Territorial Inviolability in the Hellensitic World

FAIN: FT-13999-78

Kent J. Rigsby
Duke University (Durham, NC 27705-4677)

To edit a complete corpus of the documents (ca. 200 Greek inscriptions, and coins of about 30 cities) pertaining to territorial inviolability, a privileged status that a Greek city or temple could obtain through panhellinic recognition. As a historical phenomenon, inviolability remains most obscure. It has not yet been determined when, where, or why the status came into existence and then lapsed; its mechanics and logic are unclear to us, as are the legal and religious assumptions that lie behind it; and in individual cases there are innumerable problems that need solving. A fuller understanding of its implications would help illuminate that obscure period of Greek History, (265 B.C.).