Hesiodic Poetry

This article argues that Homer's depiction of Odysseus in specifically bardic terms is an essential element in the self-presentation of the Homeric poet, in that it comprises the construction of an agonistic relationship with contemporary poets – as in the Hesiodic tradition – who deploy 'personal' details to bolster their claims to poetic authority.

This book is the edited proceedings from the conference 'The Art of Stesichorus' held at St John's College, Oxford, on June 29–30 2012. Contributors include: Ewen Bowie (Oxford), Chris Carey (London), Patrick Finglass (Nottingham), Richard Hunter (Cambridge), Adrian Kelly (Oxford), Ian Rutherford (Reading), Gerson Schade (Berlin), Laura Swift (Open University), Martin West (Oxford).

Pelling, C., Classics for All 2015/08/11

This article argues that the reception of Homeric poetry in the lyric poets of the Archaic period is a process of evolution, in which evidentiary difficulty and the gradual development of intertextuality combine to make Stesichorus the first truly intertextual poet in the Greek tradition. Earlier interactions are, as far as we can tell, very limited, confined to mentions of basic plot or famous episodes, whilst even his exiguous fragments allow us to see Stesichorus engaging in a sustained and recreative manner with the entire Iliad and Odyssey. This is an uncorrected proof.

Ce volume comporte trois chapitres : le premier décrit les linéaments d'une doctrine archaïque de la « phusis » visant toujours à connaître la « nature » de chaque chose, cet ensemble de caractéristiques qui fonde sa puissance, sa capacité d'agir ; le second décrit une représentation archaïque de l'Univers au moyen du schème de la croissance végétale, reconnu dans l'usage du verbe « phuô » et la poursuit jusqu'à la grande synthèse de la cosmologie archaïque, telle qu'elle s'énonce dans la deuxième partie du poème de Parménide : l'Univers est comme une grande plante qui croît et distribue l'ensemble des « natures » des choses. Le schème de la croissance et celui de la distribution des natures convergent ainsi pour esquisser la première représentation globale d'un tout cosmique organisé. La troisième partie est consacrée au débat qui, dans le deuxième Ve siècle, autour de « l'enquête sur la nature », chez les sophistes et les médecins, accompagne l'apparition d'un tout de plus en plus homogène, mais néanmoins susceptible de plusieurs visages : ainsi celui de l'homogénéité du mode de production de toutes choses ou celui de la distribution des natures de toutes choses. La Nature commence à paraître, oscillant entre une logique génétique et une logique distributive : c'est ainsi que s'accomplit une histoire qui fait progressivement du terme distribué à toutes choses pour décrire leurs puissances respectives le nom du tout organisé où chacune trouve sa place.

Le zoonosi contemporanee ci costringono a porci una domanda che già gli antichi pensatori si erano posti più o meno esplicitamente. Le risposte sono spiazzanti e per molti versi attuali: mangiamo gli animali perché non siamo dèi (e quindi perché non siamo mai stati – o non siamo più – puri) o perché, semplicemente, siamo onnivori. Per Aristotele, nello specifico, mangiamo gli animali perché le tecniche a nostra disposizione ce lo permettono, anche se in ciò che ci viene permesso – secondo lui – dovrebbe sempre esserci una misura.

Cet article propose de voir à quoi correspond, dans l’Antiquité, la catégorie d’ « épopée didactique » (ou « poésie didactique »), couramment utilisée par les savants modernes pour rendre compte d’œuvres comme les Travaux et les jours, le De rerum natura ou encore les Géorgiques, en opposition avec la catégorie d’« épopée narrative » (ou parfois simplement d’« épopée »), qui comprendrait les poèmes d’Homère, l’Énéide, etc. Une enquête anthropologique et pragmatique montre que la catégorie de « poésie didactique » n’existait pas chez les Anciens. Dans un deuxième temps, on essaie de voir à quel moment on commence à parler de « poésie didactique ».

