Creating collective identities through astronomy? A study of Greek temples in Sicily
This is a study of the alignments of Greek temples in Sicily and the implications for the study of identity and ethnicity in the Greek world of the first millennium BC. The thesis presents data from 41 temples and applies a new method of statistical analysis and presentation in order to draw conclusions as to whether or not there are any meaningful patterns of alignment related to astronomical practices. I test several hypotheses, first by determining if there is a correlation between temple alignment and sunrise, and then analysing sub-samples by location, genealogy, period of construction, type (celestial or chthonic) and gender of deity the temple is dedicated to, as well as four specific deities. Additionally I examine them in their historical and cultural contexts for evidence of hybridisation with the native inhabitants of Sicily. I find that the temples in Sicily exhibit a closer correlation with solar alignments than temples in Greece do, but that the alignments of individual temples are selected for reasons associated with local historical and topographical contexts. The study as a whole is conducted within a post-positive framework, which intentionally tackles one of the problems of interdisciplinary
Salt, Alun Mark
Creating collective identities through astronomy? A study of Greek temples in Sicily. This is a study of the alignments of Greek temples in Sicily and the implications for the study of identity and ethnicity in the Greek world of the first millennium BC. The thesis presents data from 41 temples and applies a new method of statistical analysis and presentation in order to draw conclusions as to whether or not there are any meaningful patterns of alignment related to astronomical practices. I test several hypotheses, first by determining if there is a correlation between temple alignment and sunrise, and then analysing sub-samples by location, genealogy, period of construction, type (celestial or chthonic) and gender of deity the temple is dedicated to, as well as four specific deities. Additionally I examine them in their historical and cultural contexts for evidence of hybridisation with the native inhabitants of Sicily. I find that the temples in Sicily exhibit a closer correlation with solar alignments than temples in Greece do, but that the alignments of individual temples are selected for reasons associated with local historical and topographical contexts. The study as a whole is conducted within a post-positive framework, which intentionally tackles one of the problems of interdisciplinary
creating collective_identity astronomy study greek temple sicily study alignment greek temple sicily implication study identity ethnicity greek_world first_millennium present data temple apply new_method statistical_analysis presentation order draw_conclusion whether meaningful pattern alignment related astronomical practice test several hypothesis first determine correlation temple alignment analyse sub samples location genealogy period construction type gender deity temple dedicate well four_specific deity additionally examine historical cultural_context evidence native inhabitant sicily temple sicily exhibit close correlation alignment temple greece individual temple select reason associate local historical topographical context study whole conduct_within post positive framework intentionally tackle problem interdisciplinary