Greek and Roman Social History

"This book is the first-ever monograph on the family of royal converts from Adiabene including the broader perspective of the cultural and political environment of Hellenistic and Parthian Adiabene. It collects, arranges and discusses all available sources on the topic.
The study consists of three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1-5) is devoted to the longest ancient account on the Adiabene royalty from all ancient literature – Josephus, Ant. 20:17-96 (“the Adiabene Narrative”). It examines the Adiabene narrative as Josephus’ conscious literary product with all its rhetorical features and ideological agendas.
Part 2 (chapters 6-7) deals with other sources about the family of royal converts from Adiabene. Chapter 6 is devoted to Rabbinic traditions about Queen Helena and King Munbaz. Chapter 7 discusses all Jewish and non-Jewish literary sources which refer to the resting place of Queen Helena and to the palaces of the Adiabene royalty in Jerusalem, what is more, it also provides an updated discussion of relevant archaeological sites in Jerusalem (Le Tombeau des Rois and the Givati Parking Lot).
Part 3 (chapters 8-13) presents the material and political environment of Adiabene from the third century BCE to the third century CE. It discusses all available kinds of sources: geographical and ethnographical texts (chapter 8), archaeological sites (chapter 9), epigraphic and numismatic material (chapter 10), as well as onomastic evidence (chapter 11). Furthermore, chapter 12 provides a basic chronology of the Adiabene royalty in the Hellenistic and Parthian periods, and chapter 13 presents the political environment of Adiabene and Judea in the context of the international relations between Rome and Parthia."
P.S.
So far reviewed by K. Atkinson, Biblica 96 (2015) 635-638; D.M. Jacobson, Palestine Exploration Quarterly 147 (2015) 169-170; E. Kettenhofen, Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia 6 (2015) 297-307; E. Lipiński, Polish Journal of Biblical Research 14 (2015) 201-207;  D.M. Downing, Journal of American Oriental Studies 137 (2017) 428-430; E. Nodet, Revue Biblique 122-124 (2015) 634-635; K. Berthelot, Syria 94 (2017) 415-416; J.-S. Caillou, L’Antiquité Classique 86 (2017) 517-519.

Resumen
La presente investigación tiene por fin dar aproximaciones hacia el concepto de prostitución, prostituto y prostituta en el mundo grecorromano, considerando los distintos significados que le fueron otorgados, así como también la visión de varias fuentes frente al tema. Es un estudio comprensivo de los conceptos y las diversificaciones eufemísticas y disfemísticas que les fueron otorgadas a las personas que realizaban actos sexuales. Los resultados son una apertura a la discusión y al debate sobre la prostitución y quienes ejercían dichos actos, así como también una profundización a una realidad social vivida en el mundo grecorromano.

Abstract
The aim of this research is to get closer to the notion of prostitution, male prostitute, and female prostitute in the Greco-Roman world, considering the different meanings that were given to these words, and also the vision of many sources related to the topic. It is a comprehensive study about concepts and euphemistic and disfemistic diversifications, which were given to the people who practiced sexual relationships. The results are an opening to discussion and debate about prostitution and who practiced these acts, just like a deepening to a social reality lived in the Greco-Roman world.


Resumo
O presente estudo tem a finalidade de aproximar-se do conceito de prostituição, prostituto e prostituta no mundo greco-romano, considerando os diferentes significados que lhe foram outorgados, bem como a visão de várias fontes em relação ao tema. É um estudo abrangente dos conceitos e das diversificações eufemísticas e disfemísticas que lhe foram outorgadas às pessoas que realizavam atos sexuais. Os resultados são uma abertura à discussão e ao debate sobre a prostituição e àquelas pessoas que exerciam tais atos, bem como um aprofundamento a uma realidade social vivida no mundo greco-romano.


