Dennis Pardee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264928
- eISBN:
- 9780191754104
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264928.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
The discovery and decryption of Ugaritic cuneiform tablets in the 1920s has given scholars an insight into the development of alphabetic writing and the origins of biblical poetry. This book, based ...
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The discovery and decryption of Ugaritic cuneiform tablets in the 1920s has given scholars an insight into the development of alphabetic writing and the origins of biblical poetry. This book, based on the author's Schweich Lectures given in 2007, describes the origins of the cuneiform alphabetic writing system developed in Ugarit some time before 1250 bc, and the use of alphabetic writing at Ugarit, and gives a comparison of Ugaritic and Hebrew literatures.Less
The discovery and decryption of Ugaritic cuneiform tablets in the 1920s has given scholars an insight into the development of alphabetic writing and the origins of biblical poetry. This book, based on the author's Schweich Lectures given in 2007, describes the origins of the cuneiform alphabetic writing system developed in Ugarit some time before 1250 bc, and the use of alphabetic writing at Ugarit, and gives a comparison of Ugaritic and Hebrew literatures.
Alan K. Bowman and Roger S. O. Tomlin
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262962
- eISBN:
- 9780191734533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262962.003.0002
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
The imaging of ancient document papers presents several challenges, the nature of which is determined by the character of the text, the material on which it is written and the state of preservation. ...
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The imaging of ancient document papers presents several challenges, the nature of which is determined by the character of the text, the material on which it is written and the state of preservation. This chapter talks about the struggle to read and interpret Latin manuscripts from Roman Britain. These manuscripts come mainly in three forms: texts written in ink on thin wooden leaves, texts inscribed with metal stylus on wax-coated wooden stilus tablets, and texts incised on sheets of lead. This chapter focuses on the problems of imaging and signalling process of the texts found on the Vindolanda stilus tablets. These problems in interpreting ancient texts arise from the two identifiable sources of difficulty. The first one is the problem of seeing and identifying, in abraded and damaged documents what is aimed to be read. The second is the problem arising from the character of the text itself which determines the ability of the reader to decipher and interpret it.Less
The imaging of ancient document papers presents several challenges, the nature of which is determined by the character of the text, the material on which it is written and the state of preservation. This chapter talks about the struggle to read and interpret Latin manuscripts from Roman Britain. These manuscripts come mainly in three forms: texts written in ink on thin wooden leaves, texts inscribed with metal stylus on wax-coated wooden stilus tablets, and texts incised on sheets of lead. This chapter focuses on the problems of imaging and signalling process of the texts found on the Vindolanda stilus tablets. These problems in interpreting ancient texts arise from the two identifiable sources of difficulty. The first one is the problem of seeing and identifying, in abraded and damaged documents what is aimed to be read. The second is the problem arising from the character of the text itself which determines the ability of the reader to decipher and interpret it.
Carlo Vandecasteele, Luc Van Gool, Karel Van Lerberghe, Johan Van Rompay, and Patrick Wambacq
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262962
- eISBN:
- 9780191734533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262962.003.0004
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
In 1850, ‘Assyriology’, or the science of reading and interpreting cuneiform, was created. During this period, historians travelled to the Middle East and spent years copying cuneiform tablets. Now, ...
