Phocis in Roman times: beyond the shadow of Delphi

Abstract In Pausanias’ tenth book, as well as in modern bibliography, the Roman history and topography of Phocis lie in the shadow of Delphi. Apart from a few lines in general studies on Roman Greece, historical research has largely ignored this area and the valuable information on it offered by Pausanias. On the other hand, archaeological discoveries of the last decades have considerably increased our knowledge about the cities and the countryside. The combination of these results with the evidence provided by ancient literature and epigraphy reveals a picture that, though fragmentary in certain areas, is generally useful for all matters related to Phocian cities: settlement patterns and hierarchies, economy, communication routes, cults, local elites, city politics in the Achaean War and the Late Republic, the attitudes of Roman consuls and emperors.

Keywords Phocis, Phocian League, Pausanias, Elateian coinage, Phokikon