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• Das Bildprogramm der Meleager-Platte aus dem Seuso-Schatz

  135–147

  Tamás Gesztelyi

  Views:

  89

  There are eight distinct love stories on the Meleager plate of the Seuso treasure. In four of them hunting plays an important role. The main theme of the depicted stories is allprevailing love, the emotion that is the motivating force in human life. An ancillary theme of the stories is hunting, which can be interpreted in a concrete as well as a figurative sense. Hunting is an aristocratic pleasure but at the same time it represents the exercise of virtues, too, in which even females can participate, cf. the scenes with Helene and Atalante. Although there is no need to look for a topical event to feature the motif of love, it is tempting to determine the contemporary function of the treasure as a wedding gift. We are inclined to believe that Seuso, the well-off owner of the treasure, must have been given this unique silver tableware as a wedding gift some time around the beginning of the 5th century.

• The Invisibles Achaemenid Heavy Cavalry During the Greco-Persian Wars

  3-18

  Dániel Réfi-Oszkó

  Views:

  277

  Today, the Persian empires of Antiquity are still remembered as being famous for their expert use of cavalry forces. However, the textual, pictorial and archaeological evidence shows a slightly different picture, especially when the early Achaemenid period is considered. During the Greco-Persian wars, Persian riders had little chance to shine and were not able to show their full military potential against the Greeks. This paper examines the available sources and, through the evaluation of data, tries to answer some questions about the origins of (Persian) heavy cavalry and their presumed “invisibility” during this time. Their actual capabilities and close combat effectiveness are investigated, emphasising the parameters we associate with heavy cavalry and the use of body protection in combat. The primary question is, though, whether we can talk about “heavy cavalry” as a separate category during this period or not.

• Logos – in die Seele geschrieben (Zu Platons Schriftkritik im Phaidros)

  11–24

  Attila Simon

  Views:

  44

  In Plato’s Phaedrus, in the context of the ‘critique of writing’ the phrase ‘writing in the soul’ occurs twice (276a5, 278A3). Why did Plato use this metaphor, with positive connotation, in a context which criticises ’writing’ in everyday sense? On the basis of the Phaedrus, I argue that the content of logos inscribed in the soul is not a philosophical doctrine, formulated in propositions, but the continuous practice of dialectic as the philosophical way of life. On the basis of the broader context of 5th and 4th century literary texts, I argue that Plato uses this metaphor as a cliché which emphasizes the importance of the content that should be inscribed in the soul for remembrance, even though the phrase is somewhat at odds with the narrower context.