Hellenism Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Beyond Macedonia: the multifaceted Hellenistic
Oikoumene reconsidered Aigai, 27th May – 2nd June 2022

- by Vito Messina
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- Hellenism, Seleucid Empire, Ancient Near East (Archaeology), Visuality

The palimpsest manuscript Sin. ar. NF 66 is one of the treasures of the Monastery of Saint Catherine located in the Sinai Peninsula. Nowadays it consists of a few fragmentary parchment sheets, but originally it was a larger codex of ca. 300 folia. Some of these leaves have been purloined from the Sinai and are now kept in Cambridge, Leipzig, and Saint Petersburg, while others have been lost. The codex contained the Lives of Palestinian monastic Saints in Arabic translation and was copied at the Monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem in the first quarter of the 10th century. It was later brought, under unknown circumstances, to the Sinai. All preserved folia are palimpsests, with scriptiones inferiores in Greek and Christian Palestinian Aramaic. This article focuses on one of the Greek erased texts – a previously unknown classical text in hexameters of mythological content – and offers its editio princeps. Based on an analysis of codicological and palaeographical features, combined with that of linguistic and stylistic elements, it will be suggested that the Sinai hexameters might originate from the Hieroi Logoi in 24 Rhapsodies, i.e. the longest lost Orphic poem we know of.

- by Giulia Rossetto
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- Multispectral Imaging, CPA, Orphic poems, Epic poetry

Dimosthenis Kosmopoulos Architettura templare italica in epoca ellenistica Studia Archaeologica, 250 2021, 550 pp. Paperback, 17 x 24 cm Vincitore del XIX Premio L'ERMA per l'archeologia 2019-2020 ISBN: 9788891322760 ISSN: 0081-6299... more

Dimosthenis Kosmopoulos
Architettura templare italica in epoca ellenistica
Studia Archaeologica, 250
2021, 550 pp.
Paperback, 17 x 24 cm
Vincitore del XIX Premio L'ERMA per l'archeologia 2019-2020
ISBN: 9788891322760
ISSN: 0081-6299
https://en.lerma.it/libro/9788891322760

- by L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER, Publisher
- •
- Classics, Hellenism, Arqueología, Greek Architecture
- by Elena Vlachogianni
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- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Hellenistic History
- by Manolis Manoledakis
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- History, Eastern European Studies, Archaeology, Refugee Studies
- by Albert I. Baumgarten
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- Jewish Studies, Hellenistic History, Late Antiquity, Rabbinics

Shvatanje da je antička helenistička kultura spoj ili mešavina grčke i "istočne" ili "orijentalne" kulture potiče od nemačkog istoričara Johana Gustava Drojzena (1808-1884). Inspirisan Hegelovom filozofijom, protestantskom teologijom i romantičarskim idejama Herdera, Drojzen je izneo viziju helenističke kulture kao mističkog spoja dve komponente, spoja čijim je nastankom rukovodilo Proviđenje radi ispunjenja velike svetskoistorijske misije. Ta misija bila je pripremanje antičkog sveta za pojavu hrišćanstva. Drojzen je svoja shvatanja o ovom pitanju izrazio putem teoloških kategorija. Njegove razumevanje helenizma i helenističke kulture bilo je predmet opšte kritike još krajem 19. veka i uskoro je potpuno napušteno. Uprkos tome, ideja o helenizmu kao "grčko-orijentalnoj" kulturi nastavlja da postoji u našoj popularnoj svesti, udžbenicima istorije i leksikografskim priručnicima. Ovaj rad ima za cilj da objasni poreklo tog koncepta i ukaže na probleme koje donosi njegovo zadržavanje u nastavi istorije.

- by Nemanja Vujcic
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- Hellenistic Literature, Hellenistic History, Historiography, Koine Greek language
- by Stella Drougou
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- Hellenism, Ancient Macedonia, ancient acropolis

This course presents a broad survey of historical forces at work over the past 6,000 years, examining the manners in which human societies have organized themselves along categories of race, ethnicity, class, and gender to meet the challenges of the increasing human population and its demands on natural resources: thus, it examines continuity and change in societies over time, in different places, and among various peoples.

