Finding Myth and History in the Bible - Scholarship, Scholars and Errors - Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spano
Toponymy Riddles
Finding Myth and History in the Bible - Scholarship, Scholars and Errors - Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spano
Mario Liverani [+]
University of Rome “La Sapienza”, (Emeritus)
Mario Liverani is Emeritus Professor of “History of the Ancient Near East” in the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Member of the Italian National “Lincei” Academy, honorary member of the American Oriental Society. His most recent book is Immaginare Babele (2013); his general handbook Ancient Orient is now available in English translation.
Description
The article deals with some enigmatic toponyms, some of them very famous, others known just to a few scholars. It provides either the etymology (for Pi-sidqi and Minoa), or the identification and location (Tahta = Akhetaten), or the original meaning of a name which is quite alien to its subsequent vagaries (Atlantis). It could prove interesting to eventually develop the suggestions about Minoa and Atlantis, in laying a new basis for two never-ending debates.