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Loading... Changing Names: Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Greek Onomastics (Proceedings of the British Academy)by Robert Parker (Editor)
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Naming practices and preferences are subject to fashion, prestige, and cultural gravity that are the product of the historical circumstances of the time. These practices change extensively when one culture comes into contact with another, or when centres of power shift. For these reasons, anthroponymy is a constant interest in the study of antiquity. Changes in naming practices may appear at either an individual or a societal level, but in both cases ‘naming is one of the areas of silent change that make up most of the history of time’ (p. 20). This last quotation encapsulates the scope of the chapters in this collective volume. They coherently and successfully contribute to an understanding of the significance of naming choices in the ancient world. The book that results greatly facilitates research in both ancient Greek onomastics and in ancient onomastics in general.
Changing Names investigates, in relation to the ancient Greek world, the ways in which preferences in personal name-giving change: through shifts in population, cultural contact and imperialism, the popularity of new gods, celebrity status of individuals, increased openness to external influence, and shifts in local fashion. Several major kinds of change due to cultural contact occurred: Greek names spread in regions outside Greece that were subject to Greek cultural influence (and later conquest), while conversely the Roman conquest of the Greek world led to various degrees of adoption of the Roman naming system; late in antiquity, Christianisation led to a profound but rather gradual transformation of the name stock. Individuals in culturally mixed societies sometimes bore two names, one for public or official use, one more domestic; but women of non-Greek origin were more likely to stick with indigenous names. 'Structural' changes (such as the emergence of the English surname) did not occur, though in late antiquity an indication of profession tended to replace the father's name as a secondary identifier; in some regions 'second' names became popular, perhaps in imitation of the longer Roman naming formulae. The volume is arranged partly thematically, partly through regional case studies (from within and beyond old Greece). Individuals who change their names (typically slaves after manumission) are also considered, as is the possibility that a name might change its 'meaning'. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)929.40938History and Geography Biography, genealogy, insignia Genealogy; Heraldry Names of persons and placesLC ClassificationRatingAverage: No ratings.Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |