Name: Simone Agrimonti
Institution: University of Bologna
Paper Title: The Egalitarianism of the Hoplite Phalanx
Abstract: Hoplite egalitarianism is a theme that has received insufficient attention. The few scholars that mention it seem to consider equality among hoplites a clear and non-problematic issue: hoplites are sometimes described as “interchangeable parts” of “a formation of heavy-armoured equals”, mostly without any direct reference to ancient sources. In this paper I will propose a systematic survey of the sources at disposal, in order to analyze the influence that different features of hoplite warfare had on the equality between soldiers. Firstly, I will consider social aspects. The social and economic homogeneity of the phalanx is a factor that has a major impact on the egalitarian nature of this formation. I will thus examine the various references regarding the wealth of those belonging to the hoplite group, to find out whether the majority of soldiers came from a hoplite middle-class, or deep economic gaps existed between different groups within the phalanx. Secondly, I will pay attention to the effects of military factors on egalitarianism. I will demonstrate that some aspects of hoplite fighting minimized individual and social differences. These characters, such as the common equipment and mass combat, led to a rise in the homogeneity of the formation. On the other hand, other military factors, such as selective recruiting and the battle-line array, strongly stressed personal features, acting against egalitarian tendencies.
In sum, my paper will show that individual characteristics, both economic and military, had a significant impact on hoplite fighting, and men within the phalanx did not think of themselves as all equal.
Name: Jess Anderson
Institution: University of Leeds
Paper Title: The Uses and Abuses of Julius Caesar: Caesar and his Interpretation in Modern Media
Abstract: Julius Caesar is not only one of the most recognisable faces of Ancient Rome but also one of the most popular historical figures exploited in modern media. This paper aims to explore how Caesar has been adapted and manipulated across the spectrum of modern media in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Taking three cases studies – the Asterix comic series, the film Cleopatra (1963) and the television series Rome (2005-2007) – this paper will look at the reasons behind these interpretations, exploring how contemporary issues, the aims and motivations of the author, director or producer and the type of media used have affected his characterisation. It will also attempt to show how the audience or reader’s own stance plays into their interpretation of Caesar. The paper will look to see if there are any characteristics that are common across the different portrayals of Caesar and will hope to demonstrate that while each depiction differs there are certain characteristics that are essential for a viable portrayal of Caesar.
Name: Georgina Barker
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: Homer as the ‘first source’ for the poetry of Ilya Kutik
Abstract: Homer is a key figure for the Russian metarealist poet Ilya Kutik. He traces Russia’s poetic tradition back to the eighteenth century poets, and through them to Homer: “Derzhavin forms the same universal past (‘first source’) for Russian poetry as Homer did for world poetry”.[1]
Kutik modelled his first work, the narrative poem Ode on Visiting the Belosaraisk Spit on the Sea of Azov, on both the eighteenth century Russian ode and classical epic. Homer was its major influence and overshadowing predecessor: “I decided to create my own context. To escape the situation of writing poetry that is simultaneously ‘like’ Homer yet also post-Homeric. That is, to create that same big plan (epic).”[2] Homer figures prominently in the poem, in references to the Iliad and Odyssey and imitations of the Homeric style. The concluding invocation of Homer’s muse suggests, however, that Kutik feels he has not succeeded in creating a true Homeric epic. It prefigures Kutik’s creation of a genuine epic poem, Epos, a quarter of a century later.
Yet Kutik does not only employ Homer for his epic associations. In his collections of lyric poetry Homer is interwoven with personal narratives, including: Kutik’s decision to abandon the odic genre; the collapse of the Soviet Union; exile; failed relationships; and his cat.
My paper will show how Kutik’s references to Homer have expressed his changing approaches to poetry.
Name: Nicolò Benzi
Institution: Durham University
Paper Title: The semantics of noein and its derivatives in the poems of Xenophanes and Parmenides
Abstract: The semantics of noein and its derivatives are of central importance to Presocratic epistemology. Kurt von Fritz (1942) has shown that they signify a particular form of cognition, resembling sense perception in its non-inferential nature, which consists in realizing the truth of a situation. In this paper I will focus on the employment of noein and its derivatives in the poems of Xenophanes and Parmenides, since they modified significantly, I argue, the semantics of these concepts. I will consider the context of their poetry, including Hesiod's phrase “speaking the noos of Zeus” (Op. 661) and the religious dimension linking noos and sēma, of which we find echoes in Parmenides' fragment B8. I will show that Parmenides' innovation consists in introducing a strictly rational element, which stipulates that deductive argumentation is essential to the attainment of truth. Otherwise, human mind is condemned to wander in error (B6 DK). The propensity for error of human noos is a traditional poetic theme as well, especially in lyric poetry, where mortal condition is often compared with that of the divinity. Similarly, Xenophanes states that god is different from humans as to mind (B23 DK) and expounds the limits of mortal knowledge (B34; B38 DK).
However, he does not exclude the existence of a path of enquiry leading to knowledge (B18).
Thus, modifying the semantics of noein and its derivatives, Xenophanes and Parmenides assigned to rational argumentation and critical enquiry the essential role that they maintained in the following development of philosophy.
Name: Mariapaola Bergomi
Institution: Università degli Studi di Milano
Paper Title: Like a Flute-Prelude: Neologisms in Plato’s Cratylus
Abstract: My paper aims to analyse some Greek neologisms in Plato’s Cratylus and to put them in the context of Socrates’ account of linguistic conventionalism. We could roughly divide platonic neologisms into two categories: poetic neologisms (concerning especially the etymologies) and philosophical neologisms. It’s mostly interesting to consider the presence of these new words in the context of a dialogue explicitly devoted to the problem of ὀρθότης τῶν ὀνομάτων, the correctness of names, and it’s also interesting to see how Plato renews the literary tradition to convey a philosophical content. I will analyse in particular the etymology of the god Apollo and discuss some passages taken from the last part of the work. As Timothy Baxter – one of the best interpreters of Cratylus’ etymologies – points out, Plato “borrows” some elements of the classical tradition to build a “philosophically sound language”.
