by Melanie
Takefman
David Mendelsohn draws a box around the
hieroglyphics that spell out my name. The ancient Egyptians used this
annotation to designate names of people, he explains. Soon, the blackboard
is filled with messages in Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian, though Mendelsohn
apologizes for his spelling in the latter.
Through a self-designed
curriculum known as a Special Individualized Program (SIP) in classics and
linguistics, the multilingual doctoral student is studying the cultural
contacts between Mesopotamia (Babylon) and the ancient Greeks through
common prayers.
By examining archaeological relics engraved with
prayers, Mendelsohn is finding that formulas or expressions in different
ancient languages contain consistent grammar and syntax. These patterns
indicate the sequence in which language and religion were transmitted
between civilizations.
Through language, he analyzes the daily
lives of ancient societies. “I’ve always been interested in how [members
of] a society see themselves,” Mendelsohn said. A society’s relationship
with their god or gods reveals a lot about how they see themselves and the
general mood of the time, he explained.
For example, one’s livelihood in Mesopotamia was dependent on the
volatile Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which often flooded and left
populations destitute. As a result, they were fearful of their gods. “You
didn’t want those guys to be mad at you!” he said.
Conversely, the stable Nile, which deposited enriching sediments into
their soil, sustained the ancient Egyptians agriculturally. Consequently,
their religion contained elements of “euphoria” and the people were “a
happy lot.”
“The ancient world is a lot more interesting than ours,” he said. “Good
and evil were not so defined.”
Gods were not always portrayed as paradigms of piety. The Greek god
Aphrodite cheated on her husband, for example. “There were allowances for
every human tendency and there was the chance to explore it,” he
said.
Despite these differences, Mendelsohn affirmed, “people are
people.” He described the inscription on a 5,000-year-old Samarian tablet
wherein a father chastises his son for going out to play with his friends.
When I was your age, the father said, I had to work in the fields.
“Nothing has changed. That’s the most amazing part,” he said.
While Mendelsohn is fascinated by history and culture, languages are
his passion. “My degree,” he joked, “is basically an excuse for me to read
all of these languages.” He received several bursaries for his
achievements, including the FCAR, a provincial scholarship for academic
research and Concordia University External Grant Holder Doctoral
Scholarship.
Now working on his third degree in classics and linguistics, Mendelsohn
has been taken by his studies to Egypt, Israel, England, Italy and Greece.
The latest phase of his research involves heavy reading of Hittite and
Akkadian texts, both languages spoken in the ancient near East. He is also
learning Arabic to enhance his knowledge of the ancient Semitic
languages.
Besides being the only Concordia doctoral student in
Linguistics/Classics, Mendelsohn is one of few scholars to have fused
philology (the structure, historical development and relationships of
languages) and archaeology.
“Progress in our understanding of the continuity of culture across the
ancient near-Eastern and Mediterranean worlds is hampered by traditional
disciplinary boundaries,” said Annette Teffeteller, Mendelsohn’s academic
supervisor. A professor in the Department of Classics, Modern Languages
and Linguistics, she is also acting chair of the Physics
Department.
“David has decided advantages in being able to bridge these various
areas,” Teffeteller said. “His study of Greek, Hittite, and Akkadian has
given him a solid basis in the use of ancient texts for the study of
symbolic culture in these different traditions, while his archaeological
training has provided him with an awareness of various methodologies for
cultural analysis.”
Though Mendelsohn already spoke several
languages including Hebrew and Yiddish prior to his university studies, he
became interested in ancient tongues during his travels as a member of
Canada’s national wrestling team. When he wasn’t training, he taught
himself ancient Greek.
Once he finishes his degree, Mendelsohn plans to teach his passion and
travel to Israel, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. “If I never had to worry about
money, I would keep on studying,” he said. “I really enjoy it!” |