The contributions of this Melammu workshop address an issue fundamental
for the Melammu project: the investigation and illustration of the many
and profound links between the Ancient Near East and European and
Western cultures. The reversing of the scholarly paradigms that
separated Near Eastern and Classical studies received particular impulse
since the 1980s and researches have been devoted primarily to identify
imports and influxes going from east to west and progressively developed
to contribute to identifying the chronologically multi-layered and
multidirectional contacts and relations. Due to its complexity this
research perspective requires to take into consideration methodologies
elaborated in different sectors of historiographic research and to keep
open the dialogue with the historians of other periods and areas. The
various points of view chosen by the participants touch research
perspectives, methodological problems, and also the position and role of
the Melammu approach vis-a-vis the past and present epistemological
scenario.