Description
The Phoenicians created the Mediterranean world as we know it--yet they remain a shadowy and poorly understood group. The academic study of the Phoenicians has come to an important crossroads; the field has grown in sheer content, sophistication of analysis, and diversity of interpretation, and we now need a current overview of where the study of these ancient seafarers and craftsman stands, and where it is going. Moreover, the field of Phoenician studies is particularly fragmented and scattered. While there is growing interest in all things Phoenician and Punic, the latest advances are mostly published in specialized journals and conference volumes in a plethora of languages. This Handbook is the first of its type to appear in over two decades, and the first ever to appear in English. In these chapters, written by a wide range of prominent and promising scholars from across Europe, North America, Australia, and the Mediterranean world, readers will find summary studies on key historical moments (such as the history of Carthage); areas of culture (organized around language, religion, and material culture); regional studies and areas of contact (spanning from the Levant and the Aegean to Iberia and North Africa); and the reception of the Phoenicians as an idea, entangled with the formation of other cultural identities, both ancient and modern.
About the Author
Carolina Lopez-Ruiz is Professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and Department of Classics. She is the author of Phoenicians and the Making of the Mediterranean, for which she received the support of the National Endowment of the Humanities. Her previous books include Tartessos and the Phoenicians in Iberia, When the Gods Were Born: Greek Cosmogonies and the Near East, and Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations (co-edited with M. Dietler). Some of her books have been translated into Turkish and Spanish. Brian R. Doak is Professor of Biblical Studies and Faculty Fellow in the William Penn Honors Program at George Fox University, just outside of Portland, Oregon. He is the recipient of the Aviram Prize for archaeological research as well as the George Fox University Undergraduate Researcher of the Year. He is the author of several books, including Phoenician Aniconism in its Mediterranean and Ancient Near Eastern Contexts, Ancient Israel's Neighbors, and Heroic Bodies in Ancient Israel.
Reviews
An extremely useful compendium, chock-full of the latest information. Carolina Lopez-Ruiz and Brian R. Doak are to be highly commended for having pulled together this very handy volume, with valuable contributions from a stellar array of scholars. * Eric H. Cline, George Washington University *
Studies of the Phoenician world now have a new entry point and benchmark, thanks to this magisterial volume. Lopez-Ruiz and Doak have assembled an all-star cast to distill and communicate current knowledge of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean. This impressive work covers a host of topics-from the language and literature of the Phoenicians to their archaeology, society, and reception in antiquity and in the modern day. This is the single most useful survey covering the Phoenician influence on the Mediterranean world on the market today, and it will serve the next generation of scholars exceptionally well. * Jeremy M. Hutton, University of Wisconsin-Madison *
Today it is no longer possible to study the ancient Mediterranean without taking into account the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. For those who embark on their discovery, this Handbook provides a wealth of background information, and more. The work brings readers confidently and comfortably into a world that has never ceased to arouse aversion, suspicion, and fascination. Ancient and modern stereotypes are illuminated and contextualized; and the languages, stories, customs, religions, and artefacts of the Phoenician and Carthaginian world are made accessible to all through a prism of the most up-to-date knowledge. * Veronique Krings, University of Toulouse *
It will be difficult to surpass such [a] comprehensive and detailed reference work in the next few decades... This [Handbook] has already become a must-read manual for experts and students because of the depth and range of its approach and its updated bibliography. Most chapters not only include the most recent data but also produce fresh interpretations and paradigms which are incorporated into the analyses provided....Finally, The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean successfully breaks away from traditional accounts that placed Phoenician communities as a 'third party' in the history of the ancient Mediterranean. For this reason alone, it is a highly recommended and worthwhile read. * Francisco Machuca Prieto, Universidad de Malaga *
Lopez-Ruiz and Doak's Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean must certainly be considered a 'sine qua non' for the field of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern Studies. It is so very detailed, current, and broad in scope...focusing not only on the history of Phoenicia (from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman Period), but also on Phoenician religion and art, Phoenician language and culture, Phoenician colonial activities, Phoenician seafaring and trade, and even the most recent archaeological fieldwork of all things Phoenician. No serious library can afford to be without this superb volume. * Christopher A. Rollston, George Washington University *
With the maturation of social scientific models and more refined interpretation of historical evidence, Lopez-Ruiz and Doak have assembled an outstanding collection of essays that cover every major aspect of the Phoenicians. These 'Sea Peoples' did so much more than spread the alphabet or provide background for biblical and classical works. The Phoenicians were, in fact, central players in the unfolding of Mediterranean history, and this volume finally gives the field of Phoenician studies the appropriate attention. This work is an essential reference tool for teachers and scholars of the ancient Mediterranean world. * Roger S. Nam, Emory University *
[This] Handbook gives a clear, balanced, and up-to-date overview of the archaeology and the geopolitical, linguistic, epigraphic, and religious history of the people known today as the Phoenicians. The articles cover a wide range of topics that are important for specialists in the history of the Levant...scholars of the broader study of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean...[and are] also accessible to undergraduate and graduate student audiences....Another important contribution is the attention paid to the reception history of the Phoenicians in biblical and classical works. In short, this work is essential to any course on the ancient history of the Near East, and to any scholar's library. * Alice Mandell, Johns Hopkins University *
Marks a significant advancement in the growing discipline of Phoenician (and Punic) Studies.... The an immense contribution to Phoenician Studies that will easily facilitate seminars at the intermediate-to-advanced undergraduate and graduate levels that would have been extremely difficult to organize at English-speaking universities beforehand. I have no doubt that it will quickly become an indispensable tool for both experienced researchers and younger scholars just beginning to learn about the field. * Russell J. Clark, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780197654422
Author Carolina Lopez-Ruiz
Format Paperback
Page Count 800
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 247mm * 174mm * 24mm
About the Author
Carolina Lopez-Ruiz is Professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and Department of Classics. She is the author of Phoenicians and the Making of the Mediterranean, for which she received the support of the National Endowment of the Humanities. Her previous books include Tartessos and the Phoenicians in Iberia, When the Gods Were Born: Greek Cosmogonies and the Near East, and Colonial Encounters in Ancient Iberia: Phoenician, Greek, and Indigenous Relations (co-edited with M. Dietler). Some of her books have been translated into Turkish and Spanish. Brian R. Doak is Professor of Biblical Studies and Faculty Fellow in the William Penn Honors Program at George Fox University, just outside of Portland, Oregon. He is the recipient of the Aviram Prize for archaeological research as well as the George Fox University Undergraduate Researcher of the Year. He is the author of several books, including Phoenician Aniconism in its Mediterranean and Ancient Near Eastern Contexts, Ancient Israel's Neighbors, and Heroic Bodies in Ancient Israel.
