Articles in scientific journals by Alexandar Portalsky
MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS AND CULT PRACTICES Proceedings of the Third International Symposium Blagoevgrad, 8-9 September 2020, 2020
This text briefly presents suggested by us rock sanctuary at the neck of the cape near Ordu, asso... more This text briefly presents suggested by us rock sanctuary at the neck of the cape near Ordu, associated with ancient Kotyora. This sanctuary has steps, a sacred spring and it is connected to the Thracian beliefs, which were spread among the local population of Tibareni and Paphlagonians.
THRACIA XXIII THRACO-ANATOLICA. СБОРНИК В ЧЕСТ НА 65-ГОДИШНИНАТА НА ПРОФ. КАЛИН ПОРОЖАНОВ, Д-Р, Д.Н., 2018
The paper justifies the use of the term Palaeobalkan-westanatolian community. The community is de... more The paper justifies the use of the term Palaeobalkan-westanatolian community. The community is defined as over-lingual and culturally identifiable, but it demonstrates similarities in the political systems too.
The community becomes identifiable from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC., slightly blurred in Hellenistic and Roman period, but its strong fundamentals hold until the end of antiquity. The announcement of Constantinople as an imperial capital plays a big role for that.
ÉTUDES BALKANIQUES, LV, 2019, 3, 2019
In this text the term Palaeobalkan-Westanatolian community is proposed
to replace the other terms... more In this text the term Palaeobalkan-Westanatolian community is proposed
to replace the other terms used: Thracian-Phrygian ethno-cultural community, the Pelasgo-Thracian circumaegean community, Mycenaean Thrace, Circumpontic macro-zone and others. Adopting the existence of the Palaeobalkan-Westanatolian community makes it possible to avoid long introductions explaining why parallels between the Balkans and Western Anatolia are made. The scholars can compare political models, functions of the kings, religious doctrines, and interpretations of archaeological complexes, especially cult objects. Besides, information from the Greek literary tradition could be referred to surrounding, non-literary societies with a great deal of confidence. Using the spiral retrospection method, information about later historical periods could also be referred to earlier periods.
HPAKΛEOYΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ ΘAΣIΩN. Изследвания в чест на Иля Прокопов от приятелите и учениците му по случай неговата 60-годишнина, 2012
This paper considers Dionysius of Byzantium as a valuable source of information about the ancient... more This paper considers Dionysius of Byzantium as a valuable source of information about the ancient geography and history of the Thracian Bosporus. The known accounts about Dionysius’ life and literary tradition of the periploi are presented. Based on this information the author concludes that Dionysius could be trusted, especially with regard to the information related to localization of many sites mentioned by other ancient writers. The oral information he has written down regarding many sites is a valuable source contributing to the remembrance of important events which happened during the preroman period along the strait. The author of this paper has chosen to use the information related to the sailing of the Argonauts as an example. The observation shows that Dionysius listed a considerable number of sites related to the Argonauts. It is obvious that a quasi-historical remembrance of the myth appears. The myth has been altered (e.g. instead of impossibly sailing back to Hellas along the rivers Danube and Sava the Argonauts sail through the Bosporus also on their way back). Other alterations of the
myth appear through the attachment of events which happened in various places in the Propontis to toponyms of the Bosporus due to the increasing importance of the Straits and the city of Byzantium.
Mustafa H. Sayar (Ed.), Eleventh International Congress of Thracology, Istanbul, 8th -12th November, 2010 (2013), 2013
The series of myths about the Argonauts is the first source mentioning Greek ships that appeared ... more The series of myths about the Argonauts is the first source mentioning Greek ships that appeared in the Bosporus. They all agree that the Argonauts met Phineus when they crossed the Thracian Bosporus. Phineus has always been indisputably connected with the Bosporos. The Greeks did have a memory (turned into a myth) of a Late Bronze Age invasion into the Pontos Euxeinos, which in terms of chronology should mean 13 th-11 th century B.C. Phineus represented a royal family reigning over the Black Sea coast at the European side of the Bosporus, and therefore controlled Hellenic entrance into the Black Sea. The penetration of the Propontis became easier only after the sack of Troy and the end of the famous war. The sailing of the Argonauts is represented as a clear marking line-the passage afterwards becomes easy. Phineus ruled over the Thracians, and at the same time he had a serious problem, metaphorically presented by the Harpies. The first hypothesis is that the Greek Argonauts interfered as allies. They helped the king to retain his power. In return he agreed to make significant concessions. The second hypothesis is that the Greeks did not come with peaceful intensions. Phineus welcomed them rudely and Heracles slew Phineus himself and no small number of the rest, and restored to the sons of Phineus their ancestral rule. This is a typical example for a classical interference in an argument for inheritance of power, where the help of the Greeks was decisive. Both hypotheses can be united in the following manner. The decisive interference of the Greeks at the end of the Dark Ages destroyed the monopoly of the country of Salmydessos. As a result the Greeks set up their own base on the Asian coast of the Black Sea.