- by Nikolaus L Overtoom
- •
- Ancient Egyptian Religion, History, Ancient History, European History

"Estudo comparativo entre o discurso de identidade pró-helênico, propagado pelas elites ptolomaicas e a realidade quotidiana, bastante dinâmica, presente nas relações interculturais ocorridas entre as populações grega/helenizada e egípica... more

- by Ronaldo Gurgel Pereira
- •
- Comparative History, Cultural Theory, Hellenism, Hellenistic Egypt

The archaeometric examination of Derveni’s Grave I began in 1995. The tomb was discovered at the site of Derveni in Thessaloniki, during the excavation of the access - dromos to the Macedonian tomb III. The burial monument dates back to the early 3rd century B.C. The rich painting decoration of the tomb is of great interest.There are four zones in the painting decoration: in the lower part there is an imitation of ortho-
marble, whereas the next part is decorated with a yellow ochre paint, followed by a decorative zone, which is a crowned by a doric molding. The main decorative theme comprise of garlands of flowers, which are intermittently interrupted. The most interesting part is the upper zone, where a blue background is present, showing objects which are related to the grooming and the costumes of the buried woman. Herein the previously collected results are revisited and moreover, for the first time, new results related to the decorative features of the tomb are presented. Initially the following techniques were used: polarizing microscopy, optical emission spectroscopy (OEA) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). In the second step of the study, the following methods were employed: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in conjunction with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Χ-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and FTIR spectroscopy. The distinctive architecture of the tomb is associated
with the two different architectural bases of frescoes. The stone of the masonry is calcareous sandstone with its main components: quartz, feldspars and calcite. In the upper zone, the masonry is covered by lime
mortars, coarse grains and fine grains. In the lower zone on the clay basis, the mortar with a high content of lime and clayish material is first applied, followed by the fine-grained lime mortar.The lime-clayish mortar with the coarse-grained aggregates of the lower zone was produced by adding quartz sand and clay materials to the lime, in a possible
ratio of 2:1:1.5.The lime mortar with the coarse-grained aggregates
of the upper zone was produced by adding quartz sand and crushed marble to the lime, in a ratio of lime: aggregates (inert) 1:2. In contrast to the internal coarse-grained mortars, the supernatant fine mortars of both zones are of the same nature, namely lime, but with different qualitative
and quantitative compositions. We therefore conclude that fine mortars were made of different batches of lime and not at the same time. In the fine mortars, the inert material was marble powder.The important pigments of the painting are: Cyan is Egyptian blue, in the composition of which cuprorivaite crystals were found along with glassy material. Yellow pigment is yellow ochre of the mineral goethite, dark red is hematite, bright red is cinnabar and bright green is malachite.The painting technique which was Iplied in the tomb is «fresco a’secco» using lime as binder. In the multilayer layers, and to depict the growth of the shadow, it is likely that an organic binder was used. The brown sample used for luminescence modeling was studied using FTIR spectroscopy. Proteinaceous material was detected in the sample, which may be related to the use of an organic adhesive material.

- by KATERINA TSAKALOU-TZANAVARI and +2
- •
- Cultural Studies, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage Conservation, Funerary Archaeology
- by Rudolph P. Boshoff
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- Theology, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Hellenism
- by Nathanael Andrade
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- Christianity, Ancient History, Near Eastern Archaeology, Classics

Ce glossaire expliquant les réalités de l'Antiquité grecque, destiné avant tout aux étudiants d'histoire et de lettres classiques, a été élaboré à partir de diverses références bibliographiques et ressources didactiques. Un répertoire géographique ainsi qu'une chronologie succincte de l'histoire grecque sont aussi donnés à la fin de ce fichier. Document révisé et mis en ligne le 23 août 2022.

