Athens and Boiotia : interstate relations in the archaic and classical periods / Roy van Wijk.

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Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 29 Feb 2024).

The attic neighbour? A short chronological overview of Atheno-Boiotian relations -- That sweet enmity : the conventions of neighbourly interactions -- Do fences make for better neighbours? Geo-politics and strategic interests -- Contested memories : remembering the Atheno-Boiotian relations at Panhellenic and local spaces

Were Athenians and Boiotians natural enemies in the Archaic and Classical period? The scholarly consensus is yes. Roy van Wijk, however, re-evaluates this commonly held assumption and shows that, far from perpetually hostile, their relationship was distinctive and complex. Moving between diplomatic normative behaviour, commemorative practice and the lived experience in the borderlands, he offers a close analysis of literary sources, combined with recent archaeological and epigraphic material, to reveal an aspect to neighbourly relations that has hitherto escaped attention. He argues that case studies such as the Mazi plain and Oropos show that territorial disputes were not a mainstay in diplomatic interactions and that commemorative practices in Panhellenic and local sanctuaries do not reflect an innate desire to castigate the neighbour. The book breaks new ground by reconstructing a more positive and polyvalent appreciation of neighbourly relations based on the local lived experience. This title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.