Ships and sea-power before the great Persian War : the ancestry of the ancient trireme /
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This book presents a new theory about the developments in shipping and naval organization that culminated in the invention - around 530 BC in the eastern Mediterranean - of the trireme, and the subsequent adoption of this first specialized warship of antiquity by all the naval powers of the time. New interpretations are proposed of Greek and Assyrian iconographic data and of hitherto ignored evidence in Herodotos and Thukydides, the non-military factors determining developments are emphasized. Thukydides' fundamental essay on the genesis of Greek sea-powers is studied in depth, the rarity of these sea-powers stressed, and the peculiar background of the naval power of Phokaia and the Samian tyrant Polykrates exposed. The problem of the trireme's place of origin, the factors determining its invention, probably in Saïte Egypt, and its immediate adoption by the Persian king Kambyses are discussed. The first naval operations of the Persians are surveyed, reasons and circumstances of the trireme's introduction into the navies of the Greek city-states analysed with special attention for Themistokles' navy bill. The book offers ancient historians and classical philologists a radically new approach to archaic maritime and naval history. It will also be useful to (nautical) archaeologists.
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1 online resource (xv, 217 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-193) and indexes. :
9789004329171 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Fragile hierarchies : the urban elites of third century Roman Egypt /
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Fragile Hierarchies deals with the world of the urban elites of third century Roman Egypt. It discusses economic, social and demographic aspects of the position of the elites of the small towns that dotted the Nile. The work combines analysis of Greek papyri with modelling techniques used in ancient history. The first part of the book analyses patterns of urbanisation, property relations and their consequences for elite formation. The second part discusses demographic aspects, patterns of inheritance and their consequences for continuity and discontinuity. The central argument of the book is that a strong social and economic hierarchy occurred side by side with a dynamic pattern of elite renewal.
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1 online resource (353 pages) : map. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-338) and index. :
9789047417590 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Not wholly free : the concept of manumission and the status of manumitted slaves in the ancient Greek world /
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Not Wholly Free is a comprehensive study of manumission in the Greek world, based on a thorough appraisal of the extant evidence and on a careful examination of manumission terminology. R. Zelnick-Abramovitz investigates the phenomenon of manumission in all its aspects and features, by analyzing modes of manumission, its terminology, the group composition of manumittors and freed slaves, motivation, procedures and conditions of manumission, legal actions and laws concerning manumitted slaves, and the latter's legal status and position in society. A very important work for all those interested in social history of ancient Greece , slavery, and manumission, as well as ancient historians and classical philologists.
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1 online resource (vi, 385 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-356) and indexes. :
9789047408178 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite : an introduction to the structure and the content of the treatise On the Divine Names /
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This book proposes a reading of Dionysius the Areopagite's longest and most important treatise 'On the Divine Names' from a philosophical point of view, rather than from a theological point of view which dominates the secondary literature. More in particular, it proposes an interpretation of the puzzling structure of the treatise which takes its starting point from earlier interpretations of medieval and modern scholars. The new reading of Dionysius' main text achieves more coherence than they did precisely because of the philosophical angle, which is meant to serve as a complement, not an alternative, to theological and historical interpretations. Thus the book can be read as an introduction to the philosophy of Dionyius as it shows how the author makes original moves in introducing the Christian concepts of peace and creation as philosophical concepts in a Platonic framework.
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1 online resource (xvi, 212 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-204) and indexes. :
9789047409441 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
John Philoponus' new definition of prime matter : aspects of its background in Neoplatonism and the ancient commentary tradition /
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This study provides the first full discussion of Philoponus' excursus on matter in contra Proclum XI. 1-8 which sets out the innovative definition of prime matter as three-dimensional extension. The author argues that Philoponus' definition was motivated primarily by philosophical problems in Neoplatonism. Philoponus employs the explanation of growth, the interpretation of Aristotle's category theory and the notions of formlessness and potentiality to substantiate his definition. To conclude, the book offers an assessment of the significance of Philoponus' innovation. It is demonstrated for the first time that Plotinus' view of matter exerted considerable influence on both Philoponus and Simplicius. Moreover, the structure of Syrianus' and Proclus' metaphysics prepared the way for Philoponus' account of prime matter.
