Maritime religion is an important but overlooked factor in ancient Greek culture. Cults of seafaring gods throughout classical antiquity included rituals of embarkation, prayers at sea and offerings for a safe arrival, all of which contributed to establishing and maintaining a collective Greek cultural identity around the Mediterranean Sea. This project aims to assemble both textual and archaeological evidence for ancient Greek maritime religion; to explore the significance of cults of seafaring gods for ancient Greek ethnic identity, migration and colonisation; and to contextualise ancient Greek maritime religion with comparable modern customs.
