Gilgámesh: a vida de um poema

SCHMIDT, M. Gilgamesh: The Life of a Poem. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019, 192 p. – ISBN 9780691195247.

Neste livro Michael Schmidt discute o fascínio especial que a epopeia de Gilgámesh exerce sobre os poetas contemporâneos, argumentando que parte de seu apelo é sua cativante alteridade. Ele reflete sobre o trabalho de importantes poetas, como Charles Olson, Louis Zukofsky e Yusef Komunyakaa, cujos encontros com o poema são reveladores.

 

Gilgamesh is the most ancient long poem known to exist. It is also the newest classic in the canon of world literature. Lost for centuries to the sands of the Middle EastSCHMIDT, M. Gilgamesh: The Life of a Poem. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019 but found again in the 1850s, it tells the story of a great king, his heroism, and his eventual defeat. It is a story of monsters, gods, and cataclysms, and of intimate friendship and love. Acclaimed literary historian Michael Schmidt provides a unique meditation on the rediscovery of Gilgamesh and its profound influence on poets today.

Schmidt describes how the poem is a work in progress even now, an undertaking that has drawn on the talents and obsessions of an unlikely cast of characters, from archaeologists and museum curators to tomb raiders and jihadis. Incised on clay tablets, its fragments were scattered across a huge expanse of desert when it was recovered in the nineteenth century. The poem had to be reassembled, its languages deciphered. The discovery of a pre-Noah flood story was front-page news on both sides of the Atlantic, and the poem’s allure only continues to grow as additional cuneiform tablets come to light. Its translation, interpretation, and integration are ongoing.

In this illuminating book, Schmidt discusses the special fascination Gilgamesh holds for contemporary poets, arguing that part of its appeal is its captivating otherness. He reflects on the work of leading poets such as Charles Olson, Louis Zukofsky, and Yusef Komunyakaa, whose own encounters with the poem are revelatory, and he reads its many translations and editions to bring it vividly to life for readers.

 

Ele diz, no Prefácio do livro, que fez, por escrito, 5 perguntas para 50 poetas do mundo de língua inglesa sobre sua relação com a epopeia de Gilgámesh.

1. Quando foi que você encontrou o poema e em qual tradução, ou qual adaptação e meio?

2. Qual é atualmente sua tradução ou versão preferida?

3. Você se lembra da sua impressão inicial do poema? Que relação você tem com ele quando escreve ou planeja escrever?

4. Você o coloca, em sua biblioteca física ou mental, em uma prateleira com épicos e escrituras, em outra prateleira ou em nenhuma prateleira?

5. Gilgámesh é um elemento de informação em seu processo criativo e crítico?

 

I wrote to fifty poets across the Anglophone world and asked them five questions about Gilgamesh. It is hard to frame questions that do not prompt specific answers and reveal more about the questioner than the poem. I wanted the poem to pose its questions.

1. When do you first remember encountering the poem and in which translation (or which adaptation and medium)? [What mattered was the first remembered encounter, the real engagement. It might have come not by textual means but via the collages of Anselm Kiefer, or a surprising episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation, or via oratorios, operas or animations.]

2. Which is now your preferred translation or version?

3. Do you recall your initial impression of the poem? What residual relationship do you have with it in your own writing and thinking about writing? [Men and women responded very differently, almost as though the material of the poem is fundamentally gendered; and unless the reader is able to engage with the textures of the language or to historicise response, the narrative can alienate anyone impatient with heroes and dragons.]

4. Do you place it, in your literal or mental library, on a shelf with epics, with scripture, on another shelf (which?), or on no shelf at all?

5. Is Gilgamesh an informing element in your imaginative and critical being, or ‘being’, and if so, in what ways?

Most respondents first read the poem in N. K. Sandars’s prose translation, the original Penguin Classics version. Dick Davis, the poet and major Persian translator, describes it: ‘the prose of [her] version is quasi King James Bible English, loosened but recognizably on that model, and I have always been a sucker for prose like this, and this was/is an added reason it has remained my preferred version, even though I am aware that this is a rather dubiously appropriate model.’ Some of those reared on Sandars have gone on to other preferences. But there is something to be said for a prose version first time round: it gives the narrative clearly, without the distraction of gaps and fissures. It does, however, pose other problems.

This book recounts some of the stories surrounding Gilgamesh. It looks at the work itself and tries to read it without the back-projections that mar so much reading, the belief that ‘they’ were like an earlier version of ‘us’, and their concerns were in some way prototypes of ours. The otherness of Gilgamesh is what this book tries to be about, though the habits of the age infect the author, who is in the first degree guilty, being—like most of the poem’s would-be translators—unable to read the work in any of its original languages.

 

Michael Schmidt is a literary historian, poet, novelist, translator, and anthologist as well as an editor and publisher. His books include The Novel: A Biography and The First Poets. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he received an OBE in 2006 for services to poetry and higher education. He lives in Manchester, England. Twitter @4Michael7

A epopeia de Gilgámesh e a Bíblia

Um artigo:

The Influence of Gilgamesh on the Bible – By Louise M. Pryke – The Bible and Interpretation: November 2019

Existem apenas algumas referências não cuneiformes a Gilgámesh. A narrativa do dilúvio da epopeia de Gilgamesh continua sendo a conexão mais evidente entre a Bíblia Hebraica e a narrativa épica da Mesopotâmia, um século e meio depois de George Smith tê-la notado pela primeira vez. A narrativa do dilúvio no texto bíblico não é, no entanto, o único ponto de contato entre as duas obras da literatura antiga. O nome do herói da epopeia de Gilgámesh pode ser encontrado em um texto dos Manuscritos do Mar Morto conhecido como O Livro dos Gigantes.

There are only a handful of non-cuneiform references to Gilgamesh. The Flood narrative from the Gilgamesh Epic remains the most overt connection between the Hebrew Bible and the Mesopotamian epic narrative, some hundred years after it was first noted by George Smith. The Flood narrative within the biblical text is not, however, the only point of contact between the two works of ancient literature. The name of the heroic protagonist of the Gilgamesh Epic may be found in a text from the Dead Sea Scrolls known as The Book of Giants.

 

Um livro:

PRYKE, L. M. Gilgamesh. Abingdon: Routledge, 2019, 256 p. – ISBN 9781138860698

Gilgamesh focuses on the eponymous hero of the world’s oldest epic and his legendary adventures. However, it also goes further and examines the significance of the story’s Ancient Near Eastern context, and what it tells us about notions of kingship, animality, and the natures of mortality and immortality.PRYKE, L. M. Gilgamesh. London: Routledge, 2019

In this volume, Louise M. Pryke provides a unique perspective to consider many foundational aspects of Mesopotamian life, such as the significance of love and family, the conceptualisation of life and death, and the role of religious observance. The final chapter assesses the powerful influence of Gilgamesh on later works of ancient literature, from the Hebrew Bible, to the Odyssey, to The Tales of the Arabian Nights, and his reception through to the modern era.

Gilgamesh is an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to understand this fascinating figure, and more broadly, the relevance of Near Eastern myth in the classical world and beyond.

 

Louise M. Pryke is a Lecturer for the Languages and Literature of Ancient Israel at Macquarie University, Australia, and a Research Associate at the University of Sydney. Gilgamesh is her second volume in the Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World series. Her first book for the series, Ishtar, explored the world’s first goddess of love.

