This is the climactic volume on the archaeological and architectural
history from ca. 31 B.C. to A.D. 365 of the extramural sanctuary of
Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya. It deals with the impact of
Christianity on the cult and the causes of its decline, with particular
emphasis on the largest body of evidence recorded anywhere for
iconoclastic damage, presumably by Christian populations, to sculpted
images of worshippers and twin goddesses. The volume traces the
characteristics of major Demeter sanctuaries elsewhere (e.g., Eleusis,
Corinth, Pergamon, Acragas, and Selinus) and places Cyrene's sanctuary
within the context of this development.
The volume also presents the sanctuary's important lapidary and lead
inscriptions as analyzed by Joyce Reyonlds. It is the eighth volume in
the final reports series for the excavations conducted for the
University of Michigan, and subsequently the University of Pennsylvania
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, between 1969 and 1981.
University Museum Monograph, 134