From the 17th century onwards, in a context of increasingly intense trade and diplomatic contacts... more From the 17th century onwards, in a context of increasingly intense trade and diplomatic contacts, the exchange of scientific ideas became a key element in the encounters between the European world and the cultures of the Far East.
This volume investigates the ways in which scientific knowledge was transferred and disseminated to new audiences, whose cultural background was very different from that in which such knowledge had originally developed. A vital role in this process was played by the Jesuit mission in China, whose members included intellectuals with a keen interest in cross-cultural comparison. The study of the local languages enabled the transfer of knowledge in both directions, through translations of existing texts and the production of new ones for both Chinese and European audiences. The papers in the volume, authored by specialists in various fields of cultural studies, highlight the intellectual effort and strategies by which scientific works were made available and understandable beyond cultural differences.
The volume will be welcome to those interested not only in cultural interactions between Europe and the Far East, but also in translation studies, particularly in the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Quando si parla di veicoli nel mondo romano, il pensiero corre subito a due contesti molto noti e studiati: il corteo trionfale e le corse nel circo. L’uso di carri cerimoniali nell’antica Roma non si limitava però a questi due ambiti, ma riguardava anche altre occasioni e altre categorie che ne facevano uso, prime fra tutti le matrone e le divinità. Il volume intende ricostruire le circostanze dell’impiego di veicoli nello spazio urbano in età repubblicana e nella prima età imperiale, facendo luce su aspetti della storia sociale di Roma quali il ruolo delle donne nella vita pubblica e la costruzione dell’identità collettiva attraverso i rituali religiosi che percorrevano le vie della città.
Late antique artefacts, and the images they carry, attest to a highly interconnected visual cultu... more Late antique artefacts, and the images they carry, attest to a highly interconnected visual culture dominating the Afro-Eurasian world from ca. AD 300 to 800. On the one hand, the same iconographies and decorative patterns are found across various genres of visual and material culture, irrespective of social and economic differences among their users. On the other hand, these very motifs are also spread in geographically distant regions, far beyond the traditional borders of the classical world, where they are mingled with local elements, while foreign motifs, especially of Germanic and Sasanian origin, are attested in Roman territories. But why were certain images attractive to patrons of such diverse geographical and cultural origins, and how were they transferred from one area to another?
This book aims to investigate the reasons behind the seemingly globalised visual culture spread across the late antique world, both within the borders of the (former) Roman and (later) Byzantine Empire and beyond. Its 14 chapters, written by specialists in various fields of late antique studies, cover a wide range of case studies chosen from different geographical, chronological and cultural contexts, from Roman mosaics and tombstones to Lombard stucco works. They exemplify the vast scale of the phenomenon, demonstrating the benefit of addressing this period through a combination of theoretical and methodological approaches characteristic of different national and disciplinary traditions. The focus on regional developments, together with the systematical analysis of the complex interactions between geographical areas and the social, cultural, religious and ethnic groups active within and across them, represent a first step towards a more integrated study of late antique visual culture – towards a geography of late antique art.
Il cielo notturno e le sue costellazioni hanno affascinato l'umanità fin dalle epoche più remote,... more Il cielo notturno e le sue costellazioni hanno affascinato l'umanità fin dalle epoche più remote, ed è proprio osservando i movimenti delle stelle che le più antiche civiltà hanno cercato di comprendere il funzionamento della natura e di individuare il posto occupato dall'uomo all'interno del cosmo. Questo volume presenta agli studiosi e agli appassionati un testo finora quasi del tutto sconosciuto, frutto delle riflessioni della scuola di astronomia di Alessandria d'Egitto, il più importante centro della cultura scientifica antica: in esso si descrive il procedimento per fabbricare una sfera celeste, strumento essenziale per lo studio e l'insegnamento dell'astronomia. Il testo originale greco è presentato in una nuova edizione critica, corredata da una traduzione italiana; l'introduzione e il commento consentono anche al lettore meno esperto di orientarsi fra le numerose questioni discusse nel testo e di comprenderlo nel quadro dell'evoluzione del pensiero scientifico antico e medievale.
L’incontro tra sapere astronomico ed espressione poetica, di cui i contributi raccolti in questo ... more L’incontro tra sapere astronomico ed espressione poetica, di cui i contributi raccolti in questo volume testimoniano l’incessante vitalità, rappresenta uno dei tratti più distintivi della cultura scientifica antica. Per la capacità di attrarre un pubblico più vasto verso una materia di per sé ostica, per il carattere solenne e sacrale, per la facilità di memorizzazione, la forma poetica fu nell’antichità il mezzo privilegiato per affrontare le questioni cosmologiche, filosofiche, teologiche connesse allo studio della volta celeste. Il presente volume esplora alcuni momenti salienti del rapporto della civiltà antica con i segni celesti, allo stesso tempo fonte di ispirazione artistica, strumento di comprensione della realtà, mezzo di comunicazione privilegiato tra gli dei e gli uomini.
Cento date per ripercorrere le tappe fondamentali del più grande impero dell’antichità, che riunì... more Cento date per ripercorrere le tappe fondamentali del più grande impero dell’antichità, che riunì sotto di sé popoli di ogni razza e religione e diffuse la sua civiltà fino ai confini del mondo allora conosciuto. Fabio Guidetti, archeologo e storico antico, racconta in 100 memorabili date la storia dell’impero romano, dalla sua strepitosa ascesa fino all’inesorabile declino: dalla vittoria di Augusto nella guerra civile fino all’invasione dell’Italia da parte dei Longobardi. Il libro è una sintesi indispensabile per orientarsi tra i protagonisti, le battaglie, le vicende politiche, le grandi riforme, la vita culturale di Roma imperiale, che ancora oggi continua ad affascinare popoli e nazioni.
