Gorgias Press
Founded in 2001 Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher of books and journals related to history, languages, and religious studies, with specific areas of expertise in the Ancient Near East, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Archaeology, Biblical Studies, Classics, Early Christianity, Jewish Studies, Linguistics, and Syriac.
Gorgias [GOR-gee-us] Press was originally created by George and Christine Kiraz as a specialty press that could keep up with their research interests. With a background in computational linguistics, George Kiraz envisioned combining cutting-edge technology with humanities research. The new company would be completely online, with no physical storefront, and it would use automation and digital printing technology rather than traditional print runs. With these tools, the press could afford to publish rare and understudied topics that were previously considered unprofitable, and Gorgias soon became known for its pioneering work in language and linguistics, religion, and especially Syriac and Eastern Christianity.
Gorgias’ philosophy of “Publishing for the Sake of Knowledge” rather than profit, attracted a number of new authors, and the press’ areas of interest rapidly began to expand. Today, Gorgias Press publishes 50-60 new titles a year, including monographs, edited volumes, translations, and more, and Gorgias books can be found in academic collections all over the world.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 48
ISBN: 9781593339722
Pub Date: 15 Jul 2008
Description:
This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the story of Solomon and the two harlots imagines the emotional state of the new king Solomon as he sits on his throne uncertain of his ability to rule and judge. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 205
ISBN: 9781593337339
Pub Date: 03 Jul 2008
Description:
Oppenheim’s foundational study on dreams and their interpretation in the Ancient Near East has long been a standard text for those interested in the role of dreams in the ancient world. With a new introduction by Scott Noegel, this edition presents the complete original study along with its photographs, as well as insights concerning how the book has fared over the past fifty years.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 133
ISBN: 9781593338411
Pub Date: 03 Jul 2008
Description:
This biography of Severus, the patriarch of Antioch from 512-518 CE, attributed to his schoolmate Zachariah of Mytilene, gives unique information about life in Mediterranean region in the second half of the 5th century. These two young men from wealthy families became involved with a Christian movement, the "philoponoi," "those devoted to work" who combined asceticism with theological study. The work, originally in Greek, survives only in Syriac, which this volume presents alongside the first English translation of it.
It is an important source for studies on Ancient Biography, Late Antiquity, and Early Christianity.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 582
ISBN: 9781593339586
Pub Date: 13 Jun 2008
Series: Gorgias Ugaritic Studies
Description:
The book investigates the qatal//yiqtol (yiqtol//qatal) verbal sequence, previously known as ‘tense shifting’, as found in couplets of the Hebrew Psalter, attempting an innovatory explanation by means of M.A.K.
Halliday’s Systemic Theory. This study argues that qatal and yiqtol verbal forms, when part of the qatal//yiqtol verbal sequence in Psalms' poetic couplets, can be used primarily for aesthetic reasons, with no individual reference to time or aspect. Arguably, the Systemic Functional Grammar analysis of lexicogrammar can provide a comprehensive interpretation of form and function and an integrated approach to phonetics, morphology and syntax.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 506
ISBN: 9781593338404
Pub Date: 29 May 2008
Series: Deities and Angels of the Ancient World
Description:
In this thoroughly provocative book, the late Eugene Seaich makes a detailed study of the intractable mystery of the Jerusalem temple. Using historical sources and ingenious detective work, Seaich suggests that the cherubim in Solomon’s temple were portrayed in a copulatory embrace. Aware that this thesis is not entirely novel, the author builds a substantial case in its favor and traces the influence of the atonement (at-one-ment) theology behind the concept through Israel’s wisdom school, New Testament and Gnostic sources, up through the Middle Ages.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 549
ISBN: 9781593335281
Pub Date: 29 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Historic Travels Archive
Description:
This delightful collection of travelogues from the years c. 700 – 1697 catalogues the views of European travelers and pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Wright includes a series of brief accounts from early in this period from Bishop Arculf, Willibald, and Bernard the Wise.