Congresso da ABIB em 2020: História de Israel

História de Israel: Arqueologia e Bíblia é o tema do IX Congresso da ABIB, que terá lugar na Instituto Teológico São Paulo (ITESP), em São Paulo, de 24 a 27 de agosto de 2020.

Com destaque para a participação de Norma Franklin, Professora de Arqueologia na Universidade de Haifa, Israel, e de Peter Dubovsky, Professor de Antigo Testamento no Pontifício Instituto Bíblico, Roma, Itália.

 

IX Congresso Internacional de Pesquisa Bíblica é transferido para 2021

Queridas/os associadas e associados.

Neste momento de apreensão, tristeza e incerteza, nós da Diretoria da ABIB (biênio 2019-2020) informamos oficialmente o adiamento do nosso IX Congresso Internacional de Pesquisa Bíblica, agendado para os dias 24 a 27 de agosto de 2020, nas dependências do ITESP – Instituto São Paulo de Estudos Superiores, localizado no bairro do Ipiranga, São Paulo, Capital. A decisão foi amplamente discutida na diretoria e considerou todos os riscos possíveis diante das incertezas causadas pela pandemia do Coronavírus ou COVID-19. Nossa decisão, inclusive, está em sintonia com o procedimento adotado por diversas outras instituições nacionais e internacionais, cujos eventos também foram cancelados. Por sua vez, pretendendo antecipar a articulação das agendas, decidimos desde já marcar a nova data do IX Congresso, a saber, 23 a 26 de agosto de 2021, no ITESP, São Paulo, Capital.

Pedimos às pessoas que já efetuaram suas inscrições e desejarem obter esclarecimentos sobre pagamentos já realizados a entrarem em contato com nosso primeiro tesoureiro, prof. Cleodon Amaral de Lima, pelo telefone 11-99649-2933 ou pelo e-mail cleodon_lima@hotmail.com. Não havendo contato o respectivo valor será considerado como pagamento adiantado da inscrição para o congresso de 2021.

Por ora, esses são os informes a respeito do nosso Congresso. Infelizmente, situações inusitadas, mesmo com desgosto, exigem respostas necessárias. Esperamos que este período de caos global nos provoque profundas reflexões e aguce nossa sensibilidade, a fim de construirmos relações planetárias mais solidárias, cooperativas, responsáveis e sustentáveis.

1177 a.C.: o ano em que a civilização entrou em colapso

CLINE, E. H. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021 (Revised and Updated Edition) [2014], 304 p. – ISBN 9780691208015.

CLINE, E. H. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021 (Revised and Updated Edition)O livro de Eric H. Cline, da Universidade George Washington, Washington, D.C., é muito interessante. Embora não seja especificamente sobre os filisteus, o livro nos coloca no contexto da chegada dos “povos do mar”, dos quais os filisteus fazem parte, e oferece um panorama dos acontecimentos do Antigo Oriente Médio no final da Idade do Bronze.

A primeira edição do livro é de 2014. Esta edição de 2021 foi revista e atualizada, incorporando dados arqueológicos mais recentes.

Diz a editora:

Em 1177 a.C., grupos de saqueadores, que hoje chamamos de “povos do mar”, invadiram o Egito. As forças militares egípcias, sob o comando do faraó Ramsés III, conseguiram derrotá-los, mas a vitória enfraqueceu tanto o Egito que logo o então poderoso reino caiu em declínio, assim como a maioria das civilizações vizinhas. Depois de séculos de existência de brilhantes civilizações, o mundo da Idade do Bronze chegou a um fim abrupto e cataclísmico. Os reinos caíram como dominós ao longo de apenas algumas décadas. Não havia mais minoicos ou micênios. Não havia mais troianos, hititas ou babilônios. A prosperidade econômica e cultural do final do segundo milênio a.C., que se estendia da Grécia ao Egito e à Mesopotâmia, deixou repentinamente de existir, junto com sistemas de escrita, tecnologia e arquitetura monumental. Mas os povos do mar sozinhos não poderiam ter causado um colapso tão generalizado. Como isso aconteceu?

Neste novo e importante relato das causas desta “primeira idade das trevas”, Eric H. Cline conta a emocionante história de como o fim foi causado por múltiplos fatores interligados, desde invasão e revolta até terremotos, seca e bloqueio das rotas do comércio internacional. Trazendo à vida o vibrante mundo multicultural dessas grandes civilizações, ele desenha um panorama abrangente dos impérios e povos globalizados da Idade do Bronze Recente e mostra que foi sua própria interdependência que apressou seu colapso dramático e inaugurou uma idade das trevas que durou séculos.

Em uma atraente combinação de narrativa e pesquisa mais recente, 1177 a.C. lança nova luz sobre os processos complexos que deram origem, e finalmente destruíram, as florescentes civilizações do final da Idade do Bronze. E que prepararam o terreno para o surgimento da Grécia clássica.

Há uma versão em português, publicada em Portugal:

CLINE, E. H. 1177 a.C.: o ano em que a civilização colapsou. Odivelas: Alma dos Livros, 2022, 320 p. – ISBN 9789895700363.

Há também uma versão publicada no Brasil:

CLINE, E. H. 1177 a.C.: o ano em que a civilização entrou em colapso. Barueri: Avis Rara, 2023, 224 p. – ISBN 9786559573561.

Veja um vídeo com uma exposição de Eric H. Cline sobre o tema aqui.

 

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the “Sea Peoples” invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen?

In this major new account of the causes of this “First Dark Ages,” Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries.

A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age―and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.

Sobre o autor: Eric H. Cline is professor of classics and anthropology and director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at George Washington University, Washington, D. C. An active archaeologist, he has excavated and surveyed in Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the United States.

 

Eric H. Cline diz no prólogo de 1177 a.C.: o ano em que a civilização entrou em colapso, nas páginas 1-6:

Os guerreiros entraram no cenário mundial e se moveram rapidamente, deixando a morte e a destruição por onde passaram. Os estudiosos modernos referem-se a eles coletivamente como “povos do mar”, mas os egípcios que registraram seu ataque ao país nunca usaram esse termo, identificando-os como grupos independentes em empreitada comum: os Peleset, Tjekker, Shekelesh, Shardana, Danuna e Weshesh – nomes estranhos de pessoas com aparência estrangeira para os egípcios [nota: o nome “povos do mar” foi cunhado por Emmanuel de Rougé em 1867].

Nós sabemos pouco sobre eles, além do que os registros egípcios nos dizem. Não sabemos ao certo de onde veem os povos do mar: talvez da Sicília, Sardenha e Itália, de acordo com um cenário; talvez do Egeu ou da Anatólia ocidental, ou possivelmente até de Chipre ou do Mediterrâneo Oriental. Nenhuma localidade antiga foi identificada como sua origem ou ponto de partida. Pensamos neles como se movendo implacavelmente de um lugar para outro, vencendo países e reinos à medida que avançavam. De acordo com os textos egípcios, eles montaram acampamento na Síria antes de seguirem pela costa de Canaã (que inclui partes da moderna Síria, Líbano e Israel) e para o delta do Nilo, no Egito.