Il codice Vaticano greco 1087 introduce il lettore nel cuore dell’astronomia bizantina, ma apre, ... more Il codice Vaticano greco 1087 introduce il lettore nel cuore dell’astronomia bizantina, ma apre, allo stesso tempo, una straordinaria finestra sull’astronomia greca e romana. Composto a Costantinopoli nella prima metà del XIV secolo, nel circolo di Niceforo Gregora, questo documento apre la strada a molteplici ricerche per la ricchezza del suo contenuto: opere astronomiche di Teodoro Metochite, i trattati sull’astrolabio di Gregora, parte del commento di Teone alessandrino a Tolomeo. Esso contiene inoltre un inserto con resti di un’antica edizione dei Fenomeni di Arato, riccamente illustrata e commentata, e conserva estratti dei Catasterismi di Eratostene con illustrazioni delle costellazioni di notevole bellezza. Una scritta in arabo, a margine di un foglio del codice, sollecita riflessioni sui contatti fra i due mondi, bizantino e islamico.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part II, 2024
Edition, translation, and commentary of the fragments of the Greek poet Kallistion, with biograph... more Edition, translation, and commentary of the fragments of the Greek poet Kallistion, with biographical essay and bibliography
Plutarch's account of Lucullus unsuccessfully begging his soldiers to follow him further, shortly... more Plutarch's account of Lucullus unsuccessfully begging his soldiers to follow him further, shortly before being forced to leave his command, is commonly read as the apex of his failure as a military leader. A close reading, however, reveals two hitherto overlooked aspects. Firstly, the story offers valuable information on late Republican military history, regarding the duration of military service before Augustus' reform and the existence of clearly defined subgroups within the army. Secondly, the conflict between Lucullus and his soldiers allows us to get a glimpse of the political debate of the time, characterised by the competing claims to Sulla's heritage, the shift of military loyalty towards specific individuals, and above all the question of who really represented the interests of the res publica.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part III, 2023
Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Komarchos (FGr... more Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Komarchos (FGrHist 410). Pre-print version of the entry for "Brill's New Jacoby, Second edition".
The article examines the section devoted to the individual stories of the triumviral proscription... more The article examines the section devoted to the individual stories of the triumviral proscriptions (43-42 BC) in book 4 of Appian’s Civil Wars, with a focus on its structure, the use of the sources, and the narrative techniques deployed by the author. The analysis interprets this section in the light of two trends typical of Greek historiographical writing, namely the so-called ‘tragic history’ and the paradoxical literature, showing Appian’s mastery of these narrative tools, as well as his engagement with the Greek historiographical and philosophical reflections of the Classical and Hellenistic period, from Thucydides to Aristotle and Polybius. The results demonstrate that the section on the triumviral proscriptions should not be seen as a mere digression with respect to the main body of Appian’s historical narrative, but rather as an integral part of it. The aim of the section was to present the readers with a sequence of individual stories which, although undoubtedly theatrical and paradoxical, were nonetheless described as truthful.
Il contributo propone nuove osservazioni testuali su alcuni punti problematici della tavola latin... more Il contributo propone nuove osservazioni testuali su alcuni punti problematici della tavola latina di Eraclea, nonché sulle modalità della sua realizzazione. Un'appendice raccoglie e commenta alcuni passi dei Digesta che offrono paralleli per le norme contenute nella tavola.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part III, 2023
Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Echephylidas (... more Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Echephylidas (FGrHist 409). Pre-print version of the entry for "Brill's New Jacoby, Second edition".
This paper engages with MS Harley 647 in the British Library, London, a manuscript produced proba... more This paper engages with MS Harley 647 in the British Library, London, a manuscript produced probably at the imperial court in Aachen during the reign of Louis the Pious (814-40 CE), which contains the surviving portion (about four hundred and eighty lines) of Cicero's Latin translation of the Greek poem Phaenomena, written by Aratus of Soli between 275 and 250 BCE. The poem is a description of the night sky based on the earliest celestial globe, manufactured by the astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus in the first half of the fourth century BCE. The text itself, however, is not the most important element of the manuscript: in fact, its dominant feature are the full-page images of constellations, to which Cicero's text, at the bottom of each page, functions as a caption. This article examines the interaction between words and images in the astronomical illustrations of the manuscript, showing how their scientific content is conveyed to the user (at the same time viewer and reader) through the unity of the verbal and the visual. The long-debated question of the originality of their peculiar layout is also addressed, with conclusive evidence supporting the theory of a late Roman model. Finally, the insertion of the text within the illustrations will be interpreted as an allusion to the idea, presented in the proem of the Phaenomena, that the constellations are God's message 'written' in the sky to help humans in their basic activities, above all agriculture: a key concept in Stoic theology that could also appeal to a Christian audience.
