Organized Conferences by Simone Podestà
Books by Simone Podestà
Presses Universitaire Franche-Comté, 2022
This book is devoted to Lycia, a fascinating region with a mixed identity that included local and... more This book is devoted to Lycia, a fascinating region with a mixed identity that included local and Greco-Persian elements. After a geo-historical introduction, the book presents the edition of the fragments of the historians authors of Lykiaka, that is to say the fragments of the historians of Greek language, authors of monographic works on this Asian region (Menecrates of Xanthos, Polycharmos, Leon of Alabanda, the fragments of the “Lycian Constitution”, Alexander Polyhistor, Capiton of Lycia and Aristaenetus). A composite work, but which seeks to reproduce the complexity of a “border” region
Papers by Simone Podestà
Dialogues d'histoire ancienne, 2020
The article surveys the figure of the local historian Leon of Alabanda, often identified
with Leo... more The article surveys the figure of the local historian Leon of Alabanda, often identified
with Leon of Stratonicea. After the analysis of a quotation from Porphyry’s work and the
discovery of a Carian inscription, this identification was partly abandoned. The most probable hypothesis is to imagine the existence of two Leons, active in Caria during the Hellenistic period: the first was a historian and wrote Karika and Lykiaka; the second, mentioned by local inscriptions from southern Caria, was a priest and a scholar, author of works focusing on cults and cultural traditions of Caria.
"Les historiens fragmentaires de langue grecque à l'époque romaine impériale et tardive", sous la direction de E. Amato, P. De Cicco, B. Lançon et T. Moreua, Rennes, p. 151-172, , 2021
L'articolo analizza le informazioni sui Lici e la Licia presenti in due opere fondamentali per la... more L'articolo analizza le informazioni sui Lici e la Licia presenti in due opere fondamentali per la trasmissione del sapere dall'Antichità al Medioevo: gli "Ethnica" di Stefano di Bisanzio e il lessico "Suda".
Geographia Antiqua, 2019
Una delle prime testimonianze letterarie dell’esistenza di una regione nota ai Greci come Licia p... more Una delle prime testimonianze letterarie dell’esistenza di una regione nota ai Greci come Licia proviene dai frammenti della "Periegesi" di Ecateo di Mileto. Il presente contributo vuole analizzare quale immagine della Licia emerge dalla lettura di queste sopravvivenze, cercando, nello stesso tempo, di collocare questa descrizione nel milieu storico del tempo. Pertanto, dopo
aver fornito un breve quadro della biografia di Ecateo e della Periegesi, si analizzeranno i frammenti dedicati alla regione, analizzando il contesto in cui furono composti e in cui nacquero.
HIMA, 2019
Analizzando le "Vite" plutarchee emerge con chiarezza che la perizia nell’arte della guerra naval... more Analizzando le "Vite" plutarchee emerge con chiarezza che la perizia nell’arte della guerra navale è considerata parte integrante del bagaglio di conoscenze necessarie al buon comandante. Per questo motivo, nel ripercorrere i fatti salienti delle biografie dei suoi personaggi, incluse numerosi riferimenti alle naumachie. Il presente articolo analizza e riflette sulle battaglie navali presenti nelle "Vite" greche del V secolo, un secolo che favorì l’interesse di Plutarco per questo tipo di guerra per la presenza di comandanti navali di eccezionali capacità, come Temistocle, Cimone, Pericle e Alcibiade.
Erga Logoi, 2017
The Xanthos Valley is one of the best examples of multiculturalism and coexistence of different c... more The Xanthos Valley is one of the best examples of multiculturalism and coexistence of different cultural influences of Greeks and Persians. On the one hand, in fact, there was an attempt to incorporate the region into the sacred Greek history, by creating genealogies and mythical ties (as well evidenced by literary works, such as those of the epic writer Panyassis and the local historian Policharmus); from other hand, the political propaganda carried out by Xanthos sovereigns during the fifth and fourth centuries BC clearly confirmed the local origin of Lycians and their relations with the Achaemenid world. The analysis of some local inscriptions and of the work of Menecrates of Xanthos allows to show a culture in which Greek elements are mixed with Anatolian or oriental elements.
