No XXVI/2 (December 2020)

 

CUPRINS – CONTENTS – SOMMAIRE

      ARTICLES

Articles in SAA 26/2

Interdisciplinary Study of a Bronze Hoard from Gorj County, Romania

Published on in 26/1, Articles Tags: , , ,

This paper presents the study of bronze artefacts resulting from an accidental discovery in the Preajba neighbourhood of Târgu Jiu municipality, Gorj County, Romania. In addition to the presentation of the field assessment and artefact analogies, the objects were analysed using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), in order to highlight the morphology of the corrosion crust and to determine the elemental composition of corrosion and soil contamination products. Thus, it was possible to establish the nature of the materials used and the manufacturing technology.

The Corinth-Corcyra Conflict of the Seventh Century BC

Published on in 26/1, Articles Tags: , , , ,

In the introduction to his historical treatise the Athenian historian Thucydides mentions the most ancient naval battle in Greek history that took place between the Corinthians and their colonists Corcyraeans around 664 BC, of which battle there is no account in other sources. Having analysed the information on the relationships between Corinth and Corcyra in the Archaic and early Classical periods provided by the written tradition of antiquity, the author of the article arrives at the conclusion that it was but one of many conflicts between the metropolis and its colony, which started as early as the end of the 8th century BC and by the end of the 5th century BC became one of the reasons for the Peloponnesian War that split the ancient Greek world into two camps.

Spartan Elite and Corruption Scandals

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The article deals with cases of corruption in Sparta. The author shows that in the 5th century BC right up until the last decade of the Peloponnesian War it was mainly the Spartan kings and their closest relatives who were accused of corruption. But already at the turn of 5th–4th centuries BC almost all civil and military leaders of the country were involved in corruption scandals. At the end of the Peloponnesian War, the number of wealthy citizens who made their fortunes during military campaigns abroad sharply increased. The traditional moral values of equality and fraternity which the Spartans used to be brought up to believe quickly gave way to an unbridled thirst for profit. The author cites examples of corruption scandals in which both individual admirals and the entire Spartan government were embroiled. According to the author, moral corruption of the upper class led to the degradation of the whole society, dramatically increasing the social gap between the rich and the poor.

Cicero and Clodius in the Work Stoic Paradoxes (Cic. Parad. 27–32)

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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.

Historiography and Lines of Research in the History of Women in Antiquity

Published on in 26/1, Articles

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

Published on in 26/1, Articles Tags: , , , , , ,

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

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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

Published on in 26/1, Articles Tags: , , , ,

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.

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