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In 1850, ‘Assyriology’, or the science of reading and interpreting cuneiform, was created. During this period, historians travelled to the Middle East and spent years copying cuneiform tablets. Now, at the beginning of the third millennium AD, not much has changed. Historians still rely on epigraphy which employs the copying of inscriptions and texts by hand. This method is highly subjective, tedious and time-consuming. As Middle Eastern antiquities departments do not allow the export of these tablets, historians and scholars are faced with the challenge of producing more efficient field methods. This chapter discusses a new method of recording the information taken from cuneiform tablets using digitizing. Digital imaging uses a camera wherein the picture captured is linked to a laptop which runs an image processing algorithm program to obtain the desired results. An enhancement method is then applied to improve the quality of the image. Digitizing cuneiform tablets provides historians a working document with legibility of 90 to 95 per cent. Aside from its relatively efficiency, digital imaging can also allow for the registering of various tablets in one excavation season and can be employed in the digital registration of all sealings such as pottery sherds, and fingerprints on clay vessels.Less
In 1850, ‘Assyriology’, or the science of reading and interpreting cuneiform, was created. During this period, historians travelled to the Middle East and spent years copying cuneiform tablets. Now, at the beginning of the third millennium AD, not much has changed. Historians still rely on epigraphy which employs the copying of inscriptions and texts by hand. This method is highly subjective, tedious and time-consuming. As Middle Eastern antiquities departments do not allow the export of these tablets, historians and scholars are faced with the challenge of producing more efficient field methods. This chapter discusses a new method of recording the information taken from cuneiform tablets using digitizing. Digital imaging uses a camera wherein the picture captured is linked to a laptop which runs an image processing algorithm program to obtain the desired results. An enhancement method is then applied to improve the quality of the image. Digitizing cuneiform tablets provides historians a working document with legibility of 90 to 95 per cent. Aside from its relatively efficiency, digital imaging can also allow for the registering of various tablets in one excavation season and can be employed in the digital registration of all sealings such as pottery sherds, and fingerprints on clay vessels.
T. P. WISEMAN
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264010
- eISBN:
- 9780191734946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264010.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines the chronological range of Greco-Roman history and the nature of the main narrative sources. The discussion begins about 1200 BCE, with the end of the Bronze Age palace culture, ...
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This chapter examines the chronological range of Greco-Roman history and the nature of the main narrative sources. The discussion begins about 1200 BCE, with the end of the Bronze Age palace culture, conventionally called Mycenaean. The destruction of the palace centres – at Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos, and Thebes – was responsible for preserving the ‘Linear B’ tablets, which form the earliest evidence for the Greek language. By the sixth century, Greek city-states were established widely round the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This is the time of what is sometimes called ‘the Greek miracle’, the origin of philosophy and science as well as historiography. The chapter draws attention to three archaeological discoveries and the way their evidential value has been assessed: a gold mask, discovered in 1876 in the first of the ‘shaft graves’ at Mycenae, the so-called tomb of Agamemnon; an artefact discovered in 1977 by the Dutch archaeological team excavating the temple of Matuta at the Latin town of Satricum; and a gold bulb, or locket, discovered in 1794.Less
This chapter examines the chronological range of Greco-Roman history and the nature of the main narrative sources. The discussion begins about 1200 BCE, with the end of the Bronze Age palace culture, conventionally called Mycenaean. The destruction of the palace centres – at Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos, and Thebes – was responsible for preserving the ‘Linear B’ tablets, which form the earliest evidence for the Greek language. By the sixth century, Greek city-states were established widely round the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This is the time of what is sometimes called ‘the Greek miracle’, the origin of philosophy and science as well as historiography. The chapter draws attention to three archaeological discoveries and the way their evidential value has been assessed: a gold mask, discovered in 1876 in the first of the ‘shaft graves’ at Mycenae, the so-called tomb of Agamemnon; an artefact discovered in 1977 by the Dutch archaeological team excavating the temple of Matuta at the Latin town of Satricum; and a gold bulb, or locket, discovered in 1794.
Dennis Pardee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264928
- eISBN:
- 9780191754104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264928.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
Chapter 1 attempted a rough sketch of the uses of writing at Ugarit and, particularly, of the types of texts that are attested in the alphabetic script and the Ugaritic language. It showed that of ...
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Chapter 1 attempted a rough sketch of the uses of writing at Ugarit and, particularly, of the types of texts that are attested in the alphabetic script and the Ugaritic language. It showed that of the roughly 175 religious texts, only about fifty may be qualified as belletristic; virtually all of these are couched in poetry and all deal with aspects of the divine. It would be impossible to cover all of these texts even superficially in the space allotted, and, instead of flitting from one to another in a selection of these texts, this chapter concentrates on the longest literary composition from Ugarit, the six tablets making up the so-called Baal Cycle.Less
Chapter 1 attempted a rough sketch of the uses of writing at Ugarit and, particularly, of the types of texts that are attested in the alphabetic script and the Ugaritic language. It showed that of the roughly 175 religious texts, only about fifty may be qualified as belletristic; virtually all of these are couched in poetry and all deal with aspects of the divine. It would be impossible to cover all of these texts even superficially in the space allotted, and, instead of flitting from one to another in a selection of these texts, this chapter concentrates on the longest literary composition from Ugarit, the six tablets making up the so-called Baal Cycle.
