HIST 2100 Lecture : The Ancient Mediterranean World Travel, Trade, Eastern Neighbours, Physical Greek Environment
Document Summary
Fernand braudel (1902-1985: the mediterranean world in the age of phillip ii, interested in effect of geography on history, different speeds of historical time. Environmental change: saw political events as ephemeral. Unimportant: meaning and the mediterranean looks at mediterranean in antiquity, compare marxist emphasis on production. Are people exploiters or exploited: 90% of population was engaged in farming, 3 levels of history. Greeks tended to live on or near coast. Sailing season was in the summer: dangerous to sail after autumn. Summer north winds made northward sailing difficult. To avoid, sailors would stay near to the coast: in-sight of land. Odysseus beset by storms sent by poseidon. Means hospitable: called this in the hope that it would become hospitable. Trade: long-distance trade generally carried out by sea, traded commodities. Goods: uneven distribution of resources made trade absolutely necessary. Greece"s eastern neighbors: the greco-roman world must not be looked at in isolation, martin bernal, black athena: the afro-asiatic roots of classical.
