at Kommos derives not only from its evidence for sacrificial practices at the very beginning of the early Iron Age, but also for the duration of religious activity at the shrine that continued until the mid-first century BC. In the beginning, skeletal remains of monumental Minoan buildings near the shore may have attracted the attention of sailors who then stopped to offer sacrifices and consume meals in a small building that was constructed on one of the earlier walls. The development of the sanctuary continued with two further temples in the same place and expansion of the complex to include a dining hall, four altars, and subsidiary buildings. Honouring a hero is suggested for the initial rites (temple A), and later a tripillar shrine of Phoenician type as well as remains of Phoenician storage jars are cited in support of the hypothesis that temple B was built by travellers from the eastern Mediterranean. The tripartite configuration of the aniconic monument raises the possibility that a triad was worshipped, perhaps equivalent to the Hellenic Leto, Artemis, and Apollo. Maria Shaw argues that the votive figurines and scarabs, some of which represent Egyptian deities, show concerns for fertility that would be suitable for the Greek gods. In the Hellenistic period (temple C), inscriptions attest the worship of Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon, and it is possible that the same deities had been honoured in archaic times. The bovids that were sacrificed and eaten at the early shrine as well those represented among the figurine types would have been especially appropriate for Zeus and his companions. Although cattle supplied the majority of meat consumed, more sheep and goats were slaughtered. The wealth of material that has been retrieved and the detail of the analysis make the publication particularly valuable for archaeologists. 182 LETTERS IN CANADA 2000 Excavations began in 1977 and were substantially complete by 1986, although presentation of the results has taken an additional fourteen years. The material remains are described by specialists in a series of seven chapters on Architecture, Inscriptions, Sculpture, Iron Age Pottery, Miscellaneous Finds, Iron Age Fauna, and Charcoal and Seeds. There are appendices and sixty-three tables. Of special note is the detailed exposition of ceramics arranged in a series of deposits linked to the chronology of the shrine and the careful treatment of the figures and figurines that are closely related to cult ritual. In a final chapter Joseph Shaw draws together evidence presented in the previous discussions in order to give an overview of the ritual and the development of the sanctuary. Bibliography, concordance of excavation numbers and catalogue, and an index complete the volume of text. The second volume contains an immensely rich collection of drawings and photographs that illustrate every aspect of the excavation and interpretation of the sanctuary in its several phases. The volumes represent a fitting presentation of an unusually early sanctuary and one that contributes important evidence of religious practices during the first millennium BC. (ELIZABETH R. GEBHARD) Katherine M.D. Dunbabin. Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World Cambridge University Press. xxi, 358. US $135.00 This is the second general treatment of Greek and Roman mosaics to roll out...