International Identity and Socialization in Ancient Greece

Abstract This chapter explains how the Greek world was knitted together by a mesh of social networks reflecting the Greek penchant for forming relationships across physical distance. These networks took shape through many domains of communal activity. By nurturing the solidification of international Greek identities, Greek international networks fostered the spread of and compliance with international law. The chapter focuses on international networks of Greek religion. A shared body of religious beliefs and practices was an essential indicator of Greekness, and social international religious festivals provide a central example of how the thick web of Greek international networks was woven by bringing people together under the umbrella of multiple social practices. It more briefly considers other forms of networked identity among Greeks, such as “Ionian” and “islander” identity.