The Construction of Time in Antiquity

Time stands at the heart of human experience. In this book, new investigations illuminate the gamut of human engagement with time in antiquity.

This book investigates how human beings related to time in antiquity. Building on the most recent research and opening new avenues in fields of Classics and Ancient History, Assyriology, Egyptology, Ancient Judaism, and Early Christianity, this book offers a broad study on rituals, festivals, astronomy, calendars, medicine, art, and narrative.Time has always held a fascination for human beings, who have attempted to relate to it and to make sense of it, constructing and deconstructing it through its various prisms, since time cannot be experienced in an unmediated way. This book answers the needs of a growing community of scholars and readers who are interested in this interaction. It offers a series of innovative studies by both senior and younger experts on various aspects of the construction of time in antiquity. Some articles in this book contain visual material published for the first time, while other studies update the field with new theories or apply new approaches to relevant sources. Within the study of antiquity, the book covers the disciplines of Classics and Ancient History, Assyriology, Egyptology, Ancient Judaism, and Early Christianity, with thematic contributions on rituals, festivals, astronomy, calendars, medicine, art, and narrative.