Alain Bresson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265062
- eISBN:
- 9780191754173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265062.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, ...
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After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, both by acknowledging development and growth, and by adopting new concepts, not least New Institutional Economics with its emphasis on transaction costs. The methodological impact of such new approaches is sketched in four fields, each of which is illustrated with epigraphic documentation: (1) production and growth, instancing technological advance, land exploitation and textile production; (2) finance, taxes, trade and prices, with emphasis on the need and opportunities for quantification; (3) money and coinage; and (4) the transformation of uncertainty into an assessment of risk, illustrated in respect of farming practices and recourse to consultation of oracles and curse-tablets.Less
After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, both by acknowledging development and growth, and by adopting new concepts, not least New Institutional Economics with its emphasis on transaction costs. The methodological impact of such new approaches is sketched in four fields, each of which is illustrated with epigraphic documentation: (1) production and growth, instancing technological advance, land exploitation and textile production; (2) finance, taxes, trade and prices, with emphasis on the need and opportunities for quantification; (3) money and coinage; and (4) the transformation of uncertainty into an assessment of risk, illustrated in respect of farming practices and recourse to consultation of oracles and curse-tablets.
Michael Brady, Xiao-Bo Pan, Veit Schenk, Melissa Terras, Paul Robertson, and Nicholas Molton
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262962
- eISBN:
- 9780191734533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262962.003.0003
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
It is agreed that stilus tablets are very important documentary sources, however they are the most difficult to decipher. The difficulties in deciphering them is due to the rough surface of the ...
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It is agreed that stilus tablets are very important documentary sources, however they are the most difficult to decipher. The difficulties in deciphering them is due to the rough surface of the tablets, the low brightness contrast of the incisions, the dense wood-grain lines, and the badly stained and pitted nature of the tablets. All of these posit a challenge for conventional two-dimensional (2D) image analysis. This chapter aims to provide a system that would aid the historian in interpreting stilus tablets by improving the legibility of the tablets. It provides novel ways of determining the texts incised on the tablets. One of these is the use of three-dimensional (3D) image analysis techniques. Such a technique is capable of detecting incisions, compared to the 2D image analysis, and is portable and inexpensive. Another method that can be used is the use of shadow stereo. This method employs low raking angle light close to the plane of the tablet at different elevations. The chapter also discusses the image formation process and the process of choosing elevations for each azimuth direction. The chapter also includes a discussion on realizing the shadow stereo algorithm.Less
It is agreed that stilus tablets are very important documentary sources, however they are the most difficult to decipher. The difficulties in deciphering them is due to the rough surface of the tablets, the low brightness contrast of the incisions, the dense wood-grain lines, and the badly stained and pitted nature of the tablets. All of these posit a challenge for conventional two-dimensional (2D) image analysis. This chapter aims to provide a system that would aid the historian in interpreting stilus tablets by improving the legibility of the tablets. It provides novel ways of determining the texts incised on the tablets. One of these is the use of three-dimensional (3D) image analysis techniques. Such a technique is capable of detecting incisions, compared to the 2D image analysis, and is portable and inexpensive. Another method that can be used is the use of shadow stereo. This method employs low raking angle light close to the plane of the tablet at different elevations. The chapter also discusses the image formation process and the process of choosing elevations for each azimuth direction. The chapter also includes a discussion on realizing the shadow stereo algorithm.
Peter White
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195388510
- eISBN:
- 9780199866717
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388510.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Apart from their explicit content, Roman letters signaled meaning through material elements of the text: the papyrus or tablet surface, the handwriting, and the writer's seal. Generic conventions—the ...
