Classics

Peter Karavites presents a revisionist overview of Homeric scholarship, whose purpose is to bridge the gap between the “positivist” and “negativist” theories dominant in the greater part of the twentieth century. His investigation derives new insights from Homer’s text and solves the age old question of the relationship between Homer and the Mycenaean age.

Noting the standard reservations of Classicists regarding the Greek Bronze and Dark Ages, Carol Thomas declares the Pre-Classical period of ancient Greece to be the locus of much historical information. Both the metaphor and the fact of Troy serve as emblems of this historical enterprise as Thomas organizes her work around the subjects encountered by those approaching this time-frame: the tools (method and dating) and the evidence (writing and oral tradition). A brief account of the war is given in the context of both an actual war and a metaphor. These tools allow her to reconstruct the Mycenaean Age and the Dark Age prior to Classical Greece. A necessary requisite for consideration of the history of Classical Greece, this volume is accessible to scholars and interested laity alike.

The arrival of new disciplinary approaches to ancient fields of study is embraced in this volume of Publications of the Association of Ancient Historians. This volume considers the world of the Classic civilizations viewed through the lenses of recent approaches to historical material. Stanley M. Burstein considers Egypt and Greece in the light of Afrocentrism as a means of exploring ethnicity in the study of antiquity. Nancy Demand applies the outlook of gender studies to ancient history with the resultant concepts of participation and power. Ian Morris delves into the role archaeology takes in the understanding of ancient Greece, and Lawrence Tritle explores psychology and history in an analysis of Thucydides, a foundational writer of Classical history. These cross-disciplinary studies demonstrate the flexibility and breadth of the historical undertaking in an environment of continual growth and change.

Hannibal's invasion of Italia in 218 BC is depicted from the standpoint of environmental evidence elicited from ancient texts, and analyzed against present-day Earth Science databases. The conclusion is that the Punic Army followed the southern route over the Alps; a proposal first made by Sir Gavin de Beer in the 1960's.

A collection of articles by Richard E. Mitchell presenting all the major historiographical problems scholars encounter in reconstructing the early Republic. Mitchell was one of the first scholars to question the practice of taking the broad outlines of the accounts handed down by Roman historians (writing hundreds of years later) at face value in writing modern accounts of the period.

Ritual and historical perspectives each provide only a partial view of early Jewish weddings. Combining these approaches allows for a new look at practices rejected or highlighted by early rabbis and their successors, and First Came Marriage: The Rabbinic Appropriation of Early Jewish Wedding Ritual investigates the process by which early Jews married and the various moves they used to minimize, elaborate or codify these practices.

While Lucullus is one of the great figures of the late Roman republic, his achievements have been overshadowed by a reputation for luxurious living. This book explodes the legend and restores Lucullus to his true position as soldier, politician and aesthete.

Ammianus’ treatment of the emotion of anger reveals as much, if not more, about his education, values, beliefs, personality, than it does about the people he writes about. This research contributes to a greater depth of understanding of the role of the key emotion of anger within the individual and collective lives of the characters as portrayed by Ammianus Marcellinus and how he uses them to influence the reader and colour his narrative.

Originally delivered as one of the St. Margaret’s Lectures for 1904, the contents of this booklet are focused on aspects of the Syriac-speaking Church. Extracted from Burkitt’s book Early Eastern Christianity, the fifth lecture explores Bardaisan and his unique contribution to Syriac Christianity.

Water is one of the most benign, and destructive, powers in the lives of all people, in particular in arid areas such as the Near East. This book provides an alternative way of thinking about the Roman Near East by exploring how its inhabitants managed and lived with their water supplies, especially in the wake of the Roman conquest. Through geographical, hydrological, and anthropological perspectives, this study aims to see how water can inform us about the nature of Roman Imperialism, the Roman economy, change and transformation in Late Antiquity.

Deissmann was a scholar well known for his work with the Greek of the New Testament. In this little volume he considers the Hellenization of Semitic monotheism. Primarily concerned with the changes after Alexander’s conquest, the book is a brief exploration of Greek religion in the aftermath of conquest. Semitic monotheism was, according to Deissmann, a new concept for the Greek world. Hellenistic outlooks had long been influenced by classical viewpoints. Into this cultural milieu the Judaic concept of monotheism made immediate inroads. This influence is explored primarily in linguistic form, including considerations of the Septuagint. Both Hellenists and Semitic scholars will find material of interest here. Observations made by Deissmann influenced later thought in this field. Stretching across disciplines, this study will interest cultural historians as well. Share the sense of discovery with this useful booklet.

La Religion a Rome sous les Sévères is a classic work on third century Roman religion, ranging from the stoicism of Marcus Aurelius to the syncretism of Severus. Reville's knowledge of religion in the late antique world is considerable, and his analysis draws together Eastern mystery cults, Baal worship, and Neopythagorean philosophy as well as classical pagan religion. Yielding lasting results, Reville's study will be welcomed by readers interested in the history of religions.

The essays in this volume reflect a new generation of classicists hunting for new methods to understand and to disseminate ancient texts, both to increase the body of published information about classical Greek and Latin and also to encourage these languages to play an increased role in the intellectual life of humanity. In discussing areas as diverse as teaching, citation, criticism, collaboration, epigraphy, geography, grammar, lexicography, and digitization, this volume demonstrates the new scope and potential in Digital Classics research.

A discussion of the Gortyn law code, one of the earliest known in the Greek world. This is an edition, translation and commentary on the Gortyn law code with introduction.

An article tracing the development of the Ionic column from Egyptian lotus motifs through Assyrian rosettes and Cypriot pottery motifs.

Site report of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA) detailing the major finds and excavation of the Attic deme of Ikaria in Athens.

Survey of finds and literary sources documenting the cities of imperial Roman Phrygia's borderlands.

In the tradition of Schliemann's search for Troy, Clarke uses literary and topographic data to suggest site locations for the ancient cities of Gargara, Lampascus, and Pionia in the Troad.

Edward Capps addresses the problem of the movement of the dramatic chorus from its position in the orchestra during the 5th century BC to its elevated position above the actors in Vitruvius.

A discussion of the works and school of Andokides, a famous Greek vase-painter of the 6th century active in the transitional period from black to red figure decoration.

In this dissertation Dennison links the text of Suetonius to surviving epigraphical texts. This piece includes texts and commentaries and is an invaluable article for any study of Suetonius, particularly in a classroom setting.

In this article Cooley argues that the location of the rebuilt temple of Athena Polias was separate from the Erechtheion, and provides a table of literary citations concerning the temple and its precint.

Rufus B. Richardson, the director of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens at the time of this paper, publishes the discovery of the fountain of Pirene in Corinth.

An overview of the topographic, architectural, and epigraphical remains at Gortyna, a Roman-era city in Crete.

In this paper Waldstein suggests a rough dating scheme for artifacts dated to the period between the Mycenean and Archaic periods, moving from a Homer-centric system to one based on material culture.