Constructions of Greek Past

Constructions of Greek Past PDF Author: Hero Hokwerda
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004495460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
In May 1999, a second conference of Hellenists (of all periods and subject areas) from the Dutch-speaking countries was organized in Groningen. The theme of this second conference was ‘Constructions of Greek Past. Identity and Historical Consciousness from Antiquity to the Present.’ The conference theme was described as follows: When seeking to establish its own identity, a culture (country, people, nation) readily resorts to its own history, which it uses either as an example or as something to react against. In recent years there has been a growing awareness that this process often reveals more about a culture in the present day than the historical era to which it harks back: its own identity, and thus its own history, are ‘constructed’ in this way. The constructional approach is usually applied to the birth of new nation states and the development of their national ideologies, particularly in the nineteenth century. But it can be applied more broadly too. Greek culture is an excellent subject area for studying this phenomenon even further back in history, precisely because its history is so long and included several ‘Golden Ages’ to which later periods could (and can) hark back. Greek culture still presents itself as a product of Ancient Greek and/or Byzantine culture. However, the problem of continuity in Greek culture has frequently manifested itself, particularly during periods of radical political, ideological or demographic change. The Homeric influence on the Mycenaean world is therefore also an aspect of this phenomenon. The Homeric world served as an example for later periods, as did the Attic period for the Greeks in the Hellenistic-Roman age. The tensions between the Hellenistic and Roman character of the Greek world had a strong influence on the shaping of the Greek identity during late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Those tensions still exist today (ellenismós/ellenikótita v. romiosyni). The theme was designed to bring together Hellenists of all periods and disciplines (literature, language, history, archaeology, ecclesiastical history, sociology etc.) relating to the Greek world. The colloquium sessions were held in Dutch, but the papers are published in English (two in French).

Constructions of Greek Past

Constructions of Greek Past PDF Author: Hero Hokwerda
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004495460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
In May 1999, a second conference of Hellenists (of all periods and subject areas) from the Dutch-speaking countries was organized in Groningen. The theme of this second conference was ‘Constructions of Greek Past. Identity and Historical Consciousness from Antiquity to the Present.’ The conference theme was described as follows: When seeking to establish its own identity, a culture (country, people, nation) readily resorts to its own history, which it uses either as an example or as something to react against. In recent years there has been a growing awareness that this process often reveals more about a culture in the present day than the historical era to which it harks back: its own identity, and thus its own history, are ‘constructed’ in this way. The constructional approach is usually applied to the birth of new nation states and the development of their national ideologies, particularly in the nineteenth century. But it can be applied more broadly too. Greek culture is an excellent subject area for studying this phenomenon even further back in history, precisely because its history is so long and included several ‘Golden Ages’ to which later periods could (and can) hark back. Greek culture still presents itself as a product of Ancient Greek and/or Byzantine culture. However, the problem of continuity in Greek culture has frequently manifested itself, particularly during periods of radical political, ideological or demographic change. The Homeric influence on the Mycenaean world is therefore also an aspect of this phenomenon. The Homeric world served as an example for later periods, as did the Attic period for the Greeks in the Hellenistic-Roman age. The tensions between the Hellenistic and Roman character of the Greek world had a strong influence on the shaping of the Greek identity during late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Those tensions still exist today (ellenismós/ellenikótita v. romiosyni). The theme was designed to bring together Hellenists of all periods and disciplines (literature, language, history, archaeology, ecclesiastical history, sociology etc.) relating to the Greek world. The colloquium sessions were held in Dutch, but the papers are published in English (two in French).

Choral Constructions in Greek Culture

Choral Constructions in Greek Culture PDF Author: Deborah Tarn Steiner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108916147
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 785

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Book Description
Why did the Greeks of the archaic and early Classical period join in choruses that sang and danced on public and private occasions? This book offers a wide-ranging exploration of representations of chorality in the poetry, art and material remains of early Greece in order to demonstrate the centrality of the activity in the social, religious and technological practices of individuals and communities. Moving from a consideration of choral archetypes, among them cauldrons, columns, Gorgons, ships and halcyons, the discussion then turns to an investigation of how participation in choral song and dance shaped communal experience and interacted with a variety of disparate spheres that include weaving, cataloguing, temple architecture and inscribing. The study ends with a treatment of the role of choral activity in generating epiphanies and allowing viewers and participants access to realms that typically lie beyond their perception.

Classical Greek Architecture

Classical Greek Architecture PDF Author: Alexander Tzonis
Publisher: Flammarion-Pere Castor
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
"Classical Greek Architecture is a definitive account of classical architecture, its influences, and its significance for the structures of today from leading scholar Alexander Tzonis. The work contains a wealth of contemporary and vintage photographs from major archives that, together with numerous line drawings of the monuments and sites of Ancient Greece, provide a breath-taking introduction to visual thinking and architectural culture".--BOOKJACKET.

Greek and Roman Calendars

Greek and Roman Calendars PDF Author: Robert Hannah
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1849667519
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
The smooth functioning of an ordered society depends on the possession of a means of regularising its activities over time. That means is a calendar, and its regularity is a function of how well it models the more or less regular movements of the celestial bodies - of the moon, the sun or the stars. Greek and Roman Calendars examines the ancient calendar as just such a time-piece, whose elements are readily described in astronomical and mathematical terms. The story of these calendars is one of a continuous struggle to maintain a correspondence with the regularity of the seasons and the sun, despite the fact that the calendars were usually based on the irregular moon. But on another, more human level, Greek and Roman Calendars steps beyond the merely mathematical and studies the calendar as a social instrument, which people used to organise their activities. It sets the calendars of the Greeks and Romans on a stage occupied by real people, who developed and lived with these time-pieces for a variety of purposes - agricultural, religious, political and economic.This is also a story of intersecting cultures, of Greeks with Greeks, of Greeks with Persians and Egyptians, and of Greeks with Romans, in which various calendaric traditions clashed or compromised.

