The Historical and Legendary Cimmerians
Dec 2, 2016 19:30:30 GMT -5
Post by deuce on Dec 2, 2016 19:30:30 GMT -5
As many people know, Robert E. Howard derived the name "Cimmerian" from a tribe of nomads mentioned in Greek legends, the histories of Herodotus and in the Old Testament . The Cimmerians were a real people who probably cast down the kingdom of King Midas. This thread is going to look at both the Cimmerians of history and the Cimmerians of Greek legend. The two intersect in fascinating ways.
infogalactic.com/info/Cimmerians
Marek J. Olbrycht, a professor at the University of Krakow, wrote an excellent treatise on the Cimmerians in Classical sources. I'll be quoting from it fairly often.
Of all the nomadic peoples who were present in the Caspian steppes
and in Western Asia in the 1st millenium B.C. none has probably caused historians
and archaeologists so much trouble than the Cimmerians. The history of the
Cimmerians is still being discussed and reconstructed in different ways2. The
whole problem contains lots of misunderstandings mainly due to the fact that
the most important source groups, i.e. literary and archaeological evidences,
have been examined on the basis of some aprioric assumptions not all of which
are immediately obvious.
The history of the Cimmerians in Europe can be discussed mainly
from the point of view of Classical sources, for the basic evidence for the study
of this people are testimonies of Greek and Roman authors4. On the other hand,
valuable evidence for the Cimmerians in Western Asia is provided by Oriental,
mainly Assyrian, records5. The written evidence can be to some extent supplemented
by archaeological data from the Ponto-Caspian steppes, the Caucasus
area and Western Asia6. However, the presently available archaeological materials
do not allow any convincing hypothesis about the character of genuine
Cimmerian culture. It is due to the fact that archaeological interpretations depend
on historical premises and the latter, relying on fragmentary and contradictory
testimonies, still do not enable us to give definitive answers to certain
important questions about Cimmerian history.
2. Homer and the Cimmerians of fable
The name of the Cimmerians appears in the Odyssey of Homer. The
vague notion of that people entertained by Homer has often been commented
both in antiquity and at present. Homer says the following about the Cimmerians:
“She (i.e. the ship of Odysseus, M.J.O.) came to deep-flowing Oceanus, that
bounds the Earth, where is the land and city of the Cimmerians, wrapped in mist
and cloud. Never does the bright sun look down on them with his rays either
when he mounts the starry heaven or when he turns again to earth from heaven,
but baneful night is spread over wretched mortals. Thither we came and beached
our ship, and took out the sheep, and ourselves went beside the stream of Oceanus
until we came to the place of which Circe had told us”.
3 Cf. Sulimirski 1959; Bouzek 1983; Pstrusinska 1996.
4 For detailed studies of the available literary classical sources, see Lehmann-Haupt
1921 and Tokhtas’ev 1993.
5 These sources have been already sufficiently analysed, cf. Lanfranchi 1990; Ivantchik
1993; IvanCik 1996.
6 Cf. Samokvasov 1908; Sulimirski 1959; Terenozkin 1976; Leskov 1981; Bouzek 1983;
Meliukova 1989; Melyukova 1990; Dudarev 1991; KaSalova/Alekseev 1993;
Makhortych 1994; Dudarev 1995.
infogalactic.com/info/Cimmerians
Marek J. Olbrycht, a professor at the University of Krakow, wrote an excellent treatise on the Cimmerians in Classical sources. I'll be quoting from it fairly often.
Of all the nomadic peoples who were present in the Caspian steppes
and in Western Asia in the 1st millenium B.C. none has probably caused historians
and archaeologists so much trouble than the Cimmerians. The history of the
Cimmerians is still being discussed and reconstructed in different ways2. The
whole problem contains lots of misunderstandings mainly due to the fact that
the most important source groups, i.e. literary and archaeological evidences,
have been examined on the basis of some aprioric assumptions not all of which
are immediately obvious.
The history of the Cimmerians in Europe can be discussed mainly
from the point of view of Classical sources, for the basic evidence for the study
of this people are testimonies of Greek and Roman authors4. On the other hand,
valuable evidence for the Cimmerians in Western Asia is provided by Oriental,
mainly Assyrian, records5. The written evidence can be to some extent supplemented
by archaeological data from the Ponto-Caspian steppes, the Caucasus
area and Western Asia6. However, the presently available archaeological materials
do not allow any convincing hypothesis about the character of genuine
Cimmerian culture. It is due to the fact that archaeological interpretations depend
on historical premises and the latter, relying on fragmentary and contradictory
testimonies, still do not enable us to give definitive answers to certain
important questions about Cimmerian history.
2. Homer and the Cimmerians of fable
The name of the Cimmerians appears in the Odyssey of Homer. The
vague notion of that people entertained by Homer has often been commented
both in antiquity and at present. Homer says the following about the Cimmerians:
“She (i.e. the ship of Odysseus, M.J.O.) came to deep-flowing Oceanus, that
bounds the Earth, where is the land and city of the Cimmerians, wrapped in mist
and cloud. Never does the bright sun look down on them with his rays either
when he mounts the starry heaven or when he turns again to earth from heaven,
but baneful night is spread over wretched mortals. Thither we came and beached
our ship, and took out the sheep, and ourselves went beside the stream of Oceanus
until we came to the place of which Circe had told us”.
3 Cf. Sulimirski 1959; Bouzek 1983; Pstrusinska 1996.
4 For detailed studies of the available literary classical sources, see Lehmann-Haupt
1921 and Tokhtas’ev 1993.
5 These sources have been already sufficiently analysed, cf. Lanfranchi 1990; Ivantchik
1993; IvanCik 1996.
6 Cf. Samokvasov 1908; Sulimirski 1959; Terenozkin 1976; Leskov 1981; Bouzek 1983;
Meliukova 1989; Melyukova 1990; Dudarev 1991; KaSalova/Alekseev 1993;
Makhortych 1994; Dudarev 1995.