The Tetrarchy as Ideology: Reconfigurations and Representations of an Imperial Power, ed. by F. Carlà-Uhink and C. Rollinger, Feb 2023
In parallel with the well-known innovations in the imperial insignia and audience ceremonies (att... more In parallel with the well-known innovations in the imperial insignia and audience ceremonies (attested by historical sources from the late fourth century onwards), the tetrarchic period saw the development of a new, highly ritualised style of communication between the emperors and the wider public, which will later become an essential characteristic of late antique and Byzantine official self-representation. The new ideology of the joint imperial rule was conveyed and visualised through the organisation of complex public ceremonies, staging in ritual terms the relation of the emperors with one another, as well as with the other social and political forces which constituted the Roman state: the Senate, the army, the bureaucratic elite, the local aristocracies, and the citizens. The traditional ceremonies of the earlier periods, especially the advent and the triumph, underwent profound changes in their rituals and were thus filled with new meanings, perfectly coherent with those expressed by the new insignia and audience etiquette. Textual and visual sources from the fourth century and later allow us an appreciation of these performative changes, although limited to those exceptional events (usually taking place in the city of Rome or in other capital cities) which made their way into the Romans’ cultural memory by being remembered in literary works, as well as in official or private monuments. Through these descriptions, we can grasp some essential characters of the official tetrarchic ideology as they were staged for, and viewed by, the citizens of the most important urban centres of the empire. In contrast with previous imperial ceremonies, the main ritual innovations of the tetrarchic period are aimed not only at emphasising the physical presence of the emperor in front of the people, but also at isolating him from his retinue, conveying to the observer a much more hierarchical image of the imperial power. The episodes examined will include: the official meeting between Diocletian and Maximian, which took place in Milan in AD 288; the staging of Diocletian’s and Galerius’ joint military leadership during the Persian campaign of AD 296-297; and the solemn ceremony held in Rome in AD 303, celebrating at once the twentieth anniversary of Diocletian and Maximian’s joint rule and their triumph over the Persians. Particular attention will be devoted to the latter episode, which is particularly well documented by visual sources (including numismatic evidence), and which will be remembered as the last triumphal ceremony in the history of Rome.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part III, 2023
Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Teupalos (FGrH... more Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Teupalos (FGrHist 408). Pre-print version of the entry for "Brill's New Jacoby, Second edition".
This article offers an interpretation of the talking magpie which welcomes guests at the entrance... more This article offers an interpretation of the talking magpie which welcomes guests at the entrance to Trimalchio’s house (Petronius, Satyrica, 28.9), arguing that the bird’s greeting should be reconstructed as a form of wordplay, as is signaled in the text through a figure of sound. This hitherto unrecognized pun is interpreted as an example of Trimalchio’s sense of humor, and as a sort of motto marking the entrance to Trimalchio’s world.
From the 17th century onwards, in a context of increasingly intense trade and diplomatic contacts... more From the 17th century onwards, in a context of increasingly intense trade and diplomatic contacts, the exchange of scientific ideas became a key element in the encounters between the European world and the cultures of the Far East.
This volume investigates the ways in which scientific knowledge was transferred and disseminated to new audiences, whose cultural background was very different from that in which such knowledge had originally developed. A vital role in this process was played by the Jesuit mission in China, whose members included intellectuals with a keen interest in cross-cultural comparison. The study of the local languages enabled the transfer of knowledge in both directions, through translations of existing texts and the production of new ones for both Chinese and European audiences. The papers in the volume, authored by specialists in various fields of cultural studies, highlight the intellectual effort and strategies by which scientific works were made available and understandable beyond cultural differences.
The volume will be welcome to those interested not only in cultural interactions between Europe and the Far East, but also in translation studies, particularly in the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Quando si parla di veicoli nel mondo romano, il pensiero corre subito a due contesti molto noti e studiati: il corteo trionfale e le corse nel circo. L’uso di carri cerimoniali nell’antica Roma non si limitava però a questi due ambiti, ma riguardava anche altre occasioni e altre categorie che ne facevano uso, prime fra tutti le matrone e le divinità. Il volume intende ricostruire le circostanze dell’impiego di veicoli nello spazio urbano in età repubblicana e nella prima età imperiale, facendo luce su aspetti della storia sociale di Roma quali il ruolo delle donne nella vita pubblica e la costruzione dell’identità collettiva attraverso i rituali religiosi che percorrevano le vie della città.
Late antique artefacts, and the images they carry, attest to a highly interconnected visual cultu... more Late antique artefacts, and the images they carry, attest to a highly interconnected visual culture dominating the Afro-Eurasian world from ca. AD 300 to 800. On the one hand, the same iconographies and decorative patterns are found across various genres of visual and material culture, irrespective of social and economic differences among their users. On the other hand, these very motifs are also spread in geographically distant regions, far beyond the traditional borders of the classical world, where they are mingled with local elements, while foreign motifs, especially of Germanic and Sasanian origin, are attested in Roman territories. But why were certain images attractive to patrons of such diverse geographical and cultural origins, and how were they transferred from one area to another?
This book aims to investigate the reasons behind the seemingly globalised visual culture spread across the late antique world, both within the borders of the (former) Roman and (later) Byzantine Empire and beyond. Its 14 chapters, written by specialists in various fields of late antique studies, cover a wide range of case studies chosen from different geographical, chronological and cultural contexts, from Roman mosaics and tombstones to Lombard stucco works. They exemplify the vast scale of the phenomenon, demonstrating the benefit of addressing this period through a combination of theoretical and methodological approaches characteristic of different national and disciplinary traditions. The focus on regional developments, together with the systematical analysis of the complex interactions between geographical areas and the social, cultural, religious and ethnic groups active within and across them, represent a first step towards a more integrated study of late antique visual culture – towards a geography of late antique art.
Il cielo notturno e le sue costellazioni hanno affascinato l'umanità fin dalle epoche più remote,... more Il cielo notturno e le sue costellazioni hanno affascinato l'umanità fin dalle epoche più remote, ed è proprio osservando i movimenti delle stelle che le più antiche civiltà hanno cercato di comprendere il funzionamento della natura e di individuare il posto occupato dall'uomo all'interno del cosmo. Questo volume presenta agli studiosi e agli appassionati un testo finora quasi del tutto sconosciuto, frutto delle riflessioni della scuola di astronomia di Alessandria d'Egitto, il più importante centro della cultura scientifica antica: in esso si descrive il procedimento per fabbricare una sfera celeste, strumento essenziale per lo studio e l'insegnamento dell'astronomia. Il testo originale greco è presentato in una nuova edizione critica, corredata da una traduzione italiana; l'introduzione e il commento consentono anche al lettore meno esperto di orientarsi fra le numerose questioni discusse nel testo e di comprenderlo nel quadro dell'evoluzione del pensiero scientifico antico e medievale.
