Workshop "The Septuagint as a Geographical Source"
Chair of Ancient History, University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
The Septuagint, i.e. the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, can hardly be overestimated as a cultural-historical achievement of Hellenism in its significance for Antiquity as well as for the cultural identity of Europe. The Septuagint was and is rightly the subject of intensive research. The workshop breaks new thematic ground, as it is situated between ancient history, Biblical studies, Jewish studies, Classical philology, and the historical geography of antiquity.
The aim of the planned workshop is to focus on the geographical aspects of the Septuagint that resulted from the translation of the Old Testament texts into Koine Greek. This is because the translations of toponyms ranged from transcriptions to paraphrases or the use of contemporary names and was thus subject to different interpretations in the translation process. Consequently, physical as well as mental space was translated in several different ways. A further complicating factor is the different spelling in the manuscript tradition.
As part of the extensive Septuagint Handbook project (ed. by Martin Karrer, Wolfgang Kraus & Siegfried Kreuzer), a workshop for the conceptual preparation of the seventh volume “LXX.H: Ancient Geography” is planned for 8/9 February 2024 at the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. The focus will be on aspects of historical spatial science and historical geography in the Septuagint.