Rationes Rerum, 2016
This article investigates the possible sources underlying a passage of Pliny’s Naturalis Historia... more This article investigates the possible sources underlying a passage of Pliny’s Naturalis Historia concerning the northern peoples of the earth. Special attention is devoted to a passage of Damastes of Sigeion (5th 4th c. BC) on the Hyperboreans cited by Stephanus of Byzantium, in order to clarify to what extent the Latin tradition about the northern populations derives from Damastes.
L’intervento si propone di analizzare le due voci su Artymnesso e di Tymnesso presenti negli Ethn... more L’intervento si propone di analizzare le due voci su Artymnesso e di Tymnesso presenti negli Ethnika di Stefano di Bisanzio. Si analizzano i numerosi problemi, testuali e interpretativi, che i due testi presentano e si indagano i rapporti esistenti fra le fonti citate da Stefano come auctoritates , rispettivamente Menecrate di Xanto e Alessandro Cornelio Poliistore, mettendo in evidenza un possibile rapporto di dipendenza fra i due autori.
Revue des Études Tardo-antiques (RET) , 2016
Capiton de Lycie fut un historien grec, vécu entre le Ve et le VIe siècle ap. J.-C. : les informa... more Capiton de Lycie fut un historien grec, vécu entre le Ve et le VIe siècle ap. J.-C. : les informations sur sa vie sont rares et encore moins sont les fragments survivants de sa production littéraire. Cette contribution veut examiner l’entrée biographique à lui consacrée dans le lexique Souda, en concentrant l’attention sur la genèse et sur les caractéristiques de l’œuvre « Sur la Lycie et la Pamphylie »
Conference presentations by Simone Podestà
Representations of professions as identity and individuality-creating images on Graeco-Roman funerary monuments of Asia Minor (forthcoming), 2019
This is an abridged version of the Powerpoint presentation of my lecture in a workshop, entitled ... more This is an abridged version of the Powerpoint presentation of my lecture in a workshop, entitled "Colloque constructions identitaires en Asie mineure" (=Conference on constructions of identifications in Asia Minor) which took place on October 18, 2019 in Besançon, France. It is just a glimpse of the project that I have begun and will continue with the publication of the Greek and Roman grave monuments, especially stelae, from Asia Minor.
Main types of Graeco-Roman funerary and votive monuments
(“μνῆμα” or “μνημεῖον”) in Asia Minor are sarcophagi, cinerary caskets (so-called osteothekai), rectangular altars, cylindrical altars (especially with bucrania), funerary columns as attempts to emulate the former practice of marking graves with tumuli, bench altars, freestanding statuary, temple-like tombs, steles and other type of tombstones.
As widely known, Graeco-Roman funerary steles reflect the dialogue between the “τεθνηκότας” (=deceased) and the “περιόντας” (=living). The frequency of the tradition of erecting grave reliefs started generally at the end of the fifth century B.C., and continued to the beginning of the fourth century A.D. In Asia Minor funerary monuments from the Roman period are more numerous than those of the previous periods, with the majority belonging to the second and third centuries A.D.
In Anatolia a preference for specific poses, compositions, and recurring figure types is evident on Greek and Roman funerary reliefs. All types of relief sculpture exhibit qualities that are more conservative, formulaic, and schematic than sculpture in the round. While there is an overall uniformity in depictions of family groups, each grave marker does retain a modicum of individuality and specificity. Within the conventions of relief sculpture, a marble carver would modify the characteristics of each work to satisfy the particular requirements of its function and setting. In Asia Minor during the Hellenistic and Roman periods each grave relief presents a different variant of traditional elements, a unique combination of figures, gestures, accessories, and the individual stylistic expression of the sculptor. There are no extant examples of a particular scene being replicated exactly on a second monument. The uniqueness of each funerary monument suggests that the iconography, even though it appears repetitive and adheres to a set of general norms, was an element of consideration by both the sculptor and the patron.
