Mary R. Bachvarova

Education

A.B., Harvard/Radcliffe College
M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago

Curriculum Vitae

Document (.doc)

Research and Teaching

Professor Bachvarova is an expert in the history of Greek and Near Eastern culture and religion. In her forthcoming book, From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Greek Poetry (under contract with Cambridge University Press), Prof. Bachvarova argues that Anatolia must have been an important conduit for Near Eastern literature and religious practices. Her work uses Hittite epics and prayers to elucidate the history of the Homeric tradition and the ritual context that made early lyric poetry and Aeschylean tragedy meaningful to its original audience.

Selected Awards

Willamette University Faculty Achievement Award (for teaching, scholarship, and service), 2007-2008.

Publications

Co-edited book

2008

Anatolian Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks and Their Neighbors: An International Conference on Cross-Cultural Interaction Held at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University (Sept. 17-19, 2004), eds. B. J. Collins, M. R. Bachvarova and I. C. Rutherford. Woodbridge, Conn.: Oxbow Books (ISBN-13: 978-1-84217-270-4).

Articles and Book Chapters

2009

"Suppliant Danaids and Argive Nymphs in Aeschylus," Classical Journal 104.4: 289-310.

2008

"The Poet's Point of View and the Prehistory of the Iliad," in: Anatolian Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks and Their Neighbors: An International Conference on Cross-Cultural Interaction Held at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University (Sept. 17-19, 2004), eds. B. J. Collins, M. R. Bachvarova and I. C. Rutherford. Woodbridge, Conn.: Oxbow Books. 95-108.
"Sumerian Gala Priests and Eastern Mediterranean Returning Gods: Tragic Lament in Cross-Cultural Perspective," in: Lament: Studies in the Ancient Mediterranean World and Beyond, ed. A. Suter. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 18-52.
"Hittite and Greek Perspectives on Travelling Poets, Texts and Festivals," in Wandering Poets in Ancient Greek Culture, eds. R. Hunter and I. C. Rutherford. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 23-45.

2007

"Oath and Allusion in Alcaeus fr. 129," in: Horkos: The Oath in Greek Society, eds. A. H. Sommerstein and J. Fletcher, Exeter: Bristol Phoenix Press. 179-88, 258-64. pdf download
"Actions and Attitudes: Understanding Greek (and Latin) Verbal Paradigms," Classical World 100.2: 123-33. pdf download
"Suffixaufnahme and Genitival Adjectives as an Anatolian Areal Feature in Hurrian, Tyrrhenian, and Anatolian Languages," in: Proceedings of the 18th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference, Los Angeles, November 3-4, 2006, eds. K. Jones-Bley, M. E. Huld, A. Della Volpe, M. R. Dexter, 169-89. pdf download

2006

"Divine Justice across the Mediterranean: Hittite arkuwars and the Trial Scene in Aeschylus' Eumenides," Journal of Near Eastern Religions 6: 123-153. pdf download

2005

"Relations Between God and Man in the Hurro-Hittite 'Song of Release'," Journal of the American Oriental Society 125:1-13. pdf download
"The Mediterranean Epic Tradition from Bilgames and Akka to the Song of Release to the Iliad," Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 45: 131-153. pdf download

2004

"Topics in Lydian Verse: Accentuation and Syllabification," Journal of Indo-European Studies 32 (3-4): 227-247. pdf download

2001

"Successful Birth, Unsuccessful Marriage: Using Near Eastern Birth Incantations to Interpret Aeschylus' Suppliants," NIN: Journal of Gender Studies in Antiquity 2: 49-90. pdf download

1997

"The Literary Use of Dialects: Ancient Greek, Indic and Sumerian," in: CLS 33: Papers from the Panels on Linguistic Ideologies in Contact, Universal Grammar, Parameters and Typology, The Perception of Speech and Other Acoustic Signals. eds. K. Singer, R. Eggert, G. Anderson. Chicago. 7-22. pdf download