BRILL

Ancient Alexandria between Egypt and Greece.

Classicists, historians, and archaeologists were drawn to Columbia University in October 2002 to consider the second-largest, but perhaps least studied of the great cities of classical antiquity. Most of the 13 essays here have been revised from presentation there. Among their topics are Egyptian elite self-presentation in the context of Ptolemaic rule, Macedon meets Egypt in Posidippus' poetry book, portrayals of the wise and virtuous in Alexandrian Jewish works, some aspects of social and economic contacts under Roman rule, Galen's Alexandria, Hellenism and opposition to Christianity, some unpublished wax figurines from Upper Egypt, and late antique pagan networks from Athens to the Thebaid. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ancient building technology; 2v.

Archaeologists and art and architectural historians, together with general readers interested in prehistoric life and culture will find a wealth of information in this two-volume work, which sets out to synthesize the nature and use of building materials throughout the ancient world in North Africa, western Asia, and Europe. The first volume contains the text, consisting of nine chapters that describe the materials of wood, stone, earth and clay, lime and gypsum, concrete, bitumen, metals, and glass. Volume 2, which is a delight to peruse, is filled with drawings and photos of materials being prepared and used, surviving or reconstructed structures and techniques, maps, and schematics, each with a lengthy descriptive caption. The drawings are both copies of ancient images and later, descriptive drawings by archaeologists and others. Wright studied at the U. of Munich, Germany. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ancient West & East; v.3 no.2.

The latest issue of the biannual devoted to the history and archaeology of the periphery of the Graeco-Roman world offers six articles, two notes, and many reviews of new books. The articles discuss such topics as Medes in media, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia: empire, hegemony, domination, or illusion; rethinking early Greek- indigenous encounters in southern Italy; jewelery evidence and the lowering of South Italian ceramic chronology; and the organization of the mint in Chersonesus in Taurica in the first half of the fourth century BC. One of the articles is in German, and another in French. The notes cover bronze punches from Berezan; and a brooch with the heads of a lion, a bull, and a human found in Celtiberia. There is no index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ancient West and East; v.3 no.1.

Six articles, one in French, anchor the latest volume in the biannual series devoted to the study of the history and archaeology of the periphery of the Graeco-Roman world. Among their topics are the mastering of iron-working by the peoples of the northern Caucasus in the early Iron Age; stone casting moulds from Colle Madore as evidence of metallurgy in Skanie; evidence from Egyptianizing amulets about Sidonians, Tyrians, and Greeks in the Mediterranean; and the mineralogy, paint composition, and storage products of two archaic casts from Histria. Also includes are notes questioning radiocarbon dates from Iron Age Gordion and describing a rich burial from Mtskheta; discussions of several ongoing questions; and reviews of recent books. There is no index. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The art and architecture of Thailand; from prehistoric times through the thirteenth century, 2d ed.

Woodward (art history, Yale U. and curator of Asian art, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore) presents an updated edition of his exhaustive history of the art and architecture from prehistoric times through the 13th-century in Thailand. Archaeology is a central theme, with detailed descriptions of sites and discoveries — particularly sculpture — discussed as part of the larger historical milieu. The volume is systematically organized by date and location and is illustrated with b&w drawings in the text and a group of b&w plates at the end. A lengthy bibliography is included. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Art and architecture of late medieval pilgrimage in northern Europe and the British Isles; 2v.

The 27 essays of this ambitious volume cover a number of places, shrines, saint's cults, and sacred architecture, yet they maintain a coherent focus through the central theme of pilgrimage. The papers are grouped into 7 sections, on topics that include the pilgrim's real and imagined journey, iconography, the symbol of Jerusalem, souvenirs, politics, and cult practice. Among the saints and sites considered are Thomas Becket, the shrines to Charlemagne and Mary in Aachen, host-miracle churches in Germany, St. Æthelthryth's cult in 13th-century England, the Chartreuse de Champmol, the church of Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre, Canterbury Cathedral, and reliquaries of the True Cross. Volume Two contains 348 photos and illustrations in good quality b&w plates. Blick (art history, Kenyon College, US) and Tekippe (art history, State U. of West Georgia, Carrollton) began gathering scholars to contribute to this collection while hosting a series of sessions at the International Congress of Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The art of the Franciscan order in Italy.

Ten scholars, in history, art history, theology, and English, are the contributors to this collection of nine essays on the art and architecture associated with the Franciscans in Italy. The topics include the church of St Francis of Assisi, the Bardi Chapel of Santa Croce in Florence, 13th-century paintings of miracles associated with St. Francis, the tomb of St. Francis, and the influence of the art and story of St. Francis on Dante. The volume is illustrated with b&w and color plates. Cook teaches history at the State U. of New York in Geneseo. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Attic fine pottery of the archaic to Hellenistic periods in Phanagoria.