Σ Υ Μ Π Ο Σ Ι Ο Ν. STUDIES IN MEMORY OF PROF. DIMITAR POPOV, 2016
Natural conditions, demography and social structure in Western Anatolia and the Eastern Balkans d... more Natural conditions, demography and social structure in Western Anatolia and the Eastern Balkans during the first millennium BC
The text combines information about demographic changes in South-
Eastern Europe and Western Asia Minor, according to summaries in The
Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World and the new article
on the occurrence of plague in LBE Early Divergent Strains of Yersinia
pestis in Eurasia 5,000 Years Ago. This explains the dramatic demographic
decline, described in publications of Snodrass. Plague act in two ways.
First, change the level of urbanization - sharply reduce major cities, a
large part of the population probably moved in unfortified villages.
Second, processes of migrations started: people flee from infection or
resettle large depopulated areas. The disease affects mainly large centers
and areas at the sea and river shores, which are involved in active
trading.
Further the text analyzes economic opportunities for accumulation of
wealth in the researched area. The conclusions are that agriculture is the
main occupation, but income from it is almost constant and cannot create
growing wealth. A basis of the wealth could become livestock and more
specifically that of sheep, which can be exchanged. Big earnings come
from mining of non-ferrous metals, especially gold, which gives more
power to the kingdom in Asia Minor and led to the invention of the
coinage. As a result, the social structure of the Balkans remains twofold
(aristocrats and dependent peasants), while in Asia Minor there is
evidence of a third class of large traders.
РЕЗЮМЕ SUMMARY
Докладът разглежда сведенията
за отглеждането на лоза и произ-
водството на вино в... more РЕЗЮМЕ SUMMARY
Докладът разглежда сведенията
за отглеждането на лоза и произ-
водството на вино в Древна Тракия,
които черпим от Омир, Херодот,
Ксенофонт, Платон, Аполоний Родоски,
Аполодор и Помпоний Мела. Повечето
сведения за Балканския полуостров са
били коментирани и по-рано, но тук се
добавят данните и за траките (фриги,
долиони и др.) в Мала Азия, незаслу-
жено подценявани досега.
Доказва се много древното обредно
зарязване на лозите, както и други
традиционни дейности, останали
непроменени и до днес в българската
традиционна култура.
Ключови думи: древно вино,
Древна Тракия, траки, фриги, долиони,
Мидас, Силен, зарязване на лозите
The hereby presented paper gives
an overview of the information on vine
growing and wine production in Ancient
Thrace, which we take from Homer,
Herodotus, Xenophontus, Plato,
Apollonius Rhodius, Apollodorus and
Pomponius Mela. Most of the information
about the Balkan Peninsula has been
commented earlier, but here are added
evidences about the Thracians (Phrigians,
Dolionias, etc.) in Asia Minor,
undeservedly underestimated long time.
Also there is information about very
ancient ritual of the pruning of the vines,
as well as other traditional activities,
which have remained unchanged until
now in the Bulgarian traditional culture.
Key words: Wine, Ancient Thrace,
Thracians, Phrygians, Dolionians,
РЕЗЮМЕ SUMMARY
Текстът разглежда появата на
виното в най-дълбока древност и прави
историографски ... more РЕЗЮМЕ SUMMARY
Текстът разглежда появата на
виното в най-дълбока древност и прави
историографски преглед на хипотезите
за датировка на най-старите вина и
географското разположение на лозови-
те насаждения. Най-сигурен белег за
съхранение и употреба на вино е нали-
чието на остатъци от винена киселина
по съдовете или останки от семена и
ципи на грозде.
Коментира се употребата на
виното през палеолита и неолита, в
Древен Египет, Древна Месопотамия и
Древна Гърция. Прегледът включва
първите известни днес „винарни“ –
Хаджи Фируз Tепе и Годин Tепе в Иран
и пещерата Арени 1 в Армения.