Working and pursuing a job not only means earning money for a living, but also taking a certain role in a social life, possibly achieving social status, recognition, fame, influence and power. The job is one of the important pillars of human identity. Therefore, it is understandable that in ancient Greek and Roman funerary tradition the profession was also mentioned in some form after the name of the dead person, because it was characteristic of a person; thus, these dead people and their professions became unforgettable until today.
The present lecture deals with the Hellenistic and Roman grave monuments in Asia Minor and their relationships to the explicit professional representations as well as iconographic meaning of symbols related to professions, e.g. tools as pars pro toto of a profession, as well as inscribed grave monuments in which profession was pointed out by the inscription alone that they were exercising during their lifetime. Thus, figures may be depicted in a manner more overtly reflective of their occupations, for example, as farmers or officials. The question is based on the extent to which information about the professions on the funerary stelae were relevant, their artistic meanings and linguistic designations referred to occupations, which type of reference predominates, whether occupations as main or secondary subject in the grave representation were chosen and whether different periods give different preferences in the references of professions. It should be pointed out that representations and references of professions on the funerary monuments in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor were never in the foreground, but they are telling exciting stories that bring us closer to the ancient professional world and classical individuals of Asia Minor.
So far symbols of professions were only studied on Attic funerary monuments: The first one is by C. L. Gray who characterizes attributes on Attic gravestones that associate the dead with cultic, medical, maritime, hunting, and farming occupations (Gray 2002, 179–184). The second study is by Angeliki Kosmopoulou who deals with the Classical Attic grave markers of professional women. Especially ten funerary monuments in her listing are interesting, as they are priestesses of unspecified cults, identified by temple keys that they hold (Kosmopoulou 2001, 311–316). However, no complementary study was made so far for the professions and their symbolics on the Anatolian funerary monuments. We have two exceptions: The first one is the thorough study of Paul Zanker on the identities on Hellenistic grave stelae from Smyrna. The second one is R. Vollkommer’s Künstlerlexikon der Antike, 2 vols. (Munich; Leipzig 2001–2004) where some Anatolian artists listed with their works.
Organisé par : Lauriane LOCATELLI (ENS Lyon), Emilie PIGUET,
(UBFC) et Simone PODESTÀ (UBFC, Unige)
Conference "Beyond All Boundaries: Anatolia in the 1st Millennium BC" organised by Annick Payne a... more Conference "Beyond All Boundaries: Anatolia in the 1st Millennium BC" organised by Annick Payne and Jorit Wintjes, Ascona, 17-22 juin 2018
"Amethodos hyle. Il pensiero storico classico di Santo Mazzarino cinquant'anni dopo". Convegno in... more "Amethodos hyle. Il pensiero storico classico di Santo Mazzarino cinquant'anni dopo". Convegno in collaborazione con l'Universita' di Genova e l'Institut Universitaire de France; Genova, 6-7 dicembre 2016
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Organized Conferences by Simone Podestà
Books by Simone Podestà
Papers by Simone Podestà
with Leon of Stratonicea. After the analysis of a quotation from Porphyry’s work and the
discovery of a Carian inscription, this identification was partly abandoned. The most probable hypothesis is to imagine the existence of two Leons, active in Caria during the Hellenistic period: the first was a historian and wrote Karika and Lykiaka; the second, mentioned by local inscriptions from southern Caria, was a priest and a scholar, author of works focusing on cults and cultural traditions of Caria.
aver fornito un breve quadro della biografia di Ecateo e della Periegesi, si analizzeranno i frammenti dedicati alla regione, analizzando il contesto in cui furono composti e in cui nacquero.