L’incontro tra sapere astronomico ed espressione poetica, di cui i contributi raccolti in questo ... more L’incontro tra sapere astronomico ed espressione poetica, di cui i contributi raccolti in questo volume testimoniano l’incessante vitalità, rappresenta uno dei tratti più distintivi della cultura scientifica antica. Per la capacità di attrarre un pubblico più vasto verso una materia di per sé ostica, per il carattere solenne e sacrale, per la facilità di memorizzazione, la forma poetica fu nell’antichità il mezzo privilegiato per affrontare le questioni cosmologiche, filosofiche, teologiche connesse allo studio della volta celeste. Il presente volume esplora alcuni momenti salienti del rapporto della civiltà antica con i segni celesti, allo stesso tempo fonte di ispirazione artistica, strumento di comprensione della realtà, mezzo di comunicazione privilegiato tra gli dei e gli uomini.
Cento date per ripercorrere le tappe fondamentali del più grande impero dell’antichità, che riunì... more Cento date per ripercorrere le tappe fondamentali del più grande impero dell’antichità, che riunì sotto di sé popoli di ogni razza e religione e diffuse la sua civiltà fino ai confini del mondo allora conosciuto. Fabio Guidetti, archeologo e storico antico, racconta in 100 memorabili date la storia dell’impero romano, dalla sua strepitosa ascesa fino all’inesorabile declino: dalla vittoria di Augusto nella guerra civile fino all’invasione dell’Italia da parte dei Longobardi. Il libro è una sintesi indispensabile per orientarsi tra i protagonisti, le battaglie, le vicende politiche, le grandi riforme, la vita culturale di Roma imperiale, che ancora oggi continua ad affascinare popoli e nazioni.
Il codice Vaticano greco 1087 introduce il lettore nel cuore dell’astronomia bizantina, ma apre, ... more Il codice Vaticano greco 1087 introduce il lettore nel cuore dell’astronomia bizantina, ma apre, allo stesso tempo, una straordinaria finestra sull’astronomia greca e romana. Composto a Costantinopoli nella prima metà del XIV secolo, nel circolo di Niceforo Gregora, questo documento apre la strada a molteplici ricerche per la ricchezza del suo contenuto: opere astronomiche di Teodoro Metochite, i trattati sull’astrolabio di Gregora, parte del commento di Teone alessandrino a Tolomeo. Esso contiene inoltre un inserto con resti di un’antica edizione dei Fenomeni di Arato, riccamente illustrata e commentata, e conserva estratti dei Catasterismi di Eratostene con illustrazioni delle costellazioni di notevole bellezza. Una scritta in arabo, a margine di un foglio del codice, sollecita riflessioni sui contatti fra i due mondi, bizantino e islamico.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part II, 2024
Edition, translation, and commentary of the fragments of the Greek poet Kallistion, with biograph... more Edition, translation, and commentary of the fragments of the Greek poet Kallistion, with biographical essay and bibliography
Plutarch's account of Lucullus unsuccessfully begging his soldiers to follow him further, shortly... more Plutarch's account of Lucullus unsuccessfully begging his soldiers to follow him further, shortly before being forced to leave his command, is commonly read as the apex of his failure as a military leader. A close reading, however, reveals two hitherto overlooked aspects. Firstly, the story offers valuable information on late Republican military history, regarding the duration of military service before Augustus' reform and the existence of clearly defined subgroups within the army. Secondly, the conflict between Lucullus and his soldiers allows us to get a glimpse of the political debate of the time, characterised by the competing claims to Sulla's heritage, the shift of military loyalty towards specific individuals, and above all the question of who really represented the interests of the res publica.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part III, 2023
Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Komarchos (FGr... more Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Komarchos (FGrHist 410). Pre-print version of the entry for "Brill's New Jacoby, Second edition".
The article examines the section devoted to the individual stories of the triumviral proscription... more The article examines the section devoted to the individual stories of the triumviral proscriptions (43-42 BC) in book 4 of Appian’s Civil Wars, with a focus on its structure, the use of the sources, and the narrative techniques deployed by the author. The analysis interprets this section in the light of two trends typical of Greek historiographical writing, namely the so-called ‘tragic history’ and the paradoxical literature, showing Appian’s mastery of these narrative tools, as well as his engagement with the Greek historiographical and philosophical reflections of the Classical and Hellenistic period, from Thucydides to Aristotle and Polybius. The results demonstrate that the section on the triumviral proscriptions should not be seen as a mere digression with respect to the main body of Appian’s historical narrative, but rather as an integral part of it. The aim of the section was to present the readers with a sequence of individual stories which, although undoubtedly theatrical and paradoxical, were nonetheless described as truthful.
Il contributo propone nuove osservazioni testuali su alcuni punti problematici della tavola latin... more Il contributo propone nuove osservazioni testuali su alcuni punti problematici della tavola latina di Eraclea, nonché sulle modalità della sua realizzazione. Un'appendice raccoglie e commenta alcuni passi dei Digesta che offrono paralleli per le norme contenute nella tavola.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part III, 2023
Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Echephylidas (... more Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Echephylidas (FGrHist 409). Pre-print version of the entry for "Brill's New Jacoby, Second edition".
This paper engages with MS Harley 647 in the British Library, London, a manuscript produced proba... more This paper engages with MS Harley 647 in the British Library, London, a manuscript produced probably at the imperial court in Aachen during the reign of Louis the Pious (814-40 CE), which contains the surviving portion (about four hundred and eighty lines) of Cicero's Latin translation of the Greek poem Phaenomena, written by Aratus of Soli between 275 and 250 BCE. The poem is a description of the night sky based on the earliest celestial globe, manufactured by the astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus in the first half of the fourth century BCE. The text itself, however, is not the most important element of the manuscript: in fact, its dominant feature are the full-page images of constellations, to which Cicero's text, at the bottom of each page, functions as a caption. This article examines the interaction between words and images in the astronomical illustrations of the manuscript, showing how their scientific content is conveyed to the user (at the same time viewer and reader) through the unity of the verbal and the visual. The long-debated question of the originality of their peculiar layout is also addressed, with conclusive evidence supporting the theory of a late Roman model. Finally, the insertion of the text within the illustrations will be interpreted as an allusion to the idea, presented in the proem of the Phaenomena, that the constellations are God's message 'written' in the sky to help humans in their basic activities, above all agriculture: a key concept in Stoic theology that could also appeal to a Christian audience.
