Ancient World, The: Readings in Social and Cultural History

by Nagle, D. Brendan; Burstein, Stanley M.

• ISBN13: 9780131930407
• ISBN10: 0131930400
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

This collection of scholarly readings focuses on the social and cultural history of the Ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome, and is designed to encourage readers to examine issues pertaining to a broad range of themes by analyzing selections from history.Covering a wide variety of social and cultural concernsranging from marriage, family, war, and religion, to political culture, slavery and entertainmentthe selected readings are arranged by subject within a general chronological framework, providing a broad overview of life in the Ancient World. This volume is the companion reader to Nagle'sThe Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History, 6/e.A must-have collection of readings for anyone interested in ancient culture, history, and civilization.

Table of Contents

Preface	xii
Temples and Priests	1	(25)
Flood Stories	2	(4)
The Flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh	3	(2)
The Flood in Genesis	5	(1)
Divinity and Its Limitations	6	(2)
The Gods in Their Temples: A Sacred Marriage Drama	8	(2)
Sacred Prostitution	10	(1)
Covenant and Consequences	10	(3)
Hear O Israel! The Shema	11	(1)
The Covenant as a Marriage Contract: Hosea	11	(2)
The Call of the Prophet	13	(1)
Prophets and Palaces: Jeremiah Confronts the King	14	(2)
``I Will Be with Him in Trouble'': Personal Religion and Piety	16	(1)
Empire, Exile, and Monotheism	17	(5)
The Great Hymn to the Aten	18	(3)
Yahweh: The Lord of History	21	(1)
Tombs and Immortality	22	(4)
Book Writing: A New Form of Immortality	22	(2)
Caught in the Act: Ancient Egyptian Tomb Robbers	24	(2)
Palaces and Kings	26	(22)
Loyalty to the King: The Egyptian Theory of Government	27	(1)
But If Pharaoh Fails...?	28	(1)
Women in Power	29	(3)
Ku Baba	29	(1)
Zakutu, Wife of Sennacherib	29	(1)
Jezebel	29	(2)
Athaliah	31	(1)
A Critique of Kingship: The Negative View of Samuel	32	(1)
War and Warfare	33	(6)
Sumerian Intercity Wars: Umma versus Lagash	33	(1)
Sargon of Akkad: The Idea of Empire	34	(1)
Egyptian Imperialism and Terror	35	(1)
Assyrian Use of Terror	36	(1)
The Fall of Jerusalem	37	(1)
The Horrors of Siege	38	(1)
POWs and MIAs	38	(1)
``A Palace of Cedar, Cypress, Juniper ... and Tamarisk'': Builders as Well as Destroyers	39	(1)
An Imperial Coup D'etat: The Behistun Inscription of Darius I	40	(2)
``That the Strong Might Not Oppress the Weak, and That They Should Give Justice to Orphans and Widows''	42	(6)
Hammurapi's Justice	42	(1)
``To Fill the Vast Land with a Plenitude of Food and Lasting Happiness: The Characteristics of a Perfect Kingship''	43	(1)
The Justice of the Pharaoh	44	(1)
``They Carry the Sheaves, but Still Go Hungry; They Tread the Winepresses, yet Suffer Thirst''	44	(2)
A Model Persian Governor: Cyrus the Younger (ca. 400 B.C.)	46	(2)
Daily Life	48	(14)
Marriage and Property	49	(1)
Marriage and Children	50	(1)
Laws Regarding Sex	51	(1)
Disputes, Litigation, Punishment	52	(2)
Runaway Slaves	52	(1)
Crime and Punishment	52	(1)
Conducting Business	52	(1)
Negligence	53	(1)
Debt	53	(1)
Papyrus Lansing: A Bureaucrat's View of Life	54	(2)
``Wash and Perfume Yourself and Put on Your Best Clothes''	56	(6)
The Origin and Spread of the Polis System	62	(17)
A Greek Definition of the Polis	63	(2)
Greek Life in the Eighth Century B.C. 1: ``The Shield of Achilles''	65	(2)