Name: Fabrizio Biglino
Institution: Royal Holloway
Paper Title: WAR LOSSES and POPULATION: The case of the Second Punic War
A pivotal moment in the history of the Roman Republic, the Second Punic War is without a doubt one of the most important conflicts fought by Rome: it is thought to have had a significant impact on Rome’s economy, society and institutions, while victory over Carthage guaranteed supremacy in the Western Mediterranean and a key stage in the processes of the formation of the empire.
The objective of this paper will be to understand the connection between war losses and population and, in particular, the effect of such violence on a growing population by using the census figures as our main sources together with modern theories on population growth (like Malthus and Rosenstein).
The paper looks at the problem of the demographic impact of the war, assessing first the likely population levels at the outbreak, the level of casualties and excess mortality entailed by those losses, and the likely longer term impact on Roman fertility (replacement rates) and demography. The Cannae campaign will be considered in detail as a case study to assess Roman battle-field numbers and the reliability of the figures of the ancient sources. I will also examine the census figures from both before and after the Punic war. The figures suggest that the mortality shock of the Punic war may have been delayed a generation and be part of a crisis emerging in the middle decades of the second century.
Name: Aiste Celkyte
Institution: University of St. Andrews
Paper Title: Thought Experiments in Stoicism
Abstract: Stoicism is often described as a controversial philosophical system that advocated many counter-intuitive beliefs. The notion of a wise man was undoubtedly one of them. The Stoics made a number of radical claims regarding a wise man: a wise was extremely rare, he was the only person who was not only perfectly wise, but also happy, wealthy and even beautiful. In this paper, I argue that these statements ought to be read not as examples of the paradoxicality of Stoic thought, but as a kind of thought experiments which illustrate the consequences of Stoic philosophical tenets. I start by distinguishing between two interpretations of the Stoic notion of a wise man: an existential one and a hypothetical one. According to the existential interpretation, the Stoic arguments about a wise man describe an actually existing person. When read this way, these Stoic statements do appear to be controversial and paradoxical. I, however, propose an alternative – hypothetical – interpretation of a Stoic notion of a wise man. According to this interpretation, claims about a wise man resemble thought experiments inasmuch as they hypothetically reveal what is at stake in various Stoic beliefs. I show that the statements about a wise man often follow explications of standard Stoic beliefs, and they can be read as a means of highlighting and spelling out various Stoic philosophical ideas. Finally, I argue that the case of a wise man shows that Stoic ideas are often much less radical than it is generally assumed.
Name: Camilla Condilo
Institution: Newnham College, University of Cambridge
Paper Title: History and genealogy in the Histories – or why Herodotus did not give his own genealogy (Hdt. 2.143)
This paper discusses the role performed by genealogy-making in Herodotus’ Histories. Scholarship’s main purpose with regard to this topic has been to assess Herodotus’ degree of success in establishing a reliable chronological system. The idea behind this approach is to judge Herodotus’ competence as a historian in order to situate him in the evolutionary process that led to the beginning of historiography in the ancient world, as well as to determine the extent to which scholars can count on the genealogical information provided in the narrative to date events with precision. The premises of this debate, however, are external to the text, for Herodotus is explained not by the internal logic of his own arguments but by modern expectations of historical investigation.
With these issues in sight, the present paper aims to put genealogy-making in the Histories in context by analysing some formal, conceptual and thematic features of selected genealogical passages. In this way, I suggest that genealogies denote a sophistic influence – of the type attested in the Hippocratic corpus –, thus constituting one of the authorial marks of Herodotean historical discourse, that of historiē. In addition, I also tentatively explore the possibility that the use of this particular narrative strategy aims to convey the idea that the scientifically correct – i.e. the knowledge derived from proof, research and critical judgment – and the morally correct go hand in hand with one another.
Name: Kate Cook
Institution: University of Reading
Paper Title: Praise and Heroic Identity in Euripides' Heracles: A new reading of Heracles' choice between heroism and family.
Abstract: This paper discusses the use of praise in Euripides' Heracles, and demonstrates that a reading focused on praise in the play makes it possible to draw new conclusions on Heracles’ identity.
Discussions of Euripides' Heracles often characterise the plot as an adjustment of Heracles' identity, from semi-divine hero of renown, to mortal, domestically-focused father, forced to rely on friends rather than his own qualities (see for example Papadimitropoulos (2008) 132-5, Silk (1985) 12-6, or Gregory (1977) 275). However, if we consider the role of praise and reputation in the play, it quickly becomes clear that while Heracles may attempt to set aside heroism for family life in the middle of the tragedy, it is an impossible attempt. Praise, heroic reputation and renown dominate throughout, brought up repeatedly by the characters, and the chorus in particular are drawn to discuss Heracles in these terms even when they might seem inappropriate in the particular context. The prominence given issues surrounding praise and reputation suggests that these are central to understanding the play, and any interpretation of the figure of Heracles presented. In this praise-focused context, Heracles certainly attempts to reject his heroic reputation and lifestyle in favour of a domestic focus, protecting and caring for his children, but the weight of pressure from everyone else in the play is too strong on the side of heroism. When his two identities are forced together, his domestic life is shattered, and the dominant heroic identity is the only one to be revived by Theseus.
Name: Caroline Cowles
Institution: Royal Holloway
Paper Title: Accentus est quasi anima vocis: Different approaches to the teaching of Latin accent in the Late Latin Grammarians
Abstract: Latin accent has been an issue of debate among the academic community for many years. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the words of the Late Latin grammarians were taken, on the whole, as fact, and they were therefore seen as the authorities on the subject. However, during the twentieth century and beyond the Latin grammarians fell out of favour among classicists. This has been largely due to our more modern understanding of linguistics, as well as problems and inconsistencies found in the grammarians themselves. This does not mean, however, that we cannot learn anything from them. Although not necessarily conveying linguistic fact, we can observe to some extent, what Latin accent meant to them, how they felt it was best taught and the importance it held in the learning of Latin.