O ano era 1177 a.C. Era o oitavo ano do reinado do faraó Ramsés III. De acordo com os antigos egípcios, e segundo evidências arqueológicas mais recentes, alguns dos povos do mar vieram por terra, outros por mar. Não há vestígios de uniformes ou ferramentas. Imagens antigas retratam um grupo com elmos emplumados, enquanto outro grupo usava turbantes; outros ainda tinham capacetes com chifres ou tinham a cabeça descoberta. Alguns tinham barbas curtas e pontiagudas e estavam vestidos com saiotes curtos, com torso nu ou com túnica; outros não tinham barba e usavam saias mais compridas. Essas observações sugerem que os povos do mar compreendiam grupos diversos de diferentes geografias e culturas. Armados com afiadas espadas de bronze, lanças de madeira com pontas reluzentes de metal, e arcos e flechas, eles vieram em barcos, carroças, carros de boi e carruagens. Embora eu tenha tomado 1177 a.C. como uma data crucial, sabemos que os invasores vieram em ondas sucessivas durante um considerável espaço de tempo. Às vezes os guerreiros vinham sozinhos e às vezes as famílias os acompanhavam.

De acordo com as inscrições de Ramsés III, nenhum país foi capaz de se opor a essa massa de homens. A resistência foi inútil. As grandes potências da época – os Povos do mar retratados como prisioneiros em Medinet Habuhititas, os micênios, os cananeus, os cipriotas e outros – caíram uma a uma. Alguns dos sobreviventes fugiram da carnificina; outros se amontoavam nas ruínas de suas outrora orgulhosas cidades; outros ainda se uniram aos invasores, aumentando suas fileiras e a complexidade da horda de migrantes. Cada grupo dos povos do mar estava em movimento, cada um aparentemente motivado por razões individuais. Talvez tenha sido o desejo de despojos ou escravos que estimulou alguns; outros podem ter sido compelidos pelas pressões populacionais a migrar para o leste de suas próprias terras no Ocidente.

Nas paredes do seu templo mortuário em Medinet Habu, perto do Vale dos Reis, disse Ramsés III de maneira concisa:

“Os países estrangeiros fizeram uma conspiração em suas ilhas. De uma só vez as terras foram eliminadas e as pessoas dispersas no conflito. Nenhum país foi capaz de resistir às suas armas, de Hatti, Qode, Karkemish, Arzawa e Alashiya eles foram [eliminados] imediatamente. Um acampamento foi montado em uma localidade de Amurru. Humilharam seu povo, e sua terra nunca tinha enfrentado uma situação como essa. Eles se moveram em direção ao Egito e uma barreira de fogo foi colocada diante deles. Sua confederação era formada pelos Peleset, Tjekker, Shekelesh, Danuna e Weshesh, terras que se uniram. Eles puseram suas mãos sobre estas terras, com corações confiantes e esperançosos”.

Conhecemos as terras conquistadas pelos povos do mar, até porque algumas delas eram famosas naquela época, mas a identidade étnica dos 6 grupos que fizeram isso é bem mais problemática. Por exemplo: Danuna devem ser os Danaos de Homero, os Shekelesh podem ter vindo da Sicília e os Shardana [citados em outro documento] da Sardenha. Mas não há acordo sobre isso entre os estudiosos. E, então, diz Eric H. Cline:

De todos os grupos estrangeiros ativos em cena, apenas um foi identificado com certeza. O Peleset dos povos do mar quase certamente coincide com os filisteus, que, segundo a Bíblia, vieram de Creta.

(…)

Embora não saibamos com precisão as origens ou a motivação dos invasores, sabemos como eles se parecem – podemos ver seus nomes e rostos gravados nas paredes do templo mortuário de Ramsés III em Medinet Habu. Este sítio antigo é rico tanto em imagens quanto em textos gravados em hieróglifos. As armaduras, armas, roupas, barcos e carros de bois dos invasores carregados de pertences são claramente visíveis nas representações, tão detalhadas que os estudiosos publicaram análises das pessoas individuais e até mesmo dos diferentes barcos mostrados nas cenas.

(…)

Embora o debate acadêmico continue, a maioria dos especialistas concorda que as batalhas terrestres e marítimas descritas nas paredes de Medinet Habu foram provavelmente travadas quase simultaneamente no delta egípcio ou nas proximidades. É possível que elas representem uma única grande batalha, tanto no mar quanto em terra. Alguns estudiosos sugeriram que os exércitos dos povos do mar foram emboscados, sendo pegos de surpresa pelos egípcios. Em qualquer caso, o resultado final não está em questão. Em Medinet Habu, o faraó egípcio diz claramente:

“Eles alcançaram talvez a fronteira de minhas terras, mas não sua semente, e seus corações e almas terminaram para sempre e definitivamente. Aqueles que se reuniram do outro lado do mar tinham uma chama brilhante diante deles na foz do rio, e toda uma barreira de lanças os cercava na praia. Eles foram arrastados para a praia, cercados e vencidos, mortos e despedaçados da cabeça aos pés. Os navios afundaram e as mercadorias caíram na água. Eu me certifiquei de que essas terras evitassem (até mesmo) mencionar o Egito: porque quando pronunciam meu nome em suas terras, então eles são imediatamente queimados”.

Ramsés continua, em um famoso documento conhecido como Papiro Harris, novamente nomeando seus inimigos derrotados:

“Eu derrotei aqueles que os invadiram de suas terras. Eu matei os Danuna [que estão] em suas ilhas, os Tjekker e os Peleset foram incinerados. O Shardana e a Weshesh do mar, eles foram feitos como aqueles que não existem, todos aprisionados, trazidos como cativos para o Egito, como a areia da praia. Eu os estabeleci em fortalezas sujeitas a meu nome. Numerosos eles eram, como se fossem centenas de milhares. Eu taxava todos eles, em tecidos e grãos dos armazéns e celeiros, todos os anos”.

 

The warriors entered the world scene and moved rapidly, leaving death and destruction in their wake. Modern scholars refer to them collectively as the “Sea Peoples,” but the Egyptians who recorded their attack on Egypt never used that term, instead identifying them as separate groups working together: the Peleset, Tjekker, Shekelesh, Shardana, Danuna, and Weshesh—­foreign-­sounding names for foreign-­looking people.

We know little about them, beyond what the Egyptian records tell us. We are not certain where the Sea Peoples originated: perhaps in Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy, according to one scenario, perhaps in the Aegean or western Anatolia, or possibly even Cyprus or the Eastern Mediterranean. No ancient site has ever been identified as their origin or departure point. We think of them as moving relentlessly from site to site, overrunning countries and kingdoms as they went. According to the Egyptian texts, they set up camp in Syria before proceeding down the coast of Canaan (including parts of modern Syria, Lebanon, and Israel) and into the Nile delta of Egypt.

The year was 1177 BC. It was the eighth year of Pharaoh Ramses III’s reign. According to the ancient Egyptians, and to more recent archaeological evidence, some of the Sea Peoples came by land, others by sea. There were no uniforms, no polished outfits. Ancient images portray one group with feathered headdresses, while another faction sported skullcaps; still others had horned helmets or went bareheaded. Some had short pointed beards and dressed in short kilts, either barehested or with a tunic; others had no facial hair and wore longer garments, almost like skirts. These observations suggest that the Sea Peoples comprised verse groups from different geographies and different cultures. Armed with sharp bronze swords, wooden spears with gleaming metal tips, and bows and arrows, they came on boats, wagons, oxcarts, and chariots. Although I have taken 1177 BC as a pivotal date, we know that the invaders came in waves over a considerable period of time. Sometimes the warriors came alone, and sometimes their families accompanied them.