Разглежда се значението на виното
като икономически, религиозен и общо-
културен феномен в гробниците на
фараоните и в градовете на Месопо-
тамия, проникването му в Гърция и на
Балканския полуостров и първите опи-
ти за смесването му с дървесни смоли.
Традицията превръща виното едновре-
менно в най-сакралната и най-масово
употребявана напитка в древния свят.
Ключови думи: Вино, винарство,
Древен Египет, древна Месопотамия,
древна Гърция, неолитно шато,
свещена напитка
This text reviews the appearance of
wine in the deepest antiquity, and makes
a short historiographical review of the
dating of the oldest wines and the
geographical location of the vineyards.
The most convincing mark for the storage
and use of wine is the presence of tartaric
acid residues on the vessels or remnants
of grape seeds and grains.
The use of wine through the
Paleolithic and the Neolithic ages, in the
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia and
Ancient Greece is commented, too. The
review includes the first known “wineries” –
Hajji FiruzTepe and Godin Tepe in Iran
and the cave Areni 1 in Armenia. The
paper considers the importance of wine
as an economic, religious and cultural
phenomenon in the tombs of the
Pharaons and in the cities of
Mesopotamia, its penetration into Greece
and the Balkan Peninsula, and the first
attempts to mix it with wood resins. A very
old tradition turns the wine into the most
sacred and most widely used beverage in
the ancient world.
Key words: Wine, viticulture,
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia,
Neolithic shateau, sacred drink
Papers by Alexandar Portalsky
Studia Ceranea, Dec 30, 2023
The Greeks and Romans in the Black Sea and the Importance of the Pontic Region for the Graeco-Roman World (7th century BC-5th century AD): 20 Years On (1997-2017), 2021
Books by Alexandar Portalsky
HPAKΛEOYΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ ΘAΣIΩN., Dec 1, 2012
Uploads
Articles in scientific journals by Alexandar Portalsky
The community becomes identifiable from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC., slightly blurred in Hellenistic and Roman period, but its strong fundamentals hold until the end of antiquity. The announcement of Constantinople as an imperial capital plays a big role for that.
to replace the other terms used: Thracian-Phrygian ethno-cultural community, the Pelasgo-Thracian circumaegean community, Mycenaean Thrace, Circumpontic macro-zone and others. Adopting the existence of the Palaeobalkan-Westanatolian community makes it possible to avoid long introductions explaining why parallels between the Balkans and Western Anatolia are made. The scholars can compare political models, functions of the kings, religious doctrines, and interpretations of archaeological complexes, especially cult objects. Besides, information from the Greek literary tradition could be referred to surrounding, non-literary societies with a great deal of confidence. Using the spiral retrospection method, information about later historical periods could also be referred to earlier periods.
myth appear through the attachment of events which happened in various places in the Propontis to toponyms of the Bosporus due to the increasing importance of the Straits and the city of Byzantium.
The text combines information about demographic changes in South-
Eastern Europe and Western Asia Minor, according to summaries in The
Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World and the new article
on the occurrence of plague in LBE Early Divergent Strains of Yersinia
pestis in Eurasia 5,000 Years Ago. This explains the dramatic demographic
decline, described in publications of Snodrass. Plague act in two ways.
First, change the level of urbanization - sharply reduce major cities, a
large part of the population probably moved in unfortified villages.
Second, processes of migrations started: people flee from infection or
resettle large depopulated areas. The disease affects mainly large centers
and areas at the sea and river shores, which are involved in active
trading.
Further the text analyzes economic opportunities for accumulation of
wealth in the researched area. The conclusions are that agriculture is the
main occupation, but income from it is almost constant and cannot create
growing wealth. A basis of the wealth could become livestock and more
specifically that of sheep, which can be exchanged. Big earnings come
from mining of non-ferrous metals, especially gold, which gives more
power to the kingdom in Asia Minor and led to the invention of the
coinage. As a result, the social structure of the Balkans remains twofold
(aristocrats and dependent peasants), while in Asia Minor there is
evidence of a third class of large traders.
Докладът разглежда сведенията
за отглеждането на лоза и произ-
водството на вино в Древна Тракия,
които черпим от Омир, Херодот,
Ксенофонт, Платон, Аполоний Родоски,
Аполодор и Помпоний Мела. Повечето
сведения за Балканския полуостров са
били коментирани и по-рано, но тук се
добавят данните и за траките (фриги,
долиони и др.) в Мала Азия, незаслу-
жено подценявани досега.
