Kuzmina Yu.N.

Key words: classical archaeology, Helladic, ancient Greek cults, Hellenic sanctuaries, Bosporan kingdom.
The article considers one of the most complex issues connected with the study of classical sanctuaries, namely, the criteria for their identification. The main purpose of the present study is to specify the criteria for identifying sacred sites, primarily Hellenic sanctuaries of the Bosporan kingdom. The author distinguishes between so-called primary criteria, which include information from the literary tradition and lapidary sources in situ, the role of a locality which has a sacred site, etc. Secondary criteria can be the analysis of votive offerings and temple inventory, as well as of osteologic material, i.e. of the sources which scholars often interpret (without taking into consideration the more important primary criteria) as axiomatic evidence that the site was a sanctuary.