Abstract
The Mycenaean civilization uncovered by archaeologists in Greece flourished at the same time as the Hittite empire during the second half of the second millennium BC. Its Linear B texts are not of a kind to reveal Mycenaean relationships with Hittites, but cuneiform texts, found at the Hittite capital city Hattusa and at Ugarit on the Syrian coast, contain elusive hints of contact over the relevant four centuries. Ever since the decipherment of Hittite language and complex cuneiform script, scholars have argued for and against equating cuneiform Ahhiyawa with Homeric Achaea, as well as two Ahhiyawans, Attarissiya and Tawagalawa, with names known from Greek legends as Atreus and Eteocles; and most recently Adanawa, modern Adana, with the Danunians (pp. 265-66). Intertwined in the debate are questions of dating ‘Homer’, of locating Hittite Taruisa as Troy, and Wilusa as Ilion.
The texts are elusive not least because they are very damaged and fragmentary. Occasional improvements in understanding meanings for words and phrases, and joins found between fragments, have been published in many different volumes and languages. In this volume the three authors have combined their different kinds of expertise - in philology, archaeology, and historical interpretation, to present all three facets through which the reader gains an up-to-date view of evidence and interpretations. 28 texts are assembled, of which the two from Ugarit are in Akkadian, and the final one a Luwian - Phoenician bilingual dating from much later, in the 8th century. All the texts are transliterated with facing translation, enabling those readers who do not know some or all of the languages to use the book. Gaps are indicated, and their extent estimated. The commentary that follows each text gives a succinct account of problematic datings and current identifications as well as indicating likely context. The introduction and extensive epilogue, mainly restricted to western Anatolia, give a wider framework, pointing out, among other things, that archaeological finds do not appear to substantiate the contacts indicated by the texts. Cyprus and Cilicia are discussed in the commentaries.
The book is a godsend to those who struggle to present the subject to students, and thus fulfils the aim of the series. A few criticisms include the following. The brief introduction to each text would have benefitted from an estimate of how much text is entirely missing - often more than one half. Assuwa is not on the two useful maps, although it is approximately located in p. 269, and Adana is likewise omitted. Particularly unfortunate is the omission of the Phoenician version for no. 28, the recently discovered Çinekoy inscription; important variants are, however, mentioned in the commentary.
This useful and interesting book ends with a list of sources, a bibliography, and indices.