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Apart from their explicit content, Roman letters signaled meaning through material elements of the text: the papyrus or tablet surface, the handwriting, and the writer's seal. Generic conventions—the salutation, the opening, the sign‐off, and the dateline—could be manipulated in ways that showed the sender's relationship with the addressee. Finally, the dyadic frame that is the essence of letters tended to exaggerate the politeness of epistolary interaction, and to compartmentalize the relationship that the letter writer maintained with each separate correspondent.Less
Apart from their explicit content, Roman letters signaled meaning through material elements of the text: the papyrus or tablet surface, the handwriting, and the writer's seal. Generic conventions—the salutation, the opening, the sign‐off, and the dateline—could be manipulated in ways that showed the sender's relationship with the addressee. Finally, the dyadic frame that is the essence of letters tended to exaggerate the politeness of epistolary interaction, and to compartmentalize the relationship that the letter writer maintained with each separate correspondent.
Esther Eidinow
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277780
- eISBN:
- 9780191708114
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277780.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
In this book, question tablets from the oracle at Dodona are set side-by-side with curse tablets (katadesmoi or defixiones) from across the Ancient Greek world (for the period 6th-1st centuries BCE). ...
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In this book, question tablets from the oracle at Dodona are set side-by-side with curse tablets (katadesmoi or defixiones) from across the Ancient Greek world (for the period 6th-1st centuries BCE). It explores what these texts reveal about perceptions of and responses to the uncertain future, and the nature of risk among ordinary Greek men and women, as well as the insights they afford into civic institutions and activities, and social dynamics. The author follows the anthropologist Mary Douglas in defining ‘risk’ as socially constructed, in contrast to other ancient historians, who treat risk-management as a way of handling objective external dangers. The use of this theory encourages a new approach to both oracles and curses, and in particular, challenges the categories and theories usually used to describe and explain curses. The book includes a full catalogue of all published texts from Dodona, as well as a number of new tablets not published elsewhere, along with the 159 curse tablets discussed, together with translations of all texts.Less
In this book, question tablets from the oracle at Dodona are set side-by-side with curse tablets (katadesmoi or defixiones) from across the Ancient Greek world (for the period 6th-1st centuries BCE). It explores what these texts reveal about perceptions of and responses to the uncertain future, and the nature of risk among ordinary Greek men and women, as well as the insights they afford into civic institutions and activities, and social dynamics. The author follows the anthropologist Mary Douglas in defining ‘risk’ as socially constructed, in contrast to other ancient historians, who treat risk-management as a way of handling objective external dangers. The use of this theory encourages a new approach to both oracles and curses, and in particular, challenges the categories and theories usually used to describe and explain curses. The book includes a full catalogue of all published texts from Dodona, as well as a number of new tablets not published elsewhere, along with the 159 curse tablets discussed, together with translations of all texts.
P. D. A. Garnsey
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264577
- eISBN:
- 9780191734267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264577.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
John Anthony Crook (1921–2007), a Fellow of the British Academy, was a distinguished ancient historian with a special interest in Roman history and law. Among historians, his knowledge and ...
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John Anthony Crook (1921–2007), a Fellow of the British Academy, was a distinguished ancient historian with a special interest in Roman history and law. Among historians, his knowledge and understanding of Roman law was unequalled. Crook's academic career was spent for the most part in the University of Cambridge, and at St John's College. He entered the college as an undergraduate in 1939, and served as a Fellow from 1951 until his death on September 7, 2007. Within the Faculty of Classics he rose to be Professor of ancient history in 1979. Crook was born in Balham, London, the only child of a bandsman in the Grenadier Guards. In his book Law and Life of Rome, he gave a brilliant demonstration of how legal sources might be made accessible and used constructively for social history. In the late 1970s, Crook joined forces with J. G. Wolf to produce an edition of the Murecine Tablets, to which they had been drawn independently.Less
John Anthony Crook (1921–2007), a Fellow of the British Academy, was a distinguished ancient historian with a special interest in Roman history and law. Among historians, his knowledge and understanding of Roman law was unequalled. Crook's academic career was spent for the most part in the University of Cambridge, and at St John's College. He entered the college as an undergraduate in 1939, and served as a Fellow from 1951 until his death on September 7, 2007. Within the Faculty of Classics he rose to be Professor of ancient history in 1979. Crook was born in Balham, London, the only child of a bandsman in the Grenadier Guards. In his book Law and Life of Rome, he gave a brilliant demonstration of how legal sources might be made accessible and used constructively for social history. In the late 1970s, Crook joined forces with J. G. Wolf to produce an edition of the Murecine Tablets, to which they had been drawn independently.