The Tetrarchy as Ideology: Reconfigurations and Representations of an Imperial Power, ed. by F. Carlà-Uhink and C. Rollinger, Feb 2023
In parallel with the well-known innovations in the imperial insignia and audience ceremonies (att... more In parallel with the well-known innovations in the imperial insignia and audience ceremonies (attested by historical sources from the late fourth century onwards), the tetrarchic period saw the development of a new, highly ritualised style of communication between the emperors and the wider public, which will later become an essential characteristic of late antique and Byzantine official self-representation. The new ideology of the joint imperial rule was conveyed and visualised through the organisation of complex public ceremonies, staging in ritual terms the relation of the emperors with one another, as well as with the other social and political forces which constituted the Roman state: the Senate, the army, the bureaucratic elite, the local aristocracies, and the citizens. The traditional ceremonies of the earlier periods, especially the advent and the triumph, underwent profound changes in their rituals and were thus filled with new meanings, perfectly coherent with those expressed by the new insignia and audience etiquette. Textual and visual sources from the fourth century and later allow us an appreciation of these performative changes, although limited to those exceptional events (usually taking place in the city of Rome or in other capital cities) which made their way into the Romans’ cultural memory by being remembered in literary works, as well as in official or private monuments. Through these descriptions, we can grasp some essential characters of the official tetrarchic ideology as they were staged for, and viewed by, the citizens of the most important urban centres of the empire. In contrast with previous imperial ceremonies, the main ritual innovations of the tetrarchic period are aimed not only at emphasising the physical presence of the emperor in front of the people, but also at isolating him from his retinue, conveying to the observer a much more hierarchical image of the imperial power. The episodes examined will include: the official meeting between Diocletian and Maximian, which took place in Milan in AD 288; the staging of Diocletian’s and Galerius’ joint military leadership during the Persian campaign of AD 296-297; and the solemn ceremony held in Rome in AD 303, celebrating at once the twentieth anniversary of Diocletian and Maximian’s joint rule and their triumph over the Persians. Particular attention will be devoted to the latter episode, which is particularly well documented by visual sources (including numismatic evidence), and which will be remembered as the last triumphal ceremony in the history of Rome.
Jacoby Online. Brill’s New Jacoby - Second Edition, Part III, 2023
Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Teupalos (FGrH... more Edition, translation and commentary of the extant fragments of the Greek historian Teupalos (FGrHist 408). Pre-print version of the entry for "Brill's New Jacoby, Second edition".
This article offers an interpretation of the talking magpie which welcomes guests at the entrance... more This article offers an interpretation of the talking magpie which welcomes guests at the entrance to Trimalchio’s house (Petronius, Satyrica, 28.9), arguing that the bird’s greeting should be reconstructed as a form of wordplay, as is signaled in the text through a figure of sound. This hitherto unrecognized pun is interpreted as an example of Trimalchio’s sense of humor, and as a sort of motto marking the entrance to Trimalchio’s world.
Il contributo analizza l'immagine ufficiale dell'imperatore romano Giuliano (Cesare 359-361; Augu... more Il contributo analizza l'immagine ufficiale dell'imperatore romano Giuliano (Cesare 359-361; Augusto 361-363), a noi nota soprattutto attraverso la sua monetazione. L'esame dei cambiamenti cui fu sottoposto il ritratto dell'imperatore nel corso del tempo, unita all'analisi di alcuni passi chiave degli scritti di Giuliano stesso, permette di ricostruire come l'immagine del principe si sia evoluta in coincidenza con le principali tappe della sua carriera, in strettissima connessione con lo sviluppo del suo programma politico, filosofico, religioso.
This paper reconstructs the history and meaning of a hitherto unexplained astronomical allusion r... more This paper reconstructs the history and meaning of a hitherto unexplained astronomical allusion recurring several times in Roman epithalamic poetry: the association of the evening star with Mount Oeta. By examining the iterations of this motif in surviving Latin literature (especially Catullus 62, Vergil's Eclogue 8 and the pseudo-Vergilian Ciris), I propose to explain the original meaning of this association as a mythological reference to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, offering a reconstruction of the Hellenistic epithalamic context where it was probably invented, and an interpretation of its function in each of the poems under consideration. The results of this analysis shed new light on some of the most well-known texts of Latin literature, allowing us to understand how this allusion was used to explore the relations between the genres of epithalamic poetry, bucolic and epyllion.
