The Dance Of The Islands

The Dance of the Islands is a book written by Christy Constantakopoulou about the history of the Aegean islands and how different concepts of insularity have changed over time. Constantakopoulou focuses specifically on the fifth century BC, when the Aegean islands were a prominent feature of the landscape. She uses geographic analysis to show how island isolation was almost impossible, but island connectivity was an important feature of the history of the Aegean. Constantakopoulou also investigates island interaction in two prominent areas: religion and imperial politics. She examines how island religions interacted with each other and how imperial politics impacted the islands. Overall, the book is a highly coherent and enlightening excavation of the inter-relationship between island realities, island ideologies, and ideas of insularity.

Christy Constantakopoulou examines the history of the Aegean islands and changing concepts of insularity, with particular emphasis on the fifth century BC. Islands are a prominent feature of the Aegean landscape, and this inevitably created a variety of different (and sometimes contradictory) perceptions of insularity in classical Greek thought. Geographic analysis of insularity emphasizes the interplay between island isolation and island interaction, but the predominance of islands in the Aegean sea made island isolation almost impossible. Rather, island connectivity was an important feature of the history of the Aegean and was expressed on many levels. Constantakopoulou investigates island interaction in two prominent areas, religion and imperial politics, examining both the religious networks located on islands in the ancient Greek world and the impact of imperial politics on the Aegean islands during the fifth century. Review: [A] highly coherent and enlightening excavation of the inter-relationship between island realities, island ideologies, and ideas of insularity. * Robin Osborne, Bryn Mawr Classical Review * the writing style is engaging and the book should provide much food for thought for anyone involved in insular studies... a fine work that not only makes a welcome addition to classical Greek scholarship but also expands upon the general approaches of 'macro' histories of the Mediterranean * Brian Rutishauser, The Classical Review *