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Contextualising Fregellae: Local Interests in a “Globalised” Mediterranean
207-225Views:134The article employs the Latin colony of Fregellae as a case study to overcome the communis opinio that colonial settlements were parva simulacra Urbis (Gell. XVI.13.9). In particular, the colony, initially founded by Rome in the context of the Second Samnite War, could move away from the Urbs and develop localised interests. Such interests could be explained through a dynamic contact between colonists and local populations, thus forming a variegated social landscape which did not necessarily display cultural similarity with Rome. Similarly, the cityscape could be employed to ascertain how certain colonies chose architectural solutions which took into account localised needs. It is in this context that the article will examine the alliance between Fregellae and Rome in light of the Second Punic War. Traditionally interpreted as a demonstration of blind loyalty, the article will put forth the idea that the colony could decide its alliances in view of potential benefits, which, in the case of Fregellae, were manifested in the economic and military advantages reaped in the eastern Mediterranean. Interestingly, these benefits affected the colony and, more specifically, its architectural facade, as seen in the building activity carried out in the period immediately after the endeavours in the East.
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Life and Work of Prague Master Simon of Tišnov
297-308Views:108The Bohemian Reformation is a widely researched topic. However, not enough attention is given to all participants during the course events. The aim of this article is to introduce the life and literary work of the little-known University of Prague Master, Simon of Tišnov (ca. 1370–1432), a medieval scholar with roots in the Moravian town called Tišnov, a defender of John Wycliffe’s philosophy, an ardent supporter of the Bohemian reformation movement and, eventually, an objector, or rather an opponent, of those who followed the teachings of John Wycliffe and John Hus. The article is focused on Simon’s very first publication, viz. the Defensio of John Wycliffe’s treatise De probationibus propositionum which is also known under the title Logicae continuatio.
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A gold lamella for ‘Blessed’ Abalala
7–20Views:105This article examines a previously unpublished gold lamella of unknown provenance, datable on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, give-or-take a half century, either side. The tablet preserves three words written in Greek letters that may contain a GrecoPersian formula of protection in the afterlife for its bearer, Abalala, a name of pre-Islamic extraction. The study compares the formula with those on a number of shorter ‘Orphic’ gold lamellae to show that the tiny piece represents a ‘Totenpaß’ for the beneficent dead, rather than a protective charm (phylactery) with the usual voces magicae, although the distinction between magic words and meaningful text is not always clear in such instances.
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Lebensbeschreibungen der berühmtesten Maler, Bildhauer und Architekten. Antike Künstleranekdoten
73–93Views:56The main source of the anecdotes about ancient painters, sculptors and architects is the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. The article focuses on the shaping of these stories from more approaches. The basis is the theory of the cultural memory. To broaden the scope of the analysis, Pliny's representation of the artists is compared with relevant passages from other writers. The paper determines the ancient types of the anecdotes of artist and tries to show the connection between the content and the age in which they were born.
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Mithras, Neoplatonism and the stars
161–180Views:369The main ideas of this study (which is a continuation of my former article entitled “Mithras, Sol Invictus, and the Astral Philosophical Connections”) are the following: I. The dichotomy and differences between the two main groups of theories regarding the origins of the Roman mystery cult of Mithras, namely the school of the great Belgian scholar Franz Cumont, who considered Mithraism in the Roman world as an essentially Iranian cult adapted to the new cultural Hellenistic-Roman context, and the theory of the 19th century German scholar K. B. Stark (revived in the 1970s by academics like R. Beck, J. R. Hinnells, S. Insler, R. Gordon, and A. Bausani, who considered that the Roman cult of the solar god Mithras was a new mystery cult which was born in the Roman world because of the Hellenistic scientific discovery of the precession of the equinoxes.1 My conclusion is that the Roman cult of Mithras, fused with the cult of Sol Invictus (the Hellenistic-Roman cult of the Unvanquished Sun), has more things Iranian than the name of the central deity of this initiation-mystery cult (despite its undeniable Hellenistic-Roman and astrological-astronomical elements). II. The astral element as a potent religious component of the religious and philosophical mentality of the so-called “mystery religious and initiation cults” in the Roman Empire is seen in Roman Mithraism as a ladder for the journey of the soul through the astral spheres towards perfection or possibly towards liberation (these are modern interpretations, since we do not have any consistent Mithraic religious-liturgical text). III. The role of Neo-Platonist philosophy in the religious and philosophical landscape of the 3rd and 4th centuries CE of the Late Roman Empire and its possible relationship with the Roman cult of Mithras.