Conference presentations by Simone Podestà
Main types of Graeco-Roman funerary and votive monuments
(“μνῆμα” or “μνημεῖον”) in Asia Minor are sarcophagi, cinerary caskets (so-called osteothekai), rectangular altars, cylindrical altars (especially with bucrania), funerary columns as attempts to emulate the former practice of marking graves with tumuli, bench altars, freestanding statuary, temple-like tombs, steles and other type of tombstones.
As widely known, Graeco-Roman funerary steles reflect the dialogue between the “τεθνηκότας” (=deceased) and the “περιόντας” (=living). The frequency of the tradition of erecting grave reliefs started generally at the end of the fifth century B.C., and continued to the beginning of the fourth century A.D. In Asia Minor funerary monuments from the Roman period are more numerous than those of the previous periods, with the majority belonging to the second and third centuries A.D.
In Anatolia a preference for specific poses, compositions, and recurring figure types is evident on Greek and Roman funerary reliefs. All types of relief sculpture exhibit qualities that are more conservative, formulaic, and schematic than sculpture in the round. While there is an overall uniformity in depictions of family groups, each grave marker does retain a modicum of individuality and specificity. Within the conventions of relief sculpture, a marble carver would modify the characteristics of each work to satisfy the particular requirements of its function and setting. In Asia Minor during the Hellenistic and Roman periods each grave relief presents a different variant of traditional elements, a unique combination of figures, gestures, accessories, and the individual stylistic expression of the sculptor. There are no extant examples of a particular scene being replicated exactly on a second monument. The uniqueness of each funerary monument suggests that the iconography, even though it appears repetitive and adheres to a set of general norms, was an element of consideration by both the sculptor and the patron.
Working and pursuing a job not only means earning money for a living, but also taking a certain role in a social life, possibly achieving social status, recognition, fame, influence and power. The job is one of the important pillars of human identity. Therefore, it is understandable that in ancient Greek and Roman funerary tradition the profession was also mentioned in some form after the name of the dead person, because it was characteristic of a person; thus, these dead people and their professions became unforgettable until today.
The present lecture deals with the Hellenistic and Roman grave monuments in Asia Minor and their relationships to the explicit professional representations as well as iconographic meaning of symbols related to professions, e.g. tools as pars pro toto of a profession, as well as inscribed grave monuments in which profession was pointed out by the inscription alone that they were exercising during their lifetime. Thus, figures may be depicted in a manner more overtly reflective of their occupations, for example, as farmers or officials. The question is based on the extent to which information about the professions on the funerary stelae were relevant, their artistic meanings and linguistic designations referred to occupations, which type of reference predominates, whether occupations as main or secondary subject in the grave representation were chosen and whether different periods give different preferences in the references of professions. It should be pointed out that representations and references of professions on the funerary monuments in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor were never in the foreground, but they are telling exciting stories that bring us closer to the ancient professional world and classical individuals of Asia Minor.
So far symbols of professions were only studied on Attic funerary monuments: The first one is by C. L. Gray who characterizes attributes on Attic gravestones that associate the dead with cultic, medical, maritime, hunting, and farming occupations (Gray 2002, 179–184). The second study is by Angeliki Kosmopoulou who deals with the Classical Attic grave markers of professional women. Especially ten funerary monuments in her listing are interesting, as they are priestesses of unspecified cults, identified by temple keys that they hold (Kosmopoulou 2001, 311–316). However, no complementary study was made so far for the professions and their symbolics on the Anatolian funerary monuments. We have two exceptions: The first one is the thorough study of Paul Zanker on the identities on Hellenistic grave stelae from Smyrna. The second one is R. Vollkommer’s Künstlerlexikon der Antike, 2 vols. (Munich; Leipzig 2001–2004) where some Anatolian artists listed with their works.
with Leon of Stratonicea. After the analysis of a quotation from Porphyry’s work and the
discovery of a Carian inscription, this identification was partly abandoned. The most probable hypothesis is to imagine the existence of two Leons, active in Caria during the Hellenistic period: the first was a historian and wrote Karika and Lykiaka; the second, mentioned by local inscriptions from southern Caria, was a priest and a scholar, author of works focusing on cults and cultural traditions of Caria.
aver fornito un breve quadro della biografia di Ecateo e della Periegesi, si analizzeranno i frammenti dedicati alla regione, analizzando il contesto in cui furono composti e in cui nacquero.