The Phanagoria Project, which was based at Royal Holloway U. of London, was a joint excavation and publication project with the Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, to investigate the ancient Tean colony of Phanagoria on the Taman Peninsula of southern Russia, opposite the eastern tip of the Crimea. Fieldwork was done in 1996 and 1998. The current volume is the first of a projected three that will provide details of that excavation as well as fieldwork elsewhere on the Taman Peninsula and the Asiatic Bosporus. It is the first lengthy publication on the project; it reviews the nature and social function of Attic fine pottery imported to the Greek colony and assesses the changing role of the pottery in Black Sea trade. Illustrated in b&w. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Bodywork, dress as cultural tool; dress and demeanor in the south of Senegal.

Andrewes, a translator and editor with a PhD in cultural anthropology, looks not at what people do with their clothes, but at what clothes do with the wearers. She describes the dress styles and practices of people in three small communities in Senegal — Muslim, Christian, and animist — and shows how a particular way of dressing influences the body's demeanor and habit. The study considers the role played by dress in the enculturation of the body. A few b&w sketches punctuate the text. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Brill's New Pauly; encyclopaedia of the ancient world: Antiquity; v.6: Hat-Jus.

Brill's New Pauly is the English edition of Der Neue Pauly published by Verlag J.B. Metzler since 1996. The ambitious, authoritative project will comprise 20 volumes (of which this is the sixth). It is interdisciplinary and contemporary in its approach. The first 15 volumes are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity, with coverage of the 2,000 years ranging from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe. Emphasis is given to the interaction between Greco-Roman culture and other cultures and religions. Cancik (Latin, U. of Tübingen) and Schneider (ancient history, U. of Kassel) head the editorial team; Salazar (U. of Cambridge) edits the English edition, for which bibliographic references have been updated. A sampling of entries in this volume includes the Egyptian goddess Hathor, henna, hermeneutics, Hermes, hieroglyphic scripts, Historia Augusta, and Indo-Europeans. As an example of scope, the entry on Hispania includes sub-headings on population, languages, topography, classical knowledge and names of mountains and rivers, Roman rule, the late antique and Byzantine period, religion, systems of writing, and archaeology. Ground plans, maps, and other illustrations are included. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Brill's New Pauly; encyclopaedia of the ancient world: Antiquity; v.5: Equ-Has.

Brill's New Pauly is the English edition of Der Neue Pauly published by Verlag J.B. Metzler since 1996. The ambitious, authoritative project will comprise 20 volumes (of which this is the fifth). It is interdisciplinary and contemporary in its approach. The first 15 volumes are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity, with coverage of the 2,000 years ranging from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe. Emphasis is given to the interaction between Greco- Roman culture and Semitic, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavonic cultures, and to the interaction of ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Cancik (Latin, U. of Tübingen) and Schneider (ancient history, U. of Kassel) head the editorial team; Salazar (U. of Cambridge) took charge of editing the English edition, for which bibliographic references have been updated. In addition to the many entries for proper names, a sampling of topical entries in this volume includes grain, eranos, eroticism, eschatology, farmers, fasces, flea, and Flora. Some ground plans, maps, and other illustrations are included. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Cretan sanctuaries and cults; continuity and change from the late Minoan IIIC to the Archaic period.

Slightly reworking her December 2003 doctoral dissertation for the University of Amsterdam, Dutch archaeologist Prent compiles archaeological evidence from over 90 sanctuaries that were in use on the eastern Mediterranean island of Crete from about 1200 to about 600 BC. The golden age of the Minoan palaces have received much study and attention, but she examines later periods that were not so sexy and have been little studied. She does not challenge the conventional notion of an unusual continuity of Bronze Age religious tradition in Crete, but looks deeper into it, assessing its nature and extent in detail, and balancing that continuity with observed changes in religious customs and in the use of sanctuaries in the broader context of societal change. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Dictionary of gnosis & western esotericism; 2v.

Philosophers, historians, religious historians, and graduate students in these fields will find this new dictionary to be a useful and thought-provoking resource, containing scholarly historic entries on the ideas, works, and lives of those linked to areas of thought outside the norms of orthodox religious practice, and elevating their importance in the process. Newton, Ficino, Paracelsus, Llull, Viterbo, Oetinger, Zoroaster, and Marcus the Magician are some of the thinkers featured. Other entry topics include mesmerism, Catharism, neo- Catharism, satanism, amulets, and neopaganism. Several topics — including alchemy, astrology, Jewish influences, intermediary beings, magic, music, hermetic literature, neoplatonism, and secrecy — appear in multiple entries describing the practice or thought from ancient times through the present. An international group of scholars wrote the entries (many appear in English translation). Hanegraaff teaches at the U. of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ernst Herzfeld and the development of Near Eastern Studies, 1900-1950.

Ernst Herzfeld (1879-1948) played a crucial role in the development of Near Eastern studies at a time when it was undergoing disciplinary and institutional change and against the backdrop of dramatic political changes in the host countries of research and in Europe. Gunter (curator for ancient Near Eastern art and head of research, Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution, US) and Hauser (a senior researcher at the U. of Halle, Germany) present 20 papers originally delivered at an eponymous May 2001 symposium, which aimed to reexamine the contributions of Herzfeld to Near Eastern studies, as well as to place them in the broader intellectual, institutional, and political frameworks of his era. Papers discuss his work at key archaeological sites such as Persepolis, his contribution to the historiography of Persian civilization, and his scholarship related to Byzantine and Islamic art history. The final six contributions consider aspects of Near Eastern studies, cultural politics, and archaeological ethics. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Flavian Rome; culture, image, text.

The 25 articles gathered in this collection provide insights into the poetry, sculpture, literature, drama, and politics of the Flavian period. Written by scholars of the classics in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK, the papers examine topics that include the Flavian amphitheatre, some of the Epigrams of Martial, Italicus' Punica, Statius' Silvae, religion, Plutarch, and Pliny's Natural history. All quotations in Greek and Latin are accompanied by English translation, allowing the volume to be of use not only to specialists in classical studies, but also to their students. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Hispania in late antiquity; current perspectives.

Although a great deal of work is being done on Spanish late antiquity, relatively few in the Anglophone community have had the opportunity to review it. These 11 articles, all of which appear in English, explore the rich and varied scholarship in recent studies in archeology, history, and the history of art of Hispania as it became integrated into the later Roman empire. Topics include a review of Spanish government and Spanish cities in the period, the influence of Christianity and the Church, Spain's relationship with its provincial neighbors, and Spanish trade and economy. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The image of an Ottoman city; imperial architecture and urban experience in Aleppo in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The active, dynamic engagement between the center and the periphery of the Ottoman Empire — between the imperial elite based in Istanbul and the societies in the territories they conquered — as expressed through architecture and urbanism, lies at the heart of Watenpaugh's study of the Syrian city. After placing the city of the 16th and 17th centuries in the context both of the contemporary empire and of its own previous history, he explores the construction of a monumental corridor in the great complexes of the 16th century, the decentering of patronage through Dervish lodges and endowments of the 17th century, the Ottomanization of the past, and the image of the city in texts produced in Aleppo and at the imperial capital. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

In synchrony with the heavens; studies in astronomical timekeeping and instrumentation in medieval Islamic civilization; v.2: Instruments of mass calculation (studies X-XVIII).

Astrolabes, beautiful metal devices used for calculating time using the stars, and one of the great scientific inventions of medieval Islam, are documented in encyclopedic detail in this massive volume. King (history of science, J.W. Goethe U., Frankfurt, Germany) presents 20 essays, half of them previously published in other languages or earlier versions. Ten essays are devoted to specific astrolabes now in museums and originally made in medieval Spain, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, India, and the Ottoman world. (He uses the term "medieval" in the title to denote an Islamic era "neither classical nor modern.") The chapter on the 8th-century astrolabe in the Archaeological Museum in Baghdad includes a survey of all the astrolabes contained in that museum. A lengthy (110-page) initial chapter surveys astronomical instrumentation in the Islamic world. Other chapter topics include a lengthy treatment of the formula used for timekeeping, universal horary quadrants and dials, the origin of the astrolabe according to medieval sources, astronomical instruments used in Muslim India, geographical data on early Islamic astronomical instruments, and the quatrefoil as decoration on astrolabes. A checklist identifies all known Islamic astronomical instruments up to c.1500, grouped according to location. Each chapter is richly illustrated with b&w and some color plates. The first volume (published by Brill in 2004) presented an analysis of over 500 manuscripts documenting the use of the sun and stars to keep time, an essential task in Islamic lands for determining the hour of prayer. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Inspiration; Bacchus and the cultural history of a creation myth.

Moffitt (emeritus art, New Mexico State U.) examines in detail the historical sources of and evolving contexts for the modern notion of artistic inspiration. He also looks at the history of creative dementia, and treats both phenomena as mythical fallacies. Having periodized inspiration into two — ancient Dionysis to the humanists' Bacchus, and neo-Dionysiac modernists — he takes up such issues as Michelangelo's Bacchus as a historical metaphor, post-classical and Christian inspiration, post-Renaissance inspiration from the Enlightenment to the Romantics, Dionysiac ecstasy and modernist art-worship, and Joseph Buys as a case of inspired shaman-artist. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, 2d rev.ed.

Scholars and students of medieval Spain will welcome this revised edition of Glick's classic 1979 history. Reflecting new developments in historiography, the wealth of finds in archaeology, and changing understanding of society, this edition has been substantially revised and expanded. Using an approach that compares the practices and traditions of the major medieval Spanish cultures — Muslim, Christian, and Jewish — Glick (history, Boston U., Mass.) describes aspects of agriculture, urbanization, commerce, society, ethnic relations, technology, science, and culture. Among the types of technology described are military, agriculture, artisan, hydrology, textiles, paper, and glass, with attention to cross-cultural influences. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)