Le laminette oracolari del santuario di Zeus a Dodona. Rinvenimento, funzione, temi di consultazione

Abstract

The research focuses on the oracular tablets from Dodona (Epirus), extraordinary documents of the oracle consultation in one of the oldest Greek sanctuaries. The study is specifically concerned with the analysis of the finding contexts of the tablets and the overall examination of the oracular inscriptions relating to economic and productive activities such as agriculture and livestock. Among the most debated topics related to the study of the tablets are the oracular process and the divinatory practices used at Dodona. Because of the total lack of further information, in this study an attempt is made to reconstruct the finding contexts of the tablets in order to identify clues relative to the oracular process to extend the current state of knowledge. The recent publication of about 4200 oracular texts (Dakaris, Vokotopoulou, Christidis 2013) has made available a significant amount of data. Among the variety of topics covered in the tablets, my research is focused on those related to economic and productive activities which represents 10% of the total amount of consultations. This topic is particularly interesting since the activities related to agriculture and livestock, both typical of the Epirus region, represent the largest number of queries in the economic field. The analysis of this epigraphic documentation thus can contribute to increase the knowledge of the economic history of the region, in addition to the archaeological data available and the information reported by literary sources. [edited by Author]