The Tetrapolis of Cephallenia: Territory, Poleis and Ethnos in Classical Age
José Pascual2024, A.J. Domínguez, J. Pascual (eds.) The Islands of the Ionian Sea and the Mainland. Landscapes, Contacts and Politics, Pisa ETS (Diabaseis 11)
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Abstract
This chapter analyses the manner in which the Cephallenian poleis occupied, exploited and defended their territory, and the development of Cephallenia during the Classical Period. We shall also investigate the aspects that shaped the identity and political organisation of the Cephallenians during this period. In this way, whilst the other islands of the Ionian featured just one polis, Cephallenia featured four different poleis: Same, Crane, Proni and Pale that were unequal in terms of size, importance and wealth. Cephallenia's identity revolved around the tradition of Cephalus as a shared ancestor and eponymous hero of the Cephallenians, also reinforcing their awareness of their Hellenic origin. We are dealing with an ethnic identity, an ethnos, but it did not reach the point of constituting a federal state in the Classical Period.
