Search results for ""Author Simona Rodan""

Maritime-Related Cults in the Coastal Cities of Philistia during the Roman Period questions the origins and the traditions of the cultic rites practised during Roman times along the southern shores of the Land of Israel. This area was known since biblical times as ‘Peleshet’ (Philistia), after the name of one of the Sea Peoples that had settled there at the beginning of the Iron Age. Philistia’s important cities Jaffa, Ashkelon, Gaza and Rafiah were culturally and religiously integrated into the Graeco-Roman world. At the same time, each city developed its own original and unique group of myths and cults that had their roots in earlier periods. Their emergence and formation were influenced by environmental conditions as well as by ethno-social structures and political circumstances. Philistia’s port cities served as crossroads for the routes connecting the main centres of culture and commerce in ancient times. Most of their cults were closely associated with the sea, and reflect the existential dependency of the inhabitants on the sea that supplied them with sustenance and livelihood and was regarded as a divine beneficent power. The myths also echo the lives of the sailors, their beliefs and fears derived from encountering the dangers of the sea: storms, floods, reefs and giant fish portrayed as monsters. The population of the cities was of mixed and varied ethnic and cultural origins. This was the result of the waves of conquests and migrations over the ages, yet each city was noted for its unique ethnic components. The book also deals with the political circumstances, which had a decisive impact on the formation of religious life and cultic rites in all four cities. It sheds new light to the understanding of the events and historical processes in the region.

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The story of the duel of David and Goliath, the Philistine champion, is narrated in the Bible in several versions. While its symbolic importance in Judaism and later in Christianity gradually came to represent the battle between good and evil, true faith and paganism, attempts were made since ancient times to solve its ambiguities. In modern research, the story arouses many disputes. There is controversy about the degree of realism and fantasy in it and there is also no agreement as to the time it was composed. Some claim that this was close to the time when the event occurred at the beginning of the monarchy period. Others postpone the time of its writing to the end of the Judaean monarchy and even to Second Temple times by pointing out its similarities to Greek literature and the characteristics of Goliath as an Aegean hoplite. The purpose of the study is not only to shed light on the enigmas about the protagonists and the time of the story, but also to understand why the importance of its message did not lessen and in what circumstances the interest in it was prolonged. The study employs a textual analysis (literary and philological) of the story together with its comparison to Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian literary sources, historical analysis, and also a comparative analysis with archaeological findings. It examines sources which until now have not been included in research and suggests a new date, place and motive for the compilation of the duel story.

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