According to Ramses’s inscriptions, no country was able to oppose this invading mass of humanity. Resistance was futile. The great powers of the day—­the Hittites, the Mycenaeans, the Canaanites, the Cypriots, and others—­fell one by one. Some of the survivors fled the carnage; others huddled in the ruins of their once-­proud cities; still others joined the invaders, swelling their ranks and adding to the apparent complexities of the mob of invaders. Each group of the Sea Peoples was on the move, each apparently motivated by individual reasons. Perhaps it was the desire for spoils or slaves that spurred some; others may have been compelled by population pressures to migrate eastward from their own lands in the West.

On the walls of his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu, near the Valley of the Kings, Ramses said concisely:

The foreign countries made a conspiracy in their islands. All at once the lands were removed and scattered in the fray. No land could stand before their arms, from Khatte, Qode, Carchemish, Arzawa, and Alashiya on, being cut off at [one time]. A camp [was set up] in one place in Amurru. They desolated its people, and its land was like that which has never come into being. They were coming forward toward Egypt, while the flame was prepared before them. Their confederation was the Peleset, Tjekker, Shekelesh, Danuna, and Weshesh, lands united. They laid their hands upon the lands as far as the circuit of the earth, their hearts confident and trusting.

(…)

Of all the foreign groups active in this arena at this time, only one has been firmly identified. The Peleset of the Sea Peoples are generally accepted as none other than the Philistines, who are identified in the Bible as coming from Crete.

(…)

While we do not know with any precision either the origins or the motivation of the invaders, we do know what they look like—­we can view their names and faces carved on the walls of Ramses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. This ancient site is rich in both pictures and stately rows of hieroglyphic text. The invaders’ armor, weapons, clothing, boats, and ox-carts loaded with possessions are all clearly visible in the representations, so detailed that scholars have published analyses of the individual people and even the different boats shown in the scenes.

(…)

Although scholarly debate continues, most experts agree that the land and sea battles depicted on the walls at Medinet Habu were probably fought nearly simultaneously in the Egyptian delta or nearby. It is possible that they represent a single extended battle that occurred both on land and at sea, and some scholars have suggested that both represent ambushes of the Sea Peoples’ forces, in which the Egyptians caught them by surprise. In any event, the end result is not in question, for at Medinet Habu the Egyptian pharaoh quite clearly states:

Those who reached my frontier, their seed is not, their heart and soul are finished forever and ever. Those who came forward together on the sea, the full flame was in Batalha naval dos egípcios contra os povos do mar em imagem de Medinet Habufront of them at the river-­mouths, while a stockade of lances surrounded them on the shore. They were dragged in, enclosed, and prostrated on the beach, killed, and made into heaps from tail to head. Their ships and their goods were as if fallen into the water. I have made the lands turn back from (even) mentioning Egypt: for when they pronounce my name in their land, then they are burned up.

Ramses then continues, in a famous document known as the Papyrus Harris, again naming his defeated enemies:

I overthrew those who invaded them from their lands. I slew the Danuna [who are] in their isles, the Tjekker and the Peleset were made ashes. The Shardana and the Weshesh of the sea, they were made as those that exist not, taken captive at one time, brought as captives to Egypt, like the sand of the shore. I settled them in strongholds bound in my name. Numerous were their classes like hundred-­thousands. I taxed them all, in clothing and grain from the store-­houses and granaries each year.

 

Mais para o final do livro, no final do capítulo 5, em um item chamado A Review of Possibilities and Complexity Theory, Eric H. Cline resume da seguinte forma o que foi discutido ao longo do livro:

Não existe consenso sobre quem ou o que provocou o colapso de inteiras civilizações no final da Idade do Bronze. Pois certo é que havia importantes civilizações como os minoicos, micênios, hititas, egípcios, babilônios, assírios, cananeus e cipriotas, independentes uma das outras, mas interligadas por rotas de comércio. Certo é também que muitas cidades foram destruídas e as civilizações que floresceram do século XV ao século XIII chegaram ao fim em 1177 a.C. ou pouco depois.

Até hoje não existe uma prova definitiva do que provocou este colapso. Há muitas possibilidades, mas nenhuma parece ter sido capaz de provocar tal catástrofe sozinha. Talvez tenha ocorrido uma “tempestade perfeita” de calamidades? Terremotos? Fome? Seca? Mudanças climáticas? Rebeliões internas? Invasões?

Enfim, ele vai sugerir um conjunto de fatores para explicar o colapso.

 

There is still no general consensus as to who, or what, caused the destruction or abandonment of each of the major sites within the civilizations that came to an end in the twilight of the Bronze Age. The problem can be concisely summarized as follows:

Major Observations

1. We have a number of separate civilizations that were flourishing during the fifteenth to thirteenth centuries BC in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, from the Mycenaeans and the Minoans to the Hittites, Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Canaanites, and Cypriots. These were independent but consistently interacted with each other, especially through international trade routes.

2. It is clear that many cities were destroyed and that the Late Bronze Age civilizations and life as the inhabitants knew it in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Near East came to an end ca. 1177 BC or soon thereafter.

3. No unequivocal proof has been offered as to who or what caused this disaster, which resulted in the collapse of these civilizations and the end of the Late Bronze Age.

Discussion of Possibilities

There are a number of possible causes that may have led, or contributed, to the collapse at the end of the Late Bronze Age, but none seems capable of having caused the calamity on its own.A “Perfect Storm” of Calamities?

A. Clearly there were earthquakes during this period, but usually societies can recover from these.

B. There is textual evidence for famine, and now scientific evidence for droughts and climate change, in both the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, but again societies have recovered from these time and time again.

C. There may be circumstantial evidence for internal rebellions in Greece and elsewhere, including the Levant, although this is not certain. Again, societies frequently survive such revolts. Moreover, it would be unusual (notwithstanding recent experience in the Middle East to the contrary) for rebellions to occur over such a wide area and for such a prolonged period of time.

D. There is archaeological evidence for invaders, or at least newcomers probably from the Aegean region, western Anatolia, Cyprus, or all of the above, found in the Levant from Ugarit in the north to Lachish in the south. Some of the cities were destroyed and then abandoned; others were reoccupied; and still others were unaffected.

E. It is clear that the international trade routes were affected, if not completely cut, for a period of time, but the extent to which this would have impacted the various individual civilizations is not altogether clear—­even if some were overly dependent upon foreign goods for their survival, as has been suggested in the case of the Mycenaeans.

(…)

However, despite my comments above, systems collapse might be just too simplistic an explanation to accept as the entire reason for the ending of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, and Near East. It is possible that we need to turn to what is called complexity science, or, perhaps more accurately, complexity theory, in order to get a grasp of what may have led to the collapse of these civilizations.

 

Pode ser útil ler uma entrevista com Eric H. Cline, publicada, em espanhol, em 28 de março de 2015, em Mediterráneo Antiguo. Autor: Mario Agudo Villanueva.

Entrevista con Eric H. Cline: “estamos afrontando una situación muy parecida a la que tuvieron que hacer frente en 1177 a.C.”

