Christoph Ulf | University of Innsbruck (original) (raw)

Papers by Christoph Ulf

Nikephoros 30 (2024) 7-20

Biography and obituary Ingomar Weiler

Connecting the Ancient West and East. Studies presented to Prof. Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, vol, 1, ed. by J. Boardman, J. Hargrave, A. Avram, A. Podossinov, 2022

Recently it has been argued that mobility should be seen as a 'natural' phenornenon, observable e... more Recently it has been argued that mobility should be seen as a 'natural' phenornenon, observable everyw,here, also in Archaic Greece. In this view, the discussion of possible causes and motivations for migrations has lost rhe importance it had for so long. It is not the aim of this paper to resume this debate, but to prove the thesis of general human mobiliry by analysing the texts of Archaic Greece, from the Homeric poems to Solon. Focusing on cases of forced migration, three main positioas can be differentiated. They differ in their main causes for rnigration and can be arranged chronologically. Yet they could also represent three different perspectives on the various changes Greece undervent in the 7th and 6th cenuries BC. When taking into account the outcome of recent archaeologicai research on Archaic Greece, these perspectives can also relate to the view of the contemporaneous world of different kinds of settlements (and societies), compounds, dispersed settiements and settlements with an agora.

G. Reckinger/N. Neuner-Schatz (eds.), Von der Odyssee zum europäischen Grenzregime, Würzburg 2018

Odysseus was not a hero, he was a loser to some extent. He lost all 'hetairoi', the Ithacesian be... more Odysseus was not a hero, he was a loser to some extent. He lost all 'hetairoi', the Ithacesian believed he would bring back home after the siege of Troy. He could not resist to outlive his adventures. This was the situation when he came back. Therefore he invented lies to evade the accusations. On the other hand the young Ithacesian had crossed rules and became guilty. That's why Odysseus could murder them for some reason. The way out of this impasse could only lead (all)mighty Zeus, a receipt to be used in the emerging towns contemporay to the Odyssey.

Nikephoros 29 (2023) 161-176

The Roman population liked sports as did other populations around the world. They did sports in t... more The Roman population liked sports as did other populations around the world. They did sports in their spare time and, throughout the year, they took part in various kinds of competition being elements of religious festivals. Yet at the big public festivals (ludi publici), hired athletes performed, not the Romans themselves. This peculiarity was explained by referring to ethnic characteristics, an approach that has been proven fundamentally wrong. Instead, recent research brought to light what makes the Roman ‘political culture’ special. It was in the assemblies where the populus Romanus decided who was to be elected to the magistrates. Therefore, Romans and Roman aristocrats avoided physical competition in order not to lose dignity in the public. This was decisive for the long-lasting stability of the Roman socio-political system. However, within the frame of the cultic festivals, different rules of behaviour continued to be valid.

V. Sossau/K. Riehle (eds.), Mistaken Identity. Identitäten als Ressourcen im zentralen Mittelmeerraum, Tübingen 2022

In the course of the development of modern historiography, the concept of peoples (and also natio... more In the course of the development of modern historiography, the concept of peoples (and also nations) as basic and primordial human units was criticized for the underlying essentialism and therefore widely replaced by culture(s) at the turn of the 19th century. However, also the use of the term culture was often not free of essentialism and the ensuing valuing of cultures as superior or inferior. To counter this dilemma, often the term identity was chosen. Yet similar objections were raised against identity: the term would assume the shape of a reification, or identity were not precisely enough to define. When considering these questions, one should bear in mind that behind general terms like identity always lies a concept of one or another form of a collective, set aside the problem of personal identity. The paper discusses frequently used concepts in history and archaeology, as are ethnic units, states, collective memory equating identity with tradition, and social groups.
To counter this mostly not reflected connection of term and concept, then the paper introduces the term discourse, as developed by Foucault, to obtain a tool that allows for better comprehension of the various kinds of identity from an emic point of view. This is exemplified by short case studies to prove the thesis that human units, for long taken as collectives, in reality are internally split along different small-scale identities. Examples are eighth-century compound-structures and the settlement of the Monte Iato in Sicily, Thucydides’ problems to define who the Hellenes are, different and contradicting judgements in Roman historiography who the first Caesar was. They make clear how tricky it is to speak of right or true identities and the necessity to consider this problem when writing history.

