A beautiful new book with a blue cover that says: Ethnic Relations in the Ancient Mediterranean: Social Life Under Empire by Philip A. Harland

@philharland.bsky.social ‘s book has arrived!

Ethnic Relations in the Ancient Mediterranean A fresh perspective revealing how ethnographic thinking shaped the sociocultural landscape of the ancient Mediterranean.   With this book, Philip A. Harland presents a large-scale rereading of social ...

@philharland.bsky.social has a book coming out in Spring -already available for pre-order: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky

Scythians are rarely in the news, so take it while you can: www.theguardian.com/world/2023/n...

Tatian the Assyrian on the priority of Moses’ barbarian wisdom. philipharland.com/Blog/?p=17949

Just pulled together some fun material about the Greek philosopher Democritus supposedly being initiated by the Magian Ostanes, another "wise barbarian." www.philipharland.com/Blog/2023/10...

sixth century BCE

Earliest example of a Greek author indirectly attending to supposed distinct physical features of specific people groups, one of the components in what we now call the process of racialization?

Xenophon of Kolophon: "The Ethiopians make their gods black (melanes) and flat-nosed (simoi). The Thracians say theirs have blue eyes and red hair" [Clement, Tapestries 7.22]. philipharland.com/Blog/?p=17702

Couple new posts on peoples and "barbarizing" in Maximus of Tyre's second century CE orations: philipharland.com/Blog/?p=17637 philipharland.com/Blog/?p=17622

Another kind of birdy told me I should be talking to you, because you're dealing with criminalization, and I am too (at least part of my ethnic relations project is doing that). I'm sure we're in totally different places with different angles, but we should keep in touch about that.

Oh nice. I look forward to getting to know your work more.

Herodotos would like you to know that the Massagetians (not the Scythians) eat family members when they get a bit too old. I'm sure this is a case of autopsy. www.philipharland.com/Blog/2022/08...

Good combo :) Keeps things interesting.

Damn the Canadians and their geese!

In case you were thinking of collaborating with the gods, here is your template.

Cover of Michael Quatro's (brother of Suzi) 1975 prog rock album In Collaboration with the Gods (yes, he's that presumptuous) in which he is sitting in a pool with shark tooth necklace and his own reflection. Plenty of Michael Quatro--too much.

One need not wear shark teeth on album covers:

The Judean Josephos' completely understandable complaint that Apollonios and others “rail against us as the lowest of humankind” (Against Apion 2.236) did not stop him from picking on others: "Scythians . . . enjoy murdering people and are little better than wild animals" (Against Apion 2.269).

Goats are always so caszh

That is one scary Adam and Eve situation.

Grand River on bike ride

I was supposed to be reviewing an article for a journal, but my bike was calling me, saying "Jewish Studies doesn't need you as much as I need you. https://www.strava.com/activities/9628883901