<Notes>Greek Cultures and "Persian Cultures" in Asia Minor under the Achaemenid Empire : A Reconsideration of Acculturation Theory

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  • ABE Takuji
    京都大学大学院文学研究科博士後期課程

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Other Title
  • <研究ノート>アカイメネス朝支配下小アジアにおける「ギリシア文化」と「ペルシア文化」 : 文化変容論再考にむけて
  • アカイメネス朝支配下小アジアにおける「ギリシア文化」と「ペルシア文化」--文化変容論再考にむけて
  • アカイメネス チョウ シハイカ ショウアジア ニ オケル ギリシア ブンカ ト ペルシア ブンカ ブンカ ヘンヨウロン サイコウ ニ ムケテ

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In 547B.C. Cyrus the Great conquered the Lydian Kingdom of Croesus. This meant not only that Asia Minor became the western frontier of the Achaemenid Empire, but that settled populations with various cultural backgrounds and various cultural identities, such as Greek, Persian and that of the original Anatolian inhabitants, resided within its territory. In this paper, I have attempted to provide a perspective for understanding cultures in Asia Minor during the Persian period. In the first section, I examine how the history and cultures of the Achaemenid (419) Empire, especially the cultures of Asia Minor, have been interpreted by earlier scholars. Since A. Furtwangler's study at the tum of the last century (1900), those cultures have been understood in terms of a "Graeco-Persian" rubric; that is, of the contrast between Greek and Persian elements, in which the triumph of the Greek elements over the Persian ones was inherent. However, C. G. Starr (1976; 1977) opposed this view. He focused his attention on the cultural interaction between the indigenous and Greek populations with the Persians in Asia Minor. Behind this shift was a change in the historical image of the Achaemenid Empire. Since Starr's study, scholars have been more ready to interpret cultures in Asia Minor as acculturation, i.e. the interaction, reception and reaction among native, Greek and Persian elements. In the second section, I focus on Lydia and consider which cultures the residents practiced based chiefly on analyses of inscriptions excavated in Lydia. In this section, my main theme is to examine whether it is possible to understand those cultures according to the acculturation theory. On the basis of these analyses, I conclude that it is very difficult to distinguish which elements are native, Greek or Persian. Considering the previous analyses, I point out that all cultures in Asia Minor were hybrid and that any "pure" Greek or Persian culture is a mere fiction. In addition, I make two proposals; firstly, cultures in Asia Minor should be studied from the premise that there were no "pure" Greek, Persian or native cultures, and, secondly, that it is more important to research cultures as fluid processes, not in terms of their roots but in terms of routes.

Journal

  • 史林

    史林 87 (3), 354-371, 2004-05-01

    THE SHIGAKU KENKYUKAI (The Society of Historical Research), Kyoto University

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