Livio Ad Urbem Condendam: Riletture del passato in età augustea, a cura di A. Roncaglia, 2021
La narrazione di Tito Livio ebbe un ruolo fondamentale nell’elaborare un’immagine di Silla poi di... more La narrazione di Tito Livio ebbe un ruolo fondamentale nell’elaborare un’immagine di Silla poi divenuta canonica, i cui elementi chiave erano, da un lato, l’idea di un mutamento radicale dell’ethos del dittatore dopo la fine della guerra civile; dall’altro, l’enfasi su tre episodi di crudeltà resi famosi dalla propaganda antisillana: il massacro dei prigionieri di guerra, il genocidio dei Prenestini, l’esecuzione di Marco Mario Gratidiano. Stando alle periochae, Livio narrava non solo le campagne di Silla contro nemici esterni ma anche le sue iniziative contro la fazione mariana, inclusa la famigerata ‘marcia su Roma’, da un punto di vista fondamentalmente filosillano, dipendente in parte dalle Storie di Sisenna, in parte dalle stesse memorie del dittatore; tale impostazione era tuttavia rovesciata dopo la fine della guerra civile, allorché Silla avrebbe approfittato del potere supremo per sfogare la propria sete di vendetta con inaudita crudeltà. Il contributo mette a confronto la narrazione liviana con la rappresentazione di Silla ricostruibile per le fonti più antiche (in particolare Cicerone, Sisenna e Sallustio), allo scopo di mostrare l’assoluta novità dell’impostazione liviana. La tesi è che lo storico padovano usasse l’esempio di Silla, e il repentino mutamento del suo ethos, come prova dei rischi insiti nella natura stessa del potere assoluto: persino il più nobile dei Romani, condottiero valoroso e animato da un profondo rispetto degli dei e delle leggi, si era rivelato deleterio per la Repubblica una volta investito di un potere privo di limitazioni. La costruzione liviana della memoria di Silla può quindi essere interpretata come una riflessione su un problema politico di scottante attualità: il Silla di Livio, in altre parole, era presentato come un Doppelgänger di Augusto, il cui esempio doveva ammonire i lettori, e forse il principe stesso, sui pericoli di un’autorità priva di contrappesi istituzionali. Ciò è in accordo con le simpatie repubblicane attribuite allo storico dalla tradizione successiva, e trova conferma nella presenza insistita dell’esempio di Silla, ereditato dal modello liviano, in autori di età giulio-claudia quali Valerio Massimo, Seneca e Lucano, che lo utilizzano per riflettere sulla natura del potere assoluto e sulle sue potenziali degenerazioni.
Centro e periferia nella letteratura latina di Roma imperiale, a cura di M.L. Delvigo, 2021
The article examines the life and career of Petronius’ character Trimalchio within the dynamics o... more The article examines the life and career of Petronius’ character Trimalchio within the dynamics of centre-periphery interaction in the Roman world of the early Imperial period. Three possible viewing angles are identified, in which the dialogue between centre and periphery takes place. First, the geographical scope, with the distinction between Italy and the provinces. Second, the ideological world of Roman citizens as opposed to the values embraced by people of different origin and culture. Third, the social and juridical workings of Roman law, which, through the progressive extension of citizenship rights, aims at the gradual integration of the peripheries of the Empire and their people into the Roman world.
Emperors and Emperorship in Late Antiquity: Images and Narratives, ed. by María Pilar García Ruiz and Alberto J. Quiroga Puertas, 2021
The contribution analyses the imperial sculptural portraits of the late fourth century AD, depict... more The contribution analyses the imperial sculptural portraits of the late fourth century AD, depicting the rulers of the Valentinian and Theodosian dynasties. The main iconographic and stylistic features of the surviving portraits are investigated in order to see how the established imperial image, as defined by Constantine, was transformed according to the new self-representational needs of this later period. Particular attention is devoted to examining how the emperors’ role was conceptualised through the representation of their facial features and attributes. The analysis of the portraits of the Valentinian dynasty sheds light on the multi-faceted self-representation of these emperors, who sought to combine the idealised traits of the Constantinian imperial image with a more effective expression of military strength and readiness to action; Theodosius, on the contrary, based his own portrait, as well as those of his sons, exclusively on a strong classicising ideal, depriving the imperial image of every surviving realistic feature. The archaeological data (where available) are discussed in order to further clarify the significance of the imperial portraits within their social and monumental contexts: special attention is devoted to understanding the role of images as means for the negotiation of imperial behaviour, in a close dialogue between rulers, local elites, and the viewers’ expectations.
A Globalised Visual Culture? Towards a Geography of Late Antique Art, ed. by Fabio Guidetti and Katharina Meinecke. Oxford & Philadelphia, Oxbow Books, 2020
A Globalised Visual Culture? Towards a Geography of Late Antique Art, ed. by Fabio Guidetti and Katharina Meinecke. Oxford & Philadelphia, Oxbow Books, 2020
In the summer of AD 384, the urban prefect Q. Aurelius Symmachus wrote an official letter to Theo... more In the summer of AD 384, the urban prefect Q. Aurelius Symmachus wrote an official letter to Theodosius (Symm. rel. 9), announcing that the Roman Senate had decreed the consecration of the emperor’s deceased father, who had been executed some years earlier under a charge of treason and whose memory was rehabilitated after his son had accessed the imperial throne. Symmachus’ description of the solemn pompa circensis, during which the statue of the deified general was carried through the public spaces of the city and shown to the Roman people, was linked by Lellia Cracco Ruggini to the scene depicted on the preserved leaf of an ivory diptych bearing the monogram of the Symmachi family (London, British Museum, Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory, no. 1857,1013.1). Ruggini’s hypothesis has not been widely accepted, mainly due to the different opinion authoritatively expressed by Alan Cameron in various occasions; the proposed paper, however, will show that Cameron’s critique is not decisive, and that Ruggini’s arguments are actually far more persuasive than any other interpretation of the scene proposed until now. Such a combination of written and visual documents presents us with the description of a lavish pompa circensis, which had been organised by Symmachus with money and materials directly provided by Theodosius himself. Both the written description and the diptych convey the image of a ritual with a strong antiquarian flavour: it was meant to re-enact the grandiose festivals of the Antonine period, which had been regularly celebrated until the 3rd century crisis and the departure of the imperial court from Rome had put an end to such ceremonial expenditures. Symmachus’s decision of reviving this ritual had a very important political significance, from at least three different aspects. From the point of view of aristocratic values, it was a way of showing the prefect’s love for Roman traditions and his own personal connections with the imperial court, thus enhancing the Symmachi’s prestige among their fellow senators. At the same time, in a broader political context, the solemn ritual celebrated the harmony between the emperor and the Roman Senate, while the ideal link with the “good old times” of the 2nd century, already perceived as the golden age of the Roman Empire, expressed the senators’ expectations that Theodosius’s behaviour towards them would follow the models of the good emperors of the Antonine period. Finally, concerning the religious aspect, this festival can be interpreted as one of the last pagan attempts to reoccupy the public spaces of the city with performances of the traditional civic cults, in direct competition with the growing habit of Christian processions and the ongoing Christianisation of urban context.
