Erik van Dongen - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Erik van Dongen

Melammu Symposia 7, 2015

The Melammu Project, founded in 1998, organized five successive conferences and a sixth in 2008. ... more The Melammu Project, founded in 1998, organized five successive conferences and a sixth in 2008. Melammu Symposia 7 now represents a new dawn for the project publishing the contributions of the meeting in Obergurgl in November 2013. This time it will not be an isolated event: Further conferences have already taken place and been planned (Kiel 2014, Helsinki and Tartu 2015, Kassel 2016, and Beirut 2017), the project board has been renewed, reinvigorated and rejuvenated, and plans are underway for a thorough reworking and updating of the project database. Its focus (now slightly reworded to be somewhat wider) is to investigate “the continuity, transformation and diffusion of Mesopotamian and Ancient Near Eastern culture from the third millennium BCE through the ancient world until Islamic times” (quoted from the Melammu Project website). Of course, Mesopotamia was not the source of all culture; but it was an important area in ancient history, that without doubt deserves such a project, dedicated to the study of its cultural impact and heritage. This volume assembles 42 contributions devoted to the topics “Prayers and Incantations”, “Foreign Reception of Mesopotamian Objects”, “The Use of Literary Figures of Speech”, “Mesopotamia and the World”, “The World of Politics”, “Iran and Early Islam”, and “Representations of Power”.

It is commonly accepted nowadays that ancient Aegean culture included many elements that were not... more It is commonly accepted nowadays that ancient Aegean culture included many elements that were not indigenous. But scholars still question the importance of these for the development of the region. I contend that such scepticism is mistaken. Ideas about the ancient Aegean’s cultural independence are founded in the history of research in this field, and could be countered by more detailed studies of specific cultural elements. The following issues should be addressed: the likelihood of an indigenous development of elements; reasons for transmission and the process of embedment; the process of transmission. These issues I discuss in the introduction. Next, a case study follows on the connection between the appearances of the ‘Kingship in Heaven’-theme in the Hittite Song of Going Forth (‘Song of Kumarbi’) and the Hesiodic Theogony. I explain these by proposing a specific scenario. An analysis of the song shows that it focused on the storm-god more than is commonly assumed. Subsequently, the variant of the theme in the Theogony and its similarities with that of the song are described. Various elements of the theme that appear similarly in the Theogony and the song probably originated outside the Aegean. Their inclusion together implies that the composer of the Theogony knew of a version of the entire song. I suggest that he intended to create a pan-Hellenic genealogical system, and considered this text particularly fit as a framework to structure his poem with. The song was Hurrian originally, and probably connected to kingship legitimisation. This was also its use in the Hittite and Neo-Hittite kingdoms. Intra-Anatolian interaction from ca. 1200-650 BCE is surveyed. The Phrygians probably adopted the song from the Neo-Hittites, perhaps again in the context of kingship rituals. After 750 BCE, the song reached the Aegean, where, soon afterwards, it was used for the Theogony.

Papers by Erik van Dongen

A.-M. Wittke (ed.), Frühgeschichte der Mittelmeerkulturen: Historisch-archäologisches Handbuch, Der Neue Pauly, Supplemente 10., 2015

A long encyclopedic article on the history, culture and archaeology of the Phrygian kingdom.

S. Gaspa, A. Greco, D. Morandi Bonacossi, S. Ponchia and R. Rollinger (eds.), From Source to History: Studies on Ancient Near Eastern Worlds and Beyond Dedicated to Giovanni Battista Lanfranchi on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday on June 23, 2014. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 412., 2014