Melissa Mueller
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226312958
- eISBN:
- 9780226313009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226313009.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Chapter 6 considers writing tablets as metatheatrical props that symbolize and embody the process of composing tragedy out of competing possible plotlines. Trachiniae’s oracular deltos (writing ...
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Chapter 6 considers writing tablets as metatheatrical props that symbolize and embody the process of composing tragedy out of competing possible plotlines. Trachiniae’s oracular deltos (writing tablet) serves as a mise-en-abîme refraction of the entire play. Phaedra’s writing tablet is more akin to a defixio (a curse tablet) than a letter and is used by the heroine preemptively to silence her stepson in Euripides’ Hippolytus. The letter Iphigenia reads aloud in Euripides’ Iphigenia among the Taurians provokes a playful scene of recognition, while Agamemnon’s revised letter, revoking his earlier decision to sacrifice his daughter, becomes the catalyst for a burlesque tug-of-war in the Iphigenia at Aulis; in that play, it is particularly clear that control of the girl—and consequently of the plot—is what is at issue. But because of their general tendency to thematize plotting as a tragic concern, these props more than others solicit metatheatrical interpretations.Less
Chapter 6 considers writing tablets as metatheatrical props that symbolize and embody the process of composing tragedy out of competing possible plotlines. Trachiniae’s oracular deltos (writing tablet) serves as a mise-en-abîme refraction of the entire play. Phaedra’s writing tablet is more akin to a defixio (a curse tablet) than a letter and is used by the heroine preemptively to silence her stepson in Euripides’ Hippolytus. The letter Iphigenia reads aloud in Euripides’ Iphigenia among the Taurians provokes a playful scene of recognition, while Agamemnon’s revised letter, revoking his earlier decision to sacrifice his daughter, becomes the catalyst for a burlesque tug-of-war in the Iphigenia at Aulis; in that play, it is particularly clear that control of the girl—and consequently of the plot—is what is at issue. But because of their general tendency to thematize plotting as a tragic concern, these props more than others solicit metatheatrical interpretations.
Peter Temin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147680
- eISBN:
- 9781400845422
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147680.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter talks about Hellenistic prices in Babylon, with which a large data set has survived. The price data come from a vast archive of astronomical cuneiform tablets from the ancient city of ...
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This chapter talks about Hellenistic prices in Babylon, with which a large data set has survived. The price data come from a vast archive of astronomical cuneiform tablets from the ancient city of Babylon. These tablets are unique among documents pertinent to the study of ancient history. Because of the astronomical content, any evidence extracted from these texts can be dated with certainty. Furthermore, the market quotations always were expressed in the same terms: quantities that can be purchased for one shekel (a weight measure, not a coin) of silver. In addition, values of the same six commodities were listed in a set order: barley, dates, cuscuta (mustard), cardamom (cress), sesame, and wool.Less
This chapter talks about Hellenistic prices in Babylon, with which a large data set has survived. The price data come from a vast archive of astronomical cuneiform tablets from the ancient city of Babylon. These tablets are unique among documents pertinent to the study of ancient history. Because of the astronomical content, any evidence extracted from these texts can be dated with certainty. Furthermore, the market quotations always were expressed in the same terms: quantities that can be purchased for one shekel (a weight measure, not a coin) of silver. In addition, values of the same six commodities were listed in a set order: barley, dates, cuscuta (mustard), cardamom (cress), sesame, and wool.
Catherine Rider
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199282227
- eISBN:
- 9780191713026
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199282227.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter surveys the sources for impotence magic in the ancient world. It discusses a number of classical writers who mentioned impotence magic in their literary works, including Ovid and ...
