Ancient History

En el antiguo Egipto la función de mantener el orden de la creación estaba asignada a la diosa Maat, hija de Re, que nutría de justicia y equilibrio a las divinidades que eran objeto de culto en los santuarios. Gracias a las virtudes de que Maat estaba investida se podía conseguir el milagro de que la creación del mundo se repitiera, sin cesar, día tras día.

Entre los ritos funerarios egipcios, los más conocidos son los propios de la momificación, los de la Apertura de la Boca y los que intentaban insuflar la vida en las estatuas que representaban al difunto (ritos de animación). Hablaremos brevemente de estos rituales, para situarnos en el contexto funerario del antiguo Egipto, e inmediatamente pasaremos a comentar un rito menos conocido, a pesar de que se expone con ciertos detalles en el “Libro de los Muertos”; nos referimos al denominado ritual de las Cuatro Antorchas de Glorificación.

The Indo-aryans of ancient India  observed  stars and constellations for ascertaining auspicious times in order to conduct  sacrificial rites ordained by  vedas. It is but natural that they would have recounted in the vedic texts about comets. In Rigveda ($\sim $ 1700 - 1500 BC) and Atharvaveda ($\sim $ 1150 BC), there are references to dhumaketus and ketus, which stand for comets in Sanskrit.  Rigveda mentions a fig tree with roots held up in the sky (Parpola 2010). Could it have been inspired by the hirsute appearance of a comet's tail?  Varahamihira in 550 AD and Ballal Sena ($\sim $ 1100 - 1200 AD) have described a large number of comets recorded by ancient seers such as Parashara, Vriddha Garga, Narada, Garga, etc. In this article, I conjecture that an episode narrated in  Mahabharata of a radiant king, Nahusha,  ruling the heavens, and later turning into a serpent after he had kicked the seer Agastya (also the star Canopus), is a mythological retelling of a cometary event.

This paper carries out a critical review of the trends of historical writings in Assam. The historiographical study reveals that the beginning of the historical phase was, in fact, late in the North East region. Moreover, in many of these historical writings, the importance of the local histories of the communities of the region was ignored. The author highlights the fact that a pan-Indian history for the region may not be authentic enough to understand the cultural dynamics of the complex society of the Northeast. The author also focuses on corroborating ‘proper’ historical source material for reconstructing the history of the region rather than deriving inferences from mythology and legends. However, the importance of recent trends in historiography such as selective utilisation of oral traditions, folklores and memory studies has been emphasised. An alternative and more precise periodisation of the historical phase has been provided which does not, however, project any clear marker between periods and eras but emphasises on slow and steady transformations. Importance of archaeological sources and material evidence has been kept in mind while deriving periodical divisions. Relooking at the history of the Koches, Kacharis has been emphasised.
Key words: Historiography, Kamarupa, Ahom, Kachari, Archaeology, Periodisation, Chronology

The volume adresses the long neglected topic of girls – i.e. female individuals that have not yet undergone certain rites de passage neccessary to become a »woman« – in various ancient societies. 26 papers deal with Bronze Age Europe, Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Bronze Age Greece, Greece and Rome, Late Antiquity, and the Early Middle Ages. The papers are either written in German or in English, with an abstract in both languages.
Contributors are: Claudia-Maria Behling, Katrin Bernhardt, Olympia Bobou, Susanne Brather-Walter, Stephanie L. Budin, Eve D’Ambra, Peter Emberger, Susanna E. Fischer, Caitlin C. Gillespie, Jochen Griesbach, Ute Günkel-Maschek, Doris Gutsmiedl-Schümann, Kerstin P. Hofmann, Kathrin Kleibl, Julia K. Koch, Claudia Merthen, Marion Meyer, Cecilia Nobili, Viktoria Räuchle, Kathrin Schade, Günther Schörner, Michaela Stark, Wolf-Rüdiger Teegen, Helga Vogel, Manuella Wangert, and Anne Weis. With an English introduction by Susanne Moraw.