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Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--1995 under title: Philoponus' notion of prime matter. :
1 online resource (xxiii, 339 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-316) and indexes. :
9789004320932 :
0079-1687 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Collected papers on Greek colonization /
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For the first time together in one volume all the papers on Greek colonization published by A. J. Graham over the last forty years. Some of these appeared in publications difficult of access. They will all now be widely available, and thus complement the author's Colony and Mother City in Ancient Greece and his two chapters on the subject in Cambridge Ancient History III.3, second edition. In addition the volume contains one new paper, not previously published, entitled 'Thasian Controversies' . The published papers are reproduced unchanged, except for the correction of misprints, and the original page-numbering is indicated. All the original figures and illustrations are included. There is a comprehensive, analytical, index.
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1 online resource (xi, 414 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004351066 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Theatrum Arbitri : theatrical elements in the Satyrica of Petronius /
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Theatrum Arbitri is a literary study dealing with the possible influence of Roman comic drama (comedies of Plautus and Terence, theatre of the Greek and Roman mimes, and fabula Atellana ) on the surviving fragments of Petronius' Satyrica . The theatrical assessment of this novel is carried out at the levels of plot-construction, characterization, language, and reading of the text as if it were the narrative equivalent of a farcical staged piece with the theatrical structure of a play produced before an audience. The analysis follows the order of each of the scenes in the novel. The reader will also find a brief general commentary on the less discussed scenes of the Satyrica , and a comprehensive account of the theatre of the mimes and its main features.
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Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.--University of Glasgow, 1993). :
1 online resource (xxv, 225 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-207) and indexes. :
9789004329515 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The treatment of war wounds in Graeco-Roman antiquity /
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In this investigation of the treatment of battle trauma in antiquity, 'treatment' is used in a double sense, both as actual medical treatment and literary 'treatment' in non-medical sources. Part I deals with the practical, medical aspects of the topic: the types of wounds likely to result from a battle, their surgical and pharmacological treatment, the question of medical services in ancient armies, medical terminology and the availability of medical knowledge. Part II discusses the use of scenes of wounding and wound treatment in literature, and Part III is a survey of the archaeological evidence. This is the first monograph to examine the topic in all its different aspects; it should be of interest to classicists, medical historians and military historians.
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1 online resource (xxvii, 299 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004377486 :
0925-1421 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Garum and salsamenta : production and commerce in materia medica /
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Fermented fish products fulfilled multiple functions in Graeco-Roman society. They were a source of nutrition, a medicine with both dietetic and therapeutic value, and a commodity of trade. Their production and commerce provided employment, even wealth, for many individuals in the western and eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. The work defines ancient salt-fish products and clarifies their relationship with modern counterparts. Following discussion of the perceived and actual utility of these products in human and veterinary medicine, the author, employing literary, archaeological, epigraphical, papyrological, and numismatic evidence, provides a province- by-province survey of the areas which produced and exported them. The book closes with a discussion of the social status of those involved in their manufacture and trade, the methods used to market them and their fate in the post- classical period. This study explores an important facet of the Roman economy having continuity with the modern world.
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1 online resource (xv, 226 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-213) and index. :
9789004377264 :
0925-1421 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Narrative setting and dramatic poetry /
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This volume evaluates a single element of tragic art, namely the way in which narrative descriptions of place participate in the poetry of tragedy. They join together structures of the theater to create a context for tragic performance, and ultimately reflect upon tragedy's connection to earlier narrative forms and to the traditional tales that regularly supply tragic plots. The first part of this book examines the introductory function of spatial descriptions and the peculiar resources offered to the playwright by cult settings. In the second part, the spatial oppositions, that are inherent structuring devices in traditional tales, are taken up in chapters treating the motif of exile in extant tragedy.
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Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral--Yale), presented in 1985 under the title, Setting and theme in Greek tragedy. :
1 online resource (178 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 162-168) and index. :
9789004329201 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Psychological and ethical ideas : what early Greeks say /
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Psychological and Ethical Ideas studies what Greek poets and philosophers of the Archaic Age of Greece say about certain psychological and ethical ideas. These ideas include "psychological activity", "soul", "excellence", and "justice". These ideas were chosen to show how early Greek individuals think, act, and relate to other people and to their universe. The book first discusses the nature of the literature of the Archaic Age. It then treats in detail what early Greeks say about the four ideas, presenting numerous quotations (all in translation). The book concludes with an overview of the ideas discussed. The book introduces the reader to important ideas of the Archaic Age, showing what both poets and philosophers thought. These ideas are central to this period and were to have an important role in the literature and philosophy of later Greek authors, especially in the drama of the fifth century and the philosophy of the fourth century.
