Book Description
The prosopographic and onomastic material of Aegean Thrace (714 names for 1258 persons) comes mainly from the Greek and Latin inscriptions of the region (published in IThrAeg) and the rich collection of coins of Abdera and of Maroneia, where the names of the monetary archons are often engraved; some personal names mentioned by the ancient authors, preserved on papyri fragments or engraved on various objects complete our information. After an analysis, which aims to identify the origin of the names (Greek, Roman, Thracian or other) and to discern particular traits in their geographical or chronological distribution, the study tries to draw the historical conclusions that personal names can suggest for the different cities (Abdera, Maroneia, Stryme, the agglomerations of the Samothracian peraia, the Roman foundations of Topeiros, Traianopolis and Plotinopolis, and for the whole region. These include the demography of each city and its fluctuations over time, the origin of the settlers –even in cases where the ancient authors do not offer any relative information– the presence of different cults, and the infiltration of new ethnic elements, namely the influence of Macedonian onomastics, the presence of the Romans and, above all, the presence of the Thracian element, felt in the region from the late Hellenistic period onwards.