Life and Society in the Hittite World [Paperback]

Trevor Bryce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0199275882 | ISBN-13: 978-0199275885

In dealing with a wide range of aspects of the life, activities, and customs of the Late Bronze Age Hittite world, this book complements the treatment of Hittite military and political history presented by the author in The Kingdom of the Hittites (OUP, 1998). Through quotations from the original sources and through the word pictures to which these give rise, the book aims at recreating, as far as is possible, the daily lives and experiences of a people who for a time became the supreme political and military power in the ancient Near East.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Trevor Bryce has written a beautiful and informative book about how people lived in the Hittite kingdom. The book is reliable and accurate in its content. The text is extrememly well-written. At times the language is almost lyrical I have no reservation about recommending his book not only to the general public, but also to university students and even to my fellow specialists. I wish this book a wide reading."-Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. Journal of Near Eastern Studies

"What is...needed is a readable and up-to-date synthesis which can introduce the wider public to the Hittites as a human society, and the author has provided this in a masterly way.... Bryce gets behind the mask of the official records, and gives us the Hittites' inner thoughts. It is a world both humane and grim.... We may be closer heirs to the Kingdom of the Hittites than we imagine. Here is one more reason to study this thoughtful and informative book."--Times Literary Supplement

"Trevor Bryce is the most successful--and responsible--popularizer of Anatolian studies active today.... This volume provides a comprehensive and highly readable introduction to the culture of the earliest attested state-level society employing an Indo-European language. As such it should be most useful for professional Classicists and ancient historians, as well as for the general reader."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Combining lucidity with scholarly rigour and displaying an informed and thoughtful response to the topic, this well-written book will be of particular value to university students and ancient historians. It deserves also to find a place in the wider market."--Times Higher Education Supplement

"A reliably up-to-date Hittite study in English.... A captivating vignette introduces each chapter, drawing readers into the lives of various social types...as well as festivals, gods, law, medicine, myth, and death.... This accessible social history is lively and rich in information, a valuable addition to college and university libraries."--Choice

About the Author

Trevor Bryce is Honorary Research Consultant, University of Queensland, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199275882
• ISBN-13: 978-0199275885
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best recent survey of the subject in English, November 29, 2004

By 

Suppiluliuma "Suppiluliuma" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life and Society in the Hittite World (Paperback)

Trevor Bryce is a highly regarded specialist in Hittite history. His scholarly articles focus on problems of Hittite history, mainly matters affecting the western half of the Anatolian peninsula -- Ahhiyawa and the Lycians. The first of his two recent books published by Oxford (of which this is the second), entitled "The Kingdom of the Hittites", shows the fruit of his close engagement with the best and latest research. In this second book, the subject of which is not quite as much his specialty, Bryce has written a lively and accurate account of what life was like in the ancient Hittite world (c. 1650-1150 BC). The chapter headings indicate his approach, which personalizes the subject matter. Instead of chapter headings like "Law", "Religion", "Art", "literature", etc., Bryce focuses on the person who operates in these spheres: scribes, priests, judges, farmers, craftsmen. In so doing he allows even old hands in his discipline to appreciate the information they already possess as seen in a new light, and makes comprehending the subject easier for first-time students. Oxford University Press has not cluttered the page with footnotes, but ample documentation is available in unabtrusive endnotes. For a hardback edition the rice too is reasonable, chiefly because the press did not indulge in glossy plates or maps. Readers who feel the need for more graphics should also buy J. G. Macqueen's book "The Hittites" which has a plethora of plates. Highly recommended for readers from high school through retirement home.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Bryce's 'Life and Society', June 11, 2010

By 

Ryan S. Mease "scott.godwin" (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life and Society in the Hittite World (Paperback)

This is an extensive consideration of different social aspects of Hittite society. It covers every basic niche--political leadership, merchants, farmers, priests, marriage, slavery, etc. There is also a very interesting essay at the end that looks at the relationship between Greece and the Near East, and consider the Homeric cycle as an orientalized work. Endnote aren't very helpful, and Bryce occasionally used phrases that annoy me. "More or less, by and large, greater or lesser, etc."--pick one and stop waffling about your position. Never mind me; this is a great book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Half of the Best Book on the Hittites, May 18, 2011

By 

Stuart McCunn (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life and Society in the Hittite World (Paperback)

This book is one part of what is essentially a duology. Trevor Bryce wrote two books on the Hittites, one dealing with their history and the other with their culture and society. This book is the latter. If you want a book that will tell you how the Hittites fit into the Near Eastern world then this isn't the book for you. You want Bryce's other book. This one is solely a cultural history, although it does include a king list at the beginning. It is surprising how much information there is available on Hittite culture considering that everything we know is based on tablets unearthed from archives. Not surprisingly there are many gaps, but this book lays out the basic map of what it was like in Hittite times. Instead of dividing it into general sections like Religion and Religion Bryce has focused each chapter on a particular career such as that of a scribe or a priest. This gives it a much clearer focus and lets the reader see clearly how that segment of the population lived. It is strongly recommended to read the companion piece as well since a full understanding of this people requires both angles.