The publication of the oracular tablets from the excavations of D. Evangelidis
(Σωτήριος I. ΔΑΚΑΡΗΣ, Ιουλία ΒΟΚΟΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ, Αναστάσιος-Φοίβος ΧΡΙΣΤΙΔΗΣ, Τα
χρηστήρια ελάσματα της Δωδώνης των ανασκαφών Δ. Ευαγγελίδη, επιμέλεια
Σωτήρης Τσέλικας (ed.), index: Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος, Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική
Εταιρεία, Aθήνα 2013) opened new horizons for the interpretation of the
multifarious functions of the sanctuary of Dodona. This invaluable corpus of texts
engraved upon the oracular lead tablets has enriched our knowledge and has
provided experts with the opportunity to revisit and review the numerous aspects
of the complex character of the Dodona oracle. More recently, the registration of
the oracular lamellae in the UNESCO Memory of the World Catalogue (2023)
highlighted the broader importance of the oracular corpus and its capacity as a
safeguard of the Memory of the Ancient Greek World in general.
The UNESCO high distinction calls for new studies of the unique corpus of Dodona,
which relates not only to the past but also to the present and future of the cultural
heritage of Epirus. Apart from confirming the dominant position of the Dodona
sanctuary among the oracles of Greece, the content of the inquiries reveals various
aspects of everyday life regarding the numerous pilgrims who arrived from nearby
or more remote locations in order to record their agony about the various issues
they were concerned about. Hence, in most of the surviving oracular texts one may
find inquiries about marriage, the begetting / bearing of children, family problems,
the requisition of lost or stolen property, slavery, widowhood, travel safety, trade,
health, worship practices etc. All in all, the content of the inquiries but also of the
(fewer) responses constitutes a thematic panorama of the issues the oracle visitors
were preoccupied with.
In acknowledgement of the international importance of the oracular corpus from
Dodona, the Section of Classics (Department of Philology, School of Philosophy) of
the University of Ioannina, is organizing, in the context of the triennial IConiC (=
Innovative Contributions in Classics) international conferences –part of the
homonymous IConiC series in Classics (monographs, proceedings, collective
volumes) by the international publishing house Brepols
(https://www.brepols.net/series/iconic)– an International Interdisciplinary
Conference, in collaboration with the Municipality of Dodona, entitled «Δωδώνη: Τα
Χρηστήρια Ελάσματα / Dodona: The Oracular Lamellae», with the aim of providing a
forum for the discussion of epigraphic, linguistic, religious, cultic, social, financial and
political issues emerging from the study of the oracular tablets from Dodona. The
conference is planned to take place on 10-12 October 2025, with the participation of
distinguished scholars from Greece and abroad.