El final de la Edad del Bronce en el Mediterráneo es uno de los acontecimientos más enigmáticos de nuestra historia. La irrupción de los Pueblos del Mar, sumada a otra serie de acontecimientos, provocó el colapso de los que hasta entonces eran los centros de poder más importantes de la civilización. Hemos querido conocer con más profundidad el problema de la mano de Eric H. Cline, profesor de Historia Antigua y Arqueología de la Universidad George Washington, autor de 1177 a.C. El año que la civilización se derrumbó, editado en castellano por Crítica.

Pregunta – Tras siglos de esplendor, el mundo civilizado se sumergió en una profunda crisis que afectó a todos los ámbitos de la vida cotidiana. Parece improbable que fuera desencadenada únicamente por los Pueblos del Mar. ¿Cuántas causas concurrieron en este cataclismo?
Respuesta – Hay al menos cinco, o quizás seis, que yo ordenaría siguiendo este orden de importancia: cambio climático, sequía, hambruna, terremotos, invasores y rebeliones internas. Uno podría optar por combinar el cambio climático con la sequía, en este caso serían cinco.

Pregunta – ¿Por qué sitúa este momento en el año 1177 a.C.? ¿No deberíamos hablar de un proceso largo y complejo que condujo al final de esta época?
Respuesta – Efectivamente, el proceso de colapso se tomó un siglo, desde alrededor del 1225 al 1125 a.C. , pero 1177 a.C. es un buen punto de referencia, porque es en este año cuando se produjo la segunda invasión de los Pueblos del Mar y también es cuando muchas de las ciudades iniciaron su declive, si no estaban ya destruidas. Entonces, he usado esa fecha como clave del colapso total, así como usamos el 476 como clave de la caída del Imperio Romano, incluso aunque sabemos que no cayó exactamente ese año.

Pregunta – ¿Cuál era el origen de los Pueblos del Mar?
Respuesta – Esta es una excelente pregunta, pero no sabemos la respuesta con certeza. Pienso que el origen de algunos de ellos fue la region de Sicilia, Sardinia, y el sur de Italia (algunos de estos grupos llamados los Shekelesh y los Shardana suenan similares), pero es más que probable se unieran al camino iniciado por otros, pues sabemos que se movieron desde el oeste al este a lo largo del Mediterráneo. Entonces, entre los Pueblos del Mar pueden haber también gentes procedentes de las actuales Grecia y Turquía. Pero no hemos identificado de forma definitiva una tierra de procedencia para ellos.

Pregunta – ¿Cuál fue el legado de los Pueblos del Mar?
Respuesta – Su principal legado ha sido los filisteos y su cultura. El grupo entre los Pueblos del Mar que los egipcios llamaron Peleset es probablemente el grupo que nosotros conocemos como los filisteos de la Biblia. Parece que se asentaron en la region de Canaán y quizás se asimilaron con los locales, antes del auge de Israel.

Pregunta – ¿Podría encontrar paralelismos entre el final de la Edad del Bronce y nuestra crisis actual?
Respuesta – En efecto, actualmente estamos afrontando una situación muy parecida a la que tuvieron que hacer frente en 1177 a.C. – cambio climático, hambruna, sequía, rebeliones y terremotos. Lo único que no tenemos en el escenario actual son los Pueblos del Mar – los misteriosos invasores del otro lado del mar – aunque uno puede sugerir que ISIS o ISIL es nuestra versión de los Pueblos del Mar. Deberíamos agradecer, sin embargo, que estamos lo suficientemente desarrollados como para entender qué está pasando y dar pasos para solucionar las cosas, en vez de aceptar simple y pasivamente que tienen que ocurrir.

Os filisteus e a crise da Idade do Bronze

Nestes dias os filisteus estão novamente nas manchetes.

Sobre o colapso das grandes civilizações do Antigo Oriente Médio no final da Idade do Bronze e sobre o papel dos “povos do mar” nesta crise – época e contexto em que os filisteus começam a ser citados – há incontáveis bons estudos.

Entretanto, um alerta: graças às descobertas arqueológicas sobre os filisteus feitas nos últimos anos, muitos dos argumentos arqueológicos em obras com mais de uma década estão ultrapassados.

Diz Carl S. Ehrlich, no artigo Philistines, em Oxford Bibliographies, com data de 28 de agosto de 2018:

Escavações no cemitério filisteu de AscalonOs filisteus eram um povo com raízes no mundo Egeu ou na Anatólia. Eles se estabeleceram no sul da faixa costeira de Canaã por volta do ano 1200 a.C., durante o período de transição entre a Idade do Bronze Recente e a Idade do Ferro.

Nas fontes egípcias que datam desta época, eles são um dos chamados “povos do mar” que entraram em conflito com o Egito.

Embora sejam mencionados anacronicamente na Bíblia hebraica tanto nas narrativas patriarcais quanto nas tradições do êxodo, é apenas nas narrativas que tratam da época dos Juízes – particularmente no ciclo de Sansão, em Jz 13–16 – e com a ascensão da monarquia israelita, correspondendo respectivamente à Idade do Ferro Ib e IIa, que eles desempenham o papel de antagonistas dos israelitas. Particularmente de Sansão e do primeiro rei, Saul.

Apesar da atitude negativa do texto em relação a eles, Davi parece ter passado algum tempo como um vassalo filisteu antes de assumir a realeza israelita após a morte de Saul e de seus filhos nas mãos dos filisteus.

Depois da suposta neutralização da ameaça filisteia por Davi, os filisteus aparecem apenas esporadicamente nos textos bíblicos, principalmente nos oráculos proféticos contra as nações.

Segundo os textos bíblicos, os filisteus eram organizados em uma confederação de cinco cidades, a pentápole filisteia: Ashdod, Ascalon e Gaza na costa mediterrânea, e Ekron e Gat mais para o interior. Do ponto de vista dos textos bíblicos, os filisteus eram o “outro” por excelência, distintos dos outros habitantes da Palestina por não serem circuncidados.

Nossa compreensão da história e da cultura filisteias foi grandemente ampliada: primeiro por uma série de textos do Antigo Oriente Médio, particularmente do período do Reino Novo no Egito (séculos XIII-XII a.C.) e do período neoassírio (séculos VIII a VII a.C.); e, segundo, pelos resultados de escavações arqueológicas em sítios filisteus.

Embora um estilo específico de cerâmica bicromática fosse associado aos filisteus já no final do século XIX, foi somente na década de sessenta do século XX que começaram a ser realizadas intensas escavações em cidades da pentápole filisteia – com exceção de Gaza, que está sob a cidade moderna do mesmo nome – e em locais menores e mais periféricos. Isso nos permitiu traçar um quadro muito mais consistente da história, da sociedade e da cultura material dos filisteus.