During his proconsulship in Cilicia (96-92 BC), Lucius Sulla established strong ties with the Cap... more During his proconsulship in Cilicia (96-92 BC), Lucius Sulla established strong ties with the Cappadocian royal family and the national sanctuary at Comana, choosing its goddess as his own patron. This unnamed deity (addressed in inscriptions as Ma aniketos, ‘the invincible Mother’) was an astral goddess whose influence extended over love and war, combining features of the Assyrian Ištar and the Hittite Šauška. The paper examines how such a complex deity was conceptualised, by the Cappadocian kings and by Sulla himself, in order to make her understandable to Greek and Roman audiences. In Greco-Roman visual and written sources, the goddess is differently identified with Aphrodite, Athena, Bellona, Diana. In this sense, the traditional concept of interpretatio (as defined by Wissowa) needs to be further specified: the foreign goddess is not directly identified with one ‘national’ divine being, but acquires multiple identities reflecting the functions she performs in different contexts.
L’intervento prenderà in considerazione il ruolo sociale degli artifices nell’Impero Romano, anal... more L’intervento prenderà in considerazione il ruolo sociale degli artifices nell’Impero Romano, analizzando i differenti punti di vista dai quali autori di varia estrazione sociale e culturale guardano a tali categorie di specialisti. Le fonti esaminate sono pertinenti a generi letterari diversi (filosofia, retorica, letteratura tecnica e giuridica) e si datano tra il II e il IV secolo d.C. Mentre l’élite culturale continua a guardare agli artifices attraverso la lente della condanna platonica delle arti imitative, altri generi di fonti apprezzano invece l’importanza professionale di questi lavoratori, considerando senza pregiudizi le possibilità di carriera e di ascesa sociale offerte da tali attività. Particolare attenzione sarà riservata all’analisi delle fonti giuridiche tardoantiche attestanti la concessione di immunità ed esenzioni a tali categorie professionali, nel quadro di un programma di rafforzamento dell’istruzione tecnica portato avanti dagli imperatori del IV secolo.
Plutarch’s treatise On the Fortune of the Romans has often been considered as little more than a ... more Plutarch’s treatise On the Fortune of the Romans has often been considered as little more than a rhetorical exercise, and some scholars have even judged it incomplete or lacking its final revision. On the contrary, I will argue that this work is not only well structured, but also particularly relevant to a key problem in Plutarch’s thought: the role of Tyche as master of human events, both individual and collective. In this treatise Plutarch distances himself from the Hellenistic tradition, which regarded Tyche as an unstable and unpredictable force: in Plutarch’s eyes, Tyche is the agent of a providential design, whose aim is the establishing and conservation of Roman hegemony. In developing this argument, Plutarch draws heavily on Latin sources. He quotes explicitly Livius and Caesar, but most of his references are to events of the late 2nd and early 1st century BC, involving especially the family of the Metelli: the forefather Metellus Macedonicus, his sons and nephews, as well as those who entered that family through marriage, such as Scaurus, Sulla, Lucullus. At an intratextual level, these anecdotes can shed light on Plutarch’s working practices, because the same materials also appear in other treatises of the Moralia and in some of the Parallel Lives; but they also give some clues to the much debated issue of Plutarch’s intertextual relation to Latin sources. In particular, the hypothesis will be explored that Plutarch’s new concept of Tyche is highly indebted to the idea of felicitas developed by Sulla and elucidated in the dictator’s memoirs, which Plutarch read and quoted in many passages of his Life of Sulla. This work could offer him not only information on Sulla’s life and career, but also a coherent theory about divine intervention in human affairs, which may have influenced Plutarch’s own thoughts on this subject
In his two-volume survey of Roman art, published in 1970, Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli divided its... more In his two-volume survey of Roman art, published in 1970, Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli divided its history into two parts: the first period, up to the so-called "Antoninische Stilwandel", could be understood in terms of centre-periphery dynamics; the subsequent one witnessed the emergence of a number of provincial visual cultures, worth of study in themselves and their reciprocal interactions, not just in their relation to one or more centres. Bianchi Bandinelli’s opinion was based on the premise that the crisis of central institutions in the 3rd century brought about a growing self-consciousness of lower provincial social classes; even if this Marxist stance has meanwhile proven false, the evidence suggests that late antique visual culture can provide yet unexploited opportunities for a geography-based study. Nonetheless, recent studies continue to address late Roman art through traditional centre-periphery dynamics, trying to show the dependence or resistance of a given area in relation to a normally (if often implicitly) political centre. Recognizing the insufficiency of this theoretical model, my paper will propose an interpretation of late antique visual culture as a network, in which many different centres were connected through reciprocal interactions: these were made possible through the high level of mobility granted by Roman rule, which allowed phenomena of transfer of artists, patrons, objects, and models. I will show some examples of wandering objects taken from the luxury arts (ivories, silver plate, metalwork) which travelled around the Empire following their possessors, being thus viewed in contexts very different from those in which they had been produced; at the same time, some scenes from the myth of Achilles will be presented as a case study of wandering iconographies, found in a variety of objects across different genres and places, which can be used as witnesses for the geographical and social diffusion of objects and models.
