"Greek Tragedy" sets ancient tragedy into its original theatrical, political and ritual context and applies modern critical approaches to understanding why tragedy continues to interest modern audiences.
An engaging introduction to Greek tragedy, its history, and its reception in the contemporary world with suggested readings for further study
Examines tragedy's relationship to democracy, religion, and myth
Explores contemporary approaches to scholarship, including structuralist, psychoanalytic, and feminist theory
Provides a thorough examination of contemporary performance practices
Includes detailed readings of selected plays

In the first centuries AD, although much of the Near East was ruled by Rome, the main local language was Aramaic, and the people who lived inside or on the fringes of the area controlled by the Romans frequently wrote their inscriptions and legal documents in their own local dialects of this language. This book introduces these fascinating early texts to a wider audience, by presenting a representative sample, comprising eighty inscriptions and documents in the following dialects: Nabataean, Jewish, Palmyrene, Syriac, and Hatran. Detailed commentaries on the texts are preceded by chapters on history and culture and on epigraphy and language. The linguistic commentaries will help readers who have a knowledge of Hebrew or Arabic or one of the Aramaic dialects to understand the difficulties involved in interpreting such materials. The translations and more general comments will be of great interest to classicists and ancient historians.

This book has chapters on methodology, on the writing of the first decrees and laws of the years ca. 515 to 450 B.C., on unique examples of writing of ca. 450 to 400, on the inscribers of the Lapis Primus and Lapis Secundus (IG I3 259-280), and on those of the Attic Stelai (IG I3 421-430). These are followed by studies of 11 individual cutters arranged in chronological order. This study brings order to the study of hands of the fifth century by setting out a methodology and by discussing the attempts of others to identify hands. Another aim is to bring out the individuality of the writing of these early inscribers. It shows that from the beginning the writing on Athenian inscriptions on stone was very idiosyncratic, for all intents and purposes individual writing. It identifies the inscribing of the sacred inventories of Athena beginning about 450 B.C. as the genesis of the professional letter cutter in Athens and traces the trajectory of the profession. While the dating of many inscriptions will remain a matter for scholarly discussion, the present study narrows the dates of many texts. It also pinpoints the origin of the mistaken idea that three-bar sigma did not occur on public documents after the year 446 in order to make those who are not expert more aware that this is not a reliable means of dating.

Speakers address audiences in the earliest Greek literature, but oratory became a distinct genre in the late fifth century and reached its maturity in the fourth. This book traces the development of its techniques by examining the contribution made by each orator. Dr Usher makes the speeches come alive for the reader through an in-depth analysis of the problems of composition and the likely responses of contemporary audiences. His study differs from previous books in its recognition of the richness of the early tradition which made innovation difficult, however, the orators are revealed as men of remarkable talent, versatility, and resource. Antiphon's pioneering role, Lysias' achievement of balance between the parts of the speech, the establishment of oratory as a medium of political thought by Demosthenes and Isocrates, and the individual characteristics of other orators - Andocides, Isaeus, Lycurgus, Hyperides, Dinarchus and Apollodorus - together make a fascinating study in evolution; while the illustrative texts of the orators (which are translated into English) include some of the liveliest and most moving passages in Greek literature.

In recent years memory has become a central concept in historical studies, following the definition of the term 'Cultural Memory' by the Egyptologist Jan Assmann in 1994. Thinking about memory, as both an individual and a social phenomenon, has led to a new way of conceptualizing history and has drawn historians into debate with scholars in other disciplines such as literary studies, cultural theory and philosophy. The aim of this volume is to explore memory and identity in ancient societies. 'We are what we remember' is the striking thesis of the Nobel laureate Eric R Kandel, and this holds equally true for ancient societies as modern ones. How did the societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome remember and commemorate the past? How were relationships to the past, both individual and collective, articulated? Exploring the balance between memory as survival and memory as reconstruction, and between memory and historically recorded fact, this volume unearths the way ancient societies formed their cultural identity. >

