The Mediterranean basin was a multicultural region with a great diversity of linguistic, religious, social and ethnic groups. This dynamic social and cultural landscape encouraged extensive contact and exchange among different communities. This book seeks to explain what happened when different ethnic, social, linguistic and religious groups, among others, came into contact with each other, especially in multiethnic commercial settlements located throughout the region. What means did they employ to mediate their interactions? How did each group construct distinct identities while interacting with others? What new identities came into existence because of these contacts? Professor Demetriou brings together several strands of scholarship that have emerged recently, especially ethnic, religious and Mediterranean studies. She reveals new aspects of identity construction in the region, examining the Mediterranean as a whole, and focuses not only on ethnic identity but also on other types of collective identities, such as civic, linguistic, religious and social.

'The strength of the book lies in its successful integration of archaeological, literary, and epigraphic evidence, together with an impressive command of the bibliography relevant to each of the sites … this is a very useful book that has the virtue of presenting clear and concise syntheses of five emporia throughout the Mediterranean and of identifying evident patterns between them, thereby advancing further our understanding of the nature of Greek settlements overseas.'

Source: sehepunkte.de

'… this book will be a welcome addition for researchers interested in the Ancient Mediterranean and, in particular, in the role of trade and religion in the organization of multicultural spaces.'

Meritxell Ferrer-Martín Source: Bryn Mawr Classical Review