Community formation, boundaries and conflict resolution:

In previous research based on the analysis of archaeological, textual, iconographic and numismatic evidence, it was proposed that the small Boeotian polis of Haliartos exercised a more important role in the region that hitherto assumed. Contrary to the general assumption, it was suggested that it was Haliartos, and not its powerful neighbour, Thebes, who managed the nearby sanctuary of Poseidon at Onchestos in late Archaic and early Classical times. The present contribution looks in more depth at mechanisms of community formation in Haliartos and the role of the manipulation of space in this. Specifically, it seeks to bridge the gap between textual evidence and archaeological remains and discuss the challenge of marrying the two into a coherent historical narrative. By looking at the archaeological remains that we recognise as polis architecture as a setting for political and religious performance, such as processions, from a social-theoretical perspective, it is possible to understand how the manipulation of space played a role in community formation and conflict resolution.