Modern studies of classical utopian thought are usually restricted to the Republic and Laws of Plato, producing the impression that Greek speculation about ideal states was invariably authoritarian and hierarchical. In this book, however, Dawson sets Plato in the context of the whole ancient tradition of philosophical utopia. He distinguishes two types of Greek utopia, relating both to the social and the political background of Greece between the fifth and third centuries B.C. Dawson outlines a "low" utopianism that arose from the Greek colonizing movement. A comprehensive program for an ideal city-state, conceived as a critique of existing institutions and a model for limited reform, it was intended for literal implementation. A "high" utopianism arose from the practical utopias--a theoretical system with unattainable standards of social reform designed as a thought experiment for exploring the potentialities of human nature and society. This more abstract model looked at institutional change at a much deeper level than was possible in real political reform. The second, higher utopianism, which was based on total communism in property and family, is the focus of Dawson's study. Attempting to reconstruct the lost utopian works of the Stoics, Dawson argues that their ideal state was universal and egalitarian, in deliberate contrast to the hierarchical and militaristic utopia of Plato. He further asserts that both theories were intended to bring about long-range social reform, though neither was meant for direct implementation. Dawson offers an explanation for the disappearance of the utopian tradition in the later Hellenistic age. Finally, he traces the survival of communist ideas inearly Christianity. Far from being merely another commentary on Plato's Republic, Cities of the Gods is a comprehensive study of the whole ancient tradition of philosophical speculation about ideal societies. Distinguishing two types of Greek utopian literature--the practical and the theoretical--Dawson focuses on the contrast between the authoritarian Platonic utopias and the egalitarian stoic utopias. He traces the history of utopian and communist ideas in pagan and Christian thought to the end of the Roman Empire. This book will be of interest to scholars, as well as general readers, interested in philosophy, political science, classical studies, and religion.

How did freed slaves reinvent themselves after the shackles of slavery had been lifted? How were they reintegrated into society, and what was their social position and status? What contributions did they make to the society that had once - sometimes brutally - repressed them? This collection builds on recent dynamic work on Roman freedmen, the contributors drawing upon a rich and varied body of evidence - visual, literary, epigraphic and archaeological - to elucidate the impact of freed slaves on Roman society and culture amid the shadow of their former servitude. The contributions span the period between the first century BC and the early third century AD and survey the territories of the Roman Republic and Empire, while focusing on Italy and Rome.

Fragmentary texts play a central role in Classics. Their study poses a stimulating challenge to scholars and readers, while its methods and principles, far from being rigidly immutable, invite constant reflection on its methods, approaches, and goals. By focusing on some of the most relevant issues that fragmentologists have to face, this book contributes to the ongoing and lively debate on the study of fragmentary texts. This volume contains an extensive theoretical introduction on the study of textual fragments, followed by eight essays on a wide variety of topics relevant to the study of fragmentary texts across literary genres. The chapters range from archaic Greek epics (the Hesiodic corpus) to late-antique grammarian Nonius Marcellus as a source of fragments of Republican literature. All contributions share a nuanced, critical attention to the main methodological implications of the study of fragmentary texts and mutually contribute to highlighting the field's common specificities and limitations, both in theory and in editorial practice. The book offers a representative spectrum of fragmentological issues, providing all readers with an interest in Classics with an up-to-date, methodologically aware approach to the field.