Reviews
An extremely useful compendium, chock-full of the latest information. Carolina Lopez-Ruiz and Brian R. Doak are to be highly commended for having pulled together this very handy volume, with valuable contributions from a stellar array of scholars. * Eric H. Cline, George Washington University *
Studies of the Phoenician world now have a new entry point and benchmark, thanks to this magisterial volume. Lopez-Ruiz and Doak have assembled an all-star cast to distill and communicate current knowledge of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean. This impressive work covers a host of topics-from the language and literature of the Phoenicians to their archaeology, society, and reception in antiquity and in the modern day. This is the single most useful survey covering the Phoenician influence on the Mediterranean world on the market today, and it will serve the next generation of scholars exceptionally well. * Jeremy M. Hutton, University of Wisconsin-Madison *
Today it is no longer possible to study the ancient Mediterranean without taking into account the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. For those who embark on their discovery, this Handbook provides a wealth of background information, and more. The work brings readers confidently and comfortably into a world that has never ceased to arouse aversion, suspicion, and fascination. Ancient and modern stereotypes are illuminated and contextualized; and the languages, stories, customs, religions, and artefacts of the Phoenician and Carthaginian world are made accessible to all through a prism of the most up-to-date knowledge. * Veronique Krings, University of Toulouse *
It will be difficult to surpass such [a] comprehensive and detailed reference work in the next few decades... This [Handbook] has already become a must-read manual for experts and students because of the depth and range of its approach and its updated bibliography. Most chapters not only include the most recent data but also produce fresh interpretations and paradigms which are incorporated into the analyses provided....Finally, The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean successfully breaks away from traditional accounts that placed Phoenician communities as a 'third party' in the history of the ancient Mediterranean. For this reason alone, it is a highly recommended and worthwhile read. * Francisco Machuca Prieto, Universidad de Malaga *
Lopez-Ruiz and Doak's Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean must certainly be considered a 'sine qua non' for the field of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern Studies. It is so very detailed, current, and broad in scope...focusing not only on the history of Phoenicia (from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman Period), but also on Phoenician religion and art, Phoenician language and culture, Phoenician colonial activities, Phoenician seafaring and trade, and even the most recent archaeological fieldwork of all things Phoenician. No serious library can afford to be without this superb volume. * Christopher A. Rollston, George Washington University *
With the maturation of social scientific models and more refined interpretation of historical evidence, Lopez-Ruiz and Doak have assembled an outstanding collection of essays that cover every major aspect of the Phoenicians. These 'Sea Peoples' did so much more than spread the alphabet or provide background for biblical and classical works. The Phoenicians were, in fact, central players in the unfolding of Mediterranean history, and this volume finally gives the field of Phoenician studies the appropriate attention. This work is an essential reference tool for teachers and scholars of the ancient Mediterranean world. * Roger S. Nam, Emory University *
[This] Handbook gives a clear, balanced, and up-to-date overview of the archaeology and the geopolitical, linguistic, epigraphic, and religious history of the people known today as the Phoenicians. The articles cover a wide range of topics that are important for specialists in the history of the Levant...scholars of the broader study of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean...[and are] also accessible to undergraduate and graduate student audiences....Another important contribution is the attention paid to the reception history of the Phoenicians in biblical and classical works. In short, this work is essential to any course on the ancient history of the Near East, and to any scholar's library. * Alice Mandell, Johns Hopkins University *
Marks a significant advancement in the growing discipline of Phoenician (and Punic) Studies.... The an immense contribution to Phoenician Studies that will easily facilitate seminars at the intermediate-to-advanced undergraduate and graduate levels that would have been extremely difficult to organize at English-speaking universities beforehand. I have no doubt that it will quickly become an indispensable tool for both experienced researchers and younger scholars just beginning to learn about the field. * Russell J. Clark, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780197654422
Author Carolina Lopez-Ruiz
Format Paperback
Page Count 800
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 247mm * 174mm * 24mm
