French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Avram, The Ancient Black Sea: History, Epigraphy, Archaeology
History, Politics and Society
Publication
Alexandru Avram, The Ancient Black Sea: History, Epigraphy, Archaeology
Professor of Greek history at the University of Maine and director of the excavations at Istros on the Black Sea coast, Alexandru Avram (1956–2021) brought together twenty-four articles dedicated to the antiquities of the Black Sea, published over the last quarter of a century. This selection from a prolific body of work illustrates the diverse fields he explored and the evolution of his thought, particularly the progress and nuances stimulated by new epigraphic discoveries. This collection addresses, in turn, the Pontic world of the cities during the colonization period and its successive phases; the confrontations between major powers around the Pontic region (the Persians, Hellenistic kings, and Romans); Pontic societies and their religious history (city defense, insights from amphora stamps, slave trade and labor, cults, and mythological traditions); and the legal status of the Greek cities of the Black Sea under Roman rule, as well as their economic and cultural ties with Asia Minor.
Combining archaeology, epigraphy, and historical interpretation, the studies gathered here—enriched with numerous updates—constitute the finest introduction to the antiquities of the Black Sea.
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Table of Contents
Foreword
List of Scholarly Publications of Alexandru Avram
BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION: THE PONTIC WORLD OF THE CITIES
The Greek Cities of the Western Coast of the Black Sea
The Role of the Epoikoi in Greek Colonization in the Black Sea: Some Case Studies
I. From the Mid-7th Century to the Second Quarter of the 6th Century
II. A “Migration of Fear” Around the Mid-6th Century?
III. Did the Fall of Miletus (494) Lead to New Waves of Colonists in the Black Sea?
IV. Additional Colonists in the Bosporan Kingdom during the Classical Period
V. An Example of Recolonization in the Early Hellenistic Period: Nikonion
Heraclea Pontica and its Pontic Colonies: Milesian Precedents (?) and Megarian Influence
CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN THE GREAT POWERS AROUND THE BLACK SEA
The Persians in the Black Sea in the Age of Darius I: New Documents and New Interpretations
I. The Achaemenid Inscription of Phanagoria and its Insights
II. Date and Circumstances of the Persian Conquest of the Northern Black Sea Region
III. Additional Data Concerning the Results of the Campaign of 519
IV. When Was the Achaemenid Stele Erected at Phanagoria?
Istros, Thrace, and the Persians in the Age of Darius
I. Thesis: The Archaeological Data
II. Antithesis: The Historical Background
III. Synthesis: An Attempt at an Event-Based Interpretation
Antiochus II Theos, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and the Black Sea
On the Date of the Deification of Ptolemy II Philadelphus in Byzantium
The First Germanic Peoples on the Lower Danube: Concerning the Decree SEG 52, 724
I. From Discovery to Publication: A Long History Full of Surprises
II. Meniskos, Euergetes of the City of Istros
III. The Sciri on the Lower Danube at the End of the 3rd Century and the Date of the Decree in Honor of Meniskos
IV. Istros and the Sciri
On the Date of the Treaty Between Pharnaces and the Tauric Chersonese
I. Why the Treaty Cannot Be Dated to 155?
II. Which Era “Does King Pharnaces Reckon”?
III. What Was Rome's Place in 179?
The Greek Cities of the Left Pontus and the Hellenistic Kingdoms: Autonomy and Dependence
On a Possible Koinon of the Cities of the Left Pontus in the Hellenistic Period
SOCIETIES AND RELIGIONS
The Defense of the Black Sea Cities in the Late Hellenistic Period
Amphora Stamps and Lapidary Epigraphy: Astynomoi and Proxenoi
I. Astynomos of Sinope – Proxenos at Thermos in Aetolia
II. Astynomos of the Tauric Chersonese – Proxenos at Callatis
III. Astynomos of the Tauric Chersonese – Proxenos at Callatis?
IV. Astynomos of the Tauric Chersonese – Proxenos at Olbia Pontica
V. Astynomos of the Tauric Chersonese – Proxenos at Delphi
VI. Astynomos of the Tauric Chersonese – Proxenos at Delphi?
Some Thoughts on the Black Sea and the Slave Trade Before Roman Rule (6th–1st Centuries BC)
What Was the Place of Slavery in the Pontic Cities?
I. The Evidence of Lead Letters or Ceramic Fragments (Archaic and Classical Periods)
II. Slaves Attested in Pontic Cities at the End of the Classical Period and in the Hellenistic Period
III. Two Debatable Cases: Chattel Slaves or Rural Dependents?
IV. Some Reference Points for Domestic Slavery: Threptoi and Trophimoi
V. Non-Servile Labor in the Bosporan Kingdom, in the Asiatic Chora of Byzantium, and in the Territory of Heraclea Pontica
VI. Concluding Remarks
A Question of Identity in the Colonial World: “Ethnics” and “False Ethnics” of Slaves Coming From or Arriving in the Black Sea Region
Epigraphy and Religious History: The Cult of Leto in the Black Sea Cities
The Dionysian Thiasos of Callatis: Organization, Representation, Function
Tomos, the Founder Hero of Tomis
THE ROMAN BLACK SEA
The Legal Status of the Greek Cities of the Western Coast of the Black Sea in the Age of Augustus
I. Introduction
II. The Roman Integration of the Cities of the Left Pontus
III. The Beginnings of the Imperial Cult
IV. Conclusion
Aspects of the Roman Settlement of Dacians South of the Danube
Honorific Titles in the Greek Cities of the Western and Northern Coasts of the Black Sea in the Imperial Period
THE BLACK SEA AND ASIA MINOR
Cyzicus and the Black Sea
Bithynians in Thrace, Lower Moesia, and Pontus in the Imperial Period
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index
I. Sources
II. Res sacrae
III. Personal and Dynastic Names
IV. Geographical and Ethnic Names
V. Roman Military Units
VI. Greek and Latin Anthroponyms, Words, and Phrases with Commentary
LIST OF FIGURES
This posthumous collection contributes significantly to Pontic studies, a specialized field of ancient history focusing on the Black Sea basin. By combining archaeological evidence with epigraphy—the study of ancient inscriptions on stone, lead, or ceramic amphora stamps—Alexandru Avram reconstructs the complex networks of the Greek colonial world. The essays situate the region not as a remote periphery, but as a dynamic zone of cultural and economic exchange. This interdisciplinary approach helps clarify how local Greek cities maintained their autonomy while navigating relationships with major regional powers like the Persian Empire, Hellenistic kingdoms, and eventually Rome.
Scholars and students of classical antiquity, epigraphy, and ancient economic history will find this volume invaluable. The book addresses crucial questions regarding the legal status of provincial cities under Roman administration, the mechanics of the ancient slave trade, and the social structures of colonial settlements. Through detailed case studies of cities like Istros, Callatis, and Tomis, the text demonstrates how new epigraphic discoveries continually reshape our understanding of religious cults and civic identity. It serves as an essential resource for anyone researching the integration of the Black Sea into the wider Mediterranean world.