The Invention of Greek Ethnography: From Homer to HerodotusGreek ethnography is commonly believed to have developed in conjunction with the wider sense of Greek identity that emerged during the Greeks' "encounter with the barbarian"--Achaemenid Persia--during the late sixth to early fifth centuries BC. The dramatic nature of this meeting, it was thought, caused previous imaginings to crystallise into the diametric opposition between "Hellene" and "barbarian" that would ultimately give rise to ethnographic prose. The Invention of Greek Ethnography challenges the legitimacy of this conventional narrative. Drawing on recent advances in ethnographic and cultural studies and in the material culture-based analyses of the Ancient Mediterranean, Joseph Skinner argues that ethnographic discourse was already ubiquitous throughout the archaic Greek world, not only in the form of texts but also in a wide range of iconographic and archaeological materials. As such, it can be differentiated both on the margins of the Greek world, like in Olbia and Calabria and in its imagined centers, such as Delphi and Olympia. The reconstruction of this "ethnography before ethnography" demonstrates that discourses of identity and difference played a vital role in defining what it meant to be Greek in the first place long before the fifth century BC. The development of ethnographic writing and historiography are shown to be rooted in this wider process of "positioning" that was continually unfurling across time, as groups and individuals scattered the length and breadth of the Mediterranean world sought to locate themselves in relation to the narratives of the past. This shift in perspective provided by The Invention of Greek Ethnography has significant implications for current understanding of the means by which a sense of Greek identity came into being, the manner in which early discourses of identity and difference should be conceptualized, and the way in which so-called "Great Historiography," or narrative history, should ultimately be interpreted. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 89
Page v
... Identity 19 1.5 Structuring Discourse, Inventing Genre: Felix Jacoby and Greek Ethnography 30 1.6 Ethnography and Identity 34 1.7 Polarities Deconstructed 44 1.8 Setting Sail: Homeric Paradigms and the Economies of Knowledge 49 CHAPTER ...
... Identity 19 1.5 Structuring Discourse, Inventing Genre: Felix Jacoby and Greek Ethnography 30 1.6 Ethnography and Identity 34 1.7 Polarities Deconstructed 44 1.8 Setting Sail: Homeric Paradigms and the Economies of Knowledge 49 CHAPTER ...
Page vi
... Identities in Southern Calabria: An Archaeology of discourse 175 4.2.1 Framing the Argument: Contact, Interaction, and Systems of Exchange 177 4.2.2 Landscape and Identity in Southern Calabria 178 4.2.3 Materials in Circulation, Ideas ...
... Identities in Southern Calabria: An Archaeology of discourse 175 4.2.1 Framing the Argument: Contact, Interaction, and Systems of Exchange 177 4.2.2 Landscape and Identity in Southern Calabria 178 4.2.3 Materials in Circulation, Ideas ...
Page vii
... Identities, Intercultural Contact, and Receptions of “Difference” 222 The Invention of Greek Ethnography 233 Ethnography and Identity, from Homer to Herodotus 237 Inventing the Greek 249 Ancient Ethnography: Future Directions, New ...
... Identities, Intercultural Contact, and Receptions of “Difference” 222 The Invention of Greek Ethnography 233 Ethnography and Identity, from Homer to Herodotus 237 Inventing the Greek 249 Ancient Ethnography: Future Directions, New ...
Page 3
... identity from which they took their cue. This collective sense of identity is generally thought to have remained hazy and loosely organized until the fifth-century war with Persia whereupon it rapidly crystallized into a diametric ...
... identity from which they took their cue. This collective sense of identity is generally thought to have remained hazy and loosely organized until the fifth-century war with Persia whereupon it rapidly crystallized into a diametric ...
Page 4
... identities—and therefore ethnographies—as separate and distinct, possesses a dubious perspicuity.6 Did the explosion of ... identity?8 How should the textualization of ethnographic knowledge be interpreted in the light of a vast array of ...
... identities—and therefore ethnographies—as separate and distinct, possesses a dubious perspicuity.6 Did the explosion of ... identity?8 How should the textualization of ethnographic knowledge be interpreted in the light of a vast array of ...
Contents
3 | |
CHAPTER 2 Populating the Imaginaire | 59 |
CHAPTER 3 Mapping Ethnography | 111 |
CHAPTER 4 Mapping Identities | 151 |
CHAPTER 5 The Invention of Greek Ethnography | 233 |
Abbreviations | 259 |
Bibliography | 263 |
Index | 327 |
Other editions - View all
The Invention of Greek Ethnography: From Homer to Herodotus Joseph E. Skinner No preview available - 2012 |
Common terms and phrases
activity ancient appear approach Archaic argued argument associated Athens attempt attributed authors barbarian Cambridge century b.c. chapter Classical coins concepts concerning constructed context cult cultural Cyrene dating defined depicted described detailed difference discourse discussion early effectively emergence engagement entirely equally ethnic ethnographic evidence example extent fact fifth century figure foreign further Greek groups Hall Hellenic Herodotus Homeric ideas identity images imagined important indicative individuals interest interpreted Italy knowledge lands largely least linked Malkin manner material matter means Mediterranean myth narrative nature objects Olbia origins Oxford particular perhaps period Persian played political populations practice prose questions range recent references reflect regarding region relating remains represent result role sanctuaries Scythian sense significant sixth social society suggests thought tion trade traditions University Press variety various widely wider