Доказва се много древното обредно
зарязване на лозите, както и други
традиционни дейности, останали
непроменени и до днес в българската
традиционна култура.
Ключови думи: древно вино,
Древна Тракия, траки, фриги, долиони,
Мидас, Силен, зарязване на лозите
The hereby presented paper gives
an overview of the information on vine
growing and wine production in Ancient
Thrace, which we take from Homer,
Herodotus, Xenophontus, Plato,
Apollonius Rhodius, Apollodorus and
Pomponius Mela. Most of the information
about the Balkan Peninsula has been
commented earlier, but here are added
evidences about the Thracians (Phrigians,
Dolionias, etc.) in Asia Minor,
undeservedly underestimated long time.
Also there is information about very
ancient ritual of the pruning of the vines,
as well as other traditional activities,
which have remained unchanged until
now in the Bulgarian traditional culture.
Key words: Wine, Ancient Thrace,
Thracians, Phrygians, Dolionians,
Текстът разглежда появата на
виното в най-дълбока древност и прави
историографски преглед на хипотезите
за датировка на най-старите вина и
географското разположение на лозови-
те насаждения. Най-сигурен белег за
съхранение и употреба на вино е нали-
чието на остатъци от винена киселина
по съдовете или останки от семена и
ципи на грозде.
Коментира се употребата на
виното през палеолита и неолита, в
Древен Египет, Древна Месопотамия и
Древна Гърция. Прегледът включва
първите известни днес „винарни“ –
Хаджи Фируз Tепе и Годин Tепе в Иран
и пещерата Арени 1 в Армения.
Разглежда се значението на виното
като икономически, религиозен и общо-
културен феномен в гробниците на
фараоните и в градовете на Месопо-
тамия, проникването му в Гърция и на
Балканския полуостров и първите опи-
ти за смесването му с дървесни смоли.
Традицията превръща виното едновре-
менно в най-сакралната и най-масово
употребявана напитка в древния свят.
Ключови думи: Вино, винарство,
Древен Египет, древна Месопотамия,
древна Гърция, неолитно шато,
свещена напитка
This text reviews the appearance of
wine in the deepest antiquity, and makes
a short historiographical review of the
dating of the oldest wines and the
geographical location of the vineyards.
The most convincing mark for the storage
and use of wine is the presence of tartaric
acid residues on the vessels or remnants
of grape seeds and grains.
The use of wine through the
Paleolithic and the Neolithic ages, in the
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia and
Ancient Greece is commented, too. The
review includes the first known “wineries” –
Hajji FiruzTepe and Godin Tepe in Iran
and the cave Areni 1 in Armenia. The
paper considers the importance of wine
as an economic, religious and cultural
phenomenon in the tombs of the
Pharaons and in the cities of
Mesopotamia, its penetration into Greece
and the Balkan Peninsula, and the first
attempts to mix it with wood resins. A very
old tradition turns the wine into the most
sacred and most widely used beverage in
the ancient world.
Key words: Wine, viticulture,
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia,
Neolithic shateau, sacred drink
Papers by Alexandar Portalsky
Books by Alexandar Portalsky
The community becomes identifiable from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC., slightly blurred in Hellenistic and Roman period, but its strong fundamentals hold until the end of antiquity. The announcement of Constantinople as an imperial capital plays a big role for that.
to replace the other terms used: Thracian-Phrygian ethno-cultural community, the Pelasgo-Thracian circumaegean community, Mycenaean Thrace, Circumpontic macro-zone and others. Adopting the existence of the Palaeobalkan-Westanatolian community makes it possible to avoid long introductions explaining why parallels between the Balkans and Western Anatolia are made. The scholars can compare political models, functions of the kings, religious doctrines, and interpretations of archaeological complexes, especially cult objects. Besides, information from the Greek literary tradition could be referred to surrounding, non-literary societies with a great deal of confidence. Using the spiral retrospection method, information about later historical periods could also be referred to earlier periods.
myth appear through the attachment of events which happened in various places in the Propontis to toponyms of the Bosporus due to the increasing importance of the Straits and the city of Byzantium.
The text combines information about demographic changes in South-
Eastern Europe and Western Asia Minor, according to summaries in The
Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World and the new article
on the occurrence of plague in LBE Early Divergent Strains of Yersinia
pestis in Eurasia 5,000 Years Ago. This explains the dramatic demographic
decline, described in publications of Snodrass. Plague act in two ways.
