Homer and the Bronze Age: The Reflection of Humanistic Ideals in Diplomatic Practices

by: Karavites, P.

Peter Karavites presents a revisionist overview of Homeric scholarship, bridging the gap between the “positivist” and “negativist” theories dominant in the greater part of the twentieth century. His investigation derives new insights from Homer?s text and solves the age-old question of the relationship between Homer and the Mycenaean age.

He boldly provides a new interpretation of the diplomatic relations of the Mycenaean and Homeric times based on fresh textual examination of old archaeological material, new archaeological discoveries, and a much broader analytical focus, emphasizing social, economic, political, and cultural approaches that have transformed our understanding of ancient interstate relations contained in the Homeric Corpus. The author underscores the similarities between the Near Eastern diplomatic practices as well as practices analyzed in Homeric texts to highlight the relationship between Homeric times and the Mycenaean Age.

Bronze Age and Homeric diplomatic envoy customs are treated in a series of chapters pertaining to Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, the littoral of the Eastern Mediterranean area, and the Aegean world. They treat practices such as envoy escorts, envoy protection and hospitality, symbolism of gift exchanges, royal marriages alliances, envoy credentials, and various other practices, and will be of interest to scholars and students of history, political science, diplomacy, archaeology and social relations.

Peter Karavites is Professor Emeritus of Greek and Roman History from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. His books include Capitulations and Greek Interstate Relations; Promise Giving and Treaty-Making, Homer and the Near East and Evil and Freedom, and the Road to Perfection in Clement of Alexandria. He holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D from Loyola University of Chicago and has studied at the Universities of Munich and Heidelberg.

Dedication (page 5)
Table of Contents (page 7)
Preface (page 11)
Abbreviations (page 15)
1. Introduction (page 19)
2. Diplomacy during the Egyptian Imperium (page 37)
3. Messengers in Western Asia (page 71)
4. Homeric Messengers (page 105)
5. Homeric and Near Eastern Analogies (page 163)
6. Concluding Remarks (page 187)
Afterword (page 203)
The Diachronic Endurance of Messenger Practices (page 205)
Bibliography (page 233)
Index (page 253)

Homer and the Bronze Age: The Reflection of Humanistic Ideals in Diplomatic Practices

by: Karavites, P.

• ISBN-13: 9781593339852 / 978-1-59333-985-2
• ISBN-03: 1593339852 / 1-59333-985-2
• Gorgias Press, New Jersey, 2008