Herodotus can be counted among the most important ancient historians. Indeed, his Histories represent the main source for the Graeco–Persian wars. However, the reception of his work has undergone many changes since the time it was written. The following study deals with Herodotus’ reception in the time of the Renaissance. The author tries to answer and explain two basic questions that are narrowly connected with his name. The first problem relates to his veracity. The study addresses the question of how he was accepted by humanists — was he considered a faithful historian or a less trustworthy storyteller? The second problem relates to him as a pagan author being accepted by Christians. The author focuses on the mechanism which enabled this unusual combination.
About Stefan Caliniuc
Posts by Stefan Caliniuc:
Archaeological palynology in Romania ― a review of its past and current state
Pollen analyses in Romanian archaeology are not new and the interest concerning the opportunities offered by this discipline is on the rise. The increasing visibility of the discipline reflects a mentality change in terms of research methodology in Romanian archaeology, especially in prehistoric archaeology. This paper will focus on a short critical survey of the development of archaeological palynology in Romania, from its beginning in the early 20th century to present
Technological characteristics of the Cucuteni C pottery from Poduri–Dealul Ghindaru
The present work aims at investigating the technology used in the production of the Cucuteni C ceramic ware discovered at Poduri–Dealul Ghindaru archaeological site, with the help of a multidisciplinary approach making use of chemical and mineralogical analysis. The studied potsherds have shown the presence of different types of tempers, as determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The type of tempers present within the ceramic matrix was identified by EDX and XRD analysis, while the dispersion of the different additives in the ceramic microstructure was determined by SEM measurements
Les découvertes des armes en bronze de la fin de l’âge du bronze sur le plateau de Bârlad
A surge in bronze metalworking can be seen taking place at the end of the Bronze Age, with ten deposits, containing 109 objects, and 28 isolated finds taking place in the Bârlad Plateau. The list of discoveries contains sickles, celts, broadswords, daggers, spearheads, and adornments and dress elements; the least represented are weapons, with only seven items. The broadsword from Epureni is of the Krasnyj Majak type, typical of the Sabatinovka culture, while the daggers are of the Labojkovka type, Malye Kopani variant. The three spearheads are of the Dremajlovka and Krasnyj Majak type. The weapons are typical of the Sabatinovka culture and are rare east of the Prut, in the region of the Noua culture.
Ancestral DNA ― an incontestable source of data for Archaeology
The DNA is present in every cell of a person’s body, not only in the cell’s nucleus but also in its cytoplasm, in mitochondria. Of great importance is the fact that, except for the rare occurrence of a mutation, the DNA in every cell of the person’s body is identical. As a result, DNA can be taken from saliva, sweat, blood, hair, skin or bone cells for individual identification. The many opportunities to obtain DNA evidence can be seen, for example, in the number of places where saliva has been identified: a bite mark, an area licked, bed linens, a mask worn, paper tissue, a washcloth, a cigarette butt, a toothpick, the rim of a bottle or glass, but all of those sources are available just for present DNA. In the case of old DNA, also called ancient DNA (aDNA), the things are different and the possibilities to analyse the substrate of genetic information are limited to bone fragments or teeth. Even in these conditions, the DNA analysis is a very accurate and powerful tool for getting useful information in Archaeology.
The art of the British Celts. A critical review
The article discusses Celtic art in pre-Roman Britain. The author of the article disagrees with the opinion expressed by R.G. Collingwood and certain other scholars that the art of British Celts, being fragile, linear and abstract, having shallow social foundations (since it was the art of the nobility), was doomed to decline and extinction, even if the Roman conquest of Britain had not taken place. The sources referred to in the article demonstrate that Celtic art, whose intrinsic feature was that bent for poetic abstraction which was typical of Celtic mentality in general, had great potential for growth that lay dormant during the Roman period. The view that the artistic style of British Celts possessed creative capacity which remained hidden under Roman reign is confirmed by the Celtic art’s revival in medieval Britain during the Anglo-Saxon domination.
Gaias Rechtsstreit und Caracallas Alexandria-Aufenthalt. Zum Kontext des Privatbriefs P.Oxy. 43/3094
The article offers a detailed interpretation of the private letter P.Oxy. 43/3094. This letter deals with a lawsuit which was carried on before three governors (M. Aurelius Septimius Heraclitus, L. Valerius Datu and Iulius Basilianus). A chronological reconciliation with the events and implications of Caracalla’s journey to Alexandria in the winter of 215/16 AD enables a detailed reconstruction of the course of the lawsuit, which lasted approximately three years. Furthermore the paper discusses the meaning of ὑπόμνημα in a juridical and administrative context.
Terminology of salt in Ancient Greek
This study addresses for the first time in the dedicated literature, the lexical reflexes of salt in ancient Greek, as part of an extended research project. An inventory was realized as comprehensively as possible on grammatical categories (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs), derived from nominal compound ἁλ (ἅλς, ἁλὁς) in the initial and secondary position, emphasizing a majority of adjectives and a wide semantic spectrum (e.g. physical world, exploitation, food consumption and conservation, social and economic contexts, symbolic uses). This lexical variety indicates the crucial role of salt and sea in the development of Greek civilization.