Ethnography and genealogy: an Argolic case-study

Abstract

The ethnic populations of the Argolid The Argolid area of the northeastern Peloponnese (fig. 2) is bounded to the north by Korinthia, to the northeast and east by the Saronic Gulf, to the south and southeast by the Argolic Gulf and Kynouria, and to the west by Arkadia. It can be thought of as divided into two distinct regions. The Argive plain itself, which covers an area of approximately 200 square km, is triangular in shape and was formed from black alluvial soil washed down from the surrounding mountains. On the western side of the plain are the setdements of Argos (by far the most important and best documented site of the Argive plain in the post-Mycenaean period) and Lerna (modern Mili). On the eastern side are the settlements of Mykenai (Mikines), the Argive Heraion, Berbati, Midea (Dendra), Tiryns, Nauplia (Nafplio) and, a little further to the southeast, Asine. The second region is the eastern Argolid, or Akti Peninsula, divided into two by the Adheres mountain range which runs like a spine from east to west. On the southern coast of Akti are the sites of Mases (on the modern Koiladha bay), Halieis (Portoheli) and Hermione (Ermioni), while on the northern coast are the sites of Troizen (Trizina) and Epidauros (Epidhavros) along with the Methana peninsula and the island of Kalaureia (modern Poros). The reason why the Argolid has been selected to provide a more detailed illustration of the discursive construction of ethnicity is due to the fact that – as figure 3 shows – it is a region whose population is characterised by the literary sources as being multi-ethnic in its composition.