Résumé
La recherche suivante a par objet donner des approches vers l’idée de prostitution, prostitué et prostituée dans monde gréco-romain, en considérant les différents significations qu’on donné à ces paroles, et aussi la vision de beaucoup de sources relatives au sujet. C’est une etude comprehensive sur des idées et les diversifications euphémistiques et disfemístiques, lesquelles ont été donnés aux personnes qui pratiquaient des rapports sexuels. Les résultats sont une ouverture à la discussion et au débat sur la prostitution et qui pratiquaient ces actes, ainsi qu’ approfondir dans une réalité sociale vécue dans le monde gréco-romain.

The author analyses the evolution of the idea of magic reflected in the decrees of Christian Roman Emperors included in the Theodosian Code. He describes the place of the chapter De maleficis in the structure of Book IX of the Theodosian Code and analyses its constitutions. Special attention is paid to the possible sources of the norms described and to the connection between the evolution of Christianity and the tightening of anti-magic legislation.
Article is written on Russian

During the Roman empire many Greek speakers learned Latin. Their books and exercises, which survive in medieval manuscripts and in papyri from Egypt, show that some of their language-learning techniques were similar to ours and others very different. Some students, interested only in oral proficiency, learned Latin using materials in Greek transliteration. Others learned the Roman alphabet and then read not isolated sentences but complete texts, in a special bilingual format, while learning grammar and syntax from materials composed entirely in Latin. At more advanced levels students used monolingual Latin literary texts, which they read aloud and translated into Greek ; they also translated Greek literature into Latin.

Claudius made substantial changes to the laws governing women as he "upgraded the mother's right to inherit. This concession to her contribution to the family was also a move in line to the 'cognatic' principle of wills, which tended to spread goods beyond the male line of agnatic succession.  Claudius also denied the right of slave owners to kill their slaves because they were old or had a physical impairment.

This reconstruction of Plato’s biography was researched and written when I was at the London School of Economics Department of Government in 2004-05. As an attempt to reconstruct Plato’s life with more detail than had been done before, I hope it may be of interest.

Although it’s not complete and hasn’t been used for a publication, I intend to use this material at some point in the future. I welcome any comments. Feel free to write me at benjamin.bilski@periclesfoundation.org.

The article explores the content and peculiarities of Greek patriotism as a multifaceted spiritual phenomenon in the context of imperial realities. This patriotism, focused primarily on native polis, was an ideological, emotional, psychological and practical reality that cannot be ignored in dealing with the behavioral motives of the polis elite, the models of adaptation of the Greek world to the conditions of the Roman imperial state. While preserving particularistic traditions and a system of concepts that concern the feeling of love for the motherland, the Greeks of Roman times maintained their cultural identity but were forced to rethink the very concept of «fatherland» and to change the forms of service to it. The general considerations about the love for the fatherland as well as the individual biographical facts and self-representations of the Greek authors of the imperial era reveal a patriotism of a polis type expressed in attachment to the native city, in connection with its civil traditions. This patriotism was combined with patriotic feelings towards a broader community or to other cities and did not contradict to a successful career at the empire-wide level. Within the political realities of  he Roman Empire this patriotism was manifested in carrying out of civic duties, liturgies and acts of evergetism. It lost the accent on the primacy of common civilian goals over private interests, on self-sacrifice and military virtues, which were replaced with cultural values. The honours and prestige of the individual city communities now depended on the benevolence of the imperial power, and the sense of limited political independence was implicitly or explicitly present in the judgments of Greek intellectuals who wrote about the love for the «small homeland».

È opinione comune, presso gli studiosi moderni, che i giudici privati del processo civile romano (giudici monocratici o recuperatores) appartenessero alle classi sociali più elevate e più colte e che mantenessero, nel ricoprire il loro incarico, un atteggiamento di grande dignità. Questo dato appare in effetti confermato se si considerano tutti i giudici privati, dei quali le testimonianze antiche hanno tramandato l’identità. Ci sono tuttavia significative fonti letterarie, che presentano indizi dai quali è lecito sospettare, di fatto, l’esistenza di una seconda ‘categoria’ di giudici privati, costituita da persone di bassa estrazione sociale, che mantenevano spesso, nell'esercizio della funzione, comportamenti tutt’altro che incensurabili. I giudici di questo secondo gruppo erano, nella maggior parte dei casi, probabilmente quelli scelti al di fuori dell’album iudicum. Dall’indagine è risultato anche che, sebbene le due categorie di giudici fossero per molti aspetti differenziate tra loro, esse erano tuttavia assimilate per un importante carattere comune: l’imperitia iuris dei giudicanti, che si trova a più riprese lamentata dalle fonti antiche.

SUMMARY WRITING THE HISTORY OF FATNESS AND THINNESS IN GRAECO-ROMAN ANTIQUITY Fatness and thinness has been a much underexploited topic in the study of classical Antiquity. After carefully analyzing the Greek and Roman vocabulary to denote the matter, I catalogue information on concrete instances of persons who were considered to have suffered from overweight, or emaciation. On a second level, I deal with popular mentality regarding overweight or thinness. Thirdly, medical and/or philosophical theory regarding weight problems are studied. In this, the moral discourse linking obesity with gluttony or weakness and avarice with underweight will be studied. I will also ask whether changed Christian attitudes towards the body and bodily functions lead to new concepts regarding the matter. For these different levels of questions, I take into account concepts of disability history, asking whether the obviously impairing factors of excess weight or the opposite of it lead to social disfunctionality, hindering people from important social functions and subjecting them to social stigma.

""En Filipo II y el Arte de la Guerra tendremos la oportunidad de conocer en profundidad a uno de los más grandes reyes de la antigua Macedonia. Gracias a su habilidad como estratega, diplomático, político y soldado, heredó un reino pobre, débil y acosado por innumerables enemigos y lo transformó en el más poderoso de toda Grecia.

A lo largo de sus páginas podremos conocer la historia del reino Macedonio, desde sus orígenes míticos hasta la formación de un imperio, de la mano del que, a la postre, se convertiría en el padre del mítico Alejandro Magno y en el forjador de un nuevo ejército que cambiaria el devenir de la guerra en la Antigüedad. Filipo II fue el creador de la falange macedonia, formación que se demostraría como inigualable en el campo de batalla y que reportaría incontables victorias sobre poderosos enemigos, como los ilirios, los tesalios, los tracios, los beocios o los atenienses. Pero no sólo eso, logró integrar en el campo de batalla a la infantería y a la caballería para emplearlos en nuevas formaciones tácticas: armó a sus soldados con las míticas sarissas y apreció como pocos las posibilidades militares que la maquinaria de guerra podía proporcionarle, siendo el mecenas de numerosos avances en este campo. Soñó con conquistar el Imperio persa, cuando ya había logrado lo que nadie antes fue capaz: el control de Grecia.

Sólo la muerte le arrebató esa hazaña, pero sentó las bases de lo que más tarde conseguiría su propio hijo. Su figura levantó tanto odios como pasiones; se le conocía como mujeriego y bebedor, pero también por su habilidad para la oratoria, por sus astucia, determinación y valor. Siempre luchó en primera línea junto a sus soldados y nunca permitió que éstos le llamaran rey, sino solo "General".

Among the ancients, the regular representation of the built environment on coins was a purely Roman phenomenon.  In the Greek world, architectural representation on coinage was very uncommon; when it did appear it referred directly in some way to the local identity of the issuing state.  Coins of the Persian satrapies only rarely depicted fortifications in conjunction with traditional Persian emblems of royalty and power and temples of the chief deities in the minting city.  The Roman use of the iconography of building was fundamentally different.  From the first occurrence in 135 BC through the late Roman Empire, the architectural image on coins from Rome commemorated or politicized the monument in question.  By the mid-first century BC and into the Imperial period, architecture was commonplace in the repertoire of Roman coin iconography.

