Thesis title: Sparta e Taranto. Per un riesame delle forme di culto eroico tra metropolis e apoikia
The research aims to investigate the forms of heroic cult in Sparta and Taras, seeking to identify possible elements of continuity or divergence between the metropolis and its colony. Specifically, the analysis takes into account three interrelated spheres: the modes of cultic reiteration; the adaptation of ritual practices to political and communal structures; and the interaction between religion and the economic dimensions of the sacred, together with the dynamics of collective participation. The adopted methodology integrates archaeological, philological, epigraphic, and historical approaches, in order to provide a comprehensive and multilayered understanding of the phenomenon of heroic cult in its metropolitan and colonial articulations. The study therefore seeks to define the ways in which heroic cults were received, transformed, and adapted to new social and political contexts, thus revealing the complexity of the processes of transmission, appropriation, and religious innovation. For this reason, the work analyses the Spartan and Tarantine contexts both individually and in comparative perspective, discussing each relevant piece of evidence and pursuing the holistic approach outlined above, with the aim of clarifying the dynamics of continuity and identity redefinition that characterized the relationship between metropolis and apoikia.