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"Inscriptions Mediterranean Region History."
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Epigraphical approaches to the post-classical polis : fourth century BC to second century AD
This volume illustrates the multiple ways in which epigraphy enables historical analysis of the postclassical polis (city-state) across a world of geographically dispersed poleis: from the Black Sea and Asia Minor to Sicily via the Aegean and mainland Greece. The book looks at themes such as the modes of interaction between polis and ruling powers, the construction of ethnic and social identity, interstate and civil conflict and its resolution, social economics, institutional processes and privileges, polis representations, ethics, and, not least, religious phenomena. The chapters range from ‘hard epigraphy’ to sophisticated conceptual studies of aspects of the postclassical polis, and approach the inscriptions both as textual objects and as artefacts. The aim of this volume is to identify the postclassical polis both as a reality and as a constructed concept, not only a monolithic block, but a result of tension in the exercise of different kinds of powers. The chapters in this collective volume show that the postclassical polis, both as a reality and as a representation, is the result of negotiations, ancient and modern; and they also illustrate how much of our understanding of the polis is built on patient, painstaking work on the inscriptions.
eBook
The Hellenistic West
Although the Hellenistic period has become increasingly popular in research and teaching in recent years, the western Mediterranean is rarely considered part of the 'Hellenistic world'; instead the cities, peoples and kingdoms of the West are usually only discussed insofar as they relate to Rome. This book contends that the rift between the 'Greek East' and the 'Roman West' is more a product of the traditional separation of Roman and Greek history than a reflection of the Hellenistic-period Mediterranean, which was a strongly interconnected cultural and economic zone, with the rising Roman republic just one among many powers in the region, east and west. The contributors argue for a dynamic reading of the economy, politics and history of the central and western Mediterranean beyond Rome, and in doing so problematise the concepts of 'East', 'West' and 'Hellenistic' itself.
eBook
The Phoenician Diaspora
In this approachable and articulate study, Philip C. Schmitz offers close interpretations of six ancient texts, four previously published Phoenician and Punic inscriptions and two Phoenician inscriptions published for the first time. The author selected the previously known texts because readings of their letters and interpretation of their grammar and syntax are not yet well established. Each of the selected texts stands as an original source concerning Phoenician settlement in the western Mediterranean, Phoenician activity in Egypt, or the economic life and religious beliefs and practices of ancient Carthage.
Chapter 1 rapidly surveys the history of Phoenician-Punic epigraphy and offers a limited inventory of recent publications of epigraphic texts. Chapter 2 undertakes a new reading and translation of the Phoenician stele from Nora, Sardinia (CIS I 144). Chapter 3 edits and translates the larger Phoenician inscriptions from Abu Simbel, in Egypt (CIS I 112). Chapter 4 concerns the paleographic analysis of selected Phoenician graffiti from Tell el-Maskhuta. Chapter 5 publishes an overlooked dipinto inscription on an amphora excavated at Carthage. (An appendix by Joann Freed contextualizes the amphora.) Chapter 6 takes a text-critical look at CIS I 6068, an enigmatic Punic inscription on lead, thought since its discovery to be a curse text. Schmitz argues that it is not a curse but a quittance for debt. Chapter 7 is a new reading and translation of CIS I 6000bis, a Punic epitaph from the Hellenistic period of Carthage.
Among the features of this book that may interest students and scholars are: new translations and interpretations of important inscriptions the translation and interpretation of which have been disputed; previously unpublished photographs of inscriptions, illustrating difficult readings; author's hand drawings of difficult readings; and grammatical analysis with reference to other known texts and standard reference works.