Troia, Schliemann und Tübingen, ed. by E. Seidl et al., Tübingen 2022

The debate on Heinrich Schliemann too often focuses on his competence as archaeologist. This pape... more The debate on Heinrich Schliemann too often focuses on his competence as archaeologist. This paper asks a different question: why is it that even today Schliemann linked with the excavation of Troy in the “collective” memory? The question arises since this is not the case for other excavators, for example like Ernst Curtius and others who did excavations at famous place like Olympia. It is argued that it is not the place of excavation but the story which is connected with the place that makes the difference. Only when people are interested in the story of the Trojan War, did (and does) Schliemann keep his position as an outstanding figure. The proof is in the story of the appreciation and the damnation of Trojan War from the 19th to the 20th centuries up to today. But the question remains why Homer’s Iliad is reduced to a war story and the various other messages transmitted by the epic are played down.

A Companion to Greeks Across the Ancient World, ed. by F. De Angelis, Hoboken 2020

Cultural contact and cultural change are not possible without the movement of people and objects.... more Cultural contact and cultural change are not possible without the movement of people and objects. For this reason, it makes good sense to look at the corresponding models that help explain both phenomena also from the perspective of migration. This has the added advantage that the explanations and rationales for migration explicitly operate with such models. If these models are systematically placed in relation to one another, a background emerges which highlights that the various rationales and explanations for cultural contacts in the ancient world are based on similar, if not the same, models.

A.-M. Wittke (ed.), Frühgeschichte der Mittelmeerkulturen, Stuttgart/Weimar 2015

A-M. Wittke (ed.), The Early Mediterranean World, 1200–600 BC. Brill’s New Pauly Supplemen, translated by D.A. Smart, Leiden/Boston 2018

Brill’s New Pauly Supplements II - 9: The Early Mediterranean World, 1200–600 BC, English edition by John N. Dillon; translated by Duncan A. Smart

The task of surveying the forms of society and authority observed in the Mediterranean world is c... more The task of surveying the forms of society and authority observed in the Mediterranean world is complicated not only by the coexistence of many different societies within that world, but also by the sometimes profound changes that those societies underwent during the period under scrutiny. The presentation of interpretations of archaeological findings, which sometimes vary in the criteria underpinning them, therefore requires a kind of template that make it possible to correlate the descriptions of particular societies in this volume. Since ‘ethnic’ entities can no longer form the basis for a description of the societies existing in the Mediterranean world or the forms of authority that characterized them, it is necessary to devise a concept or at least coordinated conceptual terms that can reflect both different societies and the changes they undergo. Although the discussion of the degree to which the terms used in the anthropological analysis of societies and early states may be generalized has not yet concluded, they appear suited to establishing this kind of typology. The ongoing debate has at least yielded the result that the various forms of societies sketched below need not be understood as an evolutionary sequence, but rather may be presented as dependent on a variety of conditions, the stability or instability of which were could be influenced by the societies themselves only to a limited extent.

A.-M. Wittke (ed.), Frühgeschichte der Mittelmeerkulturen. Historisch-archäologisches Handbuch, 2015

Surveying the forms of society and authority within the ancient Mediterranean world is complicate... more Surveying the forms of society and authority within the ancient Mediterranean world is complicated by the coexistence of many different societies within that world and by the changes that those societies underwent. Therefore a kind of template is required that makes it possible to correlate the descriptions of particular societies. The description of societies and relations between them often relies on assumptions about human behaviour that are taken for granted, often derived from classical economic theory and referring to psychological assumptions regarding the thought and actions of individuals within their social contexts. This kind of assumptions tends to reduce historical diversity to simple basic categories.
Therefore it is necessary to propose a concept that can reflect different societies and the changes they undergo. Though always being a theoretical ideal to a certain extent, such a concept has the advantage of an ‘analytical construct’. Although the discussion of the degree to which the terms used in the anthropological analysis of societies and early states may be generalized has not yet concluded, they appear suited to establishing this kind of typology. There is no need to understand the various forms of societies, sketched in this paper, as an evolutionary sequence, a reproach sometimes made to play down the advantage which can be gained from the analogy of ancient societies and those observed by ethnology/anthropology.