Estos bellos relatos nos enseñan cómo concibieron los griegos las relaciones de la Humanidad con su entorno, con el cielo y la tierra, el sol y los mares, la belleza y la inteligencia, el miedo y el amor. Algunos nos resultarán fantásticos y distantes; otros, cercanos y familiares. Pero todos nos ayudarán a comprendernos en esa historia común en la que estamos integrados: la humanidad llamada Occidente. También, a perder el miedo a lo desconocido, que queda transformado en belleza y conocimiento de nosotros a través de la fabulación. Tanto los mayores como los niños (los mejores fabuladores) aprenderemos, de la mano de Alicia Esteban y Mercedes Aguirre y acompañados de los preciosos dibujos de Siro López, a contarnos nuestros propios y maravillosos cuentos a partir de las preguntas más hondas.

Maciej Paprocki is an academic whose current research examines depictions of political tensions between the families of Zeus and Hyperion in Ancient Greek literature. Since November 2015 he has been a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Distant Worlds Graduate School (Münchner Zentrum für Antike Welten) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München. He has a keen interest in ancient Greek political theology, especially in the assignation and transferral of divine powers, rebellions against Zeus and the ontology of Ancient Greek godhood; he has also previously worked on research in both cultural studies (on concepts such as the body politic metaphor in English and American culture) and desert road archaeology (examining the road links between Roman Egypt, oases and neighbouring lands). Between April 2013 and February 2015, Maciej was also a member of the Alientrap Games team, where, as Mythology Consultant, he helped to design their latest project, Apotheon™, a 2D platform action-RPG game done in a black-figure vase art style. He acted as a consultant on the game narrative/story as well as co-designing characters and writing dialogues. This interview with Emma Bridges developed from a presentation which Maciej gave at the colloquium 'Remaking ancient Greek and Roman myths in the twenty-first century' which was held at the Open University's London centre on 7 th July 2016.

Los maravillosos relatos que integran este segundo tomo de los Cuentos de la mitología griega nos hablan de la aparición del hombre sobre la Tierra, de las aventuras de los héroes, de las ciudades y estirpes que ellos fundaron, de los dioses adversos y benefactores...Amplía así la visión que del mundo griego nos ofrecieron las autoras en el primer tomo. Después de deleitarnos con la creación del nacimiento del pueblo heleno, disfrutaremos con las fantásticas historias de Tebas, de Atenas y de Argos; historias que nos sitúan a dioses y hombres en distintas ciudades, con sus diversas gentes de rasgos bien diferenciados entre sí, pero al mismo tiempo con un espíritu común: espíritu de héroes formados mitad de tierra, mitad de esencia divina.

At the beginning of the lyrical parodos of the "Agamemnon", the old men of the chorus declare to possess the authority to speak on behalf of the Achaean army and its king. Once their account of the events at Aulis has reached its emotional peak in the instant preceding Iphigenia's death on the altar of Artemis, the old men give up their authority to narrate. Instead, they choose to be silent. The present article examines this change of plan in light of the previous appearances, in epic and lyric poetry, of the myth of Iphigenia's sacrifice.

In apertura della parodo lirica dell'"Agamennone", il coro di anziani dichiara di essere in possesso dell'autorità per farsi portavoce dell'esercito acheo e del suo re. Una volta che il racconto degli eventi di Aulide, oggetto del canto d'ingresso, è arrivato al suo momento di massima tensione, quello che precede la morte di Ifigenia sull'altare di Artemide, i coreuti rinunciano all'autorità di narrare e scelgono invece il silenzio. L'articolo indaga questo slittamento sulla base delle precedenti attestazioni letterarie (epiche e liriche) del sacrificio di Ifigenia.