The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History reveals the role of the complex interaction of Mediterranean seafaring and maritime connections in the development of the ancient Greek city-states. * Offers fascinating insights into the origins of urbanization in the ancient Mediterranean, including the Greek city-state * Based on the most recent research on the ancient Mediterranean * Features a novel approach to theories of civilization change - foregoing the traditional isolationists model of development in favor of a maritime based network * Argues for cultural interactions set in motion by exchange and trade by sea

This volume challenges preconceptions of Athenian politics and history. It sets out to demonstrate that the widely received view that Hellenistic Athens and her political leaders were radically different from their Classical counterparts is fundamentally flawed. Through a re-examination of the internal politics of Hellenistic Athens, both in terms of its key institutions and its political leaders, After Demosthenes provides a comprehensive analysis of Athenian political life from 322-262 BC. Drawing on literary and epigraphic evidence the book identifies those who participated in the governing of Athens, and their motives for doing so, and redefines the nature of Athenian political ideology in the process. The leading political figures, each of whom can be identified with a particular ideological viewpoint, are explored in a series of biographical studies. Examining the intellectual origins of modern scholarly criticism of democracy in the Athens of this period, this volume shows how the politics of scholarly discourse have distorted modern views of Hellenistic Athens.

The edition collects and presents all papyri and ostraca from the Ptolemaic period, connected to Jews and Judaism, published since 1957. It is a follow-up to the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (= CPJ) of the 1950s and 60s, edited by Victor Tcherikover, which had consisted of three volumes - I devoted to the Ptolemaic period; II to the Early Roman period (until 117 CE); and III to the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. The present book, CPJ vol. IV, is the first in a new trilogy, and is devoted to the Ptolemaic period. The present and upcoming volumes supplement the original CPJ. They present over 300 papyri that have been published since 1957. They also include papyri in languages other than Greek (Hebrew, Aramaic, Demotic), and literary papyri which had not been included in the old CPJ. Aside from quite a number of papyri in these categories, the present volume (of over 100 documents) includes 21 papyri from Herakleopolis in Middle-Egypt that record the existence of a Jewish self-ruling body - the politeuma. These papyri put an end to a long-standing dispute over whether such a Jewish institution had ever existed in Egypt.

The volume includes the proceedings of the 2nd Roma Sinica project conference held in Seoul in September 2019 and aims to compare some features of the ancient political thought in the Western classical tradition and in the Eastern ancient thought. The contributors, coming from Korea, Europe, USA, China, Japan, propose new patterns of interpretation of the mutual interactions and proximities between these two cultural worlds and offer also a perspective of continuity between contemporary and ancient political thought. Therefore, this book is a reference place in the context of the comparative research between Roman (and early Greek thought) and Eastern thought. Researchers interested in Cicero, Seneca, Plato, post-Platonic and post Aristotelic philosophical schools, history, ancient Roman and Chinese languages could find interesting materials in this work.

Before it fell to Muslim armies in AD 635-6 Damascus had a long and prestigious history as a center of Christianity. How did the city, which became capital of the Islamic Empire, and its people, negotiate the transition from a late antique, or early Byzantine world to an Islamic culture? In this innovative study, Nancy Khalek demonstrates that the changes that took place in Syria during the formative period of Islamic life were not a matter of the replacement of one civilization by another as a result of military conquest, but rather of shifting relationships and practices in a multi-faceted social and cultural setting. Even as late antique forms of religion and culture persisted, the formation of Islamic identity was effected by the people who constructed, lived in, and narrated the history of their city. Khalek draws on the evidence of architecture, and the testimony of pilgrims, biographers, geographers, and historians to shed light on this process of identity formation. Offering a fresh approach to the early Islamic period, she moves the study of Islamic origins beyond a focus on issues of authenticity and textual criticism, and initiates an interdisciplinary discourse on narrative, story-telling, and the interpretations of material culture.

This book investigates the issue of the singularity versus the multiplicity of ancient Near Eastern deities who are known by a common first name but differentiated by their last names, or geographic epithets. It focuses primarily on the Istar divine names in Mesopotamia, Baal names in the Levant, and Yahweh names in Israel, and it is structured around four key questions: How did the ancients define what it meant to be a god - or more pragmatically, what kind of treatment did a personality or object need to receive in order to be considered a god by the ancients? Upon what bases and according to which texts do modern scholars determine when a personality or object is a god in an ancient culture? In what ways are deities with both first and last names treated the same and differently from deities with only first names? Under what circumstances are deities with common first names and different last names recognizable as distinct independent deities, and under what circumstances are they merely local manifestations of an overarching deity? The conclusions drawn about the singularity of local manifestations versus the multiplicity of independent deities are specific to each individual first name examined in accordance with the data and texts available for each divine first name.