 

The Philistines were a people with roots in the Aegean or Anatolian world who settled on the southern coastal strip of Canaan around the year 1200, during the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. In Egyptian sources dating to this time, they are one among a number of so-called Sea Peoples who came into conflict with Egypt. Although they are mentioned anachronistically in the Hebrew Bible in both the ancestral (i.e., patriarchal) narratives and the exodus traditions, it is only in narratives dealing with the period of the judges (particularly in the Samson cycle: Judges 13–16) and with the rise of the Israelite monarchy, corresponding respectively to Iron Age Ib and IIa, that they play a more central role as antagonists: particularly of Samson and of the first Israelite king, Saul. In spite of the text’s negative attitude toward them, David appears to have spent some time as a Philistine vassal before assuming the mantle of Israelite kingship following the deaths of Saul and most of his sons at Philistine hands. After David’s supposed neutralization of the Philistine threat, the Philistines appear only sporadically in the biblical text, most noticeably in prophetic oracles against the nations. According to biblical literature, the Philistines were organized in a loose confederation of five city-states (the Philistine Pentapolis): Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza along the coast, and Ekron and Gath farther inland, although the latter city does not appear in later texts. From the perspective of the biblical text, the Philistines were the quintessential “other,” distinguished from the other inhabitants of the Levant through their uncircumcised state. Our picture of Philistine history and culture is greatly expanded first by a number of ancient Near Eastern texts, particularly from the late New Kingdom Period in Egypt (13th–12th centuries BCE) and from the neo-Assyrian period (8th–7th centuries BCE), and second by the results of archaeological excavations at Philistine sites. Although a distinctive style of bichrome pottery was associated with the Philistines already at the end of the 19th century, it was not until the 1960s that intensive excavations began to be carried out both at cities of the Philistine Pentapolis (with the exception of Gaza, which is covered by the modern city of the same name) and at smaller and more peripheral sites. These have allowed us to draw a much more nuanced picture of Philistine history, society, and material culture, which oftentimes provides a corrective to the witness of the biblical text.

Para saber mais sobre os filisteus e os “povos do mar”, recomendo o livro de CLINE, E. H. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, 264 p. – ISBN 978691168388. Vou apresentá-lo no post seguinte. E há uma bibliografia, que cita também recursos online, aqui.

Estudos sobre Alexandre Magno

MOORE, K. R. (ed.) Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2018, 856 p. – ISBN 9789004285071

MOORE, K. R. (ed.) Brill's Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2018, 856 p.This is the third time that Brill has graced us with a companion to Alexander. The first volume focused on the historical character (Roisman in 2002), whereas the second explored Alexander’s reception in medieval literature (Zuwiyya in 2011). The book under review has a more ambitious scope in collating ‘receptions’ from the ancient world to the present day. Print book readers and bookshelves alike will feel the weight of this endeavour; the number of pages is higher than that of its predecessors combined. The scholarly community has long anticipated the volume. I personally heard rumours about it at Alexander-related conferences as early as 2013, but one chapter refers to its own inception in 2011. The book has arrived at an opportune time. University courses, publications, and conference activity continue to confirm the increasing interest in different receptions of Alexander. For example, reception became a major theme at a 2018-conference in Edmonton, organised by Frances Pownall (University of Alberta). The present volume will no doubt help researchers and students in search of new horizons for Alexander’s ‘superlative legacy’ (p. xi).

The wide array of content is presented in thirty-three chapters of varying length, with bibliographies appended to each. No house style has been imposed. A short index of topics concludes the volume. The contributions are generally of high standard, and the editor is to be commended for gathering a diverse group of scholars (pp. xiv-xxiii). Moore has organised the book into three major parts, of which the longest concerns ‘Ancient Greek, Roman and Persian receptions’ (Part I). One may always discuss the coherence and inclusions/exclusions in such edited volumes, but I consider it a wise decision to devote less attention to the Middle Ages, considering the previous Brill volume on the market, as well as the grand French project on Mythalexandre.

Trecho da resenha feita por Christian Thrue Djurslev, da Universidade de Aarhus, Dinamarca, em Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2019.04.19.

Kenneth Royce Moore is Senior Lecturer in the History of Ideas at Teesside University, UK.

Na História de Israel abordo Alexandre Magno no item A época persa e as conquistas de Alexandre.

Uma abordagem crítica da história da Palestina

HJELM, I. ; TAHA, H. ; PAPPE, I. ; THOMPSON, T. L. (eds.) A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine: Palestine History and Heritage Project 1. Abingdon: Routledge, 2019, 400 p. – ISBN 9780367146375.  

HJELM, I. ; TAHA, H. ; PAPPE, I. ; THOMPSON, T. L. (eds.) A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine: Palestine History and Heritage Project 1. Abingdon: Routledge, 2019

A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine offers a comprehensive, evidence-based history of Palestine with a critical use of recent historical, archaeological and anthropological methods. This history is not an exclusive history, but one that is ethnically and culturally inclusive, a history of and for all peoples who have lived in Palestine. After an introductory essay offering a strategy for creating coherence and continuity from the earliest beginnings to the present, the volume presents twenty articles from 22 contributors, 16 of whom are of Middle Eastern origin or relation.

Split thematically into four parts, the volume discusses ideology, national identity and chronology in various historiographies of Palestine and the legacy of memory and oral history; the transient character of ethnicity in Palestine, and questions regarding the ethical responsibilities of archaeologists and historians to protect the multi-ethnic cultural heritage of Palestine; landscape and memory, and the values of community archaeology and bio-archaeology; and an exploration of the “ideology of the land” and its influence on Palestine’s history and heritage.

The first in a series of books under the auspices of the Palestine History and Heritage Project (PaHH), the volume offers a challenging new departure for writing the history of Palestine and Israel throughout the ages. A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine explores the diverse history of the region against the backdrop of twentieth century scholarly construction of the history of Palestine as a history of a Jewish homeland, with roots in an ancient, biblical Israel, and examines the implications of this ancient and recent history for archaeology and cultural heritage. The book offers a fascinating new perspective for students and academics in the fields of anthropological, political, cultural and biblical history.

Publicação prevista para junho de 2019.

Jesus e os fariseus

Jesus e os fariseus - Uma reavaliação interdisciplinar - Conferência Internacional - 7 a 9 de maio de 2019

Jesus e os fariseus – Uma reavaliação interdisciplinar

Conferência Internacional – 7 a 9 de maio de 2019

Por ocasião do 110º Aniversário da Fundação do Instituto Bíblico, 7 de maio de 1909

A conferência internacional Jesus e os fariseus: Uma reavaliação interdisciplinar reúne estudiosos judeus, protestantes, católicos e outros da Argentina, Áustria, Canadá, Colômbia, Alemanha, Índia, Israel, Itália, Holanda e Estados Unidos.

A conferência primeiro trata das possíveis origens e dos significados do nome “fariseu” em diferentes idiomas. Em seguida, examina as várias fontes antigas sobre os fariseus (Josefo, Qumran, dados arqueológicos, o Novo Testamento e a literatura rabínica).

Após uma mesa-redonda sobre os resultados relativos aos fariseus “históricos”, a segunda parte da conferência será dedicada à Wirkungsgeschichte (história da interpretação e seus efeitos), da literatura patrística às interpretações judaicas medievais, passando pelas representações teatrais da Paixão, filmes, livros de religião e homilética. No final, trataremos das possíveis maneiras de representar os fariseus de forma menos inadequada no futuro.