Von einem nationalen Standpunkt betrachtet wurde die Kultur der Italoalbaner und Italogriechen als ,,linguistische Minderheit“ marginalisiert und aufgegeben – mit dem Ergebnis, dass ihre Sprachen nicht mehr an den Schulen unterrichtet werden. Musik hatte immer eine Schlüsselrolle in den Gemeinden gespielt und die besondere Verbindung aus Musik und dem Klang dieser Sprache verfehlt niemals seine Wirkung, unabhängig davon, ob sie verstanden wird. Sie begleitet die Italogriechen und Italoalbaner durch den Zyklus des Lebens, zu bedeutenden Festen, während des Karneval, zu Hochzeiten und Beerdigungen. In dieser Einführung möchte ich die reiche Kultur der ländlichen Musiktraditionen Süditaliens von einer anderen Seite betrachten, indem ich sie mit denen der Nachbargemeinden vergleiche, wo es auch Tarantelle und Kalimere gibt, obwohl der Dialekt nicht mit Balkansprachen vermischt ist und ihre Gemeinden keinen orthodoxen Hintergrund haben, die den mysteriösen ,,Süden“ (in der anthropologischen Schule Italiens kurz “Il Sud” genannt) einst dominiert haben. Auf diese Weise lassen sich die Formen entdecken, die die Gemeinden der Arbëresh gegenüber anderen auszeichnen, die vallje und ajrët und eine besondere Form des mehrstimmingen Musizierens, die von Musikethnologen als Weltkulturerbe des Balkan und Italiens anerkannt wird.

- by Oliver Gerlach
- •
- Music History, Anthropology, Anthropology of Music, Ethnomusicology

Mount Alburchia (969,8 m high), a well recognizable relief in the southern sourroundings of the town of Gangi, was probably inhabited from archaic to the Late Antique (IV-V AD). To this later settlement are referred the stone walls and the finds unearthed by Vincenzo Tusa's excavations on the Mount, in 1958. There are two necropolis, one of them used in the period between the Classical and the Archaic Age (VII-V BC), while the other of the Hellenistic period (IV-III BC). The latter, located along a path from “case Salerno” to the Mount, was probably connected to the cult of the deads as heroes, inside niches carved the rock (aediculae), some monumental, located on the northern steep slop of Mount Alburchia. All of them were completely unearthed during the excavation campain carried on, between 2014 and 2015, from the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Palermo, in collaboration with Santo Ferraro. This sacred complex near Gangi, frequented during Hellenistic and Roman period, has several direct comparisons with several other Sicilian sites.

- by Notiziario Archeologico Soprintendenza Palermo and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Greek Archaeology

Courtney J. P. Friesen explores shifting boundaries of ancient religions by way of the reception of a popular tragedy, Euripides’ Bacchae . As a play staging political crises provoked by the arrival of the “foreign” god Dionysus and his ecstatic cult, audiences and readers found resonances with their own cultural moments. This dramatic deity became emblematic of exuberant and liberating spirituality and, at the same time, a symbol of imperial conquest. Thus, readings of the Bacchae frequently foreground conflicts between religious autonomy and political authority, and between ethnic diversity and social cohesion. This cross-disciplinary study traces appropriations and evocations of this drama ranging from the fifth century BCE through Byzantium not only among “pagans” but also Jews and Christians. Writers variously articulated their religious visions over against Dionysus, often while paradoxically adopting the god’s language and symbols. Consequently, imitation and emulation are at times indistinguishable from polemics and subversion.

- by Courtney Friesen
- •
- Religion, Christianity, Comparative Religion, Greek Tragedy

Although there is a clear historical connection, Jewish beliefs on the afterlife were never identical with what Christians held to be true. We must also consider to what degree Judaism actually influenced the development of the resurrection belief in Christianity. This forces us to ask another basic question, How typical of Judaism during this time was the belief in the resurrection, not least the belief in the resurrec- tion of the flesh? Does Judaism in early imperial times offer any clue for why early Christians chose this one form of belief in the afterlife and not anything else?

- by Dag Øistein Endsjø
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- Christianity, Hellenistic Philosophy, Hebrew Bible, Early Christianity

Exhibition Catalogue, National Archaeological Museum, April 2012 – April 2013

- by Elena Vlachogianni
- •
- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Greek History
- by Borja Antela-Bernardez
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- Historiography, Alexander the Great, Hellenism, Sogdian Archaeology

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.

