Spaces, architectural environment and rituals around statues in Greek sanctuaries

Divine images (cult statues and votive offerings) as well as human ones honored by a statue should be analyzed in their primary or secondary context. Statues are fixed or mobile objects set in an open space (outdoors or in an architectural construction open to the outside) or in a more closed context (a building). Heavy-duty handlings documented by archaeological evidence must be considered alongside the ritual operations known through ancient texts. Honors awarded to worthy citizens in the Hellenistic period give us a glimpse of the reality of these operations.