Conferencistas:

  • Harold ATTRIDGE Yale University, USA
  • Philip CUNNINGHAM St. Joseph’s University, USA
  • Yair FURSTENBERG Hebrew University, Jerusalém, Israel
  • Juan Manuel GRANADOS Pontifical Biblical Institute, Roma, Itália
  • Massimo GRILLI Pontifical Gregorian University, Roma, Itália
  • Angela LA DELFA University of Maryland University College, USA
  • Amy-Jill LEVINE Vanderbilt University, USA
  • Hermut LÖHR Universität Bonn, Alemanha
  • Steve MASON Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Holanda
  • Eric MEYERS Duke University, USA
  • Craig MORRISON Pontifical Biblical Institute, Roma, Itália
  • Vered NOAM Tel Aviv University, Israel
  • Henry PATTARUMADATHIL Pontifical Biblical Institute, Roma, Itália
  • Adele REINHARTZ University of Ottawa, Canadá
  • Rabbi David ROSEN AJC (American Jewish Committee), Jerusalém
  • Jens SCHRÖTER Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Alemanha
  • Matthias SKEB, Pontifical Gregorian University, Roma, Itália
  • Rabbi Abraham SKORKA St. Joseph’s University, USA
  • Günter STEMBERGER Universität Wien, Áustria
  • Christian STÜCKL Artistic Director of Münchner Volkstheater & Oberammergau Passion Play, Alemanha
  • Adela YARBRO COLLINS Yale University, USA

A conferência, em inglês, será transmitida ao vivo pela Internet e, posteriormente, disponibilizada no YouTube.

Na manhã de quinta-feira, 9 de maio, uma audiência especial com o Papa Francisco foi organizada para os participantes devidamente registrados para toda a conferência.

Faça o download da programação em pdf.

 

Jesus and the Pharisees – An Interdisciplinary Reappraisal

International Conference – May 7-9, 2019

On the Occasion of the 110th Anniversary of the Biblical Institute’s Founding, May 7, 1909

The international conference Jesus and the Pharisees: An Interdisciplinary Reappraisal brings together Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and other scholars from Argentina, Austria, Canada, Colombia, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, and the United States.

The conference first deals with the possible origins and meanings of the name “Pharisee” in different languages. It then examines the various ancient sources about the Pharisees (Josephus, Qumran, archaeological data, the New Testament, and Rabbinic Literature).

After a round table discussion of the results concerning the “historical” Pharisees, the second part of the conference will be devoted to the Wirkungsgeschichte (history of interpretation and its effects), from Patristic Literature, to Medieval Jewish interpretations, to Passion Plays, the Movies, Religion Text Books, and Homiletics. In the end, we will look at possible ways to represent the Pharisees less inadequately in the future.

Speakers:

  • Harold ATTRIDGE Yale University
  • Philip CUNNINGHAM St. Joseph’s University
  • Yair FURSTENBERG Hebrew University, Jerusalem
  • Juan Manuel GRANADOS Pontifical Biblical Institute
  • Massimo GRILLI Pontifical Gregorian University
  • Angela LA DELFA University of Maryland University College
  • Amy-Jill LEVINE Vanderbilt University
  • Hermut LÖHR Universität Bonn
  • Steve MASON Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
  • Eric MEYERS Duke University
  • Craig MORRISON Pontifical Biblical Institute
  • Vered NOAM Tel Aviv University
  • Henry PATTARUMADATHIL Pontifical Biblical Institute
  • Adele REINHARTZ University of Ottawa
  • Rabbi David ROSEN AJC (American Jewish Committee)
  • Jens SCHRÖTER Humboldt-Universität Berlin
  • Matthias SKEB, Pontifical Gregorian University
  • Rabbi Abraham SKORKA St. Joseph’s University
  • Günter STEMBERGER Universität Wien
  • Christian STÜCKL Artistic Director of Münchner Volkstheater & Oberammergau Passion Play
  • Adela YARBRO COLLINS Yale University

The entire conference will be held in English, except for the concluding session on Thursday, May 9 at 6:00 pm, where simultaneous translation into Italian and English will be available.

The conference will be web streamed live and subsequently uploaded on YouTube.

In the morning of Thursday, May 9, a special audience with Pope Francis has been arranged for participants duly registered for the entire conference.

Download PDF – Event Schedule

Il convegno internazionale “Gesù e i Farisei. Un riesame interdisciplinare” che si terrà dal 7 al 9 maggio presso il Pontificio Istituto Biblico (PIB) in occasione dei 110 anni di fondazione, “unisce ebrei, protestanti, cattolici e studiosi proventi da Argentina, Austria, Canada, Colombia, Germania, India, Israele, Italia, Paesi Bassi e Stati Uniti”. Così Joseph Sievers, docente dell’Istituto, presentando questa mattina l’evento che, spiega, affronterà prima di tutto le possibili origini e significati del nome “fariseo” in diverse lingue. Dopo una tavola rotonda sui risultati riguardo i farisei “storici”, la seconda parte della conferenza sarà dedicata alla storia dell’interpretazione dei farisei e i suoi effetti a partire dalla letteratura patristica fino alle rappresentazioni teatrali della Passione (Passion plays), ai film, ai libri di testo religiosi, e all’omiletica. “Infine – conclude Sievers -, cercheremo nuovi modi di rappresentare, in futuro, i farisei in maniera meno inadeguata” (Agenzia S.I.R. – 3 aprile 2019)

Livro de Israel Finkelstein sobre Esdras, Neemias e Crônicas

FINKELSTEIN, I. Hasmonean Realities behind Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2018, 222 p. – ISBN 9780884143079.

FINKELSTEIN, I. Hasmonean Realities behind Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2018, 222 p.

 
In this collection of essays, Israel Finkelstein deals with key topics in Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, such as the list of returnees, the construction of the city wall of Jerusalem, the adversaries of Nehemiah, the tribal genealogies, and the territorial expansion of Judah in 2 Chronicles. Finkelstein argues that the geographical and historical realities cached behind at least parts of these books fit the Hasmonean period in the late second century BCE. Seven previously published essays are supplemented by maps, updates to the archaeological material, and references to recent publications on the topics.

Entre 2008 e 2015 Israel Finkelstein publicou 7 artigos nos quais abordou textos dos livros de Esdras, Neemias e 1 e 2 Crônicas. Estes textos falam da lista dos que voltaram do exílio babilônico, da construção das muralhas de Jerusalém, dos adversários de Neemias, das genealogias tribais e da expansão territorial de Judá. Finkelstein argumenta que a realidade geográfica e histórica que aparece em pelo menos parte desses livros aponta para a época dos Macabeus, no final do século II a.C. Reunidos neste livros, os sete ensaios são complementados por mapas, material arqueológico atualizado e referências a publicações recentes sobre os tópicos tratados.

Introduction
Over the last decade, I published seven articles concerning texts in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. They deal with the construction of Jerusalem’s city wall, described in Neh 3; the lists of returnees in Ezra 2:1–67 and Neh 7:6–68; the adversaries of Nehemiah; the genealogies in 1 Chr 2–9; the towns fortified by Rehoboam according to 2 Chr 11:5–12; and the unparallel accounts in 2 Chronicles that relate the expansion of Judah. An additional article gives an overview of the territorial extent of Yehud/Judea in the Persian and Hellenistic periods.

1. Jerusalem in the Persian (and Early Hellenistic) Period and the Wall of Nehemiah
Knowledge of the archaeology of Jerusalem in the Persian (and early Hellenistic) period—the size of the settlement and whether it was fortified—is crucial to understanding the history of the province of Yehud, the reality behind the book of Nehemiah, and the process of compilation and redaction of certain biblical texts. It is therefore essential to look at the finds free of preconceptions (which may stem from the account in the book of Nehemiah) and only then attempt to merge archaeology and text.