Greek Life in the Eighth Century B.C. 2: Hesiod's Works and Days	67	(6)
Colonization and the Expansion of the Polis System: The Case of Cyrene	73	(3)
Herodotus' Account	73	(2)
Oath of the Colonists	75	(1)
Greeks and Non-Greeks in the Greek Colonies: The Foundation of Lampsacus	76	(1)
Greeks and Scythians in the Black Sea: Coexistence and Interaction	77	(2)
Warfare and the Polis	79	(18)
The Aristocratic Warrior	80	(1)
The Warrior Ideal	81	(1)
The Warrior and Society: The Drinking Song of Hybrias	81	(1)
The Hoplite Revolution and the Citizen Soldier	81	(4)
The Reality of Battle	82	(1)
A Good Citizen: Tellus of Athens	82	(2)
Only Farmers Can Be Good Citizens	84	(1)
The Hoplite Polis: Sparta	85	(6)
Heroic Athletics: The Chariot Race at Patroclus' Funeral Games	91	(3)
An Athletic Dynasty: The Diagorids of Rhodes	94	(2)
Athletics and the Polis: A Philosophical Critique	96	(1)
The Crisis of the Archaic Polis	97	(13)
Aspects of Aristocratic Life at Its Peak	98	(2)
A Fine Symposium: Xenophanes	98	(1)
The Life of an Aristocrat: Alcaeus	99	(1)
When You Are ``Repulsive to Boys and a Laughingstock to Women'': Mimnermus on Old Age	99	(1)
A Woman's View of Aristocratic Life: Sappho's ``To Anactoria''	99	(1)
The Crisis of the Aristocracy 1: The Laments of Theognis	100	(1)
Portrait of a Vulgar Upstart: Anacreon	101	(1)
The Crisis of the Aristocracy 2: Corinth	101	(5)
The Crisis of the Aristocracy 3: Athens	106	(4)
Husbands, Wives, and Slaves: The Domestic Foundations of the Polis	110	(17)
The Education of a Wife	112	(2)
The Short Sad Life of a Good Woman: The Epitaph of Sokratea of Paros	114	(1)
If Only We Could Reproduce Without Women...!	115	(3)
Slaves: The Best and Most Necessary of Possessions	118	(1)
``We Have Mistresses for Our Pleasure'': Sex and Slavery in the Oikos	119	(1)
Freedom and Its Problems: The Life of Neaera	120	(4)
How To Become a Slave: Be in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time	124	(1)
The Slave Trade: A Eunuch's Revenge	125	(2)
Empire and Democracy: The Classical Polis	127	(35)
The Golden Age: A Greek View	128	(1)
The Persian Empire and the Greek Worldview	129	(2)
Greeks Are Newcomers Compared to the Egyptians	130	(1)
All Customs Are Relative	131	(1)
The Athenian Empire: Origins and Structure	131	(1)
Imperial Democracy: A Critical View	132	(6)
Athens and Her Subjects: The Case of Erythrae	138	(1)
Imperial Democracy: A Favorable View---Pericles' Funeral Oration (Selections)	139	(3)
The Plague at Athens (430--429 B.C.)	142	(3)
War and Politics: The Case of Corcyra	145	(3)
``War is a Hard Master'': The Melian Dialogue	148	(5)
Religion in the Classical Polis: The Affair of the Herms	153	(2)
The Demos Must Be Pure: Athenian Law on Teachers and Their Students	155	(2)
Defeat and Hard Times: Athens After the Peloponnesian War	157	(3)
Personal Religion in Classical Greece: The Case of Xenophon	160	(2)
The Hellenistic Age	162	(27)
Alexander the Great: Two Contrasting Views	163	(3)
An Idealistic View	163	(3)
A Jaundiced View of Alexander's Conquests and Their Results	166	(1)
Alexandria and the Colonial World of Hellenistic Egypt	166	(6)
A Hellenistic Metropolis: Alexandria in Egypt	167	(1)
Middle-Class Life in Hellenistic Alexandria	167	(3)
``Take Particular Care That No Fraud Occur'': The Ideal of Honest and Efficient Administration	170	(1)
Administrative Oppression in Ptolemaic Egypt: The Amnesty of 118 B.C.	171	(1)
Culture Contact, Culture Clash: Religion and Society in the Hellenistic World	172	(7)
The Origin of Sarapis	173	(1)