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This chapter surveys the sources for impotence magic in the ancient world. It discusses a number of classical writers who mentioned impotence magic in their literary works, including Ovid and Petronius. It also compares these writers with surviving curse tablets and with mentions of impotence magic in ancient medicine and science, particularly in the works of Pliny the Elder, Marcellus Empiricus of Bordeaux, Sextus Placitus, and the anonymous Kyranides. The chapter argues that ancient writers rarely distinguished impotence magic from other forms of love magic, because unlike in the Middle Ages, impotence was not a ground for annulling a marriage which had to be discussed in detail. However, like medieval authors, ancient writers took some of their information about impotence magic from popular culture rather than from written sources.Less
This chapter surveys the sources for impotence magic in the ancient world. It discusses a number of classical writers who mentioned impotence magic in their literary works, including Ovid and Petronius. It also compares these writers with surviving curse tablets and with mentions of impotence magic in ancient medicine and science, particularly in the works of Pliny the Elder, Marcellus Empiricus of Bordeaux, Sextus Placitus, and the anonymous Kyranides. The chapter argues that ancient writers rarely distinguished impotence magic from other forms of love magic, because unlike in the Middle Ages, impotence was not a ground for annulling a marriage which had to be discussed in detail. However, like medieval authors, ancient writers took some of their information about impotence magic from popular culture rather than from written sources.
Jane Stevenson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198185024
- eISBN:
- 9780191714238
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198185024.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
The case for epigraphy as a source for women's verse production in Imperial Rome is considered. Evidence for women's literacy in the Roman empire, including non-literary sources such as graffiti and ...
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The case for epigraphy as a source for women's verse production in Imperial Rome is considered. Evidence for women's literacy in the Roman empire, including non-literary sources such as graffiti and curse-tablets, is presented. The circumstances of production of epigraphic poetry are examined. The chapter also considers a variety of specific poems attributed to women, and the evidence they reveal of interpersonal relations, particularly Terentia's poem on the death of her brother.Less
The case for epigraphy as a source for women's verse production in Imperial Rome is considered. Evidence for women's literacy in the Roman empire, including non-literary sources such as graffiti and curse-tablets, is presented. The circumstances of production of epigraphic poetry are examined. The chapter also considers a variety of specific poems attributed to women, and the evidence they reveal of interpersonal relations, particularly Terentia's poem on the death of her brother.
Theodore Ziolkowski
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450358
- eISBN:
- 9780801463419
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450358.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
The world's oldest work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh recounts the adventures of the semi-mythical Sumerian king of Uruk and his ultimately futile quest for immortality after the death of his ...
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The world's oldest work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh recounts the adventures of the semi-mythical Sumerian king of Uruk and his ultimately futile quest for immortality after the death of his friend and companion, Enkidu, a wildman sent by the gods. Gilgamesh was deified by the Sumerians around 2500 bce, and his tale as we know it today was codified in cuneiform tablets around 1750 bce and continued to influence ancient cultures into Roman times. The epic was, however, largely forgotten, until the cuneiform tablets were rediscovered in 1872 in the British Museum's collection of recently unearthed Mesopotamian artifacts. In the decades that followed its translation into modern languages, the Epic of Gilgamesh has become a point of reference throughout Western culture. This book explores the surprising legacy of the poem and its hero, as well as the epic's continuing influence in modern letters and arts. The book sees fascination with Gilgamesh as a reflection of eternal spiritual values—love, friendship, courage, and the fear and acceptance of death. Noted writers, musicians, and artists from Sweden to Spain, from the United States to Australia, have adapted the story in ways that meet the social and artistic trends of the times. The spirit of this capacious hero has absorbed the losses felt in the immediate postwar period and been infused with the excitement and optimism of movements for gay rights, feminism, and environmental consciousness. Gilgamesh is at once a seismograph of shifts in Western history and culture and a testament to the verities and values of the ancient epic.Less
The world's oldest work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh recounts the adventures of the semi-mythical Sumerian king of Uruk and his ultimately futile quest for immortality after the death of his friend and companion, Enkidu, a wildman sent by the gods. Gilgamesh was deified by the Sumerians around 2500 bce, and his tale as we know it today was codified in cuneiform tablets around 1750 bce and continued to influence ancient cultures into Roman times. The epic was, however, largely forgotten, until the cuneiform tablets were rediscovered in 1872 in the British Museum's collection of recently unearthed Mesopotamian artifacts. In the decades that followed its translation into modern languages, the Epic of Gilgamesh has become a point of reference throughout Western culture. This book explores the surprising legacy of the poem and its hero, as well as the epic's continuing influence in modern letters and arts. The book sees fascination with Gilgamesh as a reflection of eternal spiritual values—love, friendship, courage, and the fear and acceptance of death. Noted writers, musicians, and artists from Sweden to Spain, from the United States to Australia, have adapted the story in ways that meet the social and artistic trends of the times. The spirit of this capacious hero has absorbed the losses felt in the immediate postwar period and been infused with the excitement and optimism of movements for gay rights, feminism, and environmental consciousness. Gilgamesh is at once a seismograph of shifts in Western history and culture and a testament to the verities and values of the ancient epic.