This paper will analyse the different approaches to Latin accent found in a selection of the grammarians. This will range from the more romantic and ambiguous such as Pompeius’ definition: accentus est quasi anima vocis “accent is like the soul of the voice” (Keil V, 126), to the perhaps more tangible ideas of graves, acutes and circumflexes. Does a different approach suggest a different understanding of Latin accent, or are they discussing the same thing in a different way?
Name: David Farag
Institution: Brock University
Paper Title: Conjugal Affection: Marital Relations and the “Ideal” in the Late Republic
Abstract: Within the past few decades, studies on the Roman family have helped to improve our understanding of Roman marriages by re-examining the conjugal relationship and the expectations that were held by each partner, in addition to notions of affection. The letters from Cicero to Terentia written during his period of exile from 58-57 BC provide a valuable firsthand look at elite marital relations in the Late Republic. Through the tone and language found within these letters (expressed by terms related to amor, fides and carus), as well as broader descriptions of the grief Cicero feels while in exile, it becomes clear that the conjugal ideal (rooted in companionship, support and mutual love) may well have been a possibility within elite Roman marriages. Although there is a scarcity of similar letters written between other elite couples within this period, funerary inscriptions such as the Laudatio Turiae are a suitable alternative and make use of a similar vocabulary where the deceased partner is spoken of in terms of endearment. The epistolary and funerary evidence thus complement one another to reveal a situation within which genuine affection between Roman husbands and wives and seemingly atypical relationships may be more prevalent than has been generally believed.
Name: Lorenzo Focanti
Institution: Ghent University
Paper Title: Between Porus and Chandragupta Maurya: the historical background of Megasthenes’ Indica
Abstract: The aim of my paper is a re-assessment of the historical setting of Megasthenes’ Indica (FGrHist 715). The starting point is the fragment 5b (Arr. Ind. 5,3), where the ethnographer writes that he visited Σανδροκόττῳ … τῷ μεγίστῳ βασιλεῖ Ἰνδῶν, καὶ Πώρῳ ἔτι τούτου μείζονι. Because of his paradoxical character, the text has been traditionally amended: Πώρου ἔτι τούτῳ μείζονι. Such a correction matches the main chronological hypothesis, which links Megasthenes’ work to the peace between Seleucus and Chandragupta, signed when the latter was the only king of Punjab (306/4 BC). A different hypothesis has also been proposed, which does not alter the text, but suggests that Megathenes went to India when both Chandragupta and Porus were sovereigns (320/18 BC). His work, therefore, is supposed to reflect the fragmentary political situation of India in the years immediately following Alexander's departure. Both reconstructions show difficulties: the emendation of the text is hard to defend, but the coexistence of the two reigns is unlikely as well. Moreover, Megasthenes’ India does not match the political pattern of Porus’ time. My suggestion is to merge the two perspectives: Megasthenes went to India more than once, and visited Porus and Chandragupta in different occasions. What he describes is the reign of the second one, although with an idealizing filter. This solution does not entail a modification of Arrian’s text, nor does it force the historical context. My argument will be supported by a historical analysis and by the reading of some passages from the Indica.
Name: Sarah Graham
Institution: University of Glasgow
Paper Title: What the Hell? Vergilian Influences on Prudentius' Underworld
Abstract: In this paper I will examine the way in which Prudentius’ descriptions of the underworld were influenced by Vergil’s Aeneid. The fourth century A.D. Christian writer, Prudentius, often draws heavily on material from Vergil’s depiction of Hades in book six of the Aeneid, sometimes even including aspects of the Vergilian underworld which seem to be at odds with Christian theology. My key question is how and for what purposes Prudentius appropriates material from Vergil, through allusion and quotation; further, I will consider the potential effects that were created by the close resemblance between Prudentius’ Hell and Vergil’s Hades.
A great deal of work has been done in recent years on the appropriation of non-Christian material by Christian authors, but little thought has been given to how Christian authors use classical material when describing the afterlife. I will consider how Prudentius’ depiction of the underworld draws heavily on Vergil’s in terms of both language and imagery. Prudentius often uses phrases which echo Vergil, and figures and geographical features of Vergil’s underworld often appear in Prudentius’ works. I will explore the intertextual relationship between the poets, as well as considering whether or not these allusions were deliberate and whether Prudentius intended for his audience to be aware of them. I will argue that the allusions are not coincidental; rather, they were employed to facilitate the understanding of Christian concepts of eschatological phenomena.
Name: Nicholas Hanson
Institution: Wolfson College, Oxford University
Paper Title: Fragments of Manteia: Seers in the Epic Cycle
The scant fragmentary remains and prose résumés of the poems that constitute the Epic
Cycle offer a teasing glimpse into the representation of myth between Homer and the Classical age. Although seers are familiar to the worlds of the Iliad and Odyssey, the broader temporal scope of the Cyclic poems seems to have offered more opportunity for the involvement of these characters. Their varied depiction on the tragic stage implies the importance of the preceding period for the elaboration of their traits and place within the mythical tradition. Beyond inferring what the Cycle contained on the basis of later works, can we know anything at all about the presentation of seers within this body of lost poetry? Amphiaraus, Helenus, Cassandra and Calchas all had a part to play, and undoubtedly there were others besides.
This paper will offer an overview of the seers in the Cyclic poems, looking particularly at
the question of how far these characters depart from the Homeric model. Where possible, it will examine whether and to what extent the poets adopted the Homeric manner of drawing on real-life seers while adding a touch of the impossible to their mantic art. Treading more carefully than West (2013), who reconstructs the very words Helenus may have uttered in the Little Iliad, this paper will also suggest, contrary to Davies (1989), that the seers of the Cycle and the seers of Homeric epic, may not have differed all that much.
Bibliography
Davies, M. (1989) The Epic Cycle (Bristol: Bristol Classical Press).
