Michael H. Jameson
Encyclopedia
Michael Hamilton Jameson (London
15 October 1924 — 18 August 2004) was a classicist. At the time of his death he was Crossett Professor Emeritus of Humanistic Studies at Stanford University
.
His father, Raymond D. Jameson, professor of Western literature at the University of Peking, and mother, Rose Perel Jameson, were visiting London
at the time of his birth. He spent his childhood in Beijing and with his mother in London, received his A.B. in Greek at the University of Chicago
in 1942, aged seventeen, served in the U.S. Navy as a Japanese translator, 1943–46, then married Virginia Broyles. He received his Ph.D. at Chicago in 1949, with a dissertation on "The Offering at Meals: Its Place in Greek Sacrifice". A Fulbright Fellowship in 1949 supported him at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where he hiked the Peloponnesos with his new wife and gained an intimate knowledge of inscriptions. After a brief stint at the University of Minnesota
, he accepted a Ford Fellowship
at the Institute for Social Anthropology at Oxford University. On his return to the United states, be began his long association with the University of Pennsylvania
(1954–76).
Though a spirit of perfectionism inhibited his production of an overarching book, in some sixty articles he explored the setting of Greek religion
in its specific locality and time, thus focusing on unravelling the details of cult and ritual sacrifice; he did a great deal of work on epigraphy
and its relations with literature and history, and he explored Greek sites, especially at the partly drowned port city of Halieis (Porto Cheli
), which he began excavating in 1962, and in the Argolid, where he galvanized a broad ecological study, 1979–83, that was the first examination of the paleoecology
of ancient Greece, resulting in the publication of M. H. Jameson, Tjeerd Van Andel and C. N. Runnels, A Greek Countryside: The Southern Argolid from Prehistory to the Present Day (Stanford University Press) 1994.
His single most dramatic discovery was the copy of the Decree of Themistocles
, mobilizing early preparations for the Battle of Salamis
(470 BCE), which he recognized in a kapheneion (a Greek café) in Troezen
and copied in a squeeze. The discovery, which adjusted the historian's view drawn from Thucydides
, elicited an extensive literature, including four articles by Jameson, setting the text in its historical context.
He received numerous awards and visiting fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1966–67, and inspired a generation of scholars through his teaching. He died of cancer.
His articles are widely scattered.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
15 October 1924 — 18 August 2004) was a classicist. At the time of his death he was Crossett Professor Emeritus of Humanistic Studies at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
His father, Raymond D. Jameson, professor of Western literature at the University of Peking, and mother, Rose Perel Jameson, were visiting London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the time of his birth. He spent his childhood in Beijing and with his mother in London, received his A.B. in Greek at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1942, aged seventeen, served in the U.S. Navy as a Japanese translator, 1943–46, then married Virginia Broyles. He received his Ph.D. at Chicago in 1949, with a dissertation on "The Offering at Meals: Its Place in Greek Sacrifice". A Fulbright Fellowship in 1949 supported him at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where he hiked the Peloponnesos with his new wife and gained an intimate knowledge of inscriptions. After a brief stint at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, he accepted a Ford Fellowship
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
at the Institute for Social Anthropology at Oxford University. On his return to the United states, be began his long association with the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(1954–76).
Though a spirit of perfectionism inhibited his production of an overarching book, in some sixty articles he explored the setting of Greek religion
Ancient Greek religion
Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These different groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or "cults" in the plural, though most of them shared...
in its specific locality and time, thus focusing on unravelling the details of cult and ritual sacrifice; he did a great deal of work on epigraphy
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
and its relations with literature and history, and he explored Greek sites, especially at the partly drowned port city of Halieis (Porto Cheli
Porto Cheli
Porto Cheli or Portocheli is a village in the municipality of Kranidi in the southernmost part of the Argolis prefecture and the Argolic Peninsula. It is located E of Tyros and eastern Arcadia, SE of Argos and Nafplio, S of Corinth, Ancient Epidaurus and 7 km S of Kranidi and SW of Trizina...
), which he began excavating in 1962, and in the Argolid, where he galvanized a broad ecological study, 1979–83, that was the first examination of the paleoecology
Paleoecology
Paleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. It involves the study of fossil organisms and their associated remains, including their life cycle, living interactions, natural environment, and manner of death and burial to reconstruct the...
of ancient Greece, resulting in the publication of M. H. Jameson, Tjeerd Van Andel and C. N. Runnels, A Greek Countryside: The Southern Argolid from Prehistory to the Present Day (Stanford University Press) 1994.
His single most dramatic discovery was the copy of the Decree of Themistocles
Decree of Themistocles
The Decree of Themistocles is an ancient Greek inscription discussing Greek strategy in the Greco-Persian Wars, purported to have been issued by the Athenian assembly under the guidance of Themistocles. Since the publication of its contents in 1960, the authenticity of the decree has been the...
, mobilizing early preparations for the Battle of Salamis
Battle of Salamis
The Battle of Salamis was fought between an Alliance of Greek city-states and the Persian Empire in September 480 BCE, in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens...
(470 BCE), which he recognized in a kapheneion (a Greek café) in Troezen
Troezen
Troezen is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia, of which it is a municipal unit....
and copied in a squeeze. The discovery, which adjusted the historian's view drawn from Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, elicited an extensive literature, including four articles by Jameson, setting the text in its historical context.
He received numerous awards and visiting fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1966–67, and inspired a generation of scholars through his teaching. He died of cancer.
Selected publications
Jameson contributed popular articles to encyclopedias: "Greek Mythology" in N. Kramer, The Mythologies of the Ancient World 1961, and "Mythology, Classical" in Collier's Encyclopedia 17 (1995:115-17).His articles are widely scattered.
- "The Hero Echetlaeus", Transactions of the American Philological Association 82, (1951:49-61)
- Translation of Sophocles’ The Women of Trachis (1957)
- "Mycenaean religion" Archaeology 13 (1960:
- "A Decree of Themistokles from Troizen", Hesperia 19 (1960:198–223)
- "Notes on the sacrificial calendar from Erchia", 89 (1965:154-72)
- "The mysteries of Eleusis", Bulletin of the Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis 19 (September 1969)
- "The Excavation of a Drowned Greek Temple", Scientific American (October 1972:74–91).
- "Sacrifice and animal husbandry in Classical Greece," C.R. Whittaker, ed.Pastoral Economies in Classical Antiquity, Cambridge Philological Society, suppl. 14 (1988:87–119)
- "Perseus, the Hero of Mykenai", in Celebrations of Death and Divinity in the Bronze Age Argolid, edited by R. Hägg and G.C. Nordquist, 1990
- "Sacrifice before Battle" in Hoplites: The Classical Greek Battle Experience, V.D. Hanson, ed. (1991:197–227)
- "The asexuality of Dionysus", in Masks of Dionysus Thomas H. Carpenter and Christopher A. Faraone, eds.. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press) (1993).
- "The Ritual of the Athena Nike Parapet" in Ritual, Finance, Politics. Athenian Democratic Accounts Presented to David Lewis. Robin Osborne and Simon Hornblower, eds. (Oxford:Clarendon Press) (1994:307-324)