The volume under review is a collection of papers deriving from a conference held in Copenhagen in 2012 as part of the Copenhagen Associations project that ran from 2011 to 2016. The editors offer a brief description of the historiography of associations and the major taxonomical issues that the study of the latter has posed for scholars, concluding that, for the purpose of the publication, such classifications shall be left behind to provide a ‘more nuanced picture of associations … and, at the same time, a balanced account of the role of religion’ (p. 15), a term never defined or clarified further. The volume’s broad approach to the Eastern Mediterranean means that papers deal with associations across time and space, from the Greek mainland and Macedonia to the Aegean islands and Egypt and that they range from the Greek late-classical period to the high Roman Empire.
S.M. Wijma re-visits the much-discussed orgeones of Bendis and other groups using the same terminology in her contribution on the role of ‘Orgeones in Classical and Hellenistic Athens’. She shows that, in general, orgeones were somewhat different from other associations, in that they had a more public-facing role attached to them, which, she argues, was the reason why the term was chosen in the first place by the Thracian Bendis worshippers (rather than thiasotai), leading to the grant of enktesis for the erection of their temple. This might well have been the case for this particular group, but one wonders (a) how this compares to other, straightforward ways of gaining enktesis, as we see given to worshippers of Isis and of Syrian Aphrodite (IG II3 1 337), and (b) why there were not more associations using this naming practice if it truly served as a smooth way into Athenian society.
C.A. Thomsen’s contribution also deals with late-classical and Hellenistic Athens; it focuses on ‘inscribed honours’ produced by associations and erected in sanctuaries and situates them within the wider context of the arising Athenian honorific practice and amongst varying Athenian subgroups. The paper is particularly convincing in its attempt to define the positioning of these honorary decrees in both civic sanctuaries and those run by associations. Thomsen shows that there was a decision-making process on the associative level to determine that it was always the group’s decision where such decrees could be displayed, regardless of the benefactor’s kindness.
P. Paschidis engages with the difficult taxonomies surrounding civic cult associations, public and private, in religious matters in Roman Macedonia, focusing on the cults of the Egyptian gods and Dionysus. He shows that the distinction between civic and private religious associations in this region only helps to an extent, as, on the ground, these dichotomies did not exist. In fact, he argues, that besides the communal identities created through religious associations, another successful strategy employed by cults to achieve the same was ‘through a reinterpretation of common local history’.
C. Hasenohr is best placed to write about the associations of Italians on Delos. This contribution picks up and furthers an argument first voiced at the end of the nineteenth century, namely that the four well-known associations of Romans (Hermaistai, Apolloniastai, Poseidoniastai, Competaliastai) were representatives of a single association of Italici, an association consisting of members originally from Italy and living and working on Delos. The article lays out each group’s activities and involvement on Delos.
M. Trümper is equally well suited to writing about the associations on Delos, particularly within their archaeological context. Her detailed analysis of the known ‘clubhouses’ on Delos serves to explore the possibility of identifying further such buildings where epigraphic evidence is lacking. She concludes that looking at religious identifiers does not further the endeavours. Indeed, she argues, it remains extremely difficult to pinpoint such houses, partly because of the lack of direct indicators of major cultic activities and ritual practice that would allow for such identifications.
Skaltsa’s analysis of associations on Thera during the Ptolemaic period shows that during that period two types of associations coexisted, associations of locals and of foreign soldiers, both asserting their identity ‘with reference to religion’. In addition, some used religio-political elements to connect with the ruling authorities (basilistai, engaged in ruler cult) while others founded new cults to promote their identity (Epikteta). An important point raised is the difficulty of placing associations within a cityscape, possibly because they were able to use public spaces and civic buildings/institutions, such as temples and the gymnasium, to meet.
S. Maillot manages to bring to the forefront a long-neglected aspect of associations, their funerary activities: in a thorough and stimulating contribution she emphasises and shows how important this aspect was to the associations and their members for a variety of reasons, concentrating on the example of some well-known inscriptions and with a focus on places with a high density of epigraphic evidence. She demonstrates that this relevance was not only true for foreigners lacking enktesis (‘the right to own land’), but also, for example, for poorer free citizens. The aspect of burial care, she argues convincingly, does not undermine the associations’ religious importance.
J.-M. Carbon continues in a similar vein by discussing the boundary (horos) stones of religious associations on Kos, which physically demarcated their burial grounds, offering a thorough discussion of the phenomenon and a useful updated appendix for each association. Carbon argues convincingly that on Kos, where there is plenty of evidence, we can see clearly that – as shown by Maillot more generally – these groups were not wealthy locals or non-locals, but were diverse in ideological, religious and economic terms, united by the desire to ‘scrape together enough money to buy land for funerary purposes’ (p. 197). A discussion of the dimensions of plots (sometimes given in the relevant horos inscription) and their recycling, including the recycling of horos stones, rounds up this study nicely.
P.F. Venticinque and M.C.D. Paganini both devote a chapter to associations in Egypt. Venticinque continues the broader theme of funeral provision by associations and shows that, while economic factors such as the guaranteed provision of items needed for a funeral played a role in decision making, it was equally the shared commemoration and shared identity that attracted members to join an association. Paganini focuses on associations that met in gymnasia and were concerned with leisure (although the relevant inscription also mentions commemoration of an individual after death). Paganini’s analysis shows that the groups’ raison d’être was manifold – religious, social and economic; and he provides a useful English translation of the inscription.
I.N. Arnaoutoglou demonstrates that the religious ‘manifestations’ of occupational associations were either dependent on individual members’ preference or on larger religious trends (or, I might add, on local traditions) rather than on the character of a deity related to the groups’ crafts or professions.
M. Gibbs’s contribution also analyses associations consisting of members with a shared livelihood, but focuses on Roman Egypt. He shows that, while initially a common craft may have been the reason for the foundation of a group, this plays only a minor role regarding their activities. Indeed, they all seem to have in common the desire for commensality, at times ritualistic in character, and he concludes that religion played an important role in these associations evidenced by nominated religious officers, sacrifices and connections to temples.
M. Gawlikowski provides the final chapter, looking at the marzeḥa (‘banquet’) of priestly and other associations (or rather drinking societies in his words) in Palmyra. The chapter presents epigraphic and iconographic evidence for the existence of these groups, but concludes that, after all, we still know very little about these groups, their organisation, membership and activities other than communal dining and drinking, which appears to have been at their heart.
Overall, the volume provides a well-rounded picture of various types of associations and their involvement in and engagement with various ancient societies. Each contribution dedicates space to ‘religion’, but, as the editors rightly state in the introduction, religion is broadly speaking an integral part of ancient societies and therefore intertwined with all aspects of ancient life. On a conceptual level one wonders what exactly the editors are looking for or wish their contributors to tackle and how to do so. Given the wide variety of associations and of local traditions, unsurprisingly, each contribution presents some aspects somewhat related to ‘religion’ (e.g. funerary or commemorative rites, honours, devotion to specific deities, ritual and sacrifice etc.). The overall effect, therefore, is that we are presented with a very useful collection of studies on associations and a helpful update of research in the field, but readers are left hanging when trying to establish a common denominator: an afterword would have been enormously helpful.