Griffin, J. (1977) ‘The Epic Cycle and the Uniqueness of Homer’, JHS 97: 39-53.
West, M.L. (2013) The Epic Cycle: a Commentary on the Lost Troy Epics (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Name: Jennifer Hilder
Institution: University of Glasgow
Paper Title: When is a textbook not a textbook?: Re-thinking Roman education with the Rhetorica ad Herennium.
Abstract: From Aristotle’s Rhetorica onwards, rhetorical treatises became an important method of transmitting rhetorical theory in the ancient world. The Rhetorica ad Herennium, written in the 80’s BCE, belongs to this tradition. A practical work by an anonymous author, it is often referred to as a rhetorical handbook or even textbook. But in a context where teaching was most frequently done by a private tutor and given in an oral form, where would a textbook fit in? What audience might this work have been written for?
In this paper I will reassess the role of the ad Herennium by asking two questions. Firstly, I will consider how texts supplement and enhance oral learning. Viewing the ad Herennium as, for example, an authoritative statement suggests it had a broader remit than simply that of a textbook. Secondly, I will discuss who might use the work, when and for what purposes. The author’s pared-down, practical approach suggests an audience looking for clear, accessible information without the frills. While this might include younger students in their teens, the level of assumed knowledge within the text suggests it is better suited to a more experienced learner and could also function as a reference work.
By thinking about the role of the rhetorical treatise in more detail, we can better understand the educational process of late Republican Rome and identify more closely the motives and audience of the ad Herennium itself.
Name: Ellie Mackin
Institution: King’s College London
Paper Title: Global Mapping, Local Rites: Panhellenism and Greek Communities
Abstract: It has long been recognised that to speak of Greek religion as a whole and consistent entity is an erroneous approach. However, it is not necessarily the acknowledgement of the complex and chaotic nature of the study of ‘Greek religion’ where one may fall down, rather it is the application of a frame of understanding that ensures we do not resort to the easy habit of generalisation.[3] How, then, should we map local beliefs and religious structures without falling into the trap of reducing the local subtleties and variations to unexplained or unimportant points in the schema of general ‘beliefs’ or ‘belief structures’ when, in fact, it is the local variation which is not only the most important but the most interesting to study? Alternatively, how do we justly categorise Panhellenic ritual practices without losing sight of the local religious perspectives brought forward by individual participants?
This paper will explore ideas of local and panhellenic religion in an attempt to make progress towards undertaking a study that can help to illuminate both kinds of practice in light of the other.
Name: Ian McElroy
Institution: University of Glasgow
Paper Title: Temple to church: Understanding the Conversion of the Temple of Dionysus at Gerasa
Abstract: Understanding temple-church conversion is a challenge requiring careful examination of the archaeological evidence, both locally and in the wider context, as well as historical evidence where available, in order to understand why conversion took place and why in the form that it did. To demonstrate the issues involved in temple-church conversion study I explore the late antique conversion of the Temple of Dionysus into a Christian church at Gerasa in modern Jordan, specifically to demonstrate the importance of contemporary comparison in ancient conversion events, while also interpreting the physical architecture of conversion. After looking at conversion more generally and the forms taken, I outline the building phases at Gerasa before moving on to analyse these changes. The physical processes by which conversion was manifested are informative in very different ways, ranging from the retention of specific architectural elements to less tangible concepts of interpretation of created/retained spaces. I consider three facets of this conversion in order to explore these: the retained pagan propylaea; the intentional creation of architectural comparison; and the implications of continuity of cult practice. In order to do this I touch upon an adapted phenomenological approach to demonstrate the importance of acknowledging comparison as intentional, a concept overlooked regarding this site yet essential to its understanding. Memory is considered throughout owing to the fact that any conversion event results in the alteration of memory and influences all aspects of a monument, including its inception, construction, interpretations through time, and how we as academics interpret it.
Name: Wawrzyniec (Lawrence) Miscicki
Institution: Jagiellonian University, Cracow
Paper Title: Between hero and hoplite. Warrior in the iconography of the Archaic Greece.
Abstract: The subject of this paper is the social figure and symbolic meaning of an Archaic Greek warrior presented in the iconography, particularly in the vase paintings. The iconographical sources play a major role in the studying of warfare of this period, but most of those researches focus on the mechanics of combat, military formations, such as the phalanx, using only a small portion of the sources and often without proper methodology for the interpretation of artifacts. However, the scenes of vase painting offer a lot more, when interpreted with proper methods and putted in a wider context, that is the whole framework of Archaic art. Not only do they present methods of fighting, but they are also forming a complex narration about the role that warrior had played in Archaic society, making analysis of iconography crucial for our understanding of the warfare as a social activity. In my paper I will explore the possibilities of such studies, showing to what extent they can benefit to our reconstructions of the past, and what problems could scholar be facing when conducting such analysis.
Name: Victoria Rota
Institution: University of Wales, Trinity St. David
Paper Title: The Purposes of Using the Poetry in the ‘Universal History’ of Diodorus Siculus.
Abstract: The paper will discuss the purposes of using poetical extracts as a source in the Bibliotheka Historica of Diodorus Siculus. It argues that citing ancient poetry, which was a distinct method of reference for Diodorus, has different functions in different parts of the Bibliotheka, and helps the author to indicate individual aspects of his ‘universal history’.
This paper, corresponding with the arguments proposed in the recent scholarship attributing independence and originality to Diodorus’ text in a great extent (the works of K. Sacks, I. Sulimani, C.L. Rubincam etc.) deals with the issue which so far has not been examined in detail with regards to the ‘Quellenforschung’ of Bibliotheka Historica.
The comparative analysis of Diodorus’ Bibliotheka and those of other authors related to him in terms of genre and the same cultural background, as well as the textual study of the material, reveal that the role of poetry as an authority for ancient histories was far more significant than it has been considered before. With regards to the complex nature of the Bibliotheka Historica, at least three purposes of citing poetry followed by the author can be identified: providing evidence for the material described (mainly for those related to ancient myths); praising the main figures of this historical account (mythological ‘culture-heroes’, benefactors, and real kings and military leaders); making the narrative superior in style and comprehensible for different types of readers. Finally, Diodorus’ use of poetry reflects a reconsidered attitude towards this kind of source compared to the works of his predecessors.
Name: Pedro Baroni Schmidt
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo
Paper Title: Neronian Literature and Carolingian Literature: Aspects of Lucan's Bellum Civile in the Waltharius
Abstract: The Waltharius is a 9th-10th century Latin poem in hexameters, probably written in a monastery during the so called “Carolingian Renaissance”. Much has been said about the Virgilian influence on it, but there are few studies on the Lucanian poetic ways and methods as models of composition to Medieval Latin literature. The aim of this research is to find, describe and analyze the intimate textual connection between Lucan’s epic Bellum Civile and the Waltharius, and therefore to show the relevance of Lucan as model in order to understand some aspects of compositional structure of the Waltharius.
Name: Hugh Thompson
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: "Wonderful but useless – a new religion confronts the visual culture of Greece and Rome
Abstract: The visual culture of Greece and Rome produced many marvels – temples, statues, paintings and mosaics. When Christian emperors took control of the Roman empire, a new religion, based on the aniconic (or virtually aniconic) tradition of the Jews of Palestine, found itself confronting this established visual language.
During the conflict which resulted, masterpieces were destroyed and new masterpieces created. Preconceptions, on both sides of the argument, were refined, restated and revised. The classical culture which had, since 330 BC, extended across the Near East from its roots in the Greek city states, and, following the legions, had also conquered the West from North Africa to the Scottish border, was extinguished, and a completely new visual language, based on a world view entirely alien to that of the past, was created. This dominated the oikoumene for a thousand years.
I have been trying to understand this process of creative destruction as it was experienced by the people who were alive at the time, taking, as my starting point, a fragment of text apparently written by a more or less anonymous recluse in the second half of the fifth century, My presentation will review and illustrate the dialogue which defined some of the key elements in the new visual language."
Name: Gary Vos
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: Teaching Pleasure and Wisdom: Callimachus’ Lini (Fr. 23, 253-26 Hdr.) and Plato’s Educational Views
Abstract: It is by now a well-established fact that Callimachus throughout the Aetia engages intensively with Plato and often uses him as a foil for his own poetic stance. A second feature of the Cyrenean’s emulative poetics is that he is very much concerned with ‘importing’ pre-Hellenistic Greece into his Egyptian surroundings. These two interests converge in a subset of Platonic dialogue, particularly the Phaedrus, Philebus and Republic. I shall argue that Callimachus in his Linus-myths (Aetia 1, frr. 23, 25e-26 Hdr.) appeals to, inverts, and misrepresents elements from these texts which have a bearing on Plato’s educational outlook, specifically (1) the ‘myth’ of the Egyptian god Theuth and the invention of writing (Phdr.274c-c-275b; Phlb. 18b) and (2) the matter whether pleasure or wisdom constitutes a greater boon. Callimachus does this by turning Plato’s ‘poetological’ imagery against him (e.g.Socrates’ sacrifice to the Muses in the Phaedrus) in order to upend the latter’s condemnation of poetry in the Republic and writing in general in the Phaedrus. To this end Callimachus casts his poem as a Platonic dialogue, dedicated to produce both pleasure and wisdom, the mixture of which according to Plato’s Philebus is the highest ideal in life. Callimachus’ wayward reading of Plato not only redeems poetry and literature on Plato’s own terms, but also anticipates Jacques Derrida’s ‘Plato’s Pharmacy’ – his (in)famous essay on the Phaedrus– by two millennia.
Name: Belinda Washington
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: Theodosius I's Dynastic Takeover
Abstract: The Emperor Theodosius was the junior partner in the Roman Empire to two successive child Emperors from the previous Valentinianic dynasty, Gratian and Valentinian II, and his relationship with them was always uneasy. His assertion of his autonomy can be seen in the imperial panegyrics delivered to him by Themistius when Gratian was senior Augustus. Theodosius made a clear break from Gratian's authority when he made his own son, Arcadius, Augustus in 383. At the same time he also made his wife, Aelia Flaccilla, Augusta. This was the first attribution of this title to a living imperial woman since Constantine I's mother, Helena, and wife, Fausta, in the 320s. The promotion of Aelia Flaccilla in coinage and statuary can be seen as a promotion of Theodosius' own dynastic designs. To be considered alongside this image is the absence of evidence for Theodosius' second wife, Galla, the sister of Valentinian II. Theodosius' relationship with Valentinian II when the latter was senior Augustus was even frostier than that with Gratian. In this paper I will look at how Theodosius' imperial partnership with Gratian and then Valentinian II as senior Emperors was reflected by the evidence, and absence of evidence, for his first and second wives.
Name: Kim Young-Chae
Institution: Oxford University
Paper Title: The Nocelli farm at Luceria: a clue to the Gracchan countryside
Abstract: In contrast to scholarly interest in large villa buildings and commercial estates in Roman Italy, smaller and materially poor rural sites have rarely been a favourite of archaeological projects and historical monographs. Primarily interested in how much archaeology could offer in reappraising the Gracchan countryside, this paper focuses on a small farmhouse at Nocelli near Luceria in north Apulia, one of the few excavated small farmsteads. It has been suggested that the Nocelli farm and nearby farms at Luceria were the Gracchan allotments created around the 120s BC. However, by not only examining the results of the excavation and the centuriation on which the farms are located, but also comparing such evidence from archaeology with that from the epigraphic ‘lex agraria of 111’ and written sources, a very different picture of the settlement scheme at Luceria in the late second-century BC begins to emerge. This paper suggests that the farms at Luceria are the land ‘redditus’, the land restored (as is stated in the ‘lex agraria of 111’ ) to those who had surrendered their holdings on ager publicus or their private properties to the Gracchan commission for land distribution - not the Gracchan allotments. In turn, this study will shed light on the often-neglected ‘middling class’: those who were above the former landless Gracchan settlers but below the great landowners.