Barbara Freyer Stowasser
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195111484
- eISBN:
- 9780199853397
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111484.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The Qur'an, the God's Word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, teaches believers the doctrine of its own nature. First, the Arabic Qur'an is truly and literally God's Word as revealed verbatim (word ...
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The Qur'an, the God's Word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, teaches believers the doctrine of its own nature. First, the Arabic Qur'an is truly and literally God's Word as revealed verbatim (word for word) and seriatim (in a continuous series over time) to Prophet Muhammad. Second, the Qur'an, the Sacred Word of God, is the faithful copy of a text contained in a heavenly tablet, God's heavenly Scripture. Third, the Qur'an is God's final message to the world, guidance for all humankind. Fourth, the Qur'an follows and confirms other revelations that were sent to various people in history.Less
The Qur'an, the God's Word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, teaches believers the doctrine of its own nature. First, the Arabic Qur'an is truly and literally God's Word as revealed verbatim (word for word) and seriatim (in a continuous series over time) to Prophet Muhammad. Second, the Qur'an, the Sacred Word of God, is the faithful copy of a text contained in a heavenly tablet, God's heavenly Scripture. Third, the Qur'an is God's final message to the world, guidance for all humankind. Fourth, the Qur'an follows and confirms other revelations that were sent to various people in history.
David Sedley
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267033
- eISBN:
- 9780191601828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199267030.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
I examine Part 2 of the Theaetetus, on the puzzles of false belief (or false judgement) and Socrates’ attempted solutions. I argue that these bring him close to Plato’s definitive solution in the ...
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I examine Part 2 of the Theaetetus, on the puzzles of false belief (or false judgement) and Socrates’ attempted solutions. I argue that these bring him close to Plato’s definitive solution in the Sophist but fail for lack of an adequate grounding in metaphysics. We are shown, in the process, just what insights Socrates contributed to that eventual solution. Socrates’ progress from an empirical to a more versatile model of judgement (from the wax tablet to the Aviary, that is) is emblematic of his contributions in the field of cognitive psychology, already celebrated in chapter 4 with the empirical/a priori distinction. His diagnosis of thought as internal interrogation and response, unveiled in this part of the dialogue, once again displays a fundamentally Socratic insight that Plato is developing for use in later dialogues.Less
I examine Part 2 of the Theaetetus, on the puzzles of false belief (or false judgement) and Socrates’ attempted solutions. I argue that these bring him close to Plato’s definitive solution in the Sophist but fail for lack of an adequate grounding in metaphysics. We are shown, in the process, just what insights Socrates contributed to that eventual solution. Socrates’ progress from an empirical to a more versatile model of judgement (from the wax tablet to the Aviary, that is) is emblematic of his contributions in the field of cognitive psychology, already celebrated in chapter 4 with the empirical/a priori distinction. His diagnosis of thought as internal interrogation and response, unveiled in this part of the dialogue, once again displays a fundamentally Socratic insight that Plato is developing for use in later dialogues.
Esther Eidinow
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277780
- eISBN:
- 9780191708114
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277780.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
Collecting the oracle tablets in one catalogue reveals underlying patterns among the individual consultations at Dodona. This chapter discusses the subject matter and timing of the questions; the ...