Not the Classical Ideal

Not the Classical Ideal PDF Author: Beth Cohen
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004493743
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 575

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Book Description
A vision of reality in which a pre-eminent human type was defined in opposition to non-ideal 'Others' characterized ancient Greece. In democratic Athens the social structure privileged male citizens, and women, resident aliens, and slaves were marginalized. The Persian Wars polarized the opposition of Greeks and Barbarians. This anthology provides the first investigation of the delineation of otherness across a broad spectrum of the imagery of Greek art. An international cast of authors, with methodologies ranging from traditional to avant-garde, examines manifestations of the Other in Late Archaic and Classical Greek representations that particularly interest them. The 17 chapters develop a nuanced picture of the visual criteria that denoted otherness in regard to gender, class, and ethnicity and also reveal the social and political functions of this remarkable Greek imagery. Also available in paperback (ISBN 9789004117129)

Archaeologies of the Greek Past

Archaeologies of the Greek Past PDF Author: Susan E. Alcock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521890007
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This 2002 book explores social memory in the ancient Greek world using the evidence of landscapes and monuments.

Fabrications of the Greek Past: Religion, Tradition, and the Making of Modern Identities

Fabrications of the Greek Past: Religion, Tradition, and the Making of Modern Identities PDF Author: Vaia Touna
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004348611
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Taking seriously critiques of historiography produced in recent decades, Vaia Touna advocates for an alternative approach to the way the past is studied. From Euripides’ tragedy Hippolytus, to the notion of voluntary associations in the Greco-Roman world, to the authenticity of traditional villages in Greece, Fabrications of the Greek Past argues that meanings (and thus identities) do not transcend time and space, and neither do they hide deep in the core of material artifacts, awaiting to be discovered by the careful interpreter. Instead, this book demonstrates that meanings are always relative to their present-day context; they are historical products created by social actors through their ever-contemporary acts of identification. ---- "By disturbing the notion of an easily knowable Greek past, Touna makes an invaluable contribution to critical scholarship regarding ancient cultures and to contemporary theory about ideological uses of history." - Naomi Goldenberg, University of Ottawa "From an insider to Greek tradition, expert in its modern appropriations and translations, Fabrications is an important stimulus to metatheory and self-reflexivity in the study of religion, ancient and contemporary." - Gerhard van den Heever, University of South Africa "Vaia Touna expertly dissects modern discourses on the past, arguing that our contemporary interests don't just color our accounts of the past, they constitute them. A fantastic book." - Brent Nongbri, author of Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept

A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200-479 BCE

A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200-479 BCE PDF Author: Jonathan M. Hall
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118301277
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
A History of the Archaic Greek World offers a theme-based approach to the development of the Greek world in the years 1200-479 BCE. Updated and extended in this edition to include two new sections, expanded geographical coverage, a guide to electronic resources, and more illustrations Takes a critical and analytical look at evidence about the history of the archaic Greek World Involves the reader in the practice of history by questioning and reevaluating conventional beliefs Casts new light on traditional themes such as the rise of the city-state, citizen militias, and the origins of egalitarianism Provides a wealth of archaeological evidence, in a number of different specialties, including ceramics, architecture, and mortuary studies

Ancient Greek Architects at Work

Ancient Greek Architects at Work PDF Author: J. J. Coulton
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801492341
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Taking an unusual approach to his subject, J. J. Coulton examines ancient Greek architecture from the point of view of the practicing architects. He discusses their ideas and technical achievements from the early seventh century B.C. to the first century B.C. Drawing on surviving written evidence from antiquity as well as on the evidence of the buildings themselves, Mr. Coulton provides answers to such questions as: What must it have been like to build a Greek temple? Who did the building? What training was required? How did the Greeks begin? What problems did they face? The first chapter considers the relations of architects to patrons and clients and the role of architects in ancient society generally. Subsequent chapters explore a series of architectural problems and their solutions. In his final chapter Mr. Coulton assesses the architects' techniques and their contributions to structural design, evaluating their theoretical knowledge of mechanics and their practical understanding of structural concepts. Generously illustrated and lucidly written, this volume will appeal to all who are interested in architecture, architectural history, and archaeology.

Flavian Poetry and its Greek Past

Flavian Poetry and its Greek Past PDF Author: Antonios Augoustakis
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004266496
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 475

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Book Description
Flavian Poetry and its Greek Past breaks new ground by investigating the close interaction between Flavian poetry and Greek literary tradition and by evaluating the meaning of this affiliation in the socio-political and cultural context of the late first century CE. Authors examined include Martial, Silius Italicus, Statius, and Valerius Flaccus. Their interaction with Greek literature is not just thematic or geographical: the Greek literary past is conceived as the poetic influence of a variety of authors, periods, and genres, such as Homer, the Cyclic tradition, Greek lyric poetry, Greek tragedy, Hellenistic poetry and aesthetics, and Greek historiography.