eBook
The Ethnobotanical Evolution of the Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
The Mediterranean cypress (
Cupressus sempervirens
) is an evergreen conifer that belongs to the Cupressaceae, which is the first plant family whose detailed evolutionary history traces the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea roughly 150 million years ago. The broad and deep economic and socio-cultural significance of the species began in at least the third millennium BCE. This interdisciplinary review highlights the tree’s exemplary uses and meanings, starting in ancient Elam, Sumer, Egypt, and Persia, and continuing to the Graeco-Roman world, Islamic Empires, and Western Europe. The Mediterranean cypress has been used as timber for buildings, coffins, furniture, and statuary; in religious and spiritual symbolism; as ornamentals in gardens and cemeteries; in aromatic anointments and medicine; as literary metaphors; and as motifs in decorative and fine art. Many of the artifacts, artworks, and literature known to be influenced by the cypress are iconic: the Gudea cylinders, the outer coffin of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the poetry of Virgil and Ferdowsi, Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, Shakespeare’s plays, and the paintings of Vélasquez and Van Gogh. Knowledge gaps in the scholarly literature on the species are identified, which require additional research in a variety of fields. For example, the number of varieties within the species remains inconclusive. Identifying the precise timing and geographic location of the tree’s influence on human civilization is hampered by methodological challenges. Studies of other plant species might benefit from the holistic approach taken in this review.
Journal Article
The Phoenician Diaspora
In this approachable and articulate study, Philip C. Schmitz
offers close interpretations of six ancient texts, four previously
published Phoenician and Punic inscriptions and two Phoenician
inscriptions published for the first time. The author selected the
previously known texts because readings of their letters and
interpretation of their grammar and syntax are not yet well
established. Each of the selected texts stands as an original
source concerning Phoenician settlement in the western
Mediterranean, Phoenician activity in Egypt, or the economic life
and religious beliefs and practices of ancient Carthage.
Chapter 1 rapidly surveys the history of Phoenician-Punic
epigraphy and offers a limited inventory of recent publications of
epigraphic texts. Chapter 2 undertakes a new reading and
translation of the Phoenician stele from Nora, Sardinia
( CIS I 144). Chapter 3 edits and translates the larger
Phoenician inscriptions from Abu Simbel, in Egypt ( CIS I
112). Chapter 4 concerns the paleographic analysis of selected
Phoenician graffiti from Tell el-Maskhuta. Chapter 5 publishes an
overlooked dipinto inscription on an amphora excavated at
Carthage. (An appendix by Joann Freed contextualizes the amphora.)
Chapter 6 takes a text-critical look at CIS I 6068, an
enigmatic Punic inscription on lead, thought since its discovery to
be a curse text. Schmitz argues that it is not a curse but a
quittance for debt. Chapter 7 is a new reading and translation of
CIS I 6000 bis , a Punic epitaph from the
Hellenistic period of Carthage.
Among the features of this book that may interest students and
scholars are: new translations and interpretations of important
inscriptions the translation and interpretation of which have been
disputed; previously unpublished photographs of inscriptions,
illustrating difficult readings; author's hand drawings of
difficult readings; and grammatical analysis with reference to
other known texts and standard reference works.
eBook
Early civilization and literacy in Europe : an inquiry into cultural continuity in the Mediterranean world
No detailed description available for \"Early Civilization and Literacy in Europe\".
eBook
Early Jewish Epigraphy
Students of ancient Judaism tend to pay attention primarily to Jewish literature of the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Byzantine periods. That is logical, for this literature is our most important source of information and, moreover, it is rich: we have tens of thousands of pages of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, rabbinic literature, the hekhalot texts, and more. Yet there is another important source for our knowledge of early Jewish life and thought that usually receives much less attention, although it, too, provides us with fascinating information that one often cannot find elsewhere, namely, Jewish epigraphy, that
Book Chapter
Locating Diaspora Jewish Philanthropy in the Ancient Mediterranean Public Arena
Evidence from the ancient Mediterranean outside Judaea‐Palestine shows that Jewish donations to civic works (munera) played various roles in the social context of Roman towns and cities. This article focuses on two of those functions: (1) Jewish largesse publicly demonstrated Jews’ commitment to the urban populations of which they were a part and (2) Jewish philanthropy garnered esteem from the non‐Jewish populace, thereby assuaging some measure of anti‐Jewish sentiment. Ancient Jewish philanthropy is best understood ethically in Bourdieuian terms, where patronage is misrecognized as reciprocity and solidarity, and the “reality” that such patronage only functioned in times of peaceful coexistence and when Jews activated their group identification.
Book Chapter