The study of the concept of the sacred hearth and Greek goddess of the hearth and their association with the Prytaneion, its origins, and its development

Abstract

This thesis examines the concept of the sacred hearth and also Hestia, the goddess of the sacred hearth in Greece in association with the origins and developments of the Prytaneion, which is connected to one of the most important civic institutions of the Greek city-state. In the thesis, the meaning and functions of the Prytaneion are defined in accordance with the literary and epigraphic sources. Some identified and excavated examples are also described in the thesis. Related to the Prytaneion, the monumental hearths in the Mycenaean palaces and examples of house architecture from the Iron Age will be emphasized briefly to look at the possible cultic and architectural origins of the Prytaneion.