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Acrostic Conversation: Horace, Ode I 18
67-100Views:184This article argues that gamma-acrostical disce in Horace’s Ode I 18 (ll. 11–15) alludes to the land-confiscatory acrostics recently identified in Virgil’s Eclogues (I 5–8; VI 14–24; IX 34–38). Horace has carefully signposted his acrostical intent. Virgil himself interfaces with this Horatian cryptography by means of other acrostics of his own. The result is an ‘acrostic conversation’.
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Antulla’s tomb and Martial’s: poetic closure in book 1
41–56Views:68The final seven epigrams of Martial’s Book 1 form a subtle but important closural sequence (epigrams 1.112-1.118 inclusive). Despite their great variatio of topics, the seven epigrams are linked through concerns about the boundary between life and death, the integrity of a monument, and the theme of dignus legi, or what makes someone “worthy of being read.” Through a series of close readings, this article argues for the coherence of this sequence on formal, thematic, and verbal grounds. The sequence is centered on a pair of epigrams on the kepotaphion or tomb-garden of a young girl named Antulla (1.114 and 1.116). The function of this closural sequence is both formal, to bring closure to a disparate collection of epigrams, and thematic, to reprise themes from the mock-epitaph with which Martial opens book 1 (1.1).
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Three Years? : St. Paul’s Journey to Arabia
115–127Views:97The article intends to summarize and answer the questions concerning the journey of Paul to Arabia. Shortly after his conversion, Paul left Damascus to go to Arabia, a place that can be possibly identified with the Kingdom of Nabataea. We cannot surely establish the duration of his stay in Arabia, which may be considerably shorter than three years. Some scholars have claimed that Paul went there to preach the gospel, whereas others have assumed that he prepared in contemplation and prayer to his career as an apostle. The Nabataean kingdom and its capital, Petra, was a greatly Hellenized, “cosmopolitan place”. A passage of Strabo (XIV.5.13.) leads us to a third conceivable assumption to explain the motivation for Paul’s visit in Arabia: the Hellenic surroundings of Petra contributed to the development of his theological thinking.
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Image, text, corpus in the stories of Narcisus and Pygmalion in Ovid's "Metamorphoses"
107–121Views:165The article offers a comparative analysis of Ovid’s stories of Narcissus and Pygmalion. The analysis highlights the intertextual link between the two narratives, and uses it as the basis for comparison, focusing on the single aspect: who creates what, and how. The paper concludes that what is at stake in the two texts at a fundamental level can be found in the sphere of aesthetics
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The Presence and Importance of Beauty in the Byzantine Epigrams About the Cross and the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ: Some Basic Observations
217–230.Views:184Scholar poetry, particularly the epigram, has been a literary means of expression not only of ideas and attitudes about life but also of religious sentiment and profound religious faith. Delving into the epigrams of the second category, particularly those related to the Cross and the Crucifixion, our attention will be focused on the presence of beauty, its meaning, and the role it played within the category of Byzantine epigrams. The aim of this article is to identify relevant epigrams (by anonymous or known writers), make some basic observations and reach certain conclusions regarding the issue of beauty.
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Sinon on his “pal” Palamedes (Virgil, Aeneid II 81-104)
151–165Views:64Sinon’s speech to the Trojans falsely represents him as Palamedes’ friend. The present article endeavours to show how in this connection Virgil avails himself of etymology.
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The Magical Fomula on a Lost Uterine Amulet
111–114Views:73The article tries to reconstruct the inscription of a magical gem found in 1883 in Torontál which went lost by now. For this reconstructive work I used other gem inscriptions and also other magical papyri and lead tablets in order to compare the two types of texts. The inscription contains the Soroor-logos and the Gigantorekta barophita-logos as well. The gem and the inscription together were used for the protection of the uterus.