The Praises of Isis, Mistress of the Universe and Creator of Civilization	174	(1)
How Sarapis Came to Delos: The Family of Apollonios, Priest of Sarapis	175	(1)
Culture Clash: Jewish Resistance to Hellenism and the Origins of Hanukkah	176	(3)
Jewish Life in the Diaspora: The Synagogue	179	(1)
The Synagogue of Alexandria	179	(1)
Moses Ordains the Sabbath Ritual	180	(1)
``Ptolemy is a Good Paymaster'': Opportunities and Social Roles in the Hellenistic Period	180	(9)
An Athenian Boy Makes Good: The Life of Kallias, Ptolemaic Governor of Halicarnassus (Athens, 270--269 B.C.)	181	(1)
The Dangerous Life of a Soldier of Fortune	182	(2)
Recommendation for a Government Job (Egypt, 255 B.C.)	184	(1)
A Woman in Politics: Phyle, Wife of Thessalos (Priene, First Century B.C.)	184	(1)
A Woman Philosopher: The Life of Hipparchia	185	(1)
A Professional Woman: Phanostrate, Midwife and Doctor (Athens, Fourth Century B.C.)	185	(1)
A Professional Woman: The Theban Harpist Polygnota, Daughter of Socrates (Delphi, 86 B.C.)	185	(1)
The Romance of Prince Antiochus and Queen Stratonice	186	(1)
The Marriage Contract of Heracleides and Demetria (311 B.C.)	187	(2)
Political Culture of the Roman Republic	189	(16)
Order and Liberty: The Monarchy and the Republic	190	(1)
The Importance of Concord: Secession and Concession	191	(3)
Values That Made Rome Great	194	(7)
``All Things Went Well When We Obeyed the Gods, but Badly When We Disobeyed Them'': The Speech of Camillus	194	(2)
The Glory of Rome Before All Else: Mucius Scaevola	196	(1)
``The Laws of War and Peace'': The Schoolmaster of Falerii	197	(1)
Fame, Family, and Self-Promotion: The Roman Funeral	198	(2)
Money-Making, Religion, Bribery	200	(1)
Getting Elected: Techniques for the Candidate	201	(4)
War and Warfare	205	(15)
The Enemy: A Roman View	206	(1)
Celtic Ferocity	206	(1)
The Samnite Enemy	207	(1)
Roman Ferocity: ``Decius ... Summoning and Dragging to Himself the Army Devoted Along With Him''	207	(1)
Steadiness of the Romans: How They Coped with Defeat	208	(2)
The Complexities of War: Foreign and Domestic Issues	210	(4)
The Sack of Carthage	214	(2)
The Triumphal Parade of Aemilius Paullus	216	(2)
War As Personal Vengeance	218	(2)
Society and Culture in the Republic	220	(12)
``Secret Rites Performed at Night'': The Bacchanalian Conspiracy	221	(3)
Patricians and Plebeians: Patrons and Clients	224	(1)
Patria Potestas and Materna Auctoritas: The Power of Fathers and Mothers Over Their Children	225	(1)
Marriage: Legalities and Realities	226	(2)
The Rape of Chiomara	228	(1)
``A Wife Without a Dowry is Under Her Husband's Thumb''	228	(1)
``Sell Worn-Out Oxen ... Old and Sick Slaves''	229	(1)
Economics of Farming	230	(2)
The Roman Revolution	232	(16)
``Greed, Unlimited and Unrestrained, Corrupted and Destroyed Everything''	233	(1)
Social and Economic Conditions: The Gracchi	234	(3)
Politicians and Generals Out of Control	237	(1)
Social and Cultural Changes	238	(3)
``The Beginnings of Foreign Luxury''	238	(1)
``He Mocked all Greek Culture and Learning''	239	(1)
In Defense of Public Service	240	(1)
Cicero on the Decadence of the Roman Elite	241	(1)
Women of the Late Republic: Standing Up to the Triumvirs	241	(2)
The Augustan Settlement	243	(1)
The Reforms of Augustus	244	(3)
Reaction to Augustus' Moral Reforms	247	(1)
The Roman Peace	248	(14)
``They Make a Desert and Call It Peace'': A View of Rome From the Provinces	249	(2)
Foreigners in the Roman Army	251	(1)