This article discusses the extent and interactions of the Phrygian kingdom in the period of ca. 1... more This article discusses the extent and interactions of the Phrygian kingdom in the period of ca. 1000–650 BCE, i.e. from the emergence of monumental architecture in Gordion until the Lydian occupancy of the city. It argues that Phrygia initially just encompassed the wider area around the city of Gordion. By the ninth century, it additionally controlled the entire region of the Sangarios River Bend, and was in close contact with the Syro-Hittite states. Evidence for the presence of Phrygians or Phrygian cultural elements elsewhere starts to be found only in the eighth century. In the west, Phrygian territorial expansion reached the city of Daskyleion by the middle of the century. In the east, the region of the Halys River bend was conquered at the latest in the following decades. Then and afterwards, Phrygia was heavily involved in politics in Tabal and Tyana, while it was also in contact with Urartu. Further, in the late eighth and seventh centuries a certain level of prestige came to be attached to Phrygian culture, causing elites throughout Anatolia to look for ways to be associated with it. Thus, Phrygia developed into a state of supraregional political and cultural importance. By the mid or late seventh century, however, Gordion was conquered by the Lydians, spelling a definitive end to the Phrygian kingdom.

R. Rollinger and K. Schnegg (eds.), Kulturkontakte in antiken Welten: Vom Denkmodell zum Fallbeispiel. Proceedings des internationalen Kolloquiums aus Anlass des 60. Geburtstages von Christoph Ulf, Innsbruck, 26. bis 30. Januar 2009. Colloquia Antiqua 10., 2014

The term ‘the Near East’ is commonly used in scholarship. However, as this paper argues, on close... more The term ‘the Near East’ is commonly used in scholarship. However, as this paper argues, on closer inspection its use to refer to some kind of cultural entity appears to be unfounded, while the term also lacks a proper definition geographically and continues to be tainted by the conceptual baggage that it carries with it. As a consequence, its use contributes to the persistence of the feeling that a dichotomy existed between Greece and the Near East. Further, by creating artificial geographical and chronological boundaries, use of the term impedes research on interaction and continuities throughout the ancient Mediterranean and south-western Asia. Therefore, I argue that the concept of the Near East should be abandoned altogether. Instead, it would be better if in each research context larger entities were sought and argued for on the basis of what the subject needs and warrants.

Through an analysis of the textual and archaeological material, this article presents a new, up-t... more Through an analysis of the textual and archaeological material, this article presents a new, up-to-date overview of the history and mechanisms of Iron Age Anatolian overland interaction, a much-neglected subject. Among other points, the overview demonstrates the importance of Phrygia in this context, and that Lydia did not take over its international contacts completely. A case study of the transmission of the alphabet in light of the insights gained concludes the article. A new theory is proposed, according to which the Phrygian and Greek alphabets had a common origin in Cilicia, in the late ninth century BC.

This article focuses on the storyline of CTH 344: the Song of Going Forth (‘Song of Kumarbi’, ‘Th... more This article focuses on the storyline of CTH 344: the Song of Going Forth (‘Song of Kumarbi’, ‘Theogony’, etc.). By going through the text bit by bit, reconsidering specific lines, sections and events in the context of the song as a whole in the process, new interpretations of individual parts as well as of the overarching narrative of the text are proposed. Most importantly, on the basis of the identification of various figures with unusual names (D.A.GILIM, D.KA.ZAL and D.NAM.HÉ) as the storm-god and a reinterpretation of lines ii 71–75, it is suggested that the storm-god plays a much larger role in the song than is commonly assumed.

The 'Kingship in Heaven'-theme as it appears in the Hesiodic Theogony has often been connected to... more The 'Kingship in Heaven'-theme as it appears in the Hesiodic Theogony has often been connected to appearances of the theme in various texts from southwestern Asia. So far, however, scholars have only investigated the differences and similarities between the relevant texts; how these comparisons can improve our understanding of the Theogony has not yet been a subject of discussion. With this article, I would like to change that. I will show how a comparison of the Hurro-Hittite Song of Going Forth ('Song of Kumarbi'; CTH 344) and the Theogony can shed new light on the process of composition of the Theogony as we know it, providing new explanations for a number of choices that have been made in the text.

