Dr. Eleni Mentesidou

Dr Eleni Mentesidou is a Classical Archaeologist specialising in ancient religion, ritual practice, and sacred landscapes, with a regional focus on Macedonia and the Black Sea. She is an Academic Associate at the International Hellenic University, where she teaches in English-taught MA programmes and supervises postgraduate research.

She holds a PhD from the Democritus University of Thrace (2020) on the cults of Sinope, as well as MA degrees in Black Sea Cultural Studies (International Hellenic University) and Classical Archaeology (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki). Her research integrates archaeological context, material culture, and written sources to investigate religious experience, regional identities, and cultural interaction in the ancient Greek world.

From 2005 to 2020, she worked as an archaeologist for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, directing and participating in excavations in northern Greece and contributing to documentation and museum projects. She is actively engaged in international research networks, conference organisation, and collaborative field projects in Greece and the Black Sea region.

Publications  (selected)

  1. Kotsos, S., Mentesidou, E., Radis, O. & Kousoula, A. (forthcoming). ‘Ανασκαφικές Έρευνες στη Δυτική Εσωτερική Περιφερειακή Οδό Θεσσαλονίκης’. The Archaeological Work in Macedonia and Thrace, 33.
  2. Mentesidou, E. (in press). ‘Two Finds from Sinope and Their Contribution to Understanding the Temple of the City’. Ancient East and West, 25.
  3. Mentesidou, E. (2025). ‘The Temple(s) of Apollo in Sinope: A Preliminary Study’. In Tsetskhladze, G. R., Hargrave, J. & Manoledakis, M. (eds), The Black Sea: Hub of Peoples and Cultures (8th Century BC–5th/6th Century AD). Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Thessaloniki, 2022), pp. 345–353. Oxford.
  4. Mentesidou, E. (2022). ‘Reconsidering the Identification of the Female Figure of the Sinopean Coins’. Mare Ponticum, 10(1), pp. 114–131.
  5. Mentesidou, E., Şirin, O. A. & Kolağasioğlu, M. (2022). ‘Roman Amisos: A Study on Graves and Grave Findings’. In Braund, D., Chaniotis, A. & Petropoulos, E. K. (eds), Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Black Sea Region in the Context of the Roman Empire (Athens, 5–8 May 2016), pp. 217–229. Athens.
  6. Mentesidou, E. (2019). ‘Ο Λεγόμενος “Ναός του Σαράπιδος” στη Σινώπη του Πόντου: Νέα Προσέγγιση Ενός Παλαιού Ευρήματος’. In Akamatis, N., Vouvoulis, A., Laftsidis, A. & Poulakakis, N. (eds), Τῷ διδασκάλῳ: Τιμητικός τόμος για τον καθηγητή Ιωάννη Ακαμάτη, pp. 263–274. Thessaloniki.
  7. Mentesidou, E. (2019). ‘Religion and Cultural Interactions in the Black Sea: The Cult of the Mother of the Gods or Cybele/Kybele in Sinope’. In Kaba, H., Şahin, K. G., Akarsu, B. M. & Bozoğlan, O. (eds), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sinope and Black Sea Archaeology, pp. 53–63. Sinop.
  8. Tsigarida, A., Athanasiadis, I., Alevizou, E. & Mentesidou, E. (2017). ‘Ανασκαφή δύο νεκροταφείων σε αγροτικές περιοχές του Δήμου Κασσάνδρας Χαλκιδικής’. The Archaeological Work in Macedonia and Thrace, 26, pp. 483–490.
  9. Mentesidou, E. (2015). ‘Komana: A New Find from Hamamtepe and a Preliminary Study on the Sanctuary’s Cults’. In Erciyas, B. D. & Tatbul, M. N. (eds), The Medieval Settlement at Komana, pp. 209–226. Ankara.
  10. Mentesidou, E. (2008). ‘Τα Παρχάρια στον Άγιο Δημήτριο Κοζάνης’. In Sergis, M. G. (ed.), Pontus, pp. 269–289. Athens.
  11. Mentesidou, E. (2008). ‘Αμάσεια. Η πρώτη πρωτεύουσα του Πόντου (Amaseia: The First Capital of Pontos)’. In Kiriakidis, Th. & Chatzikiriakidis, K. (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference for Pontus, pp. 63–90. Thessaloniki.

Conference presentations (selected)

  1. Mentesidou, E. (2025). ‘Dance to the End of Life: Ritual, Art, and Identity in Hellenistic Sinope. Dancer Figurines in Context’. Music, Dance, and Soundscapes in the World of Alexander the Great, 15–19 October, Thessaloniki.
  2. Mentesidou, E. (2025). ‘Beyond the Black Sea: Sinope, Magenta Ware, and the Dynamics of Hellenistic Cultural Exchange’. 7th Conference: Hellenistic Pottery in Context, 6–9 October, Brussels.
  3. Plika, P., Manoledakis, M., Mentesidou, E. & Papadakou, T. (2025). ‘Mundane Ceramics: A Case of Overlooked Handmade Pottery from Iron Age Northern Greece’. 31st Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, 2–6 September, Belgrade (Virtual).
  4. Mentesidou, E. (2025). ‘Decoding the Mithras Cult in Colonia Iulia Felix Sinope: Archaeological Insights’. 31st Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, 2–6 September, Belgrade (Virtual).
  5. Mentesidou, E. (2024). ‘Sinope and Sister Colonies Nexus: Exploring Maritime Heterotopias and Cultural Interconnectedness in the Black Sea through Common Coin Types’. 30th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, 28–31 August, Rome.
  6. Mentesidou, E. (2024). ‘The Journey of “King” Skydrothemis from Behistan to Sinope’. 2nd International Conference “India–Greece: History, Society, Science & Entrepreneurship”, 2–6 December, Thessaloniki.
  7. Plika, P., Manoledakis, M., Mentesidou, E. & Papadakou, T. (2023). ‘Settlements in the Fluid Landscape of the Iron Age in Northern Greece: The Case of Neo Rysio in Central Macedonia’. 29th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, 30 August – 2 September, Belfast.