Foundation myths and politics in ancient Ionia / by Naoíse Mac Sweeney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mac Sweeney, Naoíse, 1982- author.

Series:

Cambridge classical studies.

Cambridge classical studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City-states--Ionia (Turkey and Greece)--History--To 1500.

City-states.

Extinct cities--Ionia (Turkey and Greece).

Extinct cities.

Ionia (Turkey and Greece)--History.

Ionia (Turkey and Greece).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 239 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Foundation Myths & Politics in Ancient Ionia

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book examines foundation myths told about the Ionian cities during the archaic and classical periods. It uses these myths to explore the complex and changing ways in which civic identity was constructed in Ionia, relating this to the wider discourses about ethnicity and cultural difference that were current in the Greek world at this time. The Ionian cities seem to have rejected oppositional models of cultural difference which set in contrast East and West, Europe and Asia, Greek and Barbarian, opting instead for a more fluid and nuanced perspective on ethnic and cultural distinctions. The conclusions of this book have far-reaching implications for our understanding of Ionia, but also challenge current models of Greek ethnicity and identity, suggesting that there was a more diverse conception of Greekness in antiquity than has often been assumed.

Contents:

1. Introduction: identity and the construction of cultural difference

2. Foundation myths and politics

3. Ionia

4. Miletus: violence and bloodshed

5. Chios and Samos: land and island

6. Colophon and Ephesus: founding mothers

7. Being Ionian: the Ionian League, Ionian migrations, and Smyrna

8. Conclusions.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-108-72996-7

1-107-46137-5

1-139-89267-3

1-107-47216-4

1-107-46858-2

1-107-46508-7

1-139-77541-3

1-107-47317-9

OCLC:

865330786