This paper aims to analyse the fourth paradox from Cicero´s work Stoic Paradoxes (Cic. Parad. 27–32). In this text, Marcus Tullius Cicero tries to argue based on stoic-philosophical arguments that he did not leave into exile (in 58 BC). He rather implies that it was the Publius Clodius Pulcher who went into exile because of his loss of mental capacity. In Stoic Paradoxes author philosophically disputes his exile and because of moral dispositions, he achieves the positions of stoic sage as the highest ethical ideal.
About Stefan Caliniuc
Posts by Stefan Caliniuc:
Historiography and Lines of Research in the History of Women in Antiquity
This paper provides an overview of the state of the art in Gender historiography and the roles played by Roman women. The lines of research on this subject have focused especially on the elite women who carried out their social activities in a public space. In a second place, some studies delve into the beliefs of anonymous women who do not hold religious positions and limit their roles to their private space. Finally, in a third place, we must emphasize the studies on Gender history in Antiquity—these have opened up a vast field of research that consists of different lines focused on the History of both aristocratic and devout women.
On the Perinthos-Heraklea 37
The present article deals with the inscription Perinthos-Heraklea 37, its date and importance for the history of the provincial capital of Thrace Perinthos. Based on the appellations used for Hadrian it is suggested that it is connected with the imperial decision to include Perinthos and its elite into the founding members of the Panhellenion league, which was established in Athens in AD 131/132. It seems that on his way to Athens Hadrian visited Thrace and Perinthos in the autumn of 131 when he took the decision. If so, the inscription should be dated between AD 131–138. The nature of the building lavishly decorated with imperial statues and icons remains unclear, but may belong to a type of sanctuary filled with imperial statues as the Olympieion in Athens and perhaps in the neighbouring Maroneia.
Ancora sulla Dacia restituta
The paper reprises the discussion concerning the phrase Dacia restituta within Pan. IV [8] uttered on March 1st, 297 at Augusta Treverorum by an anonymous orator on the occasion of celebrating the Quinquennalia, in the honour of Constantius becoming a Caesar. The first part features an overview of the opinions formulated regarding the localisation of Dacia mentioned by the orator. Hence, some believe that it is the North-Danubian province, “taken back” by the Empire around 289 or even 297. Others point out that it is the extreme southern area of the former province, controlled permanently by the Romans through the fortifications on the left bank of the river. Others yet, without denying that the orator was referring to the former trans-Danubian province, only credit the information with the value of rhetorical expression, as more of an ideological than a realistic claim. Finally, certain researchers pinpoint that the orator must have referred to the South-Danubian province of Dacia as a whole or to one of the provinces by that name (Dacia Ripensis, Dacia Mediterranea) situated on the left side of the river. The following lines feature the significations of the term restituta (-us), in general, then in the Panegyrici Latini. The paper also includes an internal analysis of the fragment where the phrase Dacia restituta is featured, as well as of other contexts within the speech where the lexeme in question is used, leading to the conclusion that the phrase can only refer to a Dacia that the Empire considered an integrant part of it—a provincia—and that was restored, reintegrated in the initial structures (administrative, legal, tax-related, etc.) of the state, after the perturbation of the natural evolution by the barbarian incursions. Hence, it could not have been the former province of Dacia in the north of the Danube, given that its legal Roman status had ceased de jure and definitively upon the official abandonment of the province, but the province of Dacia in the south of the Danube, in close connection with the events requiring the presence of Diocletian on the Danubian front in 289, 290–291, 293–294, 296. A further argument to support this idea is the frequency of the opposition amissa-recepta, not amissa-restituta. Finally, the foreign policy ideology of the 297 speech is worth highlighting; namely, the view according to which the Empire was a closed space, a stable world, where territorial acquisitions on the left bank of the Danube were excluded.
Die Antike Biographie als Hintergrund des Evangeliums
This essay continues the critique of perceived evangelical exceptionalism by providing a detailed study of the genre of biography in antiquity. While some scholars claim that the Gospels were a literary anomaly without clear precedents, we instead claim that they are an innovative variation of the classical biographical tradition. By classifying the Gospels into this generic classification, we work to establish an access to this literature that is historically grounded and does not seek the presumed religious ‘community’ of the author in the rhetorical framework of their writings.
Late Roman Tableware from Argamum – ‘Faleză Est’. African, Cypriot, Egeean and Pontic wares
The archaeological excavations of the ‘Faleză Est’ sector have extended over twenty years. Their result was the discovery of a large quantity of ceramic fragments from the Hellenistic and Roman eras. This article analyzes the tableware from the late Roman period, imported from North Africa, Cyprus, the Aegean basin and the Pontic region. Most of the imported tableware comes from North African workshops. The ceramic fragments discovered in the ‘Faleză Est’ sector are dated in the 5th–6th centuries.
Complex Genealogies in Mesopotamia: From Mesilim to Tukultī-Ninurta I
The current article examines four case studies of complex genealogies in Mesopotamia from the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. The first three case studies are focused on the complex genealogies used by 3rd millennium BC kings in the Early Dynastic Period III, in Lagaš II, and in the period of 3rd Dynasty of Ur. The fourth case study deals with Assyrian king Tukultī-Ninurta I (1242–1206 BCE).
On the Lineage of King Telepinu
Sources on the reign of the Hittite king Telepinu, including the principle source in the form of an edict issued by the king himself, are unfortunately taciturn about his relationship to previous kings. Such information that we do have hints at two possibilities: he was either a son or a son-in-law of Ammuna, a previous ruler. He is tied to Huzziya I, a usurper, but the latter’s position in the dynasty is uncertain as well. This article makes the case for the view that Telepinu married into the royal family rather than being born into it, and Huzziya I was a lower-rank son who had to eliminate higher-standing candidates in order to ascend to the throne.