Main types of Graeco-Roman funerary and votive monuments
(“μνῆμα” or “μνημεῖον”) in Asia Minor are sarcophagi, cinerary caskets (so-called osteothekai), rectangular altars, cylindrical altars (especially with bucrania), funerary columns as attempts to emulate the former practice of marking graves with tumuli, bench altars, freestanding statuary, temple-like tombs, steles and other type of tombstones.
As widely known, Graeco-Roman funerary steles reflect the dialogue between the “τεθνηκότας” (=deceased) and the “περιόντας” (=living). The frequency of the tradition of erecting grave reliefs started generally at the end of the fifth century B.C., and continued to the beginning of the fourth century A.D. In Asia Minor funerary monuments from the Roman period are more numerous than those of the previous periods, with the majority belonging to the second and third centuries A.D.
In Anatolia a preference for specific poses, compositions, and recurring figure types is evident on Greek and Roman funerary reliefs. All types of relief sculpture exhibit qualities that are more conservative, formulaic, and schematic than sculpture in the round. While there is an overall uniformity in depictions of family groups, each grave marker does retain a modicum of individuality and specificity. Within the conventions of relief sculpture, a marble carver would modify the characteristics of each work to satisfy the particular requirements of its function and setting. In Asia Minor during the Hellenistic and Roman periods each grave relief presents a different variant of traditional elements, a unique combination of figures, gestures, accessories, and the individual stylistic expression of the sculptor. There are no extant examples of a particular scene being replicated exactly on a second monument. The uniqueness of each funerary monument suggests that the iconography, even though it appears repetitive and adheres to a set of general norms, was an element of consideration by both the sculptor and the patron.
Working and pursuing a job not only means earning money for a living, but also taking a certain role in a social life, possibly achieving social status, recognition, fame, influence and power. The job is one of the important pillars of human identity. Therefore, it is understandable that in ancient Greek and Roman funerary tradition the profession was also mentioned in some form after the name of the dead person, because it was characteristic of a person; thus, these dead people and their professions became unforgettable until today.
The present lecture deals with the Hellenistic and Roman grave monuments in Asia Minor and their relationships to the explicit professional representations as well as iconographic meaning of symbols related to professions, e.g. tools as pars pro toto of a profession, as well as inscribed grave monuments in which profession was pointed out by the inscription alone that they were exercising during their lifetime. Thus, figures may be depicted in a manner more overtly reflective of their occupations, for example, as farmers or officials. The question is based on the extent to which information about the professions on the funerary stelae were relevant, their artistic meanings and linguistic designations referred to occupations, which type of reference predominates, whether occupations as main or secondary subject in the grave representation were chosen and whether different periods give different preferences in the references of professions. It should be pointed out that representations and references of professions on the funerary monuments in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor were never in the foreground, but they are telling exciting stories that bring us closer to the ancient professional world and classical individuals of Asia Minor.
So far symbols of professions were only studied on Attic funerary monuments: The first one is by C. L. Gray who characterizes attributes on Attic gravestones that associate the dead with cultic, medical, maritime, hunting, and farming occupations (Gray 2002, 179–184). The second study is by Angeliki Kosmopoulou who deals with the Classical Attic grave markers of professional women. Especially ten funerary monuments in her listing are interesting, as they are priestesses of unspecified cults, identified by temple keys that they hold (Kosmopoulou 2001, 311–316). However, no complementary study was made so far for the professions and their symbolics on the Anatolian funerary monuments. We have two exceptions: The first one is the thorough study of Paul Zanker on the identities on Hellenistic grave stelae from Smyrna. The second one is R. Vollkommer’s Künstlerlexikon der Antike, 2 vols. (Munich; Leipzig 2001–2004) where some Anatolian artists listed with their works.