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MA VE PU again: Kill Caesar! (Georg. I 424–471)
73–90Views:117This article deals with the Virgilian onomastic in Georgic I 429-433: some fresh considerations are advanced. In particular this sphragis would seem to endorse an overlooked acrostic: “Kill Caesar!”
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De la Precatio Terrae y la Precatio omnium herbarum a un texto inacabado: las precationes herbarum de un recetario médico tardoantiguo
167–192.Views:125The Curae herbarum is a late antique medical recipe book made up of 64 chapters; it is mostly based on a Latin translation of the De materia medica by Dioscorides. Chapters 1–32 always end with a precatio to the plant so that it ‘comes with all its healing powers’. The article argues for an erudite origin for the precationes of the Curae herbarum, which borrow epithets, phraseology, and verbs of entreaty from the Precatio Terrae and the Precatio omnium herbarum. Moreover, the study of internal references in the precationes demonstrates that they were written with the intention of being placed before the medical recipes, but, for unknown reasons, were instead copied at the end of the chapters without ever occupying the place they were intended for.
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A Sardinien boundary dispute and agriculture
149–157Views:42In AD 69 the proconsul Helvius Agrippa had to settle a boundary dispute between two small Sardinian communities. One of them, the Galillenses, were permitted to produce the tablet pertaining to the matter from the imperial archive. The inscription fails to mention if the Galillenses had taken any action to get the tabula from Rome. Specialist literature does not give any viable explanation for this absence. The conclusion may thus be drawn that the reason for the Galillenses’ attempt to delay ‘handing over’ pertains to the anticipated yield of some kind of investment they had made. The article tries to prove that the Galillenses attempted postponing the deadline with the aim of saving crops awaiting harvest.
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More Additions to Maltby’s Lexicon of Ancient Latin Etymologies and Marangoni’s Supplementum Etymologicum: The Scholia to Statius
45–56Views:59Etymology has recently become one of the most vibrant spheres of classical scholarship. Maltby’s epoch-making Lexicon has now been complemented by Marangoni’s Supplementum Etymologicum. The present article offers addenda to both. It limits itself to the scholia on Statius.
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Apollo Propugnator, Diana Victrix: Erscheint die Militär und Siegesthematik bei den Darstellungen der Götter Apollo und Diana in der Münzprägung der Zeit der Soldatenkaiser (235-284/285 n. Chr.)?
115–134Views:88The figures of Diana and Apollo are frequently represented in Roman coinage. Such is the case in the soldier-emperors’ era, when one finds different representations of them both. They are depicted in various poses with altered attributes, while the gods are often named differently in the legend on the reverse. My article focuses on those types where the gods are not only displayed with weapons (bow and arrow) but also with legends connected with fighting and winning: Apollo Propugnator, Diana Victrix. I took a closer look at the figure of Diana and realised that she is represented as the goddess of hunting: she does not fight but protects hunters and ensures the success of hunting. The Apollo Propugnator type is a version known from the local coinage of Eastern Greek cities; this type is appropriated temporarily by imperial propaganda, but does not have an enduring role. In the cases of Diana and Apollo the military theme is impermanent and secondary; nor does it have an important impact.
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Augustus as Princeps Senatus
203–218Views:289Octavian took the title of princeps senatus during the first lectio senatus of his long reign. The article deals with the role of the title of princeps of the Senate in the system of government under Augustus. I argue that the first Roman Emperor attached importance to his position of the princeps senatus not only in the context of the First settlement but during his whole long reign. The Emperor was eager to highlight the overall importance of this post. Moreover, he defined his place in the Senate with this position and it had functional significance for him during sessions of the consilium publicum. The restoration of the title of princeps senatus took place in a new circumstance. The reality of the epoch led to some transformations in the title’s functionality.