First, change the level of urbanization - sharply reduce major cities, a
large part of the population probably moved in unfortified villages.
Second, processes of migrations started: people flee from infection or
resettle large depopulated areas. The disease affects mainly large centers
and areas at the sea and river shores, which are involved in active
trading.
Further the text analyzes economic opportunities for accumulation of
wealth in the researched area. The conclusions are that agriculture is the
main occupation, but income from it is almost constant and cannot create
growing wealth. A basis of the wealth could become livestock and more
specifically that of sheep, which can be exchanged. Big earnings come
from mining of non-ferrous metals, especially gold, which gives more
power to the kingdom in Asia Minor and led to the invention of the
coinage. As a result, the social structure of the Balkans remains twofold
(aristocrats and dependent peasants), while in Asia Minor there is
evidence of a third class of large traders.
Докладът разглежда сведенията
за отглеждането на лоза и произ-
водството на вино в Древна Тракия,
които черпим от Омир, Херодот,
Ксенофонт, Платон, Аполоний Родоски,
Аполодор и Помпоний Мела. Повечето
сведения за Балканския полуостров са
били коментирани и по-рано, но тук се
добавят данните и за траките (фриги,
долиони и др.) в Мала Азия, незаслу-
жено подценявани досега.
Доказва се много древното обредно
зарязване на лозите, както и други
традиционни дейности, останали
непроменени и до днес в българската
традиционна култура.
Ключови думи: древно вино,
Древна Тракия, траки, фриги, долиони,
Мидас, Силен, зарязване на лозите
The hereby presented paper gives
an overview of the information on vine
growing and wine production in Ancient
Thrace, which we take from Homer,
Herodotus, Xenophontus, Plato,
Apollonius Rhodius, Apollodorus and
Pomponius Mela. Most of the information
about the Balkan Peninsula has been
commented earlier, but here are added
evidences about the Thracians (Phrigians,
Dolionias, etc.) in Asia Minor,
undeservedly underestimated long time.
Also there is information about very
ancient ritual of the pruning of the vines,
as well as other traditional activities,
which have remained unchanged until
now in the Bulgarian traditional culture.
Key words: Wine, Ancient Thrace,
Thracians, Phrygians, Dolionians,
Текстът разглежда появата на
виното в най-дълбока древност и прави
историографски преглед на хипотезите
за датировка на най-старите вина и
географското разположение на лозови-
те насаждения. Най-сигурен белег за
съхранение и употреба на вино е нали-
чието на остатъци от винена киселина
по съдовете или останки от семена и
ципи на грозде.
Коментира се употребата на
виното през палеолита и неолита, в
Древен Египет, Древна Месопотамия и
Древна Гърция. Прегледът включва
първите известни днес „винарни“ –
Хаджи Фируз Tепе и Годин Tепе в Иран
и пещерата Арени 1 в Армения.
Разглежда се значението на виното
като икономически, религиозен и общо-
културен феномен в гробниците на
фараоните и в градовете на Месопо-
тамия, проникването му в Гърция и на
Балканския полуостров и първите опи-
ти за смесването му с дървесни смоли.
Традицията превръща виното едновре-
менно в най-сакралната и най-масово
употребявана напитка в древния свят.
Ключови думи: Вино, винарство,
Древен Египет, древна Месопотамия,
древна Гърция, неолитно шато,
свещена напитка
This text reviews the appearance of
wine in the deepest antiquity, and makes
a short historiographical review of the
dating of the oldest wines and the
geographical location of the vineyards.
The most convincing mark for the storage
and use of wine is the presence of tartaric
acid residues on the vessels or remnants
of grape seeds and grains.
The use of wine through the
Paleolithic and the Neolithic ages, in the
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia and
Ancient Greece is commented, too. The
review includes the first known “wineries” –
Hajji FiruzTepe and Godin Tepe in Iran
and the cave Areni 1 in Armenia. The
paper considers the importance of wine
as an economic, religious and cultural
phenomenon in the tombs of the
Pharaons and in the cities of
Mesopotamia, its penetration into Greece
and the Balkan Peninsula, and the first
attempts to mix it with wood resins. A very
old tradition turns the wine into the most
sacred and most widely used beverage in
the ancient world.
Key words: Wine, viticulture,
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia,
Neolithic shateau, sacred drink