The first book-length overview of agricultural development in the ancient world A Companion to Ancient Agriculture is an authoritative overview of the history and development of agriculture in the ancient world. Focusing primarily on the Near East and Mediterranean regions, this unique text explores the cultivation of the soil and rearing of animals through centuries of human civilization—from the Neolithic beginnings of agriculture to Late Antiquity. Chapters written by the leading scholars in their fields present a multidisciplinary examination of the agricultural methods and influences that have enabled humans to survive and prosper. Consisting of thirty-one chapters, the Companion presents essays on a range of topics that include economic-political, anthropological, zooarchaeological, ethnobotanical, and archaeobotanical investigation of ancient agriculture. Chronologically-organized chapters offer in-depth discussions of agriculture in Bronze Age Egypt and Mesopotamia, Hellenistic Greece and Imperial Rome, Iran and Central Asia, and other regions. Sections on comparative agricultural history discuss agriculture in the Indian subcontinent and prehistoric China while an insightful concluding section helps readers understand ancient agriculture from a modern perspective. Fills the need for a full-length biophysical and social overview of ancient agriculture Provides clear accounts of the current state of research written by experts in their respective areas Places ancient Mediterranean agriculture in conversation with contemporary practice in Eastern and Southern Asia Includes coverage of analysis of stable isotopes in ancient agricultural cultivation Offers plentiful illustrations, references, case studies, and further reading suggestions A Companion to Ancient Agriculture is a much-needed resource for advanced students, instructors, scholars, and researchers in fields such as agricultural history, ancient economics, and in broader disciplines including classics, archaeology, and ancient history.

The first book-length overview of agricultural development in the ancient world A Companion to Ancient Agriculture is an authoritative overview of the history and development of agriculture in the ancient world. Focusing primarily on the Near East and Mediterranean regions, this unique text explores the cultivation of the soil and rearing of animals through centuries of human civilization—from the Neolithic beginnings of agriculture to Late Antiquity. Chapters written by the leading scholars in their fields present a multidisciplinary examination of the agricultural methods and influences that have enabled humans to survive and prosper. Consisting of thirty-one chapters, the Companion presents essays on a range of topics that include economic-political, anthropological, zooarchaeological, ethnobotanical, and archaeobotanical investigation of ancient agriculture. Chronologically-organized chapters offer in-depth discussions of agriculture in Bronze Age Egypt and Mesopotamia, Hellenistic Greece and Imperial Rome, Iran and Central Asia, and other regions. Sections on comparative agricultural history discuss agriculture in the Indian subcontinent and prehistoric China while an insightful concluding section helps readers understand ancient agriculture from a modern perspective. Fills the need for a full-length biophysical and social overview of ancient agriculture Provides clear accounts of the current state of research written by experts in their respective areas Places ancient Mediterranean agriculture in conversation with contemporary practice in Eastern and Southern Asia Includes coverage of analysis of stable isotopes in ancient agricultural cultivation Offers plentiful illustrations, references, case studies, and further reading suggestions A Companion to Ancient Agriculture is a much-needed resource for advanced students, instructors, scholars, and researchers in fields such as agricultural history, ancient economics, and in broader disciplines including classics, archaeology, and ancient history.

A Companion to Food in the Ancient World presents acomprehensive overview of the cultural aspects relating to theproduction, preparation, and consumption of food and drink inantiquity. • Provides an up-to-date overview of the study of food inthe ancient world • Addresses all aspects of food production, distribution,preparation, and consumption during antiquity • Features original scholarship from some of the mostinfluential North American and European specialists in Classicalhistory, ancient history, and archaeology • Covers a wide geographical range from Britain to ancientAsia, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, regionssurrounding the Black Sea, and China • Considers the relationships of food in relation toancient diet, nutrition, philosophy, gender, class, religion, andmore

A Companion to Ancient Thrace presents a series of essays that reveal the newly recognized complexity of the social and cultural phenomena of the peoples inhabiting the Balkan periphery of the Classical world. • Features a rich and detailed overview of Thracian history from the Early Iron Age to Late Antiquity • Includes contributions from leading scholars in the archaeology, art history, and general history of Thrace • Balances consideration of material evidence relating to Ancient Thrace with more traditional literary sources • Integrates a study of Thrace within a broad context that includes the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean, southwest Asia, and southeast Europe/Eurasia • Reflects the impact of new theoretical approaches to economy, ethnicity, and cross-cultural interaction and hybridity in Ancient Thrace

"This chapter provides an overview of the Muses in Greek mythology and argues that their multiplicity, their indefinite number, their lack of fixed personalities and their metapoetic status make them highly unusual members of the Olympian pantheon. As the embodiment of music and the means by which music is channelled to human beings they are essential to our understanding of the meaning of mousikē in Greek culture. Above all their origins in an oral society foregrounds the performative nature of music which has characterised it as an art form throughout the ages"--

Discusses agricultural technology in various cultures from the Stone Age to 476 A.D., including China, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and Greece.