[1] Ilya Kutik, The Ode and the Odic: Essays on Mandelstam, Pasternak, Tsvetaeva and Mayakovsky (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1994) p. 112.
[2] Dmitrii Bavil’skii, ‘Sny-podstrochniki’, Topos, 2003, para. 24 of 62 <http://www.topos.ru/article/1231/> [accessed 30 October 2013].
[3] Julia Kindt describes this tendency, in relation to the application of ‘polis religion’: ‘Unfortunately, in the historiographic practice of works on Greek religion, such concessions have all too frequently remained mere programmatic statements, made in the introduction in order to silence potential disagreement before the writer produces yet another account of polis religion which makes perfect sense in all its aspects.’ J. Kindt, 'Polis Religion - a Critical Appreciation', Kernos, 22 (2009), 16.
Institution: University of Bologna
Paper Title: The Egalitarianism of the Hoplite Phalanx
Abstract: Hoplite egalitarianism is a theme that has received insufficient attention. The few scholars that mention it seem to consider equality among hoplites a clear and non-problematic issue: hoplites are sometimes described as “interchangeable parts” of “a formation of heavy-armoured equals”, mostly without any direct reference to ancient sources. In this paper I will propose a systematic survey of the sources at disposal, in order to analyze the influence that different features of hoplite warfare had on the equality between soldiers. Firstly, I will consider social aspects. The social and economic homogeneity of the phalanx is a factor that has a major impact on the egalitarian nature of this formation. I will thus examine the various references regarding the wealth of those belonging to the hoplite group, to find out whether the majority of soldiers came from a hoplite middle-class, or deep economic gaps existed between different groups within the phalanx. Secondly, I will pay attention to the effects of military factors on egalitarianism. I will demonstrate that some aspects of hoplite fighting minimized individual and social differences. These characters, such as the common equipment and mass combat, led to a rise in the homogeneity of the formation. On the other hand, other military factors, such as selective recruiting and the battle-line array, strongly stressed personal features, acting against egalitarian tendencies.
In sum, my paper will show that individual characteristics, both economic and military, had a significant impact on hoplite fighting, and men within the phalanx did not think of themselves as all equal.
Name: Jess Anderson
Institution: University of Leeds
Paper Title: The Uses and Abuses of Julius Caesar: Caesar and his Interpretation in Modern Media
Abstract: Julius Caesar is not only one of the most recognisable faces of Ancient Rome but also one of the most popular historical figures exploited in modern media. This paper aims to explore how Caesar has been adapted and manipulated across the spectrum of modern media in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Taking three cases studies – the Asterix comic series, the film Cleopatra (1963) and the television series Rome (2005-2007) – this paper will look at the reasons behind these interpretations, exploring how contemporary issues, the aims and motivations of the author, director or producer and the type of media used have affected his characterisation. It will also attempt to show how the audience or reader’s own stance plays into their interpretation of Caesar. The paper will look to see if there are any characteristics that are common across the different portrayals of Caesar and will hope to demonstrate that while each depiction differs there are certain characteristics that are essential for a viable portrayal of Caesar.
Name: Georgina Barker
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: Homer as the ‘first source’ for the poetry of Ilya Kutik
Abstract: Homer is a key figure for the Russian metarealist poet Ilya Kutik. He traces Russia’s poetic tradition back to the eighteenth century poets, and through them to Homer: “Derzhavin forms the same universal past (‘first source’) for Russian poetry as Homer did for world poetry”.[1]
Kutik modelled his first work, the narrative poem Ode on Visiting the Belosaraisk Spit on the Sea of Azov, on both the eighteenth century Russian ode and classical epic. Homer was its major influence and overshadowing predecessor: “I decided to create my own context. To escape the situation of writing poetry that is simultaneously ‘like’ Homer yet also post-Homeric. That is, to create that same big plan (epic).”[2] Homer figures prominently in the poem, in references to the Iliad and Odyssey and imitations of the Homeric style. The concluding invocation of Homer’s muse suggests, however, that Kutik feels he has not succeeded in creating a true Homeric epic. It prefigures Kutik’s creation of a genuine epic poem, Epos, a quarter of a century later.
Yet Kutik does not only employ Homer for his epic associations. In his collections of lyric poetry Homer is interwoven with personal narratives, including: Kutik’s decision to abandon the odic genre; the collapse of the Soviet Union; exile; failed relationships; and his cat.
My paper will show how Kutik’s references to Homer have expressed his changing approaches to poetry.
Name: Nicolò Benzi
Institution: Durham University
Paper Title: The semantics of noein and its derivatives in the poems of Xenophanes and Parmenides
Abstract: The semantics of noein and its derivatives are of central importance to Presocratic epistemology. Kurt von Fritz (1942) has shown that they signify a particular form of cognition, resembling sense perception in its non-inferential nature, which consists in realizing the truth of a situation. In this paper I will focus on the employment of noein and its derivatives in the poems of Xenophanes and Parmenides, since they modified significantly, I argue, the semantics of these concepts. I will consider the context of their poetry, including Hesiod's phrase “speaking the noos of Zeus” (Op. 661) and the religious dimension linking noos and sēma, of which we find echoes in Parmenides' fragment B8. I will show that Parmenides' innovation consists in introducing a strictly rational element, which stipulates that deductive argumentation is essential to the attainment of truth. Otherwise, human mind is condemned to wander in error (B6 DK). The propensity for error of human noos is a traditional poetic theme as well, especially in lyric poetry, where mortal condition is often compared with that of the divinity. Similarly, Xenophanes states that god is different from humans as to mind (B23 DK) and expounds the limits of mortal knowledge (B34; B38 DK).