Ο τόμος αυτός επιχειρεί να προσφέρει ένα έγκυρο βοήθημα για τη μελέτη της αρχαίας ελληνικής γραμματείας κατά τους ελληνιστικούς και αυτοκρατορικούς χρόνους, δηλαδή την περίοδο από τον θάνατο του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου, το 323 π.Χ., έως το τέλος της ρωμαϊκής αυτοκρατορίας που σηματοδοτείται από το διάταγμα του Διοκλητιανού για την τετραρχία (το 293 μ.Χ.) και τη μεταφορά της πρωτεύουσας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη από τον Μεγάλο Κωνσταντίνο (το 330 μ.Χ).
Παρότι και οι δύο αυτές περίοδοι παρουσιάζουν, ως προς τη γραμματειακή παραγωγή τους, αρκετά κοινά χαρακτηριστικά (με βασικότερο την εξάπλωση και την κυριαρχία της ελληνικής παιδείας), εμφανίζουν όμως και σημαντικές διαφορές έτσι ώστε να επιβάλλεται, από μεθοδολογική άποψη, η εξέτασή τους σε δύο διαφορετικές ενότητες.
Στην ενότητα που αφιερώνεται στην ελληνιστική περίοδο εξετάζονται οι σημαντικότεροι εκπρόσωποι της λογοτεχνίας της περιόδου: Καλλίμαχος, Θεόκριτος, Απόλλωνιος ο Ρόδιος, επιγραμματοποιοί, Πολύβιος, όπως επίσης και εκπρόσωποι της επιστημονικής γραμματείας: Θεόφραστος, Ευκλείδης, Αρίσταρχος, και μαθηματικά επιγράμματα. Τα κεφάλαια 1.1. και 1.2.1.-1.2.6. συνέγραψε ο Βασίλειος Βερτουδάκης, ενώ το 1.2.7. η Αθηνά Μπάζου.
Στην ενότητα που αφιερώνεται στην αυτοκρατορική εποχή εξετάζονται οι σημαντικότεροι εκπρόσωποι της λογοτεχνίας της περιόδου: Λουκιανός, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, Δίων από την Προύσα (Χρυσόστομος), Πλούταρχος, Φλάβιος Φιλόστρατος, Αίλιος Αριστείδης, όπως επίσης και εκπρόσωποι της επιστημονικής γραμματείας: Στράβων, Πτολεμαίος, Γαληνός. Τα κεφάλαια 2.1.1., 2.1.3.-2.1.6. και 2.2.1.-2.2.5. συνέγραψε ο Μενέλαος Χριστόπουλος, ενώ τα 2.1.2. και 2.2.6.-2.2.7. η Αθηνά Μπάζου. Τα κεφάλαια 1.3. και 2.3. περιλαμβάνουν Παράρτημα τα αποσπάσματα από τα αρχαία κείμενα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν.

- by Rida Arif
- •
- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Pakistan, Hellenism

The Seleucids, the dominant power in the Mesopotamian geography of the Early Hellenistic Period, began to fall short in the administration of the Eastern lands after their founding king, Seleucus Nicator I. This inadequacy was especially related to the efforts of the Parthians, one of the centralist structures established after the Persians in Ancient Iran, to gain strength and establish themselves politically in Mesopotamia. It has been understood that the Parthians began to be politically organized during the Seleucid period when the Persian State was accepted as one of the important centers and administered by the governors appointed by the Seleucids. The great resistance of the Parthians against Antiochus Megas III in 205 BC and the agreement made with the Seleucids as a result of this resistance enabled the Parthians to be registered as a regional political power in the East. In an effort to maintain these gains against the Seleucids, the Parthians had the opportunity to expand their political sphere of activity with the withdrawal of the Seleucids from Babylon and Iran in 130/129 BC due to the changing political balances and internal rebellions during the reign of Antiochus VII. In the period when the Seleucids struggled with Rome for the western lands and lost this struggle, the Parthians had to struggle with Rome as a powerful kingdom in Mesopotamia after the Seleucids. In this study, which aims to chronologically examine the existence struggles of the Parthians and Seleucids in Mesopotamian geography, ancient records of the period and modern literature were used.

