Near Eastern Echoes in Iliad 16.33–35

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Apostolia Alepidou
Keyword(s):  
Common Theme ◽  
Near Eastern

Abstract This article reexamines Patroclus’s famous comment on Achilles’s cruelty in which the sea and the rocks take up the role of the latter’s parents (Iliad 16.33–35). The verses reflect Near Eastern myths about the birth of menacing creatures from the sea and the rocks and are particularly associated with the Song of Hedammu and the Song of Ullikummi of the Hurro-Hittite tradition. Thematic, mythological, and dictional parallels among these texts are discussed in order to explore the existence of a common theme with specific connotations in the broader region of West Asia.

Archaic lists, writing and mind

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-504
Author(s):  
Rita Watson
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Near Eastern

Theories of writing and mind have proposed that the uses of literacy give rise to a distinct repertoire of cognitive skills, attitudes, and concepts. This paper reconsiders the earliest lexical lists of the Ancient Near East as one type of evidence on writing and mind. Past and present conceptions of the lists are briefly reviewed. Early views cast the lists as reflecting a Sumerian mentality or a uniquely literate mode of thought, while recent accounts suggest they may simply be routine scribal exercises. A view from the philosophy of science, on which lists are considered a sub-type of ordering system, suggests a way of aligning a scribal practice account with aspects of earlier views by articulating the nature of list entries and the intentions of the list makers. On this account, the Ancient Near Eastern lists can be seen both as uniquely literate and as uniquely informative on the role of writing in mind.

Qur'an and History – a Disputed Relationship. Some Reflections on Qur'anic History and History in the Qur'an

2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelika Neuwirth
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Transmission Of Knowledge ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Textual History ◽  
Circular Argument ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between Qur'an and history is disputed in more than one respect. The Qur'an as a canonical scripture locates itself beyond history. In most current critical scholarship the pre-canonical Qur'an – regarded as no longer reconstructable – is equally discarded. There have been some attempts, however, to restore to the Qur'an a textual history. 28 years after Günter Lüling, Cristoph Luxenberg has renewed the hypothesis of a linguistically and spiritually Syriac–Christian imprinted pre-canonical text. Luxenberg's reading with its far-reaching conclusions has – though in itself little convincing since largely relying on circular argument – revived the debate about the role of Syriac, as the most vigorous linguistic medium in the transmission of knowledge in Near Eastern late Antiquity, in the emergence of the Qur'an. The present paper advocates a search for historical evidence in the text itself trying to show that the complex relationship between Qur'an and history cannot be tackled appropriately without a micro-structural reading of the Qur'an itself. The history of the Qur'an does not start with canonisation but is inherent in the text itself, where not only contents but also form and structure can be read as traces of a historical process.

scholarly journals NEGOTIATION AND INCORPORATION ON THE MARGINS OF WORLD-SYSTEMS:EXAMPLES FROM CYPRUS AND NORTH AMERICA

2007 ◽  
pp. 55-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Kardulias
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Biological Analogy

As originally formulated, the world-systems model postulated a relationship in which core states exploited peripheries for raw materials and made the latter into dependent satellites. This approach views indigenous people in peripheries as passive recipients at the mercy of political and economic forces beyond their control. While in many cases the impetus for change was from cores to peripheries, there were certainly instances in which the margins actively (and occasionally successfully) resisted incorporation. At times, they also had the ability to select the precise form of their incorporation. While in many cases this did not alter the consequences for indigenous people, there were occasions when natives not only reacted successfully, but also outlined the terms of the encounter. This is a process that I call negotiated peripherality. Underlying this perspective is a biological analogy: just as biological populations experience the greatest change at the borders of their territories where the effects of gene flow are felt first and most dramatically, so too do cultural changes occur at an accelerated rate in contact zones. This paper explores the nature of negotiated change through two case studies. The archaeological example examines how ancient inhabitants of Cyprus selectively adopted features from the Near Eastern and Greek cultures for whose worldsystems the island served as a marginal periphery. The second example is anethnohistoric study of how Native Americans managed the terms of their involvement in the fur trade with Europeans. Both cases demonstrate the active role of peripheral people as decision-makers.

scholarly journals Understanding the concept of "time" in Daniel

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
P.M. Venter
Keyword(s):  
Near Eastern ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Western Concept ◽  
Book Of Daniel

The temporal axis of apocalypses has always invited a wide range of interpretations. Not only dispensational schemes since the Christian era, but especially contemporary mass suicides arising from activist millennialism, points to the role of the conceptualization of time in eschatology. Mbiti's African concept of time as well as Malina's description of Mediterranean time indicate an alternative matrix for understanding time in the book of Daniel. An investigation into commentaries on Daniel shows that commentators are rather using a Western concept of time than an ancient Near Eastern concept. The need for reorientation in the time concept for studying the apocalyptic materials of Daniel is indicated.

scholarly journals All Choice is Political

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Doerfler ◽  
Shawkat Toorawa
Keyword(s):  
Arabic Literature ◽  
Yale University ◽  
International Crisis ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

Shawkat M. Toorawa serves as Professor of Arabic Literature and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University. In this conversation he reflects on his decades-long experience as a teacher and administrator in the U.S. and abroad; the role of politics in classroom and curriculum; and the impact of race, religion, and international crisis on pedagogical engagement.

scholarly journals EDITORIAL

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. v-vii
Author(s):  
Sayyid M. Syeed
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Indiana University ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Aims Of Science ◽  
The People ◽  
Massive Scale ◽  
Muslim Intellectuals ◽  
Islamic Civilization