A. Naso (ed.), Etruscology, vol. 1, Boston/Berlin 2017

In the ancient written sources contradicting views are held as to who the Etruscans were and from... more In the ancient written sources contradicting views are held as to who the Etruscans were and from where they originated. Modern scholarship has been content to pick out one of the ancient concepts and to support it with historical, archaeological or linguistic arguments. As a result, there is still no consensus in this matter. An important reason for this is that the opinions held in modern scholarship are also closely linked to the ideological environments in which they are set. In an attempt to render these correlations as transparent as possible, this chapter attaches more importance to contextualizing the ancient written sources and the positions taken by modern scholarship than to mentioning and describing them as "exhaustively" as possibie.
The chapter also draws attention to the interferences between the ancient written sources, the hypotheses regarding the Etruscan language and the interpretations of archaeological findings. To avoid the circular reasoning so frequent in academic debates, it is argued, one must follow the fundamental call in the methodological debate in archaeology to contextualize and interpret archaeological findings initially on their own. The archaeological settings, local and trans-regional correlations between findings can only be given meaning in a scientifically transparent manner, where specifically defined and clearly described analogical cases from the fields of anthropology and history are used. This, in fact, forms the basis for the more recent reflections on the possible internal structures of the settlements and cities and the connections between them. These reflections become all the more compelling , the less they depend upon the alleged knowledge of the "Etruscans" in the ancient written sources.

"This paper offers a critical evaluation of the debate on agency and personhood in archaeology. D... more "This paper offers a critical evaluation of the debate on agency and personhood in archaeology. Despite some very interesting and sharp discussions, the debate has suffered from the projection of anachronistic definitions of the person and an over reliance on specific ethnographic readings. In addition, little attempt is made to bridge the abstract theoretical discussions with close analyses of empirical data. I would like to suggest that this should be our priority: to integrate theoretical discussions with careful contextual analysis of different types of evidence.
In the second part of the paper, an attempt will be made to apply these ideas, and to examine notions of personhood and agency held by the inhabitants of the southern Greek mainland between ca. 1800 and 1600 BC. The analysis will be based on the mortuary practices and imagery of the period.

Keywords
Personhood; agency; relationality; Mycenaean; burial practices; imagery"

Archaeological Dialogues 17 (2010) 96-100

Altertum und Mittelmeerraum: die antike Welt diesseits und jenseits der Levante, hg. v. R. Rollinger/B. Truschnegg, 2006

Am Beispiel der Arbeiten von Peter Haider wird verfolgt, wie sich das theoretische Konzept einer ... more Am Beispiel der Arbeiten von Peter Haider wird verfolgt, wie sich das theoretische Konzept einer Universalgeschichte durch die praktische historische Forschung zu einer Kulturtransferanalyse verändert - ohne dass der Autor das selbst bemerkt. Das zeigt sich darin, dass überholte Konzepte wie Volk oder Kultur als essentialistisch verstandene Einheiten nach wie vor das Denken bestimmen.

Klio 84 (2002) 319-354

There is no common agreement about the relationship between the Homeric epics, i.e. texts, and hi... more There is no common agreement about the relationship between the Homeric epics, i.e. texts, and historical reality. This results from a few, commonly held general assumptions, founding a lot of secondary assumptions used in the analysis of the Homeric texts. The basic term Heroic Poetry is inseparably connected with the assumption of a people, existing from a priori. It is shown in this paper that this situation causes on the one hand the use of “modernistic” terms like king, state, institution or commerce, and on the other hand the rejection of the concepts of ethnicity and ethnogenesis and the results of oral tradition research in anthropology. Archaeological data used to confirm this modernistic picture rely on, and are flawed by, the infiltration of the reading of the remains by the terms named above. The neglection of how the interpretation of the texts is dependent on the named general assumptions has led the current disputes over Troy and Homer to secondary battlefields. To get out of this dilemma, this paper proposes a new characterization of the Homeric epics.

H.-J. Behr/G. Biegel/H. Castritius (eds.), Troia. Ein Mythos in Geschichte und Rezeption, Braunschweig 2003, 58-67

Obwohl llias und Odysee keine historiographischen Texte sind, sondem 'Heldenepik', also eine spez... more Obwohl llias und Odysee keine historiographischen Texte sind, sondem 'Heldenepik', also eine spezielle Form von Literatur, werden diese Texte häufig mit dem bzw. einem Troianischen Krieg in Verbindung gebracht. Wer das tut, setzt voraus, daß die Homer zugeschriebenen Texte brauchbare historische Informationen enthalten. Kann und will aber Heldenepik Wissen über die Vergangenheit bewahren und weitergeben? Die Antwort hängt davon ab, was unter 'Heldenepik', zu verstehen ist. Das ist keineswegs so klar, wie es erscheinen mag. Der Stand der Forschung wird in vier Abschnitten besprochen: erstens in einer Skizze des Bildes, das man als das traditionelle bezeichnen kann; zweitens in Hinweisen auf die inneren Widersprüche in dieser Auffassung; drittens in der Beschreibung der in diesem Bild nicht berücksichtigen jüngsten Forschungsergebnise, und schließlich in einem vierten Abschnitt, in dem die Argumente dafür genannt werden, daß 'Heldenepik', keine Form von Literatur ist, die in die Vergangenheit blickt, um diese zu bewahren, sondern die den Blick in die Vergangenheit für ein Plädoyer benüzt, wie die Gegenwart und die Zukunft gestaltet werden sollen.