Throughout Antiquity, the Greek myth of the Amazons became one of the most important religious stories, not only for the Greek culture, but for many civilizations and people with whom they had contact. These stories have reached us thanks to the social importance which womenhad always had from the beginning of the existence of the human race. Their social significance was being maintained, modified or adapted based on the cultures that developed since the time they were formulated. Myths have always been made with a major moralizing character, related to teaching and understanding of the cultural values that seek to explain and perpetuate themselves. However, the force with which the story of the warrior women has survived throughout history, to reach us, is a sign of its enduring importance. As a new element oftransmission, expression and communication since its appearance, cinema could not resist using this tradition to create new forms of expression based on them. So, in the last century there have been numerous films related to free adaptations of the original myths, which never exactly followed the Greek stories, but were reinterpretations that had little or nothing to do with them. They were more in tune with the vision of scriptwriters and directors which, in turn, was based on contemporary cultural traditions. We will try to analyse in which way the cinema has wanted to show us the Amazon myth, what were detectable influences of the classical tradition in these works, the licenses their authors have taken at the time of showing them to us and understand the degree of authenticity of a myth that has survived for nearly three millennia.

Las amazonas son descritas con prerrogativas asociadas a los hombres, actuando como ellos en lo social y lo militar, buscando gobernar tierras, esclavizar a los vecinos y buscarse una reputación. Estarían compuestas de elementos masculinos y femeninos, que confunden las distinciones entre los sexos, los valores y cate¬gorías de pensamiento asignados a cada cual. Eran vistas, pues, como una sociedad organizada en torno a unas figuras que mostraban cierto carácter híbrido relacionado con las enseñanzas que sus mitos intentaban transmitir, en cuanto al comportamiento de la mujer griega.

An Indian Study of history of Education : Non Brahmin perspective to understanding the Indian Education and Society of brief Study from ancient time to till now.
शिक्षा के इतिहास की एक भारतीय अध्ययन: अब तक के लिए प्राचीन समय से संक्षिप्त अध्ययन की भारतीय शिक्षा और समाज को समझने के लिए गैर ब्राह्मण परिप्रेक्ष्य। जिस समाज सुधार के  लिए  शिक्षा (नॉन-वॉयलेंस) और आंदोलन को साधन बनाकर सामाजिक, आर्थिक तथा सांस्कृतिक बदलाव में सामाजिक सुधारको ने पूर्णत: नियति से आजीवन क्रांति (संघर्ष) किया.

Keynote Speaker: Robert Garland, Colgate University

Monsters, as it is often conceived, have neither beauty nor kindness. However, the Latin word monstrum merely indicates the manifestation of something extraordinary, whether it be a physical being, a psychological disposition, a supernatural apparition, or a divine portent. Mutants, on the other hand, are beings with abnormal abilities. However, the word is a derivative of the Latin verb mutare, meaning “to change.” Yet, in the ancient world, these terms were commonly used to describe monstrosities, which challenged normativity.

Myth in both literature and the visual arts can challenge our common perceptions of mutants and monsters. Beautiful Arachne was punished and transformed into a horrid spider by Athena, but her weaving was nonetheless marvelous. Polyphemus, a cannibalistic ogre, still fostered all-consuming love for beautiful Galatea.

History tells of a different monster. The tyrants and kings of questionable sanity may have been unjustly incriminated and [mis]identified as monsters, while their clemency faded from memory. Conversely, deformities and disabilities, veiling inner-beauty, oftentimes warranted inequity and discrimination. Moreover, physiognomy could indicate inner moral values or contradict them, as in the case of Socrates, whom Plato and Xenophon describe as having a satyr-like appearance, all the while bearing moral excellence.

The goal of this graduate symposium is to explore the beauty, physical or abstract, in monstrosities of the ancient world. This may include, but is not limited to, mutants, monsters, and villains in literature and artistic representations, historical evildoers, the maniacal, who may have been erroneously antagonized, and the common ugly, judged at face value.

We invite graduate students from the departments of Classics, Archaeology, History, History of Art, Near Eastern Studies, and Writing to submit their abstract of ca. 350 words or less by December 15th, 2014 to be considered for The Johns Hopkins Classics Graduate Symposium.  Please email beautyinthebeast@jhu.edu. Accepted graduate students will receive reimbursement for part of their room & board and travel costs.