Robert J. Littman
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Robert Jacob Littman (born 1943) is an American classicist, archaeologist, biblical scholar, and ancient historian[1]. He is currently Professor of Classics at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Director of the Tell Timai Excavations[2], Timai El Amdid, Egypt. Known for his broad range of expertise in the ancient world, he is the author of numerous diverse books and articles on Greek history and literature, ancient medicine, biblical studies, and Egyptian archaeology[3].
Early Life and Education[edit]
Littman was born in Newark, New Jersey (1943) the son of Maxell L. Littman, M.D., Ph.D., noted microbiologist, and Mildred Littman, who was a nurse. He attended public schools in Tenafly New Jersey and then studied at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he graduated with a Classical diploma (1961). He took his bachelor's degree in Classics at Columbia University in 1964 and was awarded the Earle Prize in Classics. He then attended Oxford University (Wadham College) where he received an M. Litt. degree in Literae Humaniores in 1968. Returning to Columbia University he took his PhD in Classical Philology in 1970[4]. His graduate work was directed by many noted classicists, including Antony Andrewes, W.G. Forrest, Gilbert Highet and Morton Smith. While at Oxford he married Bernice Littman (nee Fingerhut) a barrister. They have three children, Adam, Emma and Tish.
Career[edit]
Littman began his career as an Instructor in History (Rutgers University 1967-1968) and Instructor in Classics (Brandeis University 1968-1970). He then took a position as Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Hawaiʻi (1971) and achieved the rank of Professor (1979-present). In 1977 he was elected a visiting member of the School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and was awarded the Herodotus Fellowship. He has been a Visiting Member at Wadham College, 1978, 1985; a Visiting Fellow at Oxford Center for Hebrew Studies, 1985, 1992; and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University 1999. In 2004 he received the Chancellor’s Citation for Meritorious Teaching at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa[5]. From 2012-2018 he was Chair of Classics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa. In 2007 he began an archaeological survey at the site of Tel Timai in the Nile Delta, Egypt, and in 2009 was granted the excavation concession. He has been the Director of the Tell Timai excavation since then. In 2018 the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) bestowed on him the Martha and Artemis Joukowsky Distinguished Service Award[6][7]. He has served extensively on national educational and charitable boards, including Archaeological Institute of America (Trustee 2010-2015), and also is national lecturer for the AIA. He was on the national council of the American Friends of the Hebrew University (1982-2004). He founded the Society of Ancient Medicine (1975) and was its first Chair (1976). He also founded the Archaeological Institute of America-Hawaiʻi (1995) and has been its President (1955-present).
Work[edit]
Littman is one of the more diverse scholars of the ancient world. He is trained in, and teaches numerous ancient languages, including Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Egyptian. He has published extensively in the areas of Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, Jewish history, Greek literature, Greek history, history of medicine, Greco-Roman Egypt, and archaeology. He has done pioneering work in the study of ancient pandemics, including the Plague of Athens and Antonine Plague. In 2009 he was awarded the concession to excavate the site of Tell Timai[8], the ancient city of Thmouis, in the Nile Delta. He has been excavating continuously since then. This site is approximately 220 acres, and was a major city in the Delta from the Late Egyptian Period through the Greco-Roman period (500 BC-850 AD). Many important discoveries have emerged, including a correlation with the Egyptian Revolt, described in the Rosetta Stone, and evidence for Mendesian perfume[9][10][11], worn by Cleopatra[12], as well as evidence of the shadowy pharaoh Psamuthes of the 29th dynasty.[13]
Selected publications[14][edit]
Books: [edit]
(1) The Greek Experiment: Imperialism and Social Conflict 800-400 B.C. (Thames and Hudson, London l974 and Harcourt Brace, New York l974
(2) Kinship and Politics in Athens 600-400 B.C. (Peter Lang, New York) 1990.
(3) A Concise History of the Jewish People (with Naomi Pasachoff) Rowman and Littlefield 2005
(4) The Book of Tobit (introduction, translation and commentary) Brill, Leiden, Holland 2008 (in Septuagint Commentary Series)
(5) The Theban Plays (with Ruth Fainlight) Johns Hopkins University Press 2009.
(6) The Terra Cotta Figurines from Tell Timai 2009-2013, (with James Bennett, Jay Silverstein), British Archaeology Review (London) 2016.
Articles:[edit]
1."Galen and the Antonine Plague," (with M. Littman) AJP 94 (1973) 243-255.
2."Medicine in Alexandria," in Aufsteig und Niedergang der römischen Welt II, 37.3 (1996) 2678-2708.
3."The Plague of Athens: Epidemiology and Palaeopathology," Mt. Sinai Journal of Medicine 76:5 (2009) 456-467
4. “The Manuscripts of Tobit,” in The Textual History of the Bible (deuterocanonical) Vol 2. (2019) pp. 381-396; Brill: Leiden. Also area editor for Manuscripts of Tobit (5 chapters).
5. “Mudbricks, Construction Methods, and Stratigraphic Analysis: A Case Study at Tell Timai (ancient Thmuis) in the Egyptian Delta” Marta Lorenzon, Jessica L. Nitschke, Robert J. Littman, Jay Silverstein; American Journal of Archaeology (124 (2020) pp. 105-131.
6. “Eau de Cleopatra: Mendesian Perfume and Tell Timai,” Robert J Littman, Jay Silverstein, Dora Goldsmith, Sean Coughlin, Hamedy Mashalay, Near Eastern Archaeology 84.3 (2021) 216-229.
7. “A Nilometer from Graeco-Roman Thmouis: Hydrographical, Historical, and Ideo-Political Significance in Hellenistic Egypt,” Jay Silverstein, Robert J. Littman et al., Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, June 2022.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Robert Littman". Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ "Tell Timai Archaeological Project". Tell Timai Archaeological Project.
- ↑ "Robert Littman". Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ News, U. H. "Professor who helped recreate Cleopatra's perfume marks 50 years at UH | University of Hawaiʻi System News". Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ News, U. H. "Professor who helped recreate Cleopatra's perfume marks 50 years at UH | University of Hawaiʻi System News". Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ "UH professor leading excavation in Egypt receives national archaeology award". Kaunana. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ aia_press (2018-01-18). "News - 2018 AIA Award Winners". Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ "UH professor leading excavation in Egypt receives national archaeology award". Kaunana. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ News, U. H. "Cleopatra's ancient perfume recreated | University of Hawaiʻi System News". Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ Littman, Robert J.; Silverstein, Jay; Goldsmith, Dora; Coughlin, Sean; Mashaly, Hamedy (2021-09-01). "Eau de Cleopatra: Mendesian Perfume and Tell Timai". Near Eastern Archaeology. 84 (3): 216–229. doi:10.1086/715345. ISSN 1094-2076.
- ↑ Knowles, Tom. "Scientists recreate Cleopatra's 2,000-year-old perfume". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ Magazine, Smithsonian; Recker, Jane. "Scientists Recreate Cleopatra's Favorite Perfume". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ "In the Time of the Rosetta Stone - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ↑ "Robert Littman | Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas". manoa.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
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