Nikephoros 30 (2024) 7-20

Biography and obituary Ingomar Weiler

Connecting the Ancient West and East. Studies presented to Prof. Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, vol, 1, ed. by J. Boardman, J. Hargrave, A. Avram, A. Podossinov, 2022

G. Reckinger/N. Neuner-Schatz (eds.), Von der Odyssee zum europäischen Grenzregime, Würzburg 2018

Nikephoros 29 (2023) 161-176

V. Sossau/K. Riehle (eds.), Mistaken Identity. Identitäten als Ressourcen im zentralen Mittelmeerraum, Tübingen 2022

Troia, Schliemann und Tübingen, ed. by E. Seidl et al., Tübingen 2022

A Companion to Greeks Across the Ancient World, ed. by F. De Angelis, Hoboken 2020

A.-M. Wittke (ed.), Frühgeschichte der Mittelmeerkulturen, Stuttgart/Weimar 2015

A-M. Wittke (ed.), The Early Mediterranean World, 1200–600 BC. Brill’s New Pauly Supplemen, translated by D.A. Smart, Leiden/Boston 2018

Brill’s New Pauly Supplements II - 9: The Early Mediterranean World, 1200–600 BC, English edition by John N. Dillon; translated by Duncan A. Smart

A.-M. Wittke (ed.), Frühgeschichte der Mittelmeerkulturen. Historisch-archäologisches Handbuch, 2015

A. Naso (ed.), Etruscology, vol. 1, Boston/Berlin 2017

Keywords
Personhood; agency; relationality; Mycenaean; burial practices; imagery"

Archaeological Dialogues 17 (2010) 96-100

Altertum und Mittelmeerraum: die antike Welt diesseits und jenseits der Levante, hg. v. R. Rollinger/B. Truschnegg, 2006

Klio 84 (2002) 319-354

H.-J. Behr/G. Biegel/H. Castritius (eds.), Troia. Ein Mythos in Geschichte und Rezeption, Braunschweig 2003, 58-67

Das in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur gebräuchliche Vokabular zur Charakterisierung der homeris... more Das in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur gebräuchliche Vokabular zur Charakterisierung der homerischen Gesellschaft wird an wichtigen Ausdrücken (time, arete, agathos usw.) exemplarisch auf seine Kongruenz mit Text und Aussagen der Epen selbst überprüft. Von hier ausgehend werden deren ethische und sozialorganisatorischen Vorstellungen einschließlich ihrer ökonomischen Basis zu rekonstruieren versucht. Die so eruierten Grundzüge der homerischen Welt(en) werden mit Ordnungskategorien in Parallele gesetzt, die in der ethnologisch-anthropologischen Forschung zur Analyse prästaatlicher und staatlicher Gemeinschaften erarbeitet wurden. Die 'homerische Gesellschaft' erweist sich als eine offene und kaum von vorrechtlichen Institutionen geprägte politische Einheit. Sie wird in den Epen so gezeichnet, als ob sie sich in einem Übergangsfeld zwischen einer auf Desezendenzgruppen gebauten Gesellschaft (mit Big Men) und einer festere Strukturen kennenden Gesellschaft (Ansätze von chiefdom bzw. prästaatliche Züge) befände. Von hier lässt sich ein Bezug zu den offenen Verhältnissen der spätgeometrischen Zeit herstellen mit den hier zu verortenden Prozessen von sich aus Weilern formenden städtische Siedlungen und den damit verbundenen Problemen der Herstellung einer gemeinsamen Identität.

Die Aktualität der Vergangenheit belegen nicht nur die Argumente 'mit der Geschichte', sondern au... more Die Aktualität der Vergangenheit belegen nicht nur die Argumente 'mit der Geschichte', sondern auch die vielen lieux de mémoire - in der Gegenwart wie in der Antike. Wenn das so ist, stellt sich die Frage, in welchem Verhältnis die angestrebte Aktualisierung von Vergangenheit zu dem wissenschaftlichen Bemühen steht, Vergangenheit 'objektiv' darzustellen. Jeder der Beiträge macht auf einen Aspekt der Antike aufmerksam, dessen Betrachtung es leichter macht, sich zu aktuellen Fragen zu äußern.

