Sailing from Polis to Empire: Ships in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic Period

by Emmanuel Nantet

Overview

What can the architecture of ancient ships tell us about their capacity to carry cargo or to navigate certain trade routes? How do such insights inform our knowledge of the ancient economies that depended on maritime trade across the Mediterranean?


These and similar questions lie behind Sailing from Polis to Empire, a fascinating insight into the practicalities of trading by boat in the ancient world. Allying modern scientific knowledge with Hellenistic sources, this interdisciplinary collection brings together experts in various fields of ship archaeology to shed new light on the role played by ships and sailing in the exchange networks of the Mediterranean. Covering all parts of the Eastern Mediterranean, these outstanding contributions delve into a broad array of data – literary, epigraphical, papyrological, iconographic and archaeological – to understand the trade routes that connected the economies of individual cities and kingdoms.

Unique in its interdisciplinary approach and focus on the Hellenistic period, this collection digs into the questions that others don’t think to ask, and comes up with (sometimes surprising) answers. It will be of value to researchers in the fields of naval architecture, Classical and Hellenistic history, social history and ancient geography, and to all those with an interest in the ancient world or the seafaring life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783746965
Publisher:	Open Book Publishers
Publication date:	07/22/2020
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
File size:	8 MB

Table of Contents

Preliminary Notes

Preface

Alain Bresson

1. The Hellenistic Merchantmen: A Contribution to the Study of the Mediterranean Economies

Emmanuel Nantet

2. Evolutions of the Representation of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Hellenistic Period

Jean-Marie Kowalski

3. Naval Architecture. The Hellenistic Hull Design: Origin and Evolution

Patrice Pomey

4. The Rise of the Tonnage in the Hellenistic Period

Emmanuel Nantet

5. A Note on the Navigation Space of the Baris-Type Ships from Thonis-Heracleion

Alexander Belov

6. Naves Pingere: ‘Painting Ships’ in the Hellenistic Period

Martin Galinier and Emmanuel Nantet

List of Illustrations and Table

Index

Editorial Reviews

This book represents a significant contribution to the fields of Hellenistic archaeology, Hellenistic economy, naval architecture and shipping in the eastern Mediterranean. It asks (and answers) questions that are often simply assumed and not systematically investigated.

— Dr. Conor Trainor, University of Warwick

From the Publisher