Caria and Crete in Antiquity

Cultural Interaction between Anatolia and the Aegean

Naomi Carless Unwin

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781107194175
• eBook ISBN: 9781108339711
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

A persistent tradition existed in antiquity linking Caria with the island of Crete. This central theme of regional history is mirrored in the civic mythologies, cults and toponyms of southwestern Anatolia. This book explains why by approaching this diverse body of material with a broad chronological view, taking into account both the origins of this regional narrative and its endurance. It considers the mythologies in the light of archaeologically attested contacts during the Bronze Age, exploring whether such interaction could have left a residuum in later traditions. The continued relevance of this aspect of Carian history is then considered in the light of contacts during the Classical and Hellenistic periods, with analysis of how, and in which contexts, traditions survived. The Carians were an Anatolian people; however, their integration into the mythological framework of the Greek world reveals that interaction with the Aegean was a fundamental aspect of their history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Dedication
• Table of contents
• List of figures
• List of maps
• Preface
• A Note on Transliteration and Translation
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Articulating a ‘Carian’ Identity
• 2 The Role of Crete in the Mythologies, Local Histories and Cults of Caria
• 3 The Case of Miletos
• 4 Interaction and the Reception of the Cretan Connection during the Hellenistic Period
• 5 Inscribing History at Magnesia-on-the-Maeander
• 6 A ‘Cretan-Born’ Zeus in Caria
• Concluding Remarks
• Appendix 1: I. Magnesia 17
• Appendix 2: The ‘Cretan Dossier’ of Mylasa
• References
• Index