Speaking Greek Stones: A Translation Series of Foreign Archaeological and Cultural Classics

Author: Paul MacKendrick [USA]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-03-01
Features: This book introduces the development of classical archaeology, an important field in archaeology. The author, Paul MacKendrick, was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and has visited various regions under Greek and Roman rule multiple times. He has written a series of specialized works on classical archaeology, such as The Stones of North Africa Speak, The Silent Stones Speak—Archaeological Experiences in Italy, and The Stones of Dacia Speak, which have had a significant impact in the West. However, as the author states in the preface to this edition of the book, his purpose is not merely to introduce the history of Greek archaeology. He also hopes to trace the cultural development of the Greeks through the introduction of archaeological sites and to help readers understand how archaeologists draw conclusions from the artifacts they discover. Compared to the two aspects, the focus on cultural history is slightly greater. From the chapter arrangement of the book, we can also see the author's intention. If it were a purely historical account of archaeology, and classical archaeology had only emerged in modern times, he should have introduced the archaeological excavations in Greece by country and period. But the author did not do so. Instead, he arranged the content from the perspective of the historical development of the ancient Greeks. The author emphasizes the cultural evolution, changes, and decline of the Greeks over thousands of years since the Neolithic Age, with archaeological findings serving as a medium to illustrate his points. However, this book is also different from a typical history of Greek culture. For Greek culture, especially its spiritual culture, a large number of works have been written since the 19th century. Some of these works, such as the History of Greek Culture by Swiss scholar Jacob Burckhardt (J.B. Burchhardt) and the Pindar: The Ideal of Greek Culture by German scholar Werner Jaeger (W. Jaeger), have become classics. However, these works primarily rely on Greek historical documents and focus on the spiritual and intellectual development of the Greeks, with little attention paid to the socio-economic foundations that gave rise to this culture. In terms of the time frame examined, they mainly cover the classical period of Greece, with only occasional references to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The discussions on earlier periods with limited documentary records and on Greek culture after the classical period are inevitably brief. It is well known that the history of ancient Greece spans thousands of years, while the classical period lasted only about 200 years, even if the Hellenistic period is included, it does not exceed 500 years. From the perspective of a comprehensive understanding of historical development, such an examination is inevitably one-sided. The author of this book has made a valuable effort in this regard. Based on extensive reading and reference to archaeological reports, he not only provides a detailed account of early Greek culture, especially the periods of Crete, Mycenae, and the Dark Ages, but also offers a more in-depth discussion of the spread, development, and transformation of Greek culture in non-Greek regions under Roman rule. This greatly broadens people's understanding and research perspectives on Greek culture, with positive significance. Although the author does not explicitly state it, it is clear from the text that ancient Greek culture has a long history, evolving from Neolithic culture through the Aegean civilization to reach its classical period of prosperity. During the development of classical culture, the Greeks drew many beneficial cultural elements from the Near East and Egypt. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, classical culture certainly spread outward, extending to the Near East, but at the same time, Greek culture was also transformed by non-Greek cultures, eventually forming a hybrid culture. Compared to views that overly emphasize the originality of Greek culture, the author's perspective is clearly more convincing, and research since the 1980s, particularly the work of Martin Bernal, has also proven the correctness of the author's viewpoint. Since this book primarily reconstructs the cultural development of ancient Greece based on archaeological evidence, it includes a large number of illustrations. These illustrations include plans of archaeological sites, unearthed ancient artifacts, and maps. Of course, this method was not pioneered by the author. As early as the second half of the 19th century, Hugo Blume made full use of illustrations from Greek vases to describe the lives of the Greek family. In the second half of the 20th century, the Russian-American historian Michael I. Rostovtzeff was also a master of using illustrations to explain socio-economic development. In his famous work The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, he explicitly stated that the illustrations in the book were not merely for decoration or to attract readers, but an indispensable part of the entire work. The author of this book was clearly influenced by them, and therefore chose to include a large number of illustrations. Through the maps included in the book, we can gain a clear understanding of the geographical distribution of ancient Greek culture. By examining the plans of archaeological sites, we can see the main evidence used by the author to draw conclusions and the methods the author employed. By comparing various artifacts from different periods and regions in Greece, we can discover the commonalities and characteristics of Greek culture, observe the trajectory of its development, the progress of human technology, and even changes in political systems. By referring to the various illustrations, we can better understand the textual narration and gain a vivid and intuitive impression of the development of Greek culture. Another important feature of this book is its comprehensive understanding of the development of Greek culture. For most Chinese people, including some Westerners, "Greece" refers only to a few city-states like Athens and Sparta on the Balkan Peninsula, with little basic knowledge of other Greek city-states in the homeland, such as Corinth and Argos, let alone Greek communities in regions like Asia Minor, Italy, and North Africa. In fact, these city-states have made significant contributions to the development of Greek culture. Greek philosophy, historiography, mathematics, and geography all originated from the Greeks of Asia Minor. The Greeks in southern Italy and Sicily have also made important contributions in philosophy, architecture, medicine, and mathematics. The Greeks along the Black Sea have played a significant role in cultural exchange between the East and the West. As the author points out in the book, Sparta is both culturally and archaeologically bleak. These aspects are often absent in many works on Greek history. However, in this book, the cultural development of regions in the Greek homeland, such as Corinth, Olympia, and Delphi, outside Athens and Sparta, as well as the cultural development of Greek city-states outside the Balkans, such as Cyrene, Sicily, and Paestum, are given full attention. Therefore, the author's discussion of the development of Greek culture in this book is more comprehensive than that in general works. When evaluating the development of Greek culture, the author notes the decisive role of the economic foundation. Especially when narrating the architecture and culture of places like Athens and Epidaurus, he reminds readers to pay attention to the economic phenomena reflected behind the cultural achievements, which helps us better grasp the characteristics and essence of Greek culture. On May 31, 1873, Heinrich Schliemann wrote in his diary while standing on the windy heights of Troy: "At a depth of 8 to 9 meters, I uncovered the winding walls of Troy near the Sky Gate, and in a room of the palace of King Priam adjacent to the walls, I found a bronze chest filled with large silver vases and cups of gold and silver." Schliemann's legendary discovery sparked great interest in ancient Greek archaeology, and people flocked to the sites of ancient Greece for excavations or treasure hunting. The ruins of palaces and the astonishing stone sculptures that emerged from the earth told the story of the glory and prosperity of ancient Greek culture.