La identidad igualitaria con que suelen presentarse las relaciones entre los ciudadanos en la Grecia antigua no sólo depende de la peculiar articulación entre instituciones políticas y estructuras económicas, sino que supone abordar una temática de índole principalmente cultural: la construcción ideológica de la ciudadanía. Podría pensarse esta representación simbólica de los vínculos políticos partiendo de una imagen aldeana de la pólis, lo cual implica considerar la raigambre primordialmente rural de la sociedad griega. Manifestación de lo anterior ha sido la formulación del ideal del campesino ciudadano, que serviría de sustento para la participación de los labradores en la pólis griega. Uno de los apoyos de esta situación de los agricultores helénicos debería buscarse en lo que podría denominarse una identidad igualitaria de base agraria, es decir, una comunidad de intereses, no como lugar de pertenencia ya dado sino como espacio que se construye conflictivamente y que crea una serie de normativas tendientes a conservar la situación patrimonial, política y legal de las granjas familiares como sostén de buena parte de los ciudadanos. La identidad postulada se organizó como una ideología comunitaria unificadora derivada de la singular situación a partir de la cual aparece la pólis, para lo cual se ha propuesto la idea de un estado de tipo segmentario en el que la sociedad aldeana no desaparece ni se subordina, sino que se eleva, por así decirlo, al nivel de lógica del conjunto, asociando la posesión de la tierra con la participación política y militar y haciendo de estas condiciones los requisitos necesarios para la pertenencia a la pólis como comunidad que emerge de la congregación de aldeas y hogares rurales. A lo largo del trabajo se tratará de dar respuesta a estas cuestiones analizando ciertos aspectos del surgimiento de la pólis a partir del discutido modelo aristotélico y de la imagen de la pólis como un gran oîkos. En función de lo anterior, se explorarán algunos elementos tanto en Hesíodo como en Aristóteles que muestran el carácter no rectilíneo del proceso por el cual los mecanismos aldeanos, y en especial la imagen de una identidad igualitaria de base agraria, se convierten en pilares del funcionamiento de la ciudad. El punto de articulación entre el poeta y el filósofo residiría en la relación entre la pólis, la basileía y la sociedad aldeana, aunque la ponderación de estos términos sea diferente en cada caso. En Hesíodo, la basileía resulta un factor singular para entender la organización de las prácticas sociales de comienzos del arcaísmo. En efecto, la pólis hesiódica se presenta como una comunidad comandada por los basileîs. Pero ello no comporta una unidad política, social y cultural que dé cabida plena a los campesinos sino una relación de preeminencia en la cual éstos se ven obligados a gratificar a los basileîs mediante regalos, a partir de una función de carácter judicial en la que parecen ejercer un arbitraje entre las partes en disputa. Al hablar de estos árbitros con el lenguaje propio de la reciprocidad, Hesíodo está destacando la alteración que esta lógica está sufriendo, percepción que se suma a la perversidad con la que se caracteriza al espacio de la pólis. Así, el aldeano observa el mando impuesto por los nobles desde la ciudad como algo externo a su propia comunidad que es la aldea: aquélla representaría una instancia de dominación sobre ésta. En el razonamiento del filósofo, la pólis consumada surge de la congregación (koinonía) de varias aldeas, según lo cual el sinecismo resultaría de la unión de entidades con una racionalidad semejante: basileía y suggéneia. Pero así como el salto del oîkos a la aldea implica el paso de las necesidades cotidianas a las no cotidianas, así también el tránsito de la aldea a la pólis terminará incluyendo un término nuevo: la vida buena (toû eû zên), que se abre al espacio del ser político (zôon politikón). En este proceso, el ejercicio de la basileía, que se verifica en los tres planos de organización social (oîkos, aldea, pólis), debería necesariamente abrirse a una dimensión nueva en la medida en que se asocia con la instauración de la pólis. Así, la permanencia de la basileía aparecería como un trasfondo de continuidad sobre el que se produciría un desplazamiento de la suggéneia, definida al nivel del oîkos y la aldea, a lo político como lo propio de la pólis. Esta transferencia de rasgos del oîkos a la aldea y de ésta a la pólis podría servir para explicar porqué se llega a enunciados en los que la pólis es pensada como un gran oîkos, y volvería enteramente compatible esta visión de la pólis con la imagen aldeana de la misma, pues en rigor ambas ideas se corresponderían con la misma matriz segmentaria.

This volume is the edited collection of the papers from a conference we hosted in Oxford in 2017, drawing together specialists from the United Kingdom, continental Europe and the United States, to examine afresh the relationship between early Greece and the civilisations of the ancient Near East. This is one of the most controversial and rapidly developing research topics in Classics, and the aim of the conference was to bring together Classicists and non-Classicists in a truly interdisciplinary environment, in which specialists from several different fields could observe and draw upon one another’s discoveries and knowledge. It was the first time that all major scholars who have so far contributed to the debate were assembled at a conference, a fact that was reflected by large crowd of over seventy participants at the Ioannou Centre in Oxford, over two full days. Our hope was that the resulting interchange would reflect on the disparate methodologies which have developed in these distinct fields, and move towards a new consensus. In order to achieve this, we limited the papers to the presentation of narratives to do with the gods; this led to a clear cross-fertilisation between papers (both in the general discussion and in the presentations), and a movement away from a narrow concern with the question of direct influence towards a more truly comparative perspective, in which the individual dynamics of the Greek and Near Eastern traditions help to illuminate what is distinctive about each of them. This represents a paradigm shift in a field once concerned solely with collecting literary parallels and letting them ‘speak for themselves’ (in Martin West’s famous words), and this is one of the major reasons why we think the resulting volume will cohere both thematically and as articulating a crucial moment in the history of scholarship on this question.

The volume serves two interconnected purposes. The first is that the book is an illustrative, handbook-like overview of the history and current state of the discussion, an aspect to be supported by an extensive Introduction to the volume, to be written by the editors. The second is that it offers new material and fresh approaches formulated by the leading scholars in the field. The volume will thus capture the state of the current discussion and shape the future debate. In keeping with the theme and discoveries of the conference, the chapters are not simply lists of parallels, but attempts to consider the processes of interaction and their significance for the texts being discussed.

The cast list of contributors is, as one should expect in a volume with this kind of ambition, international: Angus Bowie (Oxford), Yoram Cohen (Tel Aviv), Bruno Currie (Oxford), Andrew George (SOAS), Amir Gilan (Tel-Aviv), Johannes Haubold (Durham), Adrian Kelly (Oxford), Andre Lardinois (Nijmegen), Carolina Lopez-Ruiz (Ohio State), Christopher Metcalf (Oxford), Bernardo Petrella (Oxford), Fran Reynolds (Oxford), Ruth Scodel (Michigan), Robert Rollinger (Innsbruck), Ian Rutherford (Reading), Sylvie Vanséveren (Brussels), and Mark Weeden (SOAS).

Ancient conceptualization of dreams is based on a duality that splits the oneiric field into two hierarchically ordered modalities. The opposition between these dream categories finds its clearest expression in Artemidorus' Oneirocritica, in the distinction between oneiros and enhypnion. This article critically examines Artemidorus' dualistic terminology. Uncovering the Oneirocritica's internal inconsistencies , the article aims to show how Artemidorus' systematization of dreams attempts to resolve an ambiguity that was essential to the Greek experience. As a case study, I examine three Homeric dreams in such a way as to restore the ambiguity suppressed by Artemidorus' logic.

