Although we are limited in what we can know and say about the ancient world, it is important for historians and archaeologists to do more than just list facts. Trevor Bryce makes the case that it is necessary to look at ancient cultures through the eyes of those who lived in it—and discuss what life would have been like for the average person in those cultures.1 Taking this approach creates as full a picture of the past as possible.
Many books have been written about ancient peoples and places. But even the most comprehensive treatments sometimes lack an important perspective: While providing a wide range of information about a particular society, they fail to convey any clear sense of what it must have been like to live in it, to participate directly in the life of its villages and cities, to meet its people on the streets and in their homes. It is rather like reading a book of facts and figures about Istanbul, which though accurate and thorough in its details, communicates little of the essential experience of a visit to Hagia Sophia, or a walk through the bustling alleys of the Covered Market or a ferry-boat trip along the Bosporus, or a ride in a dolmuş. Of course no matter how graphic the description of such experiences, it can never be a satisfactory substitute for the experience itself—which as far as the ancient world is concerned will be forever denied us, at least until time travel becomes possible. Nevertheless, in using the factual data on which our knowledge of an ancient society is based, we should attempt to build up a picture of this society not merely as detached modern commentators but by seeing it through the eyes of someone actually living in it, taking part in its daily activities, its festive occasions, its celebrations, its crises and conflicts, experiencing its whole mix of sights, sounds and smells.
Although we are limited in what we can know and say about the ancient world, it is important for historians and archaeologists to do more than just list facts. Trevor Bryce makes the case that it is necessary to look at ancient cultures through the eyes of those who lived in it—and discuss what life would have been like for the average person in those cultures.1 Taking this approach creates as full a picture of the past as possible. Many books have been written about ancient peoples and places. But even the most comprehensive treatments sometimes lack an important […]
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