Narratives of Saewulf, Sigurd the Crusader, and Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela give the outlook of Christian and Jewish travelers. The work concludes with the lengthier accounts of Sir John Maundeville, Bertandon de le Brocquière, and Henry Maundrell.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 656
ISBN: 9781593336066
Pub Date: 29 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Theological Archive
Description:
This detailed study of the physical layout and traditions of the Holy Land and Syria contains an enormous amount of detailed information. For readers who wish to correct their vision of the actual physical geography of Syro-Palestine, this work remains a recommended source.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 496
ISBN: 9781593339760
Pub Date: 29 May 2008
Series: Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures and its Contexts
Description:
This volume incorporates all the articles and reviews published in Volume 6 (2006) of the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 341
ISBN: 9781593335588
Pub Date: 29 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Historic Travels Archive
Description:
This written travelogue of Ella Sykes’ historic first journey across central Asia has been considered a classic of women’s studies as well as a historic travel account. Detailing the impressions of Sykes while traveling with her diplomat brother through central Asia in the nineteenth century, this illustrated volume has a wide appeal to those interested in Iran as it used to be.
Pages: 640
ISBN: 9781593335748
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Historical Dictionaries Archive
Pages: 524
ISBN: 9781593335731
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Historical Dictionaries Archive
Description:
Audo’s Syriac dictionary is a reference tool coveted by all students of the Syriac language. As a language tool it represents the Syriac known and used in the nineteenth century in the Middle East. This historic contribution to the understanding of the Syriac language is now available in a Gorgias edition with an English introduction.
Pages: 524
ISBN: 9781593335731
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Historical Dictionaries Archive
Pages: 640
ISBN: 9781593335748
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Series: Kiraz Historical Dictionaries Archive
Description:
Audo’s Syriac dictionary is a reference tool coveted by all students of the Syriac language. As a language tool it represents the Syriac known and used in the nineteenth century in the Middle East. This historic contribution to the understanding of the Syriac language is now available in a Gorgias edition with an English introduction.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 434
ISBN: 9781593337216
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Description:
This two-volume set of St. Ephraim’s refutations of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan is presented in a bilingual edition with the Syriac original and English translation. The prose refutations are an important component to the understanding of one of the most important patriarchs of Eastern Christianity.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 328
ISBN: 9781593337209
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Description:
This two-volume set of St. Ephraim’s refutations of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan is presented in a bilingual edition with the Syriac original and English translation. The prose refutations are an important component to the understanding of one of the most important patriarchs of Eastern Christianity.
Current Issues and the Study of Ancient History
Format: Paperback
Pages: 119
ISBN: 9781930053106
Pub Date: 16 May 2008
Description:
The arrival of new disciplinary approaches to ancient fields of study is embraced in this volume of Publications of the Association of Ancient Historians. This volume considers the world of the Classic civilizations viewed through the lenses of recent approaches to historical material. Stanley M.
Burstein considers Egypt and Greece in the light of Afrocentrism as a means of exploring ethnicity in the study of antiquity. Nancy Demand applies the outlook of gender studies to ancient history with the resultant concepts of participation and power. Ian Morris delves into the role archaeology takes in the understanding of ancient Greece, and Lawrence Tritle explores psychology and history in an analysis of Thucydides, a foundational writer of Classical history. These cross-disciplinary studies demonstrate the flexibility and breadth of the historical undertaking in an environment of continual growth and change.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 1164
ISBN: 9781593333669
Pub Date: 15 May 2008
Series: Publications of the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church
Description:
This book sheds light on the first three Crusades (1097-1191) by introducing material from several medieval Syriac and Arabic sources and reconciling their accounts with those provided by Western sources. It presents the Crusades as an extension of the conflict between Christianity and Islam, which began with the Arabs’ first incursions into Christian territory in the seventh century and continued with their conquest of the Iberian peninsula.
Balkan Currents
Studies in the History, Culture and Society of a Divided Land
Format: Hardback
Pages: 143
ISBN: 9780941690829
Pub Date: 06 May 2008
Description:
Delving into the troubled history of the Balkan Peninsula, this collection of essays does not shy away from the difficult issues. Seven papers by noted specialists in this region (Charles A. Frazee, Thomas A.
Emmert, Snjezana Buzov, Veniamin Karakostanoglou, Basil Kondis, Spyridon Sfetas, and Stephen K. Batalden) ponder the larger implications of this fractured part of the European map. At the confluence of two continents and three major religions, the Balkans are often overlooked until the media calls attention to the troubles of the region. This book contains essays on the religious, ethnic, and political element in the conflict. Particularly timely, considerations of Kosovo’s status and the continuing crisis of what used to be called Yugoslavia are directly engaged in this study. This collection is must-read material for those interested in the history and culture of this troubled society.