This volume offers, for the first time in a single source, English translations of all twenty-six fifteenth–thirteenth centuries B.C.E. Ahhiyawa texts, a commentary and brief exposition on each text’s historical implications, an introductory essay, and a longer essay on Mycenaean-Hittite interconnections.

This book takes a bold new approach to the prehistory of Homeric epic, arguing for a fresh understanding of how Near Eastern influence worked.

Our knowledge of ancient Greek religion has been transformed in the last century by an increased understanding of the cultures of the Ancient Near East. Using preserved cuneiform texts, this book explores cases of contact or influence between Ancient Greece and the Hittites to further our understanding of the complex history of religious practices.

It will also prove useful for those investigating the relationship between Biblical covenant theology and its possible antecedents in older Near Eastern treaty patterns."--BOOK JACKET.

From its ancient incarnation as a song to recent translations in modern languages, Homeric epic remains an abiding source of inspiration for both scholars and artists that transcends temporal and linguistic boundaries. The Cambridge Guide to Homer examines the influence and meaning of Homeric poetry from its earliest form as ancient Greek song to its current status in world literature, presenting the information in a synthetic manner that allows the reader to gain an understanding of the different strands of Homeric studies. The volume is structured around three main themes: Homeric Song and Text; the Homeric World, and Homer in the World. Each section starts with a series of 'macropedia' essays arranged thematically that are accompanied by shorter complementary 'micropedia' articles. The Cambridge Guide to Homer thus traces the many routes taken by Homeric epic in the ancient world and its continuing relevance in different periods and cultures.

In this book the much-debated problem of political organization in Mycenaean Greece (ca. 1400-1200 BC) is analyzed and contextualized through the prism of archaeology and contemporary textual (Linear B, Egyptian and Hittite) evidence. From the early 14th century BC onwards, Hittite texts refer to a land Ahhiya(wa). The exact geographic position of this land has been the focus of academic debate for more than a century, but most specialists nowadays agree that it must have been a Hittite designation for a part, or all of, the Mycenaean world. On at least two occasions, the ruler of Ahhiyawa is designated as LUGAL.GAL -'Great King'-; a title that was normally reserved for a select group of kings (such as the kings of Egypt, Assyria, Mitanni, Babylon and Hatti itself). The Hittite attribution of this title thus seems to signify the Ahhiyawan King's supra-regional importance: it indicates his power over other, 'lesser' kings, and suggests that his relation to these vassals must have been comparable to the relations between the Hittite King and his own vassal rulers. The apparent Hittite perception of such an important ruler in the Mycenaean world is, however, completely at odds with the prevailing view of the Mycenaean world as a patchwork of independent states, all of which were ruled by a local 'wanax' -King. The papers in this volume address this apparent dichotomy and discuss various interpretations of the available evidence, and contextualize the role of the ruler in the Mycenaean world through comparisons with the contemporary Near East.