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. |
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Page 4
... perhaps more interesting as a result. 3 H. J. Kim 2009, 24 and passim. See further below. 4 Based on a paper presented a year earlier in Berlin at the International Congress for Historical Studies, “Über die Entwicklung der griechischen ...
... perhaps more interesting as a result. 3 H. J. Kim 2009, 24 and passim. See further below. 4 Based on a paper presented a year earlier in Berlin at the International Congress for Historical Studies, “Über die Entwicklung der griechischen ...
Page 7
... perhaps ancient ethnography as a whole are a little more “modern” than we thought, the nature and origins of early ethnographic enquiry have yet to be explored in any detail.21 Herodotus has certainly been very much in vogue of late ...
... perhaps ancient ethnography as a whole are a little more “modern” than we thought, the nature and origins of early ethnographic enquiry have yet to be explored in any detail.21 Herodotus has certainly been very much in vogue of late ...
Page 15
... Perhaps one of the most celebrated (and intriguing) “snapshots" indicative of both wider interests in identity and difference and the systems of knowledge and understanding through which they found expression can be found in a ...
... Perhaps one of the most celebrated (and intriguing) “snapshots" indicative of both wider interests in identity and difference and the systems of knowledge and understanding through which they found expression can be found in a ...
Page 16
... perhaps even to 54 On Pindar: Rutherford 2001, 388 explicitly disagrees with Heinimann (Heinimann 1945, 71ff.) that such statements should not be seen in the context of a doctrine of relativity: “Prima facie, this is a statement of a ...
... perhaps even to 54 On Pindar: Rutherford 2001, 388 explicitly disagrees with Heinimann (Heinimann 1945, 71ff.) that such statements should not be seen in the context of a doctrine of relativity: “Prima facie, this is a statement of a ...
Page 17
... perhaps their overall coherent similarity in relation to the varied and distinct identities of non-Greeks” (author's italics). see. When divorced from the material evidence, questions of practice ethnography before ethnography | 17.
... perhaps their overall coherent similarity in relation to the varied and distinct identities of non-Greeks” (author's italics). see. When divorced from the material evidence, questions of practice ethnography before ethnography | 17.
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 |
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The Invention of Greek Ethnography: From Homer to Herodotus Joseph E. Skinner No preview available - 2012 |
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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