Based on the concepts of intentional history, ethnicity and ethnogenesis, and drawing on an exami... more Based on the concepts of intentional history, ethnicity and ethnogenesis, and drawing on an examination of archeological and written sources, this book outlines the emergence of a "feeling of belonging" to “the Hellenes”, from the Homeric epic to the solidification of Greek identity in the early empire period, as Greeks looked back on their past.

Das zentrale Element der Meistererzählung über den Anfang Griechenlands, die Einwanderung von Stä... more Das zentrale Element der Meistererzählung über den Anfang Griechenlands, die Einwanderung von Stämmen des Volks der Griechen aus dem Norden, wird in diesem Buch mit Hilfe der analytischen Instrumente der intentionalen Geschichte, Ethnizität und Ethnogenese als problematisch erwiesen. Die in den letzten Jahrzehnten erzielten Ergebnisse der Siedlungsarchäologie sowie der Analysen der homerischen Epen und der Erzählungen über die ‚Anfänge' in der Historiographie weisen demgegenüber auf eine nur in Schritten vor sich gehende Herausbildung eines Gemeinschaftsgefühls als Hellenen, das zwar mit den Perserkriegen eine Beschleunigung erfuhr, aber sich erst im Rückblick der Texte der augusteischen Zeit auf die hellenische Vergangenheit zur Vorstellung einer ethnisch-kulturellen Einheit der Griechen verfestigte. Die Nachzeichnung dieser Entwicklung inkludiert den Rückgriff auf Analogien aus der Ethnologie und die Auseinandersetzung mit Konzepten wie Tradition/Gedächtnis, kulturellen Kontaktzonen oder der Bildung von Identität über die Aktualisierung von Vergangenheit und/oder die Erfahrung von Alterität.

Was sind Kulturen? - diese Frage beschäftigt nicht erst seit dem Cultural Turn alle Wissenschafte... more Was sind Kulturen? - diese Frage beschäftigt nicht erst seit dem Cultural Turn alle Wissenschaften, die das Denken, Verhalten und Produzieren von Menschen zum Gegenstand haben. Wie kann man von Kulturbegegnungen und Transfers zwischen Kulturen sprechen, wenn seit der Postmoderne der Konstruktivismus darauf drängt, den 'Kulturen' einen inneren (essentialistischen) Kern abzusprechen? Die Beiträge in diesem Band gehen auf theoretisch-methodischen, analytischen und anwendungsorientierten Wegen an diese Fragen heran. Sie kreuzen sich in einem Punkt: Kultur wird von kulturellen Akteurinnen und Akteuren produziert, von ihnen aber meist auch als eine abgrenzbare Einheit wahrgenommen. Diese agieren innerhalb von Figurationen, einem Rahmen, der sich aus dem kulturellen Raum und Regeln, der Welt der Sprache und der Welt der Dinge zusammensetzt.

To mark the occasion of Youth Olympic Games 2012 in Innsbruck, an array of sports academics and ... more To mark the occasion of Youth Olympic Games 2012 in Innsbruck, an array of sports academics and historians, together with authors of the Nikephoros Journal, provide not only academic and topical, but also eminently readable insights into both sports in general and more specifically into the ancient and present Olympic Games.
It becomes apparent that sport is a phenomenon that can be traced back to well before the ancient Greek culture. Some light is shed on other subject too, such as the organization of the games, the status of the athletes or physical disability in ancient times.

... Kurt A. Raaflaub, Brown University (Greek and Latin sources) Prof. Abdul Massih Saadi, Luther... more ... Kurt A. Raaflaub, Brown University (Greek and Latin sources) Prof. Abdul Massih Saadi, Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago (Syriac sources) Prof. ... Dr. Rainer Albertz (University of Münster) Prof. Sarah lies Johnston (Ohio State University) Prof. ...

The two volumes contain more than sixty chapters, proof for the remarkable influence the Austrian... more The two volumes contain more than sixty chapters, proof for the remarkable influence the Austrian historian had on the scientific community. The contributions are organised according to what cultural history can be called, the mutual relations between human agency and the various kinds of frameworks human beings have to live in.