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1 online resource (xii, 262 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-249) and indexes. :
9789004329492 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Healing past : pharmaceuticals in the biblical and rabbinic world /
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This volume focuses on our present knowledge of pharmaceuticals in the Biblical and Rabbinic world, a subject which has received little attention. Although many aspects of ancient Near Eastern cultural life have been studied thoroughly, no one has dealt with the pharmaceutical knowledge of this period. The essays in this study deal with their themes in different ways. They thus provide the best current information on a particular subject. They also demonstrate various approaches which may prove fruitful for further investigation. References in specialized studies and archeological field work have demonstrated that our knowledge in this area continues to grow. The fragmented and isolated nature of this material has led to it remaining unknown to those interested in the history of medicine, pharmacy, and horticulture. The authors have sought to fill this gap.
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1 online resource (xv, 126 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004377325 :
0925-1421 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Leaving words to remember : Greek mourning and the advent of literacy /
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This volume examines the influence of literacy on the development of different genres of mourning in ancient Greece. The oral tradition of lament in the Homeric poems forms the point of departure for close readings of epigraphic material and written texts commemorating the dead in the archaic and classical periods, including grave epigrams, threnoi, tragedy, and Athenian epitaphioi . These texts reveal the non-linear development of Greek literacy and offer insight into the ongoing influence of lament in diverse poetic genres and the evolving uses of death and mourning in different media. In particular, the discussion focuses on the role of writing in commemorating soldiers and the evolution of the written memorial into a historical and civic medium of communication.
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1 online resource (vi, 206 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047400455 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Fortress Attica : defense of the Athenian land frontier, 404-322 B.C. /
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This book analyzes the defense policy of Athens in the period after the Peloponnesian War. In order to counter new offensive strategies and to protect vital local sources of revenue, the Athenians instituted a system of territorial defense, based on massive frontier fortresses and a sophisticated signal network. Individual chapters treat Athens' postwar economic situations, the development of Greek military science, the rise of a defensive mentality among the Athenian citizens, theorectical literature on defense, and Athens' military establishment. A major section is devoted to detailed descriptions of the land routes into Attica and of all ancient fortresses, towers, and military highways in the frontier zones. Concluding chapters demonstrate how the defense system worked in practic.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Michigan, 1980. :
1 online resource (x, 243 pages, [4] pages of plates) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-231) and index. :
9789004328198 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sabbath and synagogue : the question of Sabbbath worship in ancient Judaism /
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Sabbath worship as a communal event does not feature in the Hebrew Bible. In the context of the first century CE, according to Philo and Josephus, the sabbath gatherings took place only for the purpose of studying the law, and not for the liturgical recital of psalms or prayer. Classical authors depict Jews spending the sabbath at home. Jewish inscriptions provide no evidence of sabbath-worship in prayer-houses ( proseuchai ), while the Mishnah prescribes no special communal sabbath activities. The usual picture of Jews going on the sabbath to the synagogue to worship thus appears to be without foundation. It is even doubtful that there were synagogue buildings, for 'synagogue' normally meant 'community'. The conclusion of this study, that there is no evidence that the sabbath was a day of communal Jewish worship before 200 CE, has far-reaching consequences for our understanding of early Jewish-Christian relationships. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource (xi, 279 pages) :
9789004295834 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Greek Identity in the Western Mediterranean : Papers in Honour of Brian Shefton /
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The Greek colonies of the Western Mediterranean were central to the evolution of many aspects of Greek culture and in many cases developed an identity which was significantly different from that of mainland Greece and the Aegean. This volume seeks to explore aspects of the cultural identity of these colonies and how it evolved. It covers the colonial foundations in Italy, Sicily, Southern France, Spain and North Africa, and ranges from the 8th century BC to the early Roman empire. Topics covered include the ethnic identity of the earliest colonial foundations, the evolution of Greek states in the West, the Greeks' perceptions of their own identity and ways of representing it, and the role of the indigenous populations in the evolution of Western Greek culture.
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1 online resource (xxii, 504 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
List of Brian Shefton's works (p. xviii-xix).
