| Summary: | Archaeological and historical research concerned with the classification of Greek citizens into age-classes in antiquity as well as with the performance of ritual passages between the individual stages of biological and social life within ancient Greek communities has been continuously conducted since the last century, aligned with modern socio-anthropological concerns. The ‘bears’ of Brauron, the intriguing patrols of the Attic ephebes on the outskirts of civic territory, the attitudes of Spartan agelai and dromeis, or the Cretan Kouretai have for decades almost monopolized all attempts to pinpoint the aforementioned parameters within the complexity of the Greek social and ritual landscape. At a time when almost all inquiries into the Greek attitudes towards matters of age and cult were oriented towards the Greek South, the pioneering study of Miltiades Hatzopoulos, focusing on cults and rites of passage in the land of Macedonia, came to decisively enrich these perceptions. Hatzopoulos’ Cultes et rites de passage en Macédoine marked an important moment in the study of Greek religion and society, by shedding light upon the presence of similar institutions in northern Greece; these institutions aimed to ensure a balanced affinity between biological norms and social dynamics, overseeing life-changing social roles and their ritual aspects. In later studies, the same author discussed the divine agents and the initiatory rituals related with the transition to the afterlife.
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