Norman Vance has written the first full-length study of the impact on Victorian Britain of the history and literature of ancient Rome. His comprehensive account shows how not only scholars and poets but also engineers, soldiers, scientists and politicians, gained inspiration from the writing, theory and practice of their Roman predecessors.

Professor Vance provides a fascinating account of the sense of connection Victorian Britain felt for the Roman experience, a connection made the more complex because Britain had once been a Roman colony and because Christianity took hold and spread under the Roman empire.

This book is a compilation of several sections of a larger work, a book by the name of African Origins of Civilization, Religion, Yoga Mysticism and Ethics Philosophy. It also contains some additional evidences not contained in the larger work that demonstrate the correlation between Ancient Egyptian Religion and Buddhism. This book is one of several compiled short volumes that has been compiled so as to facilitate access to specific subjects contained in the larger work which is over 680 pages long. These short and small volumes have been specifically designed to cover one subject in a brief and low cost format. This present volume, The Ancient Egyptian Buddha: The Ancient Egyptian Origins of Buddhism, formed one subject in the larger work; actually it was one chapter of the larger work. However, this volume has some new additional evidences and comparisons of Buddhist and Neterian (Ancient Egyptian) philosophies not previously discussed. It was felt that this subject needed to be discussed because even in the early 21st century, the idea persists that Buddhism originated only in India independently. Yet there is ample evidence from ancient writings and perhaps more importantly, iconographical evidences from the Ancient Egyptians and early Buddhists themselves that prove otherwise. This handy volume has been designed to be accessible to young adults and all others who would like to have an easy reference with documentation on this important subject. This is an important subject because the frame of reference with which we look at a culture depends strongly on our conceptions about its origins. in this case, if we look at the Buddhism as an Asiatic religion we would treat it and it'sculture in one way. If we id as African Ancient Egyptian] we not only would see it in a different light but we also must ascribe Africa with a glorious legacy that matches any other culture in human history and gave rise to one of the present day most important religious philosophies. We would also look at the culture and philosophies of the Ancient Egyptians as having African insights that offer us greater depth into the Buddhist philosophies. Those insights inform our knowledge about other African traditions and we can also begin to understand in a deeper way the effect of Ancient Egyptian culture on African culture and also on the Asiatic as well. We would also be able to discover the glorious and wondrous teaching of mystical philosophy that Ancient Egyptian Shetaut Neter religion offers, that is as powerful as any other mystic system of spiritual philosophy in the world today.

Some early Christians used water, not wine, in the cup of their Eucharist, and avoided eating meat. This kind of avoidance, more common than previously imagined, reflected a more radical stance towards the wider society than that taken by the Christian mainstream. The discussion here throws new light on early Christianity and the ways eating and drinking have often reflected deeply-held beliefs and values.

The name Achilles induces the image of the consummate warrior, an icon of an ancient time that has held its fascination for thousands of years. Yet, his story remained scattered in the works of ancient poets with occasional pieces brought to the big screen. Until now. The Fire of Destiny tells Achilles' story from his traumatic birth at Phthia, to his vindictive war against Troy. Even more, it tells the story of the women who helped shape a man of destiny.

This volume provides the first full-scale commentary on the eighth book of Virgil's Aeneid, the book in which the poet presents the unforgettable tour of the site of the future Rome that the Arcadian Evander provides for his Trojan guest Aeneas, as well as the glorious apparition and bestowal of the mystical, magical shield of Vulcan on which the great events of the future Roman history are presented - culminating in the Battle of Actium and the victory of Octavian over the forces of Antony and Cleopatra. A critical text based on a fresh examination of the manuscript tradition is accompanied by a prose translation.