Jeremy LaBuff, Associate Professor of History & Getty Villa Scholar
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff

Description:  The sanctuaries of Hekate in Karia, Leto in Lykia, and Kybele in Phrygia emerged as sites of regional importance in the Hellenistic period, but the nature of this importance is often oversimplified as an element of “national” identity.  By adopting a theoretical framework from Critical Indigenous Studies, we can better appreciate, first, how these sanctuaries served as sites for the ritual articulation of a communal relationship with the land, and second, to what extent this relationship supported the development of a regional identity.