Acknowledgements
The story behind this book is short if compared to some of its predecessors, but long if compared to the rhythm of today’s world. The initial idea for a miscellaneous volume on Graeco-Anatolian matters came to me while I was organising the “Golden Fleece” conference, which took place at the Ertegun House and at St Hilda’s College in Oxford in January 2017. This volume features many of the papers presented on that occasion, along with further contributions on various other topics. It is now part of the PRIN project “Ancient languages and writing systems in contact: a touchstone for language change”, funded by Italian Ministry of education, university and research.
While in recent years young scholars and doctoral students are expected to do much more than their predecessors (in terms of dissemination of their research, teaching, organisational experience, etc.), the available resources rarely match the expectations of Academe. Oxford is a lucky exception, and the Ertegun Programme, which—along with St Hilda’s College and the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics—funded an international and exceptionally well-attended conference organised by a second-year DPhil student, is an exception within the exception.
I cannot be thankful enough to all the people who believed in the project, and to the institutions that made it possible. Thanks to all the contributors who decided to participate in the volume: I hope that their scholarship, patience, and attention will be rewarded. A warm thanks also goes to Katie Chin and Erika Mandarino at Brill, who provided invaluable assistance throughout the editorial process.
In these past few years, the academic world has seen the loss of exceptional scholars, on whose shoulders we still stand: one in particular, my maestro Romano Lazzeroni, is sorely missed. This volume is a small token in memoriam.