M. Fahlenbock, L. Madersbacher and I. Schneider (eds.), "Inszenierung des Sieges - Sieg der Inszenierung", 170-183., 2011

In the second half of the sixth century BCE, in less than fifty years, the Persians conquered the... more In the second half of the sixth century BCE, in less than fifty years, the Persians conquered their empire, which spread from Egypt and Anatolia to modern Afghanistan. They thus exceeded the accomplishments of the Assyrians and the Babylonians in ancient southwestern Asia. In comparison to those two groups, however, rather little is know about the Persians: especially direct sources are lacking, and the sizeable Greek material is difficult to use. This complicates conducting detailed studies. Nonetheless, in this article, I will discuss Persian representations of their victories in these first fifty years of their empire. Five events will be discussed with the help of more or less contemporary sources: the conquests of Sardis, Babylon, parts of central Asia and Egypt, as well as the ascension to the throne of Darius I.

R. Rollinger, B. Gufler, M. Lang, I. Madreiter (eds.), "Interkulturalität in der Alten Welt: Vorderasien, Hellas, Ägypten und die vielfältigen Ebenen des Kontakts". Philippika: Marburger Altertumskundliche Abhandlungen 34:471-488., 2010

Ever since the seventeenth century, the 'Phoenicians' have had the role of transmitters of cultur... more Ever since the seventeenth century, the 'Phoenicians' have had the role of transmitters of culture. For a long time they were just that, but recently, they have also been brought to the fore as initiators of and leading participants in Mediterranean trade, sometimes almost to the effect of a complete reversal of earlier Orientalistic and Hellenocentric points of view. One way or another, they are considered to have been an important factor in the history of the Mediterranean, which is reflected by the attention that they have received over time. To an outsider, this would suggest that it is quite well known who the 'Phoenicians' were; but in fact, the material record is extremely scanty, extant written records are minimal and even their name is not indigenous. This has of course been noted before, and there are a number of studies that deal with the question of how apposite the use of the term 'Phoenician' might be. This paper will do similarly, but it deviates from this group fundamentally in its conclusions: it will argue that 'Phoenicia' may be defined linguistically, but only vaguely so in archaeology, and not at all historically. Nor was there a 'Phoenician' ethnic identity. A better approach would be to treat the 'Phoenician' cities separately in historical studies. The argumentation for this view will be provided by going through each of the relevant fields separately and surveying the available evidence.

In the last twenty years, studies on the links between Greece and the Near East have increased in... more In the last twenty years, studies on the links between Greece and the Near East have increased in impact, scope and quality, in the process converting many former sceptics and establishing the subject as a serious field of study. Nonetheless, questions of method continue to be raised, such as about the historical context in which cultural transmission could take place and about the lack of discrimination between various kinds of similarities. So despite a change in scholarly balance and the development of ideas, current research methods still cannot satisfy completely. In an attempt to improve this situation, this paper will first discuss the main issues connected to approaches to the historical context and discriminating between kinds of similarities. As will be shown, simply discussing these subjects in more detail is not likely to get us much further. Instead, we should think about what we are trying to achieve through such comparative studies. In my view, it is by focussing on the reception of imported elements in Greek culture that criticism from sceptics can be met and that our comparisons can become more meaningful.

In: R. Rollinger, A. Luther, J. Wiesehöfer (eds.), "Getrennte Wege? Kommunikation, Raum und Wahrnehmung in der alten Welt". Oikumene 2:13-49., 2007

The subject of the relations between pre-classical Greece and the ancient Near East has received ... more The subject of the relations between pre-classical Greece and the ancient Near East has received ample attention in recent times. Archaeologists and historians have discussed ways in which peoples came into contact in the Late Bronze, Dark and Greek Archaic Ages, while others have published about cultural elements that the Greeks might have taken over from the ancient Near East. As a result, the old position about the isolated development of the Greek world has become untenable: the origins of many elements of Greek culture can now without a doubt be traced outside the Greek world. Nonetheless, the available archaeological and historical data is hardly ever taken into account in research on cultural influences. Consequently, publications on influences often seem incomplete, since attention is paid only to the similarities between certain cultural elements without consideration of the process of transmission. This article is intended to contribute to changing this situation by gathering the archaeological and historical data relevant for research on Near Eastern influences on ancient Greece, in order to present an overview of which groups of people in what time and under what circumstances the Greeks met or came to know about.