2. Archaeology and the List of Returnees in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah
In the first chapter I questioned Neh 3’s description of the construction of the Jerusalem wall in the light of the archaeology of Jerusalem in the Persian period. The finds indicate that the settlement was small and poor. It covered an area of circa 2–2.5 hectares and was inhabited by four hundred–five hundred people. The archaeology of Jerusalem shows no evidence for construction of a wall in the Persian period or renovation of the ruined Iron II city wall. I concluded with three alternatives for understanding the discrepancy between the biblical text and the archaeological finds…

3. The Territorial Extent and Demography of Yehud/Judea in the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods
The territorial extent of Persian-period Yehud and Hellenistic Judea and estimates of their population are major issues in current research, with far-reaching implications for dating the composition of several biblical works. Recent research on the Yehud seal impressions and my own work on geographical lists in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah raise new questions and call for a fresh treatment of both issues.

4. Nehemiah’s Adversaries
In chapters 1 and 2, I proposed to identify the geographical, archaeological, and historical realities behind the list of builders of the wall in Neh 3:1–32 and the list of returnees in Neh 7:6–68 (and Ezra 2:1–67) in Hasmonean times. Placing the Neh 3 list in the Hellenistic period should not affect the dating of the Nehemiah Memoir—the backbone of the book. Construction of the wall is a major theme in the Nehemiah Memoir. The reality behind it may be sought in work conducted on the original mound of Jerusalem, which was located on the Temple…

5. The Historical Reality behind the Genealogical Lists in 1 Chronicles
The genealogical lists of “the sons of Israel” in 1 Chr 2–9 have been the focus of intensive research from the beginning of modern biblical scholarship. Among other topics, research has centered on the origin of the lists, their purpose, their relationship to other parts of the books of Chronicles and their date. Most scholars agree that the genealogical lists form an independent block, a kind of introduction to history; opinions differ, however, on whether the lists belong to the work of the Chronicler or if they were added after the main substance of the book had already been…

6. Rehoboam’s Fortified Cities (2 Chr 11:5–12)
A list of cities ostensibly fortified by Rehoboam appears in 2 Chr 11:5–12, with no parallel in the book of Kings. Many scholars have dealt with this short account, in efforts to establish its date, geographical setting, and place in the Chronicler’s description of the reign of Rehoboam. Regarding chronology, researchers have suggested dating the list to the time of Rehoboam, as related in the text, or to a later date in the history of Judah: the days of Hezekiah or Josiah. Regarding the geographical background, scholars have attempted to understand the function of the towns mentioned in the…

7. The Expansion of Judah in 2 Chronicles
The land of Israel and territorial gains and losses are major themes in Chronicles. The period of David and Solomon is conceived as the ideal rule of Jerusalem over the entire area inhabited by the Hebrews. After the “division” of the monarchy, 2 Chronicles pays much attention to the gradual territorial growth of Judah, aimed at restoring Jerusalem’s rule over the entire land of Israel. This expansion—undertaken during the reign of a few monarchs—is described in several sections that do not appear in the books of Kings. Scholars have been divided on the historical reliability of these “unparallel”…

Conclusions
The geographical setting portrayed by the texts discussed in this book and the archaeology of the sites mentioned in them reflect realities in the second half of the second century BCE—in Hasmonean times. The literary genre of these materials and the ideology behind them also fit Hasmonean literature. The main conclusions of the seven chapters are as follows. Nehemiah’s Wall: There are no Persian or early Hellenistic fortifications in Jerusalem to fit the Neh 3 description of a city wall with numerous gates and towers surrounding a large city. Furthermore, the depleted population of Yehud could not have supported…

Israel Finkelstein

The original articles included in this book are listed below in the order in which they appear here:

“Jerusalem in the Persian (and Early Hellenistic) Period and the Wall of Nehemiah.” JSOT 32 (2008): 501–20.

“Archaeology of the List of Returnees in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah.” PEQ 140 (2008): 7–16.

“The Territorial Extent and Demography of Yehud/Judea in thePersian and Early Hellenistic Periods.” RB 117 (2010): 39–54.

“Nehemiah’s Adversaries: A Hasmonaean Reality?” Transeu 47(2015): 47–55.

“The Historical Reality behind the Genealogical Lists in 1 Chronicles.” JBL 131 (2012): 65–83.

“Rehoboam’s Fortified Cities (II Chr 11, 5–12): A Hasmonean Reality?” ZAW 123 (2011): 92–107.

“The Expansion of Judah in II Chronicles: Territorial Legitimation for the Hasmoneans?” ZAW 127 (2015): 669–95.

Israel Finkelstein trata do mesmo assunto em um seminário, em setembro de 2018, na Faculdade Teológica de Zurique, Suíça. Disponível em vídeo, com legendas em inglês:

Hasmonean Realities behind Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles? The Archeological Perspective – Seminar von Prof. Dr. Israel Finkelstein an der Theologischen Fakultät Zürich. 13. September 2018.

Alexandre Magno foi morto pela síndrome de Guillain-Barré?

Até hoje há muitas dúvidas sobre a causa da morte de Alexandre Magno. Malária? Assassinato? Agora surge mais uma hipótese: a síndrome de Guillain-Barré.

Alexandre Magno (356-323 a.C.)

Why Alexander the Great May Have Been Declared Dead Prematurely (It’s Pretty Gruesome)

By Owen Jarus – Live Science – February 4, 2019

Alexander the Great may have been killed by Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological condition in which a person’s own immune system attacks them, says one medical researchers.

The condition may have led to a mistaken declaration of the king’s death and may explain the mysterious phenomenon in which his body didn’t decay for seven days after his “death.”

Alexander the Great was king of Macedonia between 336 and 323 B.C. During that time, he conquered an empire that stretched from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan. In June 323, he was living in Babylon when, after a brief illness that caused fever and paralysis, he died at age 32. His senior generals then fought each other to see who would succeed him. [Top 10 Reasons Alexander the Great Was, Well … Great!]

According to accounts left by ancient historians, after a night of drinking, the king experienced a fever and gradually became less and less able to move until he could no longer speak. One account, told by Quintus Curtius Rufus, who lived during the first century A.D., claims that Alexander the Great’s body didn’t decay for more than seven days after he was declared dead, and the embalmers were hesitant to work on his body.

Ancient historians reported that many people believed that Alexander the Great was poisoned, possibly by someone working for Antipater, a senior official of Alexander’s who was supposedly quarreling with the king. In 2014, a research team found that the medicinal plant white hellebore (Veratrum album) could have been used to poison Alexander.

Based on the symptoms recorded by ancient historians, Katherine Hall, a senior lecturer in the Department of General Practice and Rural Health at the University of Otago in New Zealand, believes that it’s possible that Alexander actually died of Guillain-Barré syndrome. The condition, Hall said, may have left Alexander in a deep coma that may have led doctors to declare, mistakenly, that he was dead, something that would explain why his corpse supposedly didn’t decompose quickly, noted Hall in her paper published recently in the journal Ancient History Bulletin (continua).

Sobre Alexandre Magno, clique aqui. Sobre a síndrome de Guillain-Barré, clique aqui. Vote na enquete: Na sua opinião, qual foi a causa da morte de Alexandre Magno?