The Alternative: ``If the Romans are Driven Out What Else Can There Be Except Wars Among All These Nations?''	251	(1)
A Roman View of Foreign Competition	252	(1)
``Nations by the Thousands ... Serve the Masters of the Entire World'': What Held the Roman Empire Together	253	(2)
Making it at Rome	255	(3)
The Career of an Emperor: Septimius Severus	255	(2)
A Celt Makes Good	257	(1)
Making It in the Ranks	257	(1)
Provincial Administration: Hands-On Style	258	(2)
Getting Along Together: The Role of Citizenship	260	(1)
The Role of Law	261	(1)
Society and Culture in the Roman Empire	262	(24)
Obligations of the Rich	263	(1)
Imperial Obligations	264	(1)
Religions and Moralities	265	(10)
Civic Religion	266	(1)
The Ideology of Paganism	267	(1)
The Divine Emperor	268	(1)
Rural Religions and Superstitions	269	(1)
A Holy Man Stops a Plague at Ephesus	269	(1)
Jesus of Nazareth	270	(4)
Paul of Tarsus	274	(1)
Christian Practice	275	(1)
Pliny's Encounter with Christianity	276	(2)
Rabbinic Judaism	278	(2)
Judaism of the Diaspora	280	(1)
Prologue to the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach	280	(1)
``The Mishnah Is the Holy One's Mystery''	281	(1)
Divination, Astrology, Magic	281	(2)
``Will Her Lover Outlive Her?''	281	(1)
``Thumbs Down Indicates Approval''	282	(1)
Moral Behavior	283	(3)
Moral Relativism	283	(1)
Moral Dogmatism	284	(2)
Daily Life in the Roman Empire	286	(20)
Peasant Life	287	(1)
City Life	288	(8)
How the Urban Lower Classes Coped	288	(3)
Upper Classes: Technology and the Good Life	291	(2)
Leisure: Gymnasia, the Baths, the Circus, the Arena	293	(3)
Daily Life as Seen Through the Law Codes	296	(2)
``If, While Several Persons Are Playing Ball...''	296	(1)
Bequests	297	(1)
``Wolves Carried Away Some Hogs...''	298	(1)
Family Life	298	(8)
An Affectionate Paterfamilias	298	(1)
A Satirist's View of Marriage	299	(1)
A Moralist's View of Marriage	300	(1)
An Affectionate Marriage	301	(1)
An Epitaph for a Wife	301	(1)
Friendship Among Wives: A Birthday Invitation	301	(1)
Epitaphs for Children	302	(1)
Christian Marriage: Paul's View	302	(1)
Abortion and Infanticide	303	(3)
The Transformed Empire	306	(22)
``Now Declining into Old Age'': A Review of Roman History from a Late-Empire Viewpoint	307	(1)
New Founders of Rome: Diocletian and Constantine	308	(1)
Constantine and Christianity	309	(1)
The Majesty of Emperors: Desires and Realities	310	(4)
The Entry of Constantius into Rome: A.D. 357	310	(1)
The Emperor, the Truth, and Corruption	311	(3)
The Emperor and the Barbarians	314	(1)
Christianity, Rome, and Classical Culture	314	(9)
A Different Vision	314	(2)
Organization and Ideology	316	(2)
The Pagan Response	318	(4)
When the Shoe Was on the Other Foot	322	(1)
The Hellenization and Romanization of Christianity	323	(3)
Faith and Syllogisms	323	(1)
Justin Martyr: ``Christianity Is the True Philosophy''	324	(1)
Monasticism	325	(1)
The Fall of Rome	326	(2)
Late Antiquity: The World of the Abrahamic Religions	328	(11)
The Conversion of a Barbarian King	330	(1)
Byzantine Grandeur: The Church of Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia	331	(1)
The Splendor of the Byzantine Court	332	(1)
Augustine's Two Cities: The City of God and the City of Man	333	(1)
``There Are Two Powers by Which This World is Ruled''	334	(1)
The Quran: The Sacred Scriptures of Islam	335	(4)
The Five Pillars of Islam	336	(2)
Abraham: The First Muslim	338	(1)
The People of the Book	338	(1)
Jihad: The Sixth Pillar of Islam	339	(1)
Islamic Eschatology: The Mahdi, the Antichrist, and the Second Coming of Jesus	339