Book Reviews by Erik van Dongen

Melammu Symposia 7, 2015

The Melammu Project, founded in 1998, organized five successive conferences and a sixth in 2008. ... more The Melammu Project, founded in 1998, organized five successive conferences and a sixth in 2008. Melammu Symposia 7 now represents a new dawn for the project publishing the contributions of the meeting in Obergurgl in November 2013. This time it will not be an isolated event: Further conferences have already taken place and been planned (Kiel 2014, Helsinki and Tartu 2015, Kassel 2016, and Beirut 2017), the project board has been renewed, reinvigorated and rejuvenated, and plans are underway for a thorough reworking and updating of the project database. Its focus (now slightly reworded to be somewhat wider) is to investigate “the continuity, transformation and diffusion of Mesopotamian and Ancient Near Eastern culture from the third millennium BCE through the ancient world until Islamic times” (quoted from the Melammu Project website). Of course, Mesopotamia was not the source of all culture; but it was an important area in ancient history, that without doubt deserves such a project, dedicated to the study of its cultural impact and heritage. This volume assembles 42 contributions devoted to the topics “Prayers and Incantations”, “Foreign Reception of Mesopotamian Objects”, “The Use of Literary Figures of Speech”, “Mesopotamia and the World”, “The World of Politics”, “Iran and Early Islam”, and “Representations of Power”.

It is commonly accepted nowadays that ancient Aegean culture included many elements that were not... more It is commonly accepted nowadays that ancient Aegean culture included many elements that were not indigenous. But scholars still question the importance of these for the development of the region. I contend that such scepticism is mistaken. Ideas about the ancient Aegean’s cultural independence are founded in the history of research in this field, and could be countered by more detailed studies of specific cultural elements. The following issues should be addressed: the likelihood of an indigenous development of elements; reasons for transmission and the process of embedment; the process of transmission. These issues I discuss in the introduction. Next, a case study follows on the connection between the appearances of the ‘Kingship in Heaven’-theme in the Hittite Song of Going Forth (‘Song of Kumarbi’) and the Hesiodic Theogony. I explain these by proposing a specific scenario. An analysis of the song shows that it focused on the storm-god more than is commonly assumed. Subsequently, the variant of the theme in the Theogony and its similarities with that of the song are described. Various elements of the theme that appear similarly in the Theogony and the song probably originated outside the Aegean. Their inclusion together implies that the composer of the Theogony knew of a version of the entire song. I suggest that he intended to create a pan-Hellenic genealogical system, and considered this text particularly fit as a framework to structure his poem with. The song was Hurrian originally, and probably connected to kingship legitimisation. This was also its use in the Hittite and Neo-Hittite kingdoms. Intra-Anatolian interaction from ca. 1200-650 BCE is surveyed. The Phrygians probably adopted the song from the Neo-Hittites, perhaps again in the context of kingship rituals. After 750 BCE, the song reached the Aegean, where, soon afterwards, it was used for the Theogony.

A.-M. Wittke (ed.), Frühgeschichte der Mittelmeerkulturen: Historisch-archäologisches Handbuch, Der Neue Pauly, Supplemente 10., 2015

A long encyclopedic article on the history, culture and archaeology of the Phrygian kingdom.

S. Gaspa, A. Greco, D. Morandi Bonacossi, S. Ponchia and R. Rollinger (eds.), From Source to History: Studies on Ancient Near Eastern Worlds and Beyond Dedicated to Giovanni Battista Lanfranchi on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday on June 23, 2014. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 412., 2014