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Collecting the oracle tablets in one catalogue reveals underlying patterns among the individual consultations at Dodona. This chapter discusses the subject matter and timing of the questions; the identities of those who visited the oracle; the language and behaviour of inquiry; and, overall, how these tablets deepen our understanding of the use of oracles by individuals between the 6th and 1st centuries BCE, including the evidence provided by responses.Less
Collecting the oracle tablets in one catalogue reveals underlying patterns among the individual consultations at Dodona. This chapter discusses the subject matter and timing of the questions; the identities of those who visited the oracle; the language and behaviour of inquiry; and, overall, how these tablets deepen our understanding of the use of oracles by individuals between the 6th and 1st centuries BCE, including the evidence provided by responses.
Esther Eidinow
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277780
- eISBN:
- 9780191708114
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277780.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter turns the reader's attention to binding spells, or curses (katadesmoi or defixiones). It examines the scanty literary evidence for the practice of creating these curses, and describes ...
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This chapter turns the reader's attention to binding spells, or curses (katadesmoi or defixiones). It examines the scanty literary evidence for the practice of creating these curses, and describes the development and spread of this practice across the Graeco-Roman world. It examines the language of binding spells; the gods, and other supernatural entities invoked; the shapes of curse tablets (including ‘voodoo dolls’ in miniature coffins); and the motivation behind their creation. The texts in the corpus of ancient Greek curse tablets (6th-1st centuries BCE) show individuals seeking to bind or restrain an imminent danger, often a person or people in particular circumstances. The chapter introduces the categories usually used to describe these circumstances and theories used to describe the motivation behind curse-writing (in particular, the theory that they were used in situations of competition), and why and how this study suggests a re-examination of both.Less
This chapter turns the reader's attention to binding spells, or curses (katadesmoi or defixiones). It examines the scanty literary evidence for the practice of creating these curses, and describes the development and spread of this practice across the Graeco-Roman world. It examines the language of binding spells; the gods, and other supernatural entities invoked; the shapes of curse tablets (including ‘voodoo dolls’ in miniature coffins); and the motivation behind their creation. The texts in the corpus of ancient Greek curse tablets (6th-1st centuries BCE) show individuals seeking to bind or restrain an imminent danger, often a person or people in particular circumstances. The chapter introduces the categories usually used to describe these circumstances and theories used to describe the motivation behind curse-writing (in particular, the theory that they were used in situations of competition), and why and how this study suggests a re-examination of both.
Keevak Michael
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098954
- eISBN:
- 9789882207608
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098954.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter discusses the way in which Western missionaries tried to find the traces of Christianity in China even before they had arrived there at the end of the sixteenth century. One day in 1625, ...
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This chapter discusses the way in which Western missionaries tried to find the traces of Christianity in China even before they had arrived there at the end of the sixteenth century. One day in 1625, a group of workers accidentally unearthed a large limestone stele in the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an. An enormous black tablet about three meters high, one meter wide, and half a meter deep, the front and sides were exquisitely carved with a long inscription that included both Chinese and a Syriac script known as Estrangelo. Moreover, it shows the existence of something so apparently Western came to represent China in premodern Europe, and like the monument as a whole European readings of the cross had little to do with China as it really was. The Chinese were not seen to exist independently from Christian universal history, even if their documented past was much more ancient than that of the Christian West. It is then argued that as the stone actually became sinology, it is hardly surprising that the stele also quickly became much less important than the various answers that it seemed to provide—or not to provide.Less
This chapter discusses the way in which Western missionaries tried to find the traces of Christianity in China even before they had arrived there at the end of the sixteenth century. One day in 1625, a group of workers accidentally unearthed a large limestone stele in the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an. An enormous black tablet about three meters high, one meter wide, and half a meter deep, the front and sides were exquisitely carved with a long inscription that included both Chinese and a Syriac script known as Estrangelo. Moreover, it shows the existence of something so apparently Western came to represent China in premodern Europe, and like the monument as a whole European readings of the cross had little to do with China as it really was. The Chinese were not seen to exist independently from Christian universal history, even if their documented past was much more ancient than that of the Christian West. It is then argued that as the stone actually became sinology, it is hardly surprising that the stele also quickly became much less important than the various answers that it seemed to provide—or not to provide.