The history of late antique imperial images is a continuous swing between different modes of abst... more The history of late antique imperial images is a continuous swing between different modes of abstraction. After the fall of the Constantinian dynasty, Valentinian and Valens sought their legitimization in presenting themselves as brothers ruling in harmony, in sharp contrast to the wars that had torn apart Constantine’s family: their concord, and the idea of emperorship as service (militia), were conveyed through the borrowing of iconographic and stylistic features typical for the Tetrarchic period. Theodosius, an outsider to the Valentinian dynasty, chose to represent himself as a new Constantine, abandoning these expressionist tendencies in favour of a more sublimated classicism.
This open session invites papers tackling the potential of mental and physical spaces for establi... more This open session invites papers tackling the potential of mental and physical spaces for establishing, maintaining and changing ancient religious practices and beliefs.
Ptolemy’s Geography, since its composition in the 2nd century AD the standard work of scientific ... more Ptolemy’s Geography, since its composition in the 2nd century AD the standard work of scientific cartography for nearly fifteen hundred years, found its way to Western Europe via Byzantium. The main goal of this Round Table is to provide an overview of the most recent state of research on the reception and the impact of Ptolemy’s Geography. The Round Table therefore reassesses the scientific, intellectual, and social background of the work in early Palaeologan Byzantium and beyond, gives new insights into its textual recensions and cartographical redactions, and analyses the significance and role of Ptolemy’s Geography in early Humanist Italy.
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Books by Fabio Guidetti
This volume investigates the ways in which scientific knowledge was transferred and disseminated to new audiences, whose cultural background was very different from that in which such knowledge had originally developed. A vital role in this process was played by the Jesuit mission in China, whose members included intellectuals with a keen interest in cross-cultural comparison. The study of the local languages enabled the transfer of knowledge in both directions, through translations of existing texts and the production of new ones for both Chinese and European audiences. The papers in the volume, authored by specialists in various fields of cultural studies, highlight the intellectual effort and strategies by which scientific works were made available and understandable beyond cultural differences.
The volume will be welcome to those interested not only in cultural interactions between Europe and the Far East, but also in translation studies, particularly in the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Quando si parla di veicoli nel mondo romano, il pensiero corre subito a due contesti molto noti e studiati: il corteo trionfale e le corse nel circo. L’uso di carri cerimoniali nell’antica Roma non si limitava però a questi due ambiti, ma riguardava anche altre occasioni e altre categorie che ne facevano uso, prime fra tutti le matrone e le divinità. Il volume intende ricostruire le circostanze dell’impiego di veicoli nello spazio urbano in età repubblicana e nella prima età imperiale, facendo luce su aspetti della storia sociale di Roma quali il ruolo delle donne nella vita pubblica e la costruzione dell’identità collettiva attraverso i rituali religiosi che percorrevano le vie della città.
This book aims to investigate the reasons behind the seemingly globalised visual culture spread across the late antique world, both within the borders of the (former) Roman and (later) Byzantine Empire and beyond. Its 14 chapters, written by specialists in various fields of late antique studies, cover a wide range of case studies chosen from different geographical, chronological and cultural contexts, from Roman mosaics and tombstones to Lombard stucco works. They exemplify the vast scale of the phenomenon, demonstrating the benefit of addressing this period through a combination of theoretical and methodological approaches characteristic of different national and disciplinary traditions. The focus on regional developments, together with the systematical analysis of the complex interactions between geographical areas and the social, cultural, religious and ethnic groups active within and across them, represent a first step towards a more integrated study of late antique visual culture – towards a geography of late antique art.
Papers by Fabio Guidetti
This volume investigates the ways in which scientific knowledge was transferred and disseminated to new audiences, whose cultural background was very different from that in which such knowledge had originally developed. A vital role in this process was played by the Jesuit mission in China, whose members included intellectuals with a keen interest in cross-cultural comparison. The study of the local languages enabled the transfer of knowledge in both directions, through translations of existing texts and the production of new ones for both Chinese and European audiences. The papers in the volume, authored by specialists in various fields of cultural studies, highlight the intellectual effort and strategies by which scientific works were made available and understandable beyond cultural differences.
The volume will be welcome to those interested not only in cultural interactions between Europe and the Far East, but also in translation studies, particularly in the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Quando si parla di veicoli nel mondo romano, il pensiero corre subito a due contesti molto noti e studiati: il corteo trionfale e le corse nel circo. L’uso di carri cerimoniali nell’antica Roma non si limitava però a questi due ambiti, ma riguardava anche altre occasioni e altre categorie che ne facevano uso, prime fra tutti le matrone e le divinità. Il volume intende ricostruire le circostanze dell’impiego di veicoli nello spazio urbano in età repubblicana e nella prima età imperiale, facendo luce su aspetti della storia sociale di Roma quali il ruolo delle donne nella vita pubblica e la costruzione dell’identità collettiva attraverso i rituali religiosi che percorrevano le vie della città.
This book aims to investigate the reasons behind the seemingly globalised visual culture spread across the late antique world, both within the borders of the (former) Roman and (later) Byzantine Empire and beyond. Its 14 chapters, written by specialists in various fields of late antique studies, cover a wide range of case studies chosen from different geographical, chronological and cultural contexts, from Roman mosaics and tombstones to Lombard stucco works. They exemplify the vast scale of the phenomenon, demonstrating the benefit of addressing this period through a combination of theoretical and methodological approaches characteristic of different national and disciplinary traditions. The focus on regional developments, together with the systematical analysis of the complex interactions between geographical areas and the social, cultural, religious and ethnic groups active within and across them, represent a first step towards a more integrated study of late antique visual culture – towards a geography of late antique art.
You can submit your abstract for our open session online in:
https://easr2019.org/call-‐for-‐individual-‐papers/
The abstract submission deadline is December 15, 2018.
Review results will be announced on January 15, 2019.