This article discusses the extent and interactions of the Phrygian kingdom in the period of ca. 1... more This article discusses the extent and interactions of the Phrygian kingdom in the period of ca. 1000–650 BCE, i.e. from the emergence of monumental architecture in Gordion until the Lydian occupancy of the city. It argues that Phrygia initially just encompassed the wider area around the city of Gordion. By the ninth century, it additionally controlled the entire region of the Sangarios River Bend, and was in close contact with the Syro-Hittite states. Evidence for the presence of Phrygians or Phrygian cultural elements elsewhere starts to be found only in the eighth century. In the west, Phrygian territorial expansion reached the city of Daskyleion by the middle of the century. In the east, the region of the Halys River bend was conquered at the latest in the following decades. Then and afterwards, Phrygia was heavily involved in politics in Tabal and Tyana, while it was also in contact with Urartu. Further, in the late eighth and seventh centuries a certain level of prestige came to be attached to Phrygian culture, causing elites throughout Anatolia to look for ways to be associated with it. Thus, Phrygia developed into a state of supraregional political and cultural importance. By the mid or late seventh century, however, Gordion was conquered by the Lydians, spelling a definitive end to the Phrygian kingdom.

R. Rollinger and K. Schnegg (eds.), Kulturkontakte in antiken Welten: Vom Denkmodell zum Fallbeispiel. Proceedings des internationalen Kolloquiums aus Anlass des 60. Geburtstages von Christoph Ulf, Innsbruck, 26. bis 30. Januar 2009. Colloquia Antiqua 10., 2014

The term ‘the Near East’ is commonly used in scholarship. However, as this paper argues, on close... more The term ‘the Near East’ is commonly used in scholarship. However, as this paper argues, on closer inspection its use to refer to some kind of cultural entity appears to be unfounded, while the term also lacks a proper definition geographically and continues to be tainted by the conceptual baggage that it carries with it. As a consequence, its use contributes to the persistence of the feeling that a dichotomy existed between Greece and the Near East. Further, by creating artificial geographical and chronological boundaries, use of the term impedes research on interaction and continuities throughout the ancient Mediterranean and south-western Asia. Therefore, I argue that the concept of the Near East should be abandoned altogether. Instead, it would be better if in each research context larger entities were sought and argued for on the basis of what the subject needs and warrants.

Through an analysis of the textual and archaeological material, this article presents a new, up-t... more Through an analysis of the textual and archaeological material, this article presents a new, up-to-date overview of the history and mechanisms of Iron Age Anatolian overland interaction, a much-neglected subject. Among other points, the overview demonstrates the importance of Phrygia in this context, and that Lydia did not take over its international contacts completely. A case study of the transmission of the alphabet in light of the insights gained concludes the article. A new theory is proposed, according to which the Phrygian and Greek alphabets had a common origin in Cilicia, in the late ninth century BC.

This article focuses on the storyline of CTH 344: the Song of Going Forth (‘Song of Kumarbi’, ‘Th... more This article focuses on the storyline of CTH 344: the Song of Going Forth (‘Song of Kumarbi’, ‘Theogony’, etc.). By going through the text bit by bit, reconsidering specific lines, sections and events in the context of the song as a whole in the process, new interpretations of individual parts as well as of the overarching narrative of the text are proposed. Most importantly, on the basis of the identification of various figures with unusual names (D.A.GILIM, D.KA.ZAL and D.NAM.HÉ) as the storm-god and a reinterpretation of lines ii 71–75, it is suggested that the storm-god plays a much larger role in the song than is commonly assumed.

The 'Kingship in Heaven'-theme as it appears in the Hesiodic Theogony has often been connected to... more The 'Kingship in Heaven'-theme as it appears in the Hesiodic Theogony has often been connected to appearances of the theme in various texts from southwestern Asia. So far, however, scholars have only investigated the differences and similarities between the relevant texts; how these comparisons can improve our understanding of the Theogony has not yet been a subject of discussion. With this article, I would like to change that. I will show how a comparison of the Hurro-Hittite Song of Going Forth ('Song of Kumarbi'; CTH 344) and the Theogony can shed new light on the process of composition of the Theogony as we know it, providing new explanations for a number of choices that have been made in the text.