However, he does not exclude the existence of a path of enquiry leading to knowledge (B18).
Thus, modifying the semantics of noein and its derivatives, Xenophanes and Parmenides assigned to rational argumentation and critical enquiry the essential role that they maintained in the following development of philosophy.
Name: Mariapaola Bergomi
Institution: Università degli Studi di Milano
Paper Title: Like a Flute-Prelude: Neologisms in Plato’s Cratylus
Abstract: My paper aims to analyse some Greek neologisms in Plato’s Cratylus and to put them in the context of Socrates’ account of linguistic conventionalism. We could roughly divide platonic neologisms into two categories: poetic neologisms (concerning especially the etymologies) and philosophical neologisms. It’s mostly interesting to consider the presence of these new words in the context of a dialogue explicitly devoted to the problem of ὀρθότης τῶν ὀνομάτων, the correctness of names, and it’s also interesting to see how Plato renews the literary tradition to convey a philosophical content. I will analyse in particular the etymology of the god Apollo and discuss some passages taken from the last part of the work. As Timothy Baxter – one of the best interpreters of Cratylus’ etymologies – points out, Plato “borrows” some elements of the classical tradition to build a “philosophically sound language”.
Name: Fabrizio Biglino
Institution: Royal Holloway
Paper Title: WAR LOSSES and POPULATION: The case of the Second Punic War
A pivotal moment in the history of the Roman Republic, the Second Punic War is without a doubt one of the most important conflicts fought by Rome: it is thought to have had a significant impact on Rome’s economy, society and institutions, while victory over Carthage guaranteed supremacy in the Western Mediterranean and a key stage in the processes of the formation of the empire.
The objective of this paper will be to understand the connection between war losses and population and, in particular, the effect of such violence on a growing population by using the census figures as our main sources together with modern theories on population growth (like Malthus and Rosenstein).
The paper looks at the problem of the demographic impact of the war, assessing first the likely population levels at the outbreak, the level of casualties and excess mortality entailed by those losses, and the likely longer term impact on Roman fertility (replacement rates) and demography. The Cannae campaign will be considered in detail as a case study to assess Roman battle-field numbers and the reliability of the figures of the ancient sources. I will also examine the census figures from both before and after the Punic war. The figures suggest that the mortality shock of the Punic war may have been delayed a generation and be part of a crisis emerging in the middle decades of the second century.
Name: Aiste Celkyte
Institution: University of St. Andrews
Paper Title: Thought Experiments in Stoicism
Abstract: Stoicism is often described as a controversial philosophical system that advocated many counter-intuitive beliefs. The notion of a wise man was undoubtedly one of them. The Stoics made a number of radical claims regarding a wise man: a wise was extremely rare, he was the only person who was not only perfectly wise, but also happy, wealthy and even beautiful. In this paper, I argue that these statements ought to be read not as examples of the paradoxicality of Stoic thought, but as a kind of thought experiments which illustrate the consequences of Stoic philosophical tenets. I start by distinguishing between two interpretations of the Stoic notion of a wise man: an existential one and a hypothetical one. According to the existential interpretation, the Stoic arguments about a wise man describe an actually existing person. When read this way, these Stoic statements do appear to be controversial and paradoxical. I, however, propose an alternative – hypothetical – interpretation of a Stoic notion of a wise man. According to this interpretation, claims about a wise man resemble thought experiments inasmuch as they hypothetically reveal what is at stake in various Stoic beliefs. I show that the statements about a wise man often follow explications of standard Stoic beliefs, and they can be read as a means of highlighting and spelling out various Stoic philosophical ideas. Finally, I argue that the case of a wise man shows that Stoic ideas are often much less radical than it is generally assumed.
Name: Camilla Condilo
Institution: Newnham College, University of Cambridge
Paper Title: History and genealogy in the Histories – or why Herodotus did not give his own genealogy (Hdt. 2.143)
This paper discusses the role performed by genealogy-making in Herodotus’ Histories. Scholarship’s main purpose with regard to this topic has been to assess Herodotus’ degree of success in establishing a reliable chronological system. The idea behind this approach is to judge Herodotus’ competence as a historian in order to situate him in the evolutionary process that led to the beginning of historiography in the ancient world, as well as to determine the extent to which scholars can count on the genealogical information provided in the narrative to date events with precision. The premises of this debate, however, are external to the text, for Herodotus is explained not by the internal logic of his own arguments but by modern expectations of historical investigation.
With these issues in sight, the present paper aims to put genealogy-making in the Histories in context by analysing some formal, conceptual and thematic features of selected genealogical passages. In this way, I suggest that genealogies denote a sophistic influence – of the type attested in the Hippocratic corpus –, thus constituting one of the authorial marks of Herodotean historical discourse, that of historiē. In addition, I also tentatively explore the possibility that the use of this particular narrative strategy aims to convey the idea that the scientifically correct – i.e. the knowledge derived from proof, research and critical judgment – and the morally correct go hand in hand with one another.
Name: Kate Cook
Institution: University of Reading
Paper Title: Praise and Heroic Identity in Euripides' Heracles: A new reading of Heracles' choice between heroism and family.
Abstract: This paper discusses the use of praise in Euripides' Heracles, and demonstrates that a reading focused on praise in the play makes it possible to draw new conclusions on Heracles’ identity.
Discussions of Euripides' Heracles often characterise the plot as an adjustment of Heracles' identity, from semi-divine hero of renown, to mortal, domestically-focused father, forced to rely on friends rather than his own qualities (see for example Papadimitropoulos (2008) 132-5, Silk (1985) 12-6, or Gregory (1977) 275). However, if we consider the role of praise and reputation in the play, it quickly becomes clear that while Heracles may attempt to set aside heroism for family life in the middle of the tragedy, it is an impossible attempt. Praise, heroic reputation and renown dominate throughout, brought up repeatedly by the characters, and the chorus in particular are drawn to discuss Heracles in these terms even when they might seem inappropriate in the particular context. The prominence given issues surrounding praise and reputation suggests that these are central to understanding the play, and any interpretation of the figure of Heracles presented. In this praise-focused context, Heracles certainly attempts to reject his heroic reputation and lifestyle in favour of a domestic focus, protecting and caring for his children, but the weight of pressure from everyone else in the play is too strong on the side of heroism. When his two identities are forced together, his domestic life is shattered, and the dominant heroic identity is the only one to be revived by Theseus.