The Theogony of Epimenides of Crete and the origin of the Orphic-Pythagorean doctrine of reincarnation
It is commonly believed that the epic Theogony of Epimenides of Crete derives from the corpus of pseudepigrapha under his name and that it was composed by anonymous author (with Pythagorean background) after 500 B.C. We demonstrate (mainly on the basis the reconstruction of the proem of the Theogony) that such influences do not exist and we arrive at the conclusion that the Theogony was written by Epimenides himself around 600 B.C. Aristotle who was sceptical about the authorship of the poems attributed to Orpheus and Musaeus, cites Epimenides without reservations as the real author of the verses he cites. Therefore the common elements between Epimenides on the one hand, and the Orphics and Pythagoreans on the other (Night as the first principle, the cosmic egg, the immortality and reincarnation of the soul), should be interpreted as borrowings by the latter from Epimenides, not vice versa. As a “priest of Zeus and Rhea” Epimenides belongs to the ancient Cretan hieratic clan that claimed discendance from Aiakos, son of Zeus; in view of the extreme conservatism of Cretan cultural, political and religious traditions, the sources of Epimenides’ divine wisdom should be sought not in the hypothetical “northern” or eastern quarters, but in the local oral traditions that go back the Late Minoan times and are closely tied to the cults and myths of the region around Mount Ida and similar oracular caves. The discussion of Epimendes’ herbal medicine shows that it is connected both with therapeutuc use of herbs and with cathartic rituals; Indian Ayurveda provides a close typological parallel to this, so common Indo-European roots are possible. After this we address the problem of the origin and the
sources of the Orphic Theogony and propose a new solution. Taking at its face value Aristotle’s information on Onomacritus as the author of the Orphic epic Theogony, we discuss the “Cretan connections” of Onomacritus and adduce in favour of our hypothesis numerous literary and epigraphical- archeological pieces of evidence that connect early Orphism and the belief in the reincarnation with the Idaean cave and the region around it (Orphic golden plates and epistomia from Eleuphtherna and Sfakaki near Rethymno collected and studied by Tzifopoulos). Inter alia, we also propose a new interpretation of the Orphic graffiti written on bone plates from Olbia as divinatory devices (mantic cards, the oldest known ancestor of the cards Tarot) that probably belonged to the “diviner of Hermes” Pharnabazos of Olbia and were connected with the dice divination (astragalomanteia), the proper art of Hermes. The divinatory dodecahedron found in the Idaean cave seems to be connected with astragalomanteia, as well.
Keywords: Epimenides of Crete, Theogony, early Greek philosophy, divination, oniromancy, epic poetry, ritual slendering, rite de passage, Orphism, Orphic gold plates, pythagoreism, Pythagoras, soul, immortality, longevity, reincarnation, metempsychosis, Onomacritus, Aristotle, Euripides, Theopompus, Lion of Nemea, liar’s paradox, phytotherapy, history of herbal medicine, Ayurveda, Crete, Idaean cave, Eleutherna, Sfakaki, origin of the cards Tarot, astragalomancy (dice divination), Hermes, Apollo, Zeus.

This book offers a new interpretation of ancient Greek sacrifice in early Greek myth and poetry. Through close readings of the Theogony, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes and the Odyssey in conjunction with recent anthropological theory, it demonstrates how sacrifice narratives in early Greek hexameter poetry are intimately connected to a mythic-poetic discourse referred to as the “politics of the belly.” This mythic-poetic discourse presents sacrifice as a site of symbolic conflict between the male stomach and female womb for both mortals and immortals. Ultimately, the book argues that the ritual of sacrifice operates as a cultural mechanism for the perpetuation of patriarchal ideology not just in early Greek hexameter poetry, but throughout Greek cultural history.

This book explores the representation of the gods in Greek hexameter poetry in its many forms, including epic, hymnic and didactic poetry, from the archaic period to late antiquity. Its twenty-five chapters, written by an international team of experts, trace a broad historical arc, reflecting developments in religious thought and practice, and ongoing philosophical and literary-critical engagement with the nature and representation of the divine and the relationship between humans and gods. They proceed from the poems ascribed to Hesiod and Homer and the so-called Cyclic epics, via the Hellenistic poets Apollonius, Callimachus, Aratus and Moschus, to the poets and poems of the third to sixth centuries CE, including Quintus of Smyrna, Triphiodorus, the Cynegetica, Nonnus, Eudocia, Colluthus, the Argonautica of Orpheus and the Sibylline Oracles. An epilogue explores the reception of the Greek "epic" gods by the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid, and by the English poets Tennyson, Walcott and Oswald.

Vesta and the Vestal priestesses represented the very core of Roman cultural identity, and Augustus positioned his public image beside them to augment his political legitimacy. Through analysis of material culture, historiography, and poetry that originated during the principate of Augustus, it becomes clear that each of these sources of evidence contributes to the public image projected by the leader whom Ronald Syme considered to be the first Roman emperor. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Res Gestae Divi Augustae embody the legacy the Emperor wished to establish, and each of these cultural works contain significant references to the Vestals. The study of history Livy undertook also emphasized the pathetic plight of Rhea Silvia as she was compelled to become a Vestal. Livy and his contemporary Dionysius of Halicarnassus explored the foundation of the Vestal Order and each writer had his own explanation about how Numa founded it. The Roman poets Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Tibullus incorporated Vesta and the Vestals into their work in a way that offers further proof of the way Augustus insinuated himself into the fabric of Roman cultural identity by associating his public image with these honored clerics.

This essay focuses on the linguistic analysis of the name Typheus, on literary sources on this mythological character, on the comparison with Anatolian texts which refer to similar foes of the Storm-god: the stone giant Ullikummi and the sea dragon Hedammu. Cilician setting of his cave in the oldest references, and his role of opponent of Zeus, as well as his terrifying offspring, match some elements in Hurrian-Hittite Mythology, while his iconography is corresponding to Mesopotamian Nirah. Typheus is a volcano, son of Earth and Tartarus, who in turn represents the netherworld waters, and evil winds rise from his dead body: he synthesizes the four natural elements, but in a chaotic disorder in opposition to Zeus, who is the deity establishing the cosmic order. This opposition is well expressed by Aeschylus in the Seven against Thebes through the semata on the shields of Hippomedon and Hyperbios. Typheus embodies the contrast forces to the instauration of kosmos politikos, just as other Mischwesen from archaic Mythology, inheriting also some features from some Near Eastern monsters. These components merged into the mythopoietic fantasy of the Greeks producing Hesiod’s theological epos. In the meanwhile, they lost awareness of barbarian origin of such myths.

Fragments of two rolls transmitting text from the first book of the Catalogue of Women are joined by virtue of their transmitting the beginnings and ends of Iliad 20.220–2. Text and commentary. (One year embargo on electronic distribution expires 2 September 2014.)

(engl. version below)
Unter den verschiedenen Formen, literarische Texte zu sammeln und zu erschließen, zählt deren Gruppierung zu einem Œuvre mit Sicherheit zu den gängigsten: Das Œuvre als Summe aller Werke eines bestimmten Autors wird dabei oft an scheinbar objektivierbaren Kriterien wie Werkbestand (Gesamtwerk) oder Autorbiographie (Spätwerk, Lebenswerk) gemessen und gleichsam als selbstverständlich betrachtet. Werkpolitik in der Antike fragt demgegenüber nach den Voraussetzungen (und ebenso nach den Auswirkungen) der Orientierung am Œuvre. Die lateinische Literatur der späten Republik und des augusteischen Prinzipats erweist sich für die Genese eines emphatischen Begriffes des auktorialen Corpus als formativ: Die Umwälzungen im literarischen Betrieb dieser Epoche, nicht zuletzt die Gründung öffentlicher Bibliotheken, bedingten bei Autoren, Kritikern und Lesern eine erhöhte Aufmerksamkeit für die Begründung von Werkzusammenhängen, welche die Idee des Œuvres nachhaltig prägte. In vier Studien zu Cicero, Vergil, Horaz und Ovid wird nachgezeichnet, wie sowohl innerhalb der literarischen Werke selbst wie in deren Rezeption bestimmte Vorstellungen von Lebens- und Gesamtwerk Gestalt annehmen konnten.



***
Of the various forms of collecting and cataloguing literary texts, classification as part of an authorial œuvre is one of the most common. The notion of the œuvre is often legitimised with regard to seemingly objective criteria, such as the extent or chronology of an author’s production, and its implications are thus downplayed and glossed over. By contrast, the present study explores the specific preconditions (and repercussions) of privileged status accorded to the idea of the authorial corpus. It argues that Late Republican and Augustan Latin literature is an especially momentous time in the history of the literary œuvre. The significant changes in literary culture that this period witnessed, not least the establishment of public libraries in Rome, led to an increasing awareness of and attention to the formation of textual corpora among literary practitioners, critics and readers, which has in turn had a formative influence on the idea of the authorial corpus. In four case studies, on Cicero, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid, the book highlights the different ways in which the œuvre is envisaged and formed, both within the literary works themselves and in their reception.

This article discusses the relationship between Apollonius Rhodius and pseudo-Hesiod. It argues that the ecphrasis on Jason’s cloak (Arg. 1.721-67) alludes extensively to the Shield of Heracles and to other Hesiodic poetry. Although some of the parallels in question have been noted before, many have been underplayed or overlooked. Apollonius’ references to ‘Hesiod’ should direct the audience’s reading of the Argonautica: the echoes of the Shield of Heracles focus attention on Heracles, who functions as a foil to Jason throughout the Argonautica, and invite comparison and contrast between the two heroes. The recognition of these allusions also has implications for certain problems in Hellenistic poetry.

Mnemosyne 2015/16.

Negationen prägen Prozesse des Wissenswandels nicht nur, indem sie zu einem Aussortieren beitragen, Entwicklungen abbrechen und Platz für Neues schaffen, sondern auch durch ihnen innewohnende epistemische Potentiale. Diese Dynamiken der Negation, die sich als konstitutiv für das vermittelte Wissen erweisen bzw. die Vermittlung von Wissen mitgestalten, rückt der Band in den Mittelpunkt. In den versammelten Untersuchungen geht es somit weniger um ein Scheitern von Transferprozessen oder um die Absenz von Wissen, sondern um wissensgenerierende Dimensionen der Negation. Das Erkenntnisinteresse der Beiträge, die einen Untersuchungszeitraum von mehr als 2000 Jahren umfassen, richtet sich hierbei auf Wissensformen, die sich der Definition entziehen, sich nicht diskursivieren lassen oder Grenzen des Wissbaren anzeigen. Dabei wird den epistemischen Geltungsansprüchen und spezifischen Darstellungsweisen eines solchen ‚(Nicht)Wissens‘ nachgegangen. Zugleich stehen jene Negationen im Fokus, die als Ausschluss, Auflösung, Schweigen oder Zerstörung zur Wissensvermittlung dazugehören und sich derart als Ausprägungen eines ‚negativen Transfers‘ beschreiben lassen. Damit geraten die vielfältigen Impulse der Negation für wissensgeschichtliche Forschungen ins Blickfeld.

Wealth and indigence are variable and essentially subjective ideas, characterized by the historical, economic, social and cultural contexts in which they are employed. The examples drawn from the literary texts of ancient Greece confirm the assumption. In Homeric poems, for example, wealth is seen as a resource for increasing social status, achieving success on opponents, and consolidating power. With Hesiod, there is a change of perspective, since wealth is not only commensurate with land ownership, but also with the sudden gains from trade and maritime traffic. The poet approves the wealth, only if it is acquired legitimately in full respect of divine standards. From the VII century B.C. the elegiac and jambic poets emphasize the fact that there is no direct correspondence between belonging to the aristocratic class and the possession of great substances; surely enrichment has in any case become the main aspiration for those who intend to free themselves in any way from poverty. At the same time, Theognis, accepting the ideology of the most intransigent aristocrats, considers wealth in negative terms, since he thinks that it facilitates the rise of enterprising individuals or coming up from demos. While public opinion accepts the idea that plenty of goods is an absolute value, the wise men repeat the fallacy of this judgment. This dichotomy goes on to Hellenism, when the debate on accumulation of wealth and the positive value of poverty becomes commonplace, after being filtered out of Cynical and Epicurean thought and diffused by the diatribe.

Genesis, as it adapts the Deluge from Mesopotamian sources, for the se- quel, transforms Hesiod’s account of Cronus’ castration of Uranus, and the unspecified wrongdoing of his brother Iapetus, mixing it with the type of myth depicted in Iliad 15, where three brothers draw lots to determine their portions. This results in Genesis 9–10’s mysterious depiction of Ham seeing the genitals of the drunk Noah, who, when awake, curses not Ham but his son Canaan, while bestowing blessings on his two other sons, Shem and 15 Japheth, father of Javan (= Greek Ion). Parallel wordplay in the Theogony 16 and Genesis affirm the link.