M. Fahlenbock, L. Madersbacher and I. Schneider (eds.), "Inszenierung des Sieges - Sieg der Inszenierung", 170-183., 2011

In the second half of the sixth century BCE, in less than fifty years, the Persians conquered the... more In the second half of the sixth century BCE, in less than fifty years, the Persians conquered their empire, which spread from Egypt and Anatolia to modern Afghanistan. They thus exceeded the accomplishments of the Assyrians and the Babylonians in ancient southwestern Asia. In comparison to those two groups, however, rather little is know about the Persians: especially direct sources are lacking, and the sizeable Greek material is difficult to use. This complicates conducting detailed studies. Nonetheless, in this article, I will discuss Persian representations of their victories in these first fifty years of their empire. Five events will be discussed with the help of more or less contemporary sources: the conquests of Sardis, Babylon, parts of central Asia and Egypt, as well as the ascension to the throne of Darius I.

R. Rollinger, B. Gufler, M. Lang, I. Madreiter (eds.), "Interkulturalität in der Alten Welt: Vorderasien, Hellas, Ägypten und die vielfältigen Ebenen des Kontakts". Philippika: Marburger Altertumskundliche Abhandlungen 34:471-488., 2010

Ever since the seventeenth century, the 'Phoenicians' have had the role of transmitters of cultur... more Ever since the seventeenth century, the 'Phoenicians' have had the role of transmitters of culture. For a long time they were just that, but recently, they have also been brought to the fore as initiators of and leading participants in Mediterranean trade, sometimes almost to the effect of a complete reversal of earlier Orientalistic and Hellenocentric points of view. One way or another, they are considered to have been an important factor in the history of the Mediterranean, which is reflected by the attention that they have received over time. To an outsider, this would suggest that it is quite well known who the 'Phoenicians' were; but in fact, the material record is extremely scanty, extant written records are minimal and even their name is not indigenous. This has of course been noted before, and there are a number of studies that deal with the question of how apposite the use of the term 'Phoenician' might be. This paper will do similarly, but it deviates from this group fundamentally in its conclusions: it will argue that 'Phoenicia' may be defined linguistically, but only vaguely so in archaeology, and not at all historically. Nor was there a 'Phoenician' ethnic identity. A better approach would be to treat the 'Phoenician' cities separately in historical studies. The argumentation for this view will be provided by going through each of the relevant fields separately and surveying the available evidence.

In the last twenty years, studies on the links between Greece and the Near East have increased in... more In the last twenty years, studies on the links between Greece and the Near East have increased in impact, scope and quality, in the process converting many former sceptics and establishing the subject as a serious field of study. Nonetheless, questions of method continue to be raised, such as about the historical context in which cultural transmission could take place and about the lack of discrimination between various kinds of similarities. So despite a change in scholarly balance and the development of ideas, current research methods still cannot satisfy completely. In an attempt to improve this situation, this paper will first discuss the main issues connected to approaches to the historical context and discriminating between kinds of similarities. As will be shown, simply discussing these subjects in more detail is not likely to get us much further. Instead, we should think about what we are trying to achieve through such comparative studies. In my view, it is by focussing on the reception of imported elements in Greek culture that criticism from sceptics can be met and that our comparisons can become more meaningful.

In: R. Rollinger, A. Luther, J. Wiesehöfer (eds.), "Getrennte Wege? Kommunikation, Raum und Wahrnehmung in der alten Welt". Oikumene 2:13-49., 2007

The subject of the relations between pre-classical Greece and the ancient Near East has received ... more The subject of the relations between pre-classical Greece and the ancient Near East has received ample attention in recent times. Archaeologists and historians have discussed ways in which peoples came into contact in the Late Bronze, Dark and Greek Archaic Ages, while others have published about cultural elements that the Greeks might have taken over from the ancient Near East. As a result, the old position about the isolated development of the Greek world has become untenable: the origins of many elements of Greek culture can now without a doubt be traced outside the Greek world. Nonetheless, the available archaeological and historical data is hardly ever taken into account in research on cultural influences. Consequently, publications on influences often seem incomplete, since attention is paid only to the similarities between certain cultural elements without consideration of the process of transmission. This article is intended to contribute to changing this situation by gathering the archaeological and historical data relevant for research on Near Eastern influences on ancient Greece, in order to present an overview of which groups of people in what time and under what circumstances the Greeks met or came to know about.