Elis : Internal Politics and External Policy in Ancient Greece

Elis examines the city of Elis from its earliest history, through the Archaic period and the Classical period where it reached its zenith, to its decline in the Hellenistic, Roman and later periods. Through examining this prominent city-state, its role in contemporary politics and the place of Olympia in its territory, Graeme Bourke allows the reader to explore broader issues, such as the relationship between the Spartans and their various allies, often collectively referred to as ‘the Peloponnesian League', the connection between political structures and Panhellenic sanctuaries, and the network of relationships between various ancient sanctuaries throughout the Greek-speaking world. The volume, which makes available in English for the first time much of the debate about the city, provides a valuable resource for students and academics studying the city of Elis, the Peloponnese and the relationships within it, and pre-Hellenistic Greece as a whole.

"Scholarly work on the Peloponnesian city-state of Elis has made significant progress in the last two decades or so, and an English introduction to this important subject has been a real desideratum for long. Graeme Bourke now provides this much-needed introduction, discussing among other things such topics as the political history – including the synoecism – of Elis, its administration of the great sanctuary at Olympia and its relations with foreign powers, Sparta in particular, in a clear and accessible style. Students of ancient Greek history, Classics, Greek archaeology and Greek religion will find much to interest them in this wide-ranging monograph." - Professor Thomas Heine Nielsen, The Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark