Buch, Englisch, 360 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 678 g
ISBN: 978-0-691-14007-0
Verlag: Princeton University Press
Though Greece is traditionally seen as an agrarian society, cattle were essential to Greek communal life, through religious sacrifice and dietary consumption. Cattle were also pivotal in mythology: gods and heroes stole cattle, expected sacrifices of cattle, and punished those who failed to provide them. The Cattle of the Sun ranges over a wealth of sources, both textual and archaeological, to explore why these animals mattered to the Greeks, how they came to be a key element in Greek thought and behavior, and how the Greeks exploited the symbolic value of cattle as a way of structuring social and economic relations. Jeremy McInerney explains that cattle's importance began with domestication and pastoralism: cattle were nurtured, bred, killed, and eaten. Practically useful and symbolically potent, cattle became social capital to be exchanged, offered to the gods, or consumed collectively. This circulation of cattle wealth structured Greek society, since dedication to the gods, sacrifice, and feasting constituted the most basic institutions of Greek life. McInerney shows that cattle contributed to the growth of sanctuaries in the Greek city-states, as well as to changes in the economic practices of the Greeks, from the Iron Age through the classical period, as a monetized, market economy developed from an earlier economy of barter and exchange. Combining a broad theoretical approach with a careful reading of sources, The Cattle of the Sun illustrates the significant position that cattle held in the culture and experiences of the Greeks.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Archäologie spezieller Regionen und Zeitalter
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Geschichte der klassischen Antike Griechische Geschichte
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wirtschaftsgeschichte
Weitere Infos & Material
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
A Note about Spellings and Translations xiii
Abbreviations xv
CHAPTER 1: Cattle Habits 1
CHAPTER 2: The Paradoxes of Pastoralism 21
CHAPTER 3: Cattle Systems in Bronze Age Greece 48
CHAPTER 4: Epic Consumption 74
CHAPTER 5: Heroes and Gods 97
CHAPTER 6: Gods, Cattle, and Space 123
CHAPTER 7: Sacred Economics 146
CHAPTER 8: Cities and Cattle Business 173
CHAPTER 9: Sacred Law 196
CHAPTER 10: Authority and Value 217
CHAPTER 11: Conclusions 241
Notes 253
Bibliography 293
Index 335