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047402664 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Karaite Judaism : a guide to its history and literary sources /
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Karaism is a Jewish religious movement of a scripturalist and messianic nature, which emerged in the Middle Ages in the areas of Persia-Iraq and Palestine and has maintained its unique and varied forms of identity and existence until the present day, undergoing resurgent cycles of creativity, within its major geographical centres of the Middle-East, Byzantium-Turkey, the Crimea and Eastern Europe. This Guide to Karaite Studies contains thirty-seven chapters which cover all the main areas of medieval and modern Karaite history and literature, including geographical and chronological subdivisions, and special sections devoted to the history of research, manuscripts and printing, as well as detailed bibliographies, index and illustrations. The substantial volume reflects the current state of scholarship in this rapidly growing sub-field of Jewish Studies, as analysed by an international team of experts and taught in various universities throughout Europe, Israel and the United States.
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1 online resource (xxxi, 981 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 933-958) and index. :
9789004294264 :
0169-9423 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jerusalem and Babylon : a study into Augustine's City of God and the sources of his doctrine of the two cities /
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Although many studies have been devoted to Augustine's City of God and its most important theme, viz. the antithesis between the civitas Dei and the terrena civitas ,until now no consensus has been reached concerning the sources of this doctrine. Was Augustine decisively influenced by Manichaeism, by (Neo)Platonism, the Stoa or Philo, by the Donatist Tyconius? Or should we look in another direction and refer to preceding Christian, Jewish, and especially to archaic Jewish-Christian traditions? This lucidly written books opens with a survey of the research carried out so far on the aim, structure and central theme of the City of God . Chapter 2 analyzes the essentials of Augustine's life, of his City of God , and of his doctrine of the two cities. Making use of one of the recently discovered letters of Augustine in Chapter 3 the author describes the City of God as an apology and as a catechetical work. Chapter 4 provides an investigation into the possible sources of Augustine's doctrine of the two cities in Manichaeism, in (Neo)Platonism, the Stoa and Philo, and in the works of Tyconius. The idea of two antithetical cities proves to be present most clearly in writings in which, closely related to Jewish thinking, archaic Christian concepts occupy an important place. In a final chapter some pertinent remarks are made on Jewish and Jewish-Christian influences on pre-Augustinian Christianity in Africa.
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"English version of my doctoral thesis, which was originally submitted to the Theological Faculty of the University of Utrecht in September 1986 and published in Dutch"--Preface. :
1 online resource (ix, 427 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-405) and indexes. :
9789004253346 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Fake prophecy and polluted sacraments : ecclesiastical and imperial reactions to Montanism /
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During the four centuries of its existence (ca. 165-550), Montanism, an early-Christian prophetic movement, stirred up considerable controversy. Known to its adherents as the 'New Prophecy,' its opponents viewed it as a ' fake prophecy' with 'polluted sacraments.' Accused of introducing novelty and heresy into Christianity. Montanism, in the post-Constantinian era, was also persecuted by Christian emperors. This book identifies all known opponents of Montanism, analyzes and classifies the various charges leveled against Montanism, and describes the methods used to counteract and ultimately destroy the movement. Also described are the ways in which the Montanists reacted to the opposition against them, revealing that the picture painted of the New Prophecy by its opponents was grossly distorted. Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments provides an insightful case-study of the treatment of a minority Christian movement by Church and State both before and after 'catholic' Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
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1 online resource (xxxvii, 485 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 425-444) and indexes. :
9789047421313 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The ideal of the self-governing church : a study in Victorian missionary strategy /
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It is part of current missiological orthodoxy that newly created churches should obtain independence from cross-cultural missionaries as soon as possible. It is not often realised that much Victorian missionary thinking shared that objective. This important new work examines the ideal of the self-governing church in the Victorian period through a study of the official mind of the Church Missionary Society. The study begins with an examination of Henry Venn's, the famous CMS Secretary, commitment to self-supporting, self-propagating and self-governing churches. Was he a lonely figure battling against the accepted wisdom of the mid-Victorian period? The author argues that he was not, and was, if anything a slightly conservative spokesman for much current wisdom. Far from his views being abandoned at his death, they were the accepted orthodoxy within CMS until the end of the century. Although they came under increasing attack in the nineties, it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century, particularly under the influence of Eugune Stock, that they were finally abandoned. The importance of this study lies not only in its ability to explain Victorian missionary development, but also because it takes on board the age-old issue of how quickly should a church become self-governing.
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1 online resource (xv, 293 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-284) and index. :
9789004319837 :
0924-9389 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.