An innovative approach to the study of ten centuries of Jewish culture and history A Companion to Late Ancient Jews and Judaism explores the Jewish people, their communities, and various manifestations of their religious and cultural expressions from the third century BCE to the seventh century CE. Presenting a collection of 30 original essays written by noted scholars in the field, this companion provides an expansive examination of ancient Jewish life, identity, gender, sacred and domestic spaces, literature, language, and theological questions throughout late ancient Jewish history and historiography. Editors Gwynn Kessler and Naomi Koltun-Fromm situate the volume within Late Antiquity, enabling readers to rethink traditional chronological, geographic, and political boundaries. The Companion incorporates a broad methodology, drawing from social history, material history and culture, and literary studies to consider the diverse forms and facets of Jews and Judaism within multiple contexts of place, culture, and history. Divided into five parts, thematically-organized essays discuss topics including the spaces where Jews lived, worked, and worshiped, Jewish languages and literatures, ethnicities and identities, and questions about gender and the body central to Jewish culture and Judaism. Offering original scholarship and fresh insights on late ancient Jewish history and culture, this unique volume: Offers a one-volume exploration of “second temple,” “Greco-Roman,” and “rabbinic” periods and sources Explores Jewish life across most of the geographic places where Jews or Judaeans were known to have lived Features original maps of areas cited in every essay, including maps of Jewish settlement throughout Late Antiquity Includes an outline of major historical events, further readings, and full references A Companion to Late Ancient Jews and Judaism: 3rd Century BCE - 7th Century CE is a valuable resource for students, instructors, and scholars of Jewish studies, religion, literature, and ethnic identity, as well as general readers with interest in Jewish history, world religions, Classics, and Late Antiquity.

A Companion to the Archaeology of Religion in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive overview of a wide range of topics relating to the practices, expressions, and interactions of religion in antiquity, primarily in the Greco-Roman world. • Features readings that focus on religious experience and expression in the ancient world rather than solely on religious belief • Places a strong emphasis on domestic and individual religious practice • Represents the first time that the concept of “lived religion” is applied to the ancient history of religion and archaeology of religion • Includes cutting-edge data taken from top contemporary researchers and theorists in the field • Examines a large variety of themes and religious traditions across a wide geographical area and chronological span • Written to appeal equally to archaeologists and historians of religion

An innovative, up-to-date treatment of ancient Greek mobility and migration from 1000 BCE to 30 BCE A Companion to Greeks Across the Ancient World explores the mobility and migration of Greeks who left their homelands in the ten centuries between the Early Iron Age and the Hellenistic period. While most academic literature centers on the Greeks of the Aegean basin area, this unique volume provides a systematic examination of the history of the other half of the ancient Greek world. Contributions from leading scholars and historians discuss where migrants settled, their new communities, and their connections and interactions with both Aegean Greeks and non-Greeks. Divided into three parts, the book first covers ancient and modern approaches and the study of the ancient Greeks outside their homelands, including various intellectual, national, and linguistic traditions. Regional case studies form the core of the text, taking a microhistory approach to examine Greeks in the Near Eastern Empires, Greek-Celtic interactions in Central Europe, Greek-established states in Central Asia, and many others throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. The closing section of the text discusses wider themes such as the relations between the Greek homeland and the edges of Greek civilization. Reflecting contemporary research and fresh perspectives on ancient Greek culture contact, this volume: Discusses the development and intersection of mobility, migration, and diaspora studies Examines the various forms of ancient Greek mobility and their outcomes Highlights contributions to cultural development in the Greek and non-Greek world Examines wider themes and the various forms of ancient Greek mobility and their outcomes Includes an overview of ancient terminology and concepts, modern translations, numerous maps, and full references A Companion to Greeks Across the Ancient World is a valuable resource for students, instructors, and researchers of Classical antiquity, as well as non-specialists with interest in ancient Greek mobilities, migrations, and diasporas.

A COMPANION TO THE ACHAEMENID PERSIAN EMPIRE A comprehensive review of the political, cultural, social, economic and religious history of the Achaemenid Empirem Often called the first world empire, the Achaemenid Empire is rooted in older Near Eastern traditions. A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire offers a perspective in which the history of the empire is embedded in the preceding and subsequent epochs. In this way, the traditions that shaped the Achaemenid Empire become as visible as the powerful impact it had on further historical development. But the work does not only break new ground in this respect, but also in the fact that, in addition to written testimonies of all kinds, it also considers material tradition as an equal factor in historical reconstruction. This comprehensive two-volume set features contributions by internationally-recognized experts that offer balanced coverage of the whole of the empire from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. Comprehensive in scope, the Companion provides readers with a panoramic view of the diversity, richness, and complexity of the Achaemenid Empire, dealing with all the many aspects of history, event history, administration, economy, society, communication, art, science and religion, illustrating the multifaceted nature of the first true empire. A unique historical account presented in its multiregional dimensions, this important resource deals with many aspects of history, administration, economy, society, communication, art, science and religion it deals with topics that have only recently attracted interest such as court life, leisure activities, gender roles, and more examines a variety of available sources to consider those predecessors who influenced Achaemenid structure, ideology, and self-expression contains the study of Nachleben and the history of perception up to the present day offers a spectrum of opinions in disputed fields of research, such as the interpretation of the imagery of Achaemenid art, or questions of religion includes extensive bibliographies in each chapter for use as starting points for further research devotes special interest to the east of the empire, which is often neglected in comparison to the western territories Part of the acclaimed Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series, A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire is an indispensable work for students, instructors, and scholars of Persian and ancient world history, particularly the First Persian Empire.