We report with great sadness the death of Victor Danner, a friend ofIslam and Muslims, a graduate of Georgetown and Harvard, and Chairmanof the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University,BloomingtOn, Indiana. Darner's latest publication was The Islamic Traditiontion: An Introduction. W have been inviting Muslim anti non-Mush scholarsfrom time to time to present their responses to the International Instituteof Islamic Thought’s caIl for the Islamization of Knowledge. So far, we havebeen very lucky to have had the opportunity to listen to the late Fazlur Rahman,Sayyed H. Nasr, Abdulaziz Sachedina and others who joined this debateat the IIIT headquarters. Some of these responses have been published invarious issues of AJISS.Victor Danner treated us to his response on May 15, 1989, when hepresented his paper, which appears in this issue under the title of “WesternEvolutionism in the Muslim World,” at the IIIT headquarters. In this article,he launches an eloquent plea for the rediscovery and reexploration of thevarious schools of thought in Islam and their subsequent adaptation to theneeds and circumstances faced by contemporary Muslims. He reminds usthat past attempts at reform by Muslim intellectuals were based on a readaptationof the traditional techniques of Islam which, when presented in a freshmanner as a solution to the needs faced by their own contemporaries, gavethe doctrine of tawhid “a powerful radiance that had a convincing allure toit.” This is followed by an examination of the origins of evolutionary thinkingin the West, how its eventual acceptance and spread throughout the Westultimately displaced Christian beliefs and institutions on a massive scale,and how the resulting secular civiIization produced by it is threatening tosweep aside and destroy traditional Islamic civilization. In closing, he stateshis hope that a better understanding of this phenomenon among the Muslimintelligentsia and the people at large will cause them to wake up to this dangerand begin to work for the preservation of the ”traditional culture of Islam.”Our first article in this issue is by Imaduddin Khalil, and addresses theQur’an’s relationship vis-his modem science. After ruling out the Qur’anas a book or textbook of scientific knowledge, he proceeds to discuss thephilosophy and aims of science and the basic principles of Islam. He beginswith the role of humanity on earth as the khaEfuh of Allah, moves on tothe principles of tawazun (balance) and taskhir (an Islamic concept statingthat the world and nature have been made subservient to humanity), andcloses with the principle of a link between creation and the Creator. Khalilviews the Qur’anic methodology as being a “methodology of discovery” of ...

Extispicy in Classical and Near Eastern Society

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Gill
Keyword(s):  
Peace Treaty ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Practical Examination ◽  
To Receive

Liver consultation was a practice in which the liver of an animal would be examined in order to receive messages from the gods. Ancient peoples would often perform this type of ritual before important decisions, such as committing to war, or signing a peace treaty. Throughout this paper, I examine three different systems of liver consultation from antiquity in chronological order—beginning with Babylonian extispicy since it is the most ancient, then moving to Greek hepatoscopy, and finishing with Etruscan haruspicy. As the names of these systems of liver consultation are different (extispicy, hepatoscopy, and haruspicy), so too are the practices of each culture. In order to highlight these differences, I analyse five aspects of each civilization: 1) Their religion, and the place of liver consultation within it, 2) The priests or diviners who performed the consultation, 3) The visual sources and material remains relating to liver divination, 4) The ancient literary accounts about this practice, and 5) The system utilized by the diviners in order to read livers. In an attempt to reconstruct the work of ancient diviners, I have undertaken a practical examination of sheep livers in the Babylonian, Greek, and Etruscan methods. I examined five sheep livers, each in all three methods, in order to determine the extent that divinatory procedure altered the message of the liver to the respective diviners. I conclude my paper by comparing the findings about each culture and relating my experience in the role of the diviner.

Animals that Live in the Mirror: On Colonial Bestiaries and Interspecies Architecture

Public ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (59) ◽  
pp. 26-35
Author(s):  
Christopher Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Modern Architecture ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
Concerted Effort ◽  
Willful Ignorance ◽  
Interspecies Communication ◽  
New Development ◽  
Good For ◽  
Living Area

In 1934 Berthold Lubetkin unveiled a new development designed for a peculiar client and located in a curious place. Lubetkin’s “The Penguin Pool” was the second building that he had built in as many years for the London Zoo and it was meant to house the zoo’s newest acquisition of Antarctic penguins. The Penguin Pool was well received amongst architectural critics and the popular press alike and, as a relatively small concrete oval sunk into the ground with two elevated paths extending from the walls (Fig. 1), it represented a particular modernist ideal of visuality. At the same time though, what’s good for viewing subjects may not necessarily be good for the subjects themselves. And what’s good for people may not necessarily be good for penguins. The pool, designed for the eyes of the human spectator, resulted in a lengthy and list of problems for the penguins. Even that most modernist choice of materials – the decision to form the entire living area out of concrete – proved harmful as many of the penguins developed aching joints from having to walk on the hard surface.In taking this architectural episode as one that is emblematic of the broader role of the animal in modern architecture, this article explores the curious relationship between animal, human and environment. Specifically, it argues that the construction choices of Lubetkin’s pool make visible a common theme that extends across all of modern architecture: a willful ignorance of, or a concerted effort to control, biological life. Through an analysis of three related objects: the Penguin Pool, an archive of Le Corbusier’s sketches of animals, writings about his experiences in Algeria and hybridized creatures, and the artist Dan Graham’s installations, My Two-Way Mirror Pavilions, this work draws together these attempts to control biological life with colonial discourses on the animality of the colonial subject and on Neo-Darwinist ideas of natural hierarchy. By exploring these discourses as they are related to an imagined incommensurability and stratification of species, this article highlight the discursive constructs that work against shared, communal, and engaging multi species environments. And against these discursive forces, this work closes with a rereading of both interspecies communication and evolutionary agency by pushing against arguments of interspecies incommensurability and focusing on instead on a call to reconsider the environment as a totality of shared, interspecies, experiences.

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