Just clearing out my books list. This was one of the assigned books in my undergrad history class, and I didn't get around to finish it then (although I did finish Herotodus for the same class).
Basic synopsis. The author employs a mass array of linguistic and folklore evidence to establish a pattern of cross-cultural pollination between the Greek world and the Near East in antiquity. That this had to be made as an explicit thesis says as much about the academic context the author is involved in as the it does the subject matter itself.
In fact, I'm actually more fascinated by the meta-history than the research itself. The book makes passing reference about who it intended to debunk: academics who argue that the Greek civilization and culture was formed independently of the Near East. And the subtext from the author is clear: this thesis is more a manifestation of Eurocentrism than conclusions from actual historical research.
The vast array of linguistic evidence and its academic worth is something I'm not really qualified to judge, but one chapter that I did find really interesting. He mentions about the role of craftsmen in the role of cultural transmission. Because skills (masonry, for example) were in such short demand, rulers would often entice foreign craftsmen to join their cities. It's actually kind of impressive how much labor mobility exists for certain job categories, even in antiquity.
2 comments:
I like noodles and I like pasta. Different name, same good taste.
Mobility in any form is a good thing.
It's also good that human needs are basically the same world over. So any type of skill we have will be needed somewhere, sometime.
Mobility is definitely good. In EU, the fact that labor aren't as mobile (workers in deep recession Spain can't just pack up and leave for the UK)is posing a huge problem, particular because they have a common currency, countries like Spain can't depreciate their currencies out of a recession.
But it is not without its downsides. An article on salon about our attachment to pets mentioned this passing and I think there is some truths to it. It is very easy to become very lonely if you move around a lot- you lose your friends, a sense of familiarity, and it is very easy to retreat into your own shell. While I still believe that labor mobility is on the whole a net benefit even with this cost factor in, I think it is important not trivialize it either.
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