The Invention of Greek Ethnography: From Homer to Herodotus (Greeks Overseas)

Greek knowledge of and interest in foreign peoples is commonly believed to have developed in conjunction with a wider sense of "Greekness" that emerged during the Hellenic encounter with Achaemenid Persia during the late sixth to early fifth centuries BC. The dramatic nature of this "clash of cultures" is widely thought to have laid the foundations for prose descriptions of foreign lands and peoples by causing previously vague imaginings to crystallize into a diametric opposition between "Hellene" and "barbarian." The Invention of Greek Ethnography challenges the legitimacy of this narrative. Drawing on recent advances in ethnographic and cultural studies and material culture-based analyses of the ancient Mediterranean, Joseph Skinner argues that ethnographic discourse was already widespread throughout the archaic Greek world long before the invention of ethnographic prose, incorporating not only texts but also a wide range of iconographic and archaeological materials. The reconstruction of this "ethnography before ethnography" demonstrates that discourses of identity played a vital role in defining what it meant to be Greek in the first place. The development of ethnographic writing and historiography is shown to be rooted in a wider process of "positioning" that was continually unfurling across time, as groups and individuals scattered across the Mediterranean world sought to locate themselves in relation to both the narratives of the past and other people. The Invention of Greek Ethnography provides a shift in critical perspective that will have significant implications for our understanding of how Greek identity came into being, the manner in which early discourses of difference should be conceptualized, and the way in which narrative history should ultimately be interpreted. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 10 CHAPTER 1 Ethnography before Ethnography 16 1.1 Framing the Problem: Defining Ethnography 18 1.2 “Other” Ethnographies 21 1.3 Ethnography (re) Defined 27 1.4 Approaches to (Greek) Identity 32 1.5 Structuring Discourse, Inventing Genre: Felix Jacoby and Greek Ethnography 43 1.6 Ethnography and Identity 47 1.7 Polarities Deconstructed 57 1.8 Setting Sail: Homeric Paradigms and the Economies of Knowledge 62 CHAPTER 2 Populating the Imaginaire 72 2.1 Phaeacians and Cyclopes 73 2.2 Hyperboreans 75 2.3 Arimaspians 77 2.4 Scythians 81 2.5 Amazons 92 2.6 Thracians 96 2.7 Phoenicians 99 2.8 Lydians 102 2.9 Ethiopians 108 2.10 Egyptians 112 2.11 Pelasgians 119 2.12 Arcadia 121 CHAPTER 3 Mapping Ethnography 124 3.1 Naming and Describing 124 3.1.1 Epithets 125 3.1.2 Stereotyping 128 3.2 Listing and Imagining 134 3.3 Enquiring 141 3.4 Celebrating Place and People 145 3.4.1 Epinicia 145 3.4.2 Greek Coinage and its Reception 147 3.5 Visualizing 153 3.6 Consuming 158 CHAPTER 4 Mapping Identities 164 4.1 Between Boundless Steppe and a Welcoming Sea: Olbia and its Environs 166 4.1.1 Negotiated Heterogeneity: From Earliest Contacts to the Fifth Century B.C. 166 4.1.2 Points of Contact and Receptions of Difference 179 4.2 Reconstructing Identities in Southern Calabria: An Archaeology of discourse 188 4.2.1 Framing the Argument: Contact, Interaction, and Systems of Exchange 190 4.2.2 Landscape and Identity in Southern Calabria 191 4.2.3 Materials in Circulation, Ideas in Play 194 4.2.4 The Play of Identities, Knowledge, and Difference 202 4.2.5 Notions of Place 206 4.2.6 The Case for Difference: The Western Locrians 212 4.2.7 Conflict, Connectivity, and Exchange: The View from the Margins 217 4.3 The Imagined Centre: Identity and Difference at Delphi and Olympia 224 4.3.1 (Re)constructing Difference at Delphi and Olympia 227 4.3.2 “Reading” Objects, Viewing People: Everyday Activities at the Center of all things “Greek” 230 4.3.3 Delphi and Colonization 234 4.3.4 Eclectic Spaces? Material Identities, Intercultural Contact, and Receptions of “Difference” 235 CHAPTER 5 The Invention of Greek Ethnography 246 5.1 Ethnography and Identity, from Homer to Herodotus 250 5.2 Inventing the Greek 262 5.3 Ancient Ethnography: Future Directions, New Approaches 266 Abbreviations 272 Bibliography 276 Index 340 A 340 B 341 C 342 D 344 E 344 F 345 G 346 H 346 I 348 J 348 K 348 L 349 M 349 N 350 O 350 P 351 R 353 S 353 T 354 U 355 V 355 W 356 Y 356 Z 356 'the Invention Of Greek Ethnography' Offers A Fresh Approach To The Origins And Development Of Ethnographic Thought, Greek Identity, And Narrative History. Machine Generated Contents Note: Ch. 1 Ethnography Before Ethnography -- 1.1.framing The Problem: Defining Ethnography -- 1.2.other Ethnographies -- 1.3.ethnography (re) Defined -- 1.4.approaches To (greek) Identity -- 1.5.structuring Discourse, Inventing Genre: Felix Jacoby And Greek Ethnography -- 1.6.ethnography And Identity -- 1.7.polarities Deconstructed -- 1.8.setting Sail: Homeric Paradigms And The Economies Of Knowledge -- Ch. 2 Populating The Imaginaire -- 2.1.phaeacians And Cyclopes -- 2.2.hyperboreans -- 2.3.arimaspians -- 2.4.scythians -- 2.5.amazons -- 2.6.thracians -- 2.7.phoenicians -- 2.8.lydians -- 2.9.ethiopians -- 2.10.egyptians -- 2.11.pelasgians -- 2.12.arcadia -- Ch. 3 Mapping Ethnography -- 3.1.naming And Describing -- 3.1.1.epithets -- 3.1.2.stereotyping -- 3.2.listing And Imagining -- 3.3.enquiring -- 3.4.celebrating Place And People -- 3.4.1.epinicia -- 3.4.2.greek Coinage And Its Reception -- 3.5.visualizing -- 3.6.consuming --^ Ch. 4 Mapping Identities -- 4.1.between Boundless Steppe And A Welcoming Sea: Olbia And Its Environs -- 4.1.1.negotiated Heterogeneity: From Earliest Contacts To The Fifth Century B.c. -- 4.1.2.points Of Contact And Receptions Of Difference -- 4.2.reconstructing Identities In Southern Calabria: An Archaeology Of Discourse -- 4.2.1.framing The Argument: Contact, Interaction, And Systems Of Exchange -- 4.2.2.landscape And Identity In Southern Calabria -- 4.2.3.materials In Circulation, Ideas In Play -- 4.2.4.the Play Of Identities, Knowledge, And Difference -- 4.2.5.notions Of Place -- 4.2.6.the Case For Difference: The Western Locrians -- 4.2.7.conflict, Connectivity, And Exchange: The View From The Margins -- 4.3.the Imagined Centre: Identity And Difference At Delphi And Olympia -- 4.3.1.(re)constructing Difference At Delphi And Olympia -- 4.3.2.reading Objects, Viewing People: Everyday Activities At The Center Of All Things Greek -- 4.3.3.delphi And Colonization --^ 4.3.4.eclectic Spaces? Material Identities, Intercultural Contact, And Receptions Of Difference -- Ch. 5 The Invention Of Greek Ethnography -- 5.1.ethnography And Identity, From Homer To Herodotus -- 5.2.inventing The Greek -- 5.3.ancient Ethnography: Future Directions, New Approaches. Joseph E. Skinner. Includes Bibliography (pages 263-326) And Index. Greek 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.