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Lucius Brutus of Rome and Cypselus of Corinth
27–44.Views:79The story of Lucius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic has often been analysed as a historical story, somewhat mythicised, and embellished by literary tropes; and some have also interpreted it as primarily a myth, historicised by a later Roman culture more interested in the exemplary than in the marvelous. Starting out in the latter tradition, this article explores a connection that has been hinted at from antiquity, and has been analysed from the historical and historiographic perspective to some extent, but has not been interpreted in detail as a connection between two myths: the numerous parallels that the story of Brutus and the Tarquins, as told by Virgil, Livy and Ovid, has to the saga of the aristocratic Bacchiad and the tyrannical Cypselid families of early Corinth, as told by Herodotus and Aristotle. The newly discovered parallels (and the re-examination of the known ones) between these stories also invite the reader to reflect on the ways they might have evolved, their political and cultural functionality and on the complex interplay between myth and history.
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The Kulmian letters patent of the Teutonic Order of 1233
205–232Views:51This study subjects to scrutiny the articles of the Kulmian letters patent of 1233 which determined the conditions of private and public law in the would-be state of the Teutonic Order in Prussia. The Kulmer Handfeste had laid down, at the same time, the privileges facilitating planned settlement prior to the conquest of Prussian lands. This diploma ruled on the conditions pertaining to the order of succession, the size of plots, the system of field utilization, fishing and hunting rights as well as those of criminal law and court procedures. It determined the privileges as well as the obligations linked to land-grants while it also determined the conditions of providing for the sustenance of parishes, as well as the currency of the future Teutonic state.
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Quis est nam ludus in undis? (Virgil, Eclogue IX 39-43)
43–58Views:115The undis-acrostic that has recently been discovered in Eclogue IX 34-38 has proved problematic. The present article argues that the acrostic’s point is the etymology of litus as the place where these “waves” do not “play” (39: ludus), but “strike” (43: feriant for synonymous but exceedingly scarce lidant). This acrostic is accordingly hot-potato politics, since it pertains to the land confiscations round Virgil’s “wave”-begirt Mantua. The poet also provides endorsement in the form of an unidentified onomastic.
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Byzantine epigrams on the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.: The case of Georgios Pisides
Views:178This article is dealing with issues of the Cross alongside the epigrams related to the Crucifixion written by a distinguished Byzantine scholar of the 7th century, Georgios Pisidis, focusing our attention and scope on particular aspects of those epigrams such as the possible influences and impact from literary texts previously and later written and most noticeable motifs.
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Roman Dams in Asia Minor
59–74Views:304In this brief paper we will focus on six dams of the Roman period in Asia Minor, respectively Böğet, Örükaya, Seleucia Pieria, Ancyra, Aezani and Sardis, which are presented here in some outlines. The aim of this article is to introduce these ancient engineering monuments all together.
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Continuities in late antique literacy: the evidence from North Africa and Gaul
177–185Views:53In this article I reconsider the evidence for ancient literacy from late antique North Africa and Gaul in order to reassess how the end of the “epigraphic habit” in the third century may have changed the popular contexts and notional associations of writing. Analyzing evidence for the Christian “epitaphic habit,” as well as for the production of legal and economic documents between the third and sixth centuries CE, I propose that late antique uses of writing attest to numerous continuities with their early imperial counterparts, including an interest not only in the pragmatic but also the performative character of ancient literacy.
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Epigrafía pública y defixiones: paradigmas (y paradojas) del Occidente Latino
69–77Views:138This paper falls into two main sections. The first deals with the defixio and its traditional definition as an example of so-called private inscriptions. Unlike public epigraphs, which were monumental, crafted by professionals, intended for display, and had (mainly) a commemorative function, defixiones (whether written by magoi or amateurs) are usually considered to be among Antiquity’s most private texts. Nevertheless, curse tablets and public inscriptions share a very important feature: both contained messages meant to endure. This specific feature brings us to the second section of this article, which discusses the influence of public inscriptions on curse tablets: to what extent are defixiones a reflection of monumental epigraphy? Aspects such as the ordinatio of the text, the media employed or the way they were displayed (even inside a tomb) are analyzed in this regard. In an attempt to answer these questions, three publicly displayed curse tablets are discussed in depth.