- by Meltem Temizkan
- •
- Hellenism, Seleucid Empire, Parthian/Arsacid history
- by Brendan Mac Gonagle
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- Ancient History, Economic History, Archaeology, Celtic Studies

This is a revision to the previous paper on the 10 letters.

- by Soap Joe
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- Archaeology, Plato, History of Religion, Religious Education

Two Greek inscriptions found at Mc'xet'a in Georgia shed light on a woman named Beurazouria, married to a chief painter, Aurēlios Acholis or Acholios, contemporary of his colleague Achilles. These characters from the Ancient Iberian kingdom are known only by epigraphy which provides significant amount of information about the craftsmen of Caucasian Iberia, religious beliefs and onomastics. This paper delivers a revised reading with new interpretations on these two epigraphic documents. Updated on December 28, 2022.

- by Nicolas Preud'homme
- •
- Ancient History, Women's Studies, Iranian Studies, Connected History

A fully illustrated catalogue of ancient silver vessels and gems, dating to the centuries following Alexander the Great's conquest of Iran and Bactria up to the pre-Islamic era, from The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait. By Martha L. Carter... more

The archaeological remains that attest to the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty render an interesting mix of Egyptian and Greek iconography. They convey the complex image the Ptolemaic kings wished to project to the outside world, aiming to appear as acceptable rulers both to the population of Egypt as to the Hellenistic kingdoms in the Eastern Mediterranean. The origins and main influences on the state ideology of Ptolemaic Egypt have been (and remain) the subject of lengthy scholarly debates. A number of vague allusions to possible roots in pharaonic Egypt had been made in the past, but had never been solidified. We first analyze and then compare pharaonic wisdom texts, Greek philosophy on kingship, and both literary and documentary sources from Ptolemaic Egypt. An updated list of known fragments of Demotic wisdom texts is included, the last one already dating from 1986 in the Lexikon für Ägyptologie. Our analysis of Ptolemaic state ideology clarifies the extent to which earlier assumptions and allusions hold up when thoroughly analyzed, and render an image of a harmonized integration of the different value systems present in Egypt in the last three centuries BC.

- by Valerie Wyns
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- Hellenism, Wisdom Literature, Ptolemaic Egypt
- by Kegan A Chandler
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- Theology, Early Christianity, Roman Religion, Emperor Julian

The paper surveys a corpus of Babylonian Cuneiform texts from the Hellenistic period by priestly authors associated with the temple of Marduk in Babylon. In the context of this literature, the Babylon priesthood engaged in an imaginative, literary (re‑)construction of their past and of their role in the present and the future,
in response to the new political situation in which they found themselves after the fall of the Persian empire. Excluded from the center of political
power, they found themselves in a difficult socioeconomic setting, but they also perceived new possibilities and perhaps new threats and challenges on the horizon owing to the new Greco-Macedonian regime. The historical-literary component of this literature has a particular interest in transitional phases (the Late Kassite period, the transition from Assyrian to Neo-Babylonian rule, the fall of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty), in the impact of foreign rule, and in the space for agency that this leaves for priests.
By exploring priestly agency vis-à-vis the figure of the king – whether the
traditional native ideal king, the new reality of a foreign king, or the absence of any king – priestly écriture pursued a group-internal objective: increasing selfesteem and self-awareness through emphasis on priestly competences, priestly achievements, and priestly exceptionality. The divine origin of cuneiform culture and erudition was construed here as the principal pillar on which priestly self-esteem rested. LBPL furthermore addressed foreign elites by offering them
insights into the nature of the priesthood and its competences, and by presenting models – positive and negative – for an interaction that would grant priests the role to which they aspired and allow the new elites to claim legitimacy on native Babylonian terms.
In conclusion, the paper argues that these Babylonian priestly writings offer an illustrative parallel case (mutatis mutandis) to Biblical 'Priesterschriften'.

- by Céline Debourse and +1
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- Ancient Near East, Hellenism, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Neo-Babylonian period
- by Christopher Wright
- •
- Ancient History, Hellenistic Philosophy, Hellenistic History, Stoicism
- by Arturo Sanchez Sanz
- •
- Religion, History, Ancient History, Military History