The subject of the representation of monuments is one of the most beloved (and belabored) topics in studies of Roman coin iconography.  It is also a theme in dire need of re-exploration.  Appealing to numismatists, archaeologists, topographers and art or architectural historians, architectural representations on Roman coins have been appreciated and studied primarily for the evidence they yield for the appearance or reconstruction of lost monuments. While numismatic representations may provide some evidence for the reconstruction or historical study of Roman monuments, there are a number of methodological problems.  This traditional and often uncritical approach to architectural representations has often treated the images as ‘snapshots’ or ‘blueprints’ of lost monuments, although creating wholly accurate representations of buildings – if the building even existed at the time that the coin was minted – was not the goal of the die engravers or the issuing authorities.  And less frequently have architectural representations been understood in the context of a moneyer’s or an emperor’s wider ideological or visual program as deployed on the coinage.  As a consequence, the actual phenomenon of architectural representation on Roman coinage has been inadequately studied in favor of more myopic considerations. 

Why was Rome the only ancient civilization that habitually depicted built monuments on its coinage?  Why did Greek urban centers with marble-clad monuments and politically charged building programs feature their great monuments on coins only after Roman domination?  What social and cultural developments prompted Roman moneyers in the late second and first centuries BC to depict buildings on coins for the first time?  What circumstances led to the decreasing frequency of architectural coin types in the third and fourth centuries AD until they ultimately disappeared from the Roman coinage in the fifth century?  And why were these late Roman depictions more symbolic in their lack of reference to specific constructions?  These are questions to be explored.  This book departs from the treatment of the images as sources for the appearance of ancient monuments and explores instead the historical, art historical, social, and cultural contexts of the iconography of building on Roman coins as it developed and evolved from its emergence in the late second century BC to its disappearance from the Roman coinage in the fifth century AD.

ENGLISH: Is it possible to talk about politeness in ancient Greece? Modern sociology defines politeness as a system of rules,
which set behavioural patterns in accordance with different social situations. Ancient Greek thought never conceived
a similar idea. Instead, between the 8th and the 5th century BC, the Greeks seem to have appraised social
conduct through the lens of a principle of correspondence between one’s aspect and demeanour and the virtue of
one’s soul. This study aims at shedding light upon the cultural features of this Greek idea, and to outline the ways
in which it oriented social judgement. The analysis is conducted through categories inspired by the research of the
sociologist Erving Goffman, entirely readapted in order to apply them to ancient sources. The prime focus of the
work is on Homer. This is followed by a study of the role of the principles of ancient Greek politeness, as gleaned
from the epics, with regard to conversation, gestural expressiveness and meeting occasions in the Archaic and
Classical periods.

FRANÇAIS : Est-il possible de parler d’un savoir-vivre grec antique ? La sociologie contemporaine définit le code de politesse
comme un ensemble de règles proposant des modèles de conduite adaptés aux différentes occasions de rencontre.
La pensée grecque antique, quant à elle, ne formula jamais une idée pareille : entre le VIIIe et le Ve siècle av.
J.-C., les Grecs semblent plutôt avoir évalué la conduite sociale en fonction d’un principe de correspondance entre
d’une part l’aspect et les manières de chaque individu et d’autre part la disposition de son esprit. Ce travail vise à la
fois à mettre en lumière les spécificités culturelles de cette idée antique et à étudier les manières dont celle-ci
orientait le jugement social. L’analyse est menée par le biais de catégories inspirées des recherches du sociologue
américain Erving Goffman, entièrement réélaborées afin de les adapter aux sources. L’attention est d’abord focalisée
sur l’épopée homérique, dont l’examen permet de cerner des principes majeurs de la politesse en Grèce ancienne.
Ensuite l’étude se concentre sur le rôle social qu’ont eu ces principes aux époques archaïque et classique,
notamment en ce qui concerne la conversation, la gestuelle et les occasions de sociabilité.

"Estas páginas contienen una reflexión sobre un tema importante en el mundo antiguo: el aprovisionamiento de cereal al ejército romano. El hecho de que la base de la alimentación fuera el grano y su ausencia la causa más frecuente del descontento y de las sublevaciones en el seno del ejército motivó el desarrollo de férreos mecanismos de control y administración de los alimentos enviados a las tropas. Este trabajo ofrece información novedosa sobre este asunto y proporciona las claves para conocer mejor la dieta del soldado y las infraestructuras y construcciones asociadas al abastecimiento militar, desde la fase republicana al periodo bajoimperial.

Para el análisis del aprovisionamiento de cereal al ejército, el principal testimonio arqueológico que se conserva son los almacenes y graneros (horrea). El estudio detallado de estos edificios pretende servir de manual de referencia para el profesional que debe interpretar correctamente las estructuras descubiertas, ofreciendo información detallada sobre técnicas constructivas, dimensiones y otros datos de interés. En último término, permite reconstruir la apariencia de estas edificaciones y conocer la evolución de los sistemas empleados en su construcción, que se fueron adaptando a las necesidades del ejército en cada uno de los periodos durante los que se mantuvo vigente la hegemonía de Roma.

Esta obra muestra al público general y al profesional de la arqueología un aspecto esencial en la expansión y consolidación del Imperio Romano, pues el aprovisionamiento de cereal fue una de las claves económicas que permitió a los generales romanos mantener alta la moral de sus ejércitos con alimentos a los que estaban acostumbrados y se convirtió en el motor que impulsó el ánimo y el fervor de las tropas, consiguiendo así su eficacia en la batalla y su lealtad en tiempos de paz"

Book review:
http://www.pyrenae.com/home/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=category&id=20:ressenyes-43-2-2012&lang=es

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9191541&fulltextType=BR&fileId=S0068113X14000075


http://revistas.usal.es/index.php/0514-7336/article/view/9973"

http://www.sehepunkte.de/2013/02/21727.html"""

from the 2010 conference, to be published in in ‘And God Breathed into Man the Breath of Life’ – Dust of the Ground and Breath of Life (Gen 2.7): The Development of a Dualistic Anthropology in Early Judaism and Christianity, and Their Umwelts (ed. J.T.A.G.M. van Ruiten and G.H. van Kooten; Themes in Biblical Narrative; Leiden: Brill, forthcoming)

Ancient philosophers took an early interest in foetal development as they sought to determine the main stages during which the unborn child gradually acquires abilities that will make him a complete human being. The profusion of texts on this matter, as well as the controversies they have caused, sometimes fierce, underlines the interest of the ancient Greeks for a subject that goes beyond philosophical considerations. In a society where a single drop of blood can cause impurity, these debates also reflect practical issues: a miscarriage, involuntary or voluntary, does not follow the same ritual prescriptions if the foetus is declared formed or not formed. This differential management of pollution implies a certain acknowledgement of the human being before birth that also manifests itself through specific funerary rites and practices. Graves of foetus and infants deceased during the perinatal period have been uncovered, depending on contexts and on bone preservation conditions. The care brought to them (use of a container, presence of grave goods) and their integration in varied funerary complexes (mixed necropolis, location reserved for children or for family groups) attest the particular status, sometimes symbolic, that these deceased could have for their family, but also for the whole society.
Le développement fœtal a très tôt suscité la curiosité des philosophes antiques qui ont cherché à en déterminer de principales étapes au cours desquelles l’enfant à venir acquiert progressivement les capacités qui feront de lui un être complet. La profusion d’écrits sur cette question, ainsi que les controverses parfois très vives qu’elles ont provoquées, souligne l’intérêt des Grecs de l’Antiquité pour un sujet qui dépasse les seules considérations philosophiques. Dans un environnement où tout écoulement de sang peut être une source d’impureté, ces débats sont aussi le reflet de difficultés pratiques : une fausse-couche, volontaire comme involontaire, n’est pas soumise aux mêmes prescriptions rituelles si le fœtus est déclaré formé ou non-formé. Cette gestion différentielle de la souillure implique une certaine reconnaissance de l’être avant la naissance, qui se traduit aussi par des pratiques funéraires spécifiques. Selon les contextes et les conditions de préservation des ossements, des sépultures de fœtus et d’enfants décédés en période périnatale ont ainsi été mises au jour. Le soin dont elles ont pu faire l’objet (utilisation de contenant, dépôt de matériel) et leur intégration dans des ensembles funéraires variés (nécropoles mixtes, réservée aux enfants ou encore aux groupes familiaux) témoignent du statut particulier, parfois symbolique, que pouvaient revêtir ces défunts pour leur famille, mais également pour le reste de la société.

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.