Name: Caroline Cowles
Institution: Royal Holloway
Paper Title: Accentus est quasi anima vocis: Different approaches to the teaching of Latin accent in the Late Latin Grammarians
Abstract: Latin accent has been an issue of debate among the academic community for many years. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the words of the Late Latin grammarians were taken, on the whole, as fact, and they were therefore seen as the authorities on the subject. However, during the twentieth century and beyond the Latin grammarians fell out of favour among classicists. This has been largely due to our more modern understanding of linguistics, as well as problems and inconsistencies found in the grammarians themselves. This does not mean, however, that we cannot learn anything from them. Although not necessarily conveying linguistic fact, we can observe to some extent, what Latin accent meant to them, how they felt it was best taught and the importance it held in the learning of Latin.
This paper will analyse the different approaches to Latin accent found in a selection of the grammarians. This will range from the more romantic and ambiguous such as Pompeius’ definition: accentus est quasi anima vocis “accent is like the soul of the voice” (Keil V, 126), to the perhaps more tangible ideas of graves, acutes and circumflexes. Does a different approach suggest a different understanding of Latin accent, or are they discussing the same thing in a different way?
Name: David Farag
Institution: Brock University
Paper Title: Conjugal Affection: Marital Relations and the “Ideal” in the Late Republic
Abstract: Within the past few decades, studies on the Roman family have helped to improve our understanding of Roman marriages by re-examining the conjugal relationship and the expectations that were held by each partner, in addition to notions of affection. The letters from Cicero to Terentia written during his period of exile from 58-57 BC provide a valuable firsthand look at elite marital relations in the Late Republic. Through the tone and language found within these letters (expressed by terms related to amor, fides and carus), as well as broader descriptions of the grief Cicero feels while in exile, it becomes clear that the conjugal ideal (rooted in companionship, support and mutual love) may well have been a possibility within elite Roman marriages. Although there is a scarcity of similar letters written between other elite couples within this period, funerary inscriptions such as the Laudatio Turiae are a suitable alternative and make use of a similar vocabulary where the deceased partner is spoken of in terms of endearment. The epistolary and funerary evidence thus complement one another to reveal a situation within which genuine affection between Roman husbands and wives and seemingly atypical relationships may be more prevalent than has been generally believed.
Name: Lorenzo Focanti
Institution: Ghent University
Paper Title: Between Porus and Chandragupta Maurya: the historical background of Megasthenes’ Indica
Abstract: The aim of my paper is a re-assessment of the historical setting of Megasthenes’ Indica (FGrHist 715). The starting point is the fragment 5b (Arr. Ind. 5,3), where the ethnographer writes that he visited Σανδροκόττῳ … τῷ μεγίστῳ βασιλεῖ Ἰνδῶν, καὶ Πώρῳ ἔτι τούτου μείζονι. Because of his paradoxical character, the text has been traditionally amended: Πώρου ἔτι τούτῳ μείζονι. Such a correction matches the main chronological hypothesis, which links Megasthenes’ work to the peace between Seleucus and Chandragupta, signed when the latter was the only king of Punjab (306/4 BC). A different hypothesis has also been proposed, which does not alter the text, but suggests that Megathenes went to India when both Chandragupta and Porus were sovereigns (320/18 BC). His work, therefore, is supposed to reflect the fragmentary political situation of India in the years immediately following Alexander's departure. Both reconstructions show difficulties: the emendation of the text is hard to defend, but the coexistence of the two reigns is unlikely as well. Moreover, Megasthenes’ India does not match the political pattern of Porus’ time. My suggestion is to merge the two perspectives: Megasthenes went to India more than once, and visited Porus and Chandragupta in different occasions. What he describes is the reign of the second one, although with an idealizing filter. This solution does not entail a modification of Arrian’s text, nor does it force the historical context. My argument will be supported by a historical analysis and by the reading of some passages from the Indica.
Name: Sarah Graham
Institution: University of Glasgow
Paper Title: What the Hell? Vergilian Influences on Prudentius' Underworld
Abstract: In this paper I will examine the way in which Prudentius’ descriptions of the underworld were influenced by Vergil’s Aeneid. The fourth century A.D. Christian writer, Prudentius, often draws heavily on material from Vergil’s depiction of Hades in book six of the Aeneid, sometimes even including aspects of the Vergilian underworld which seem to be at odds with Christian theology. My key question is how and for what purposes Prudentius appropriates material from Vergil, through allusion and quotation; further, I will consider the potential effects that were created by the close resemblance between Prudentius’ Hell and Vergil’s Hades.
A great deal of work has been done in recent years on the appropriation of non-Christian material by Christian authors, but little thought has been given to how Christian authors use classical material when describing the afterlife. I will consider how Prudentius’ depiction of the underworld draws heavily on Vergil’s in terms of both language and imagery. Prudentius often uses phrases which echo Vergil, and figures and geographical features of Vergil’s underworld often appear in Prudentius’ works. I will explore the intertextual relationship between the poets, as well as considering whether or not these allusions were deliberate and whether Prudentius intended for his audience to be aware of them. I will argue that the allusions are not coincidental; rather, they were employed to facilitate the understanding of Christian concepts of eschatological phenomena.
Name: Nicholas Hanson
Institution: Wolfson College, Oxford University
Paper Title: Fragments of Manteia: Seers in the Epic Cycle
The scant fragmentary remains and prose résumés of the poems that constitute the Epic
Cycle offer a teasing glimpse into the representation of myth between Homer and the Classical age. Although seers are familiar to the worlