Hassapoyannes Blandford Postdoctoral Fellow in North Kynouria Studies
My research focuses on the archaeology of ancient Greek religion and, in particular, the variations of ancient religious thought and experience reflected in the material world. While my doctoral work (completed at the University of Cambridge in 2021) examined patterns of votive dedication across a number of Archaic sanctuaries, my postdoctoral work turns to the interactions between worshippers and their environment, including the built sanctuary and wider religious landscape. My work ultimately brings together different methodological approaches to achieve a more materially aware approach to the study of Greek religion.
My work as Hassapoyannes-Blandford Postdoctoral Fellow focuses on the sacred landscapes of North Kynouria, through a project entitled Borderlands of the Sacred: religion, topography, and identity in North Kynouria from the Geometric to Byzantine period. I am concurrently working on the archaeology of sacred landscapes and movement in the Geometric to Hellenistic Cyclades. Beyond religion, I work with Gordon Davies at the Museum of Technology in Cambridge on several projects relating to industrial landscapes, including their relationship with Classical reception in film.
I am also more broadly interested in the development of accessibility within Classical archaeology, in relation both to museum collections and the diversity of voices within the field. I work with local schools and migrant communities, I am on the committee of the Inclusive Classics Initiative, and I am the co-founder of the Athens Archaeology Festival, the first public festival of its kind in Athens. I have curated public exhibitions and have been an expert contributor for a number of podcasts and documentaries, including ‘Meet the Greeks’ with Mary Beard and ‘Divine Fury: Demeter and Persephone’ with Natalie Haynes.
Publications:
Book:
- Parikh, T. (in press, forthcoming 2026) Defining the Gods in Archaic Greece: Votive Dedications and the Material of Polytheism (Cambridge Classical Series, CUP).
Chapters and articles:
- Parikh, T. (in press, forthcoming 2026) ‘Temples and the materiality of ancient Greek religion: some new considerations’, in eds. J. Kindt and K. Vlassopoulos The Materiality of the Past. Object and Written Record in the Study of the Ancient Greek World (Cambridge University Press).
- Parikh, T. (under review, forthcoming 2026) ‘Communicating with the gods: votive objects’, in ed. C. E. Barrett Handbook of the Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Routledge).
- Parikh, T. (under review, forthcoming 2025) ‘Rethinking the temenos in ancient Greece’, in eds. L. Tittl and C. Tully Global Perspectives on Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology: Sacred Geographies (Routledge)
- Parikh, T. (under review) ‘Rethinking the ancient Greek temenos: boundary or frame?’ (submitted to Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology)
- Parikh, T. (2025) ‘Dedications’ in ed. J. Kindt Ancient Greek Personal Religion (Cambridge University Press).
- Parikh, T. (2025) ‘Review of K.A. Rask Personal Experience and Materiality in Greek Religion’, History of Religions.
- Parikh, T. (2024) ‘Review of S. Hoffmann Between Deity and Dedicator. The Life and Agency of Greek Votive Terracotta Figurines. Image & Context’, European Journal of Archaeology, CUP.
- Loy, M. and Parikh, T. (2023) ‘Introduction and overview’, Archaeological Reports 69, pp.1–10
- Parikh, T. (2023) ‘Polytheism and the distribution of votives in the Corinthia’ in eds. H. Beck and J. Kindt The Local Horizon of Ancient Greek Religion, Cambridge, pp.141–82.
- Galanakis, Y. and Parikh, T. (2023) ‘Introduction and overview’, Archaeological Reports 68, pp.1–10.
- Parikh, T. (2021) ‘The body in pieces: anatomical votives in Classical Greece’, Omnibus
- Parikh, T. (2021) ‘Archaeology in Greece 2020–2021. Newsround’, Archaeological Reports 67, pp.27–60.
- Parikh, T. (2021) ‘Greek archaeology and epigraphy: Review of K. Kalogeropoulos, D. Vassilikou, M. Tiverios (eds.) Sidelights on Greek Antiquity. Archaeological and Epigraphical Essays in Honour of Vasileios Petrakos’, The Classical Review 1, pp.266–69.
- Parikh, T. (2020) ‘Archaeology in Greece 2019–2020. Newsround’, Archaeological Reports 66, pp.29–66.
- Parikh, T. (2019) ‘Archaeology in Greece 2018–2019. Newsround’, Archaeological Reports 65, pp.29–71.
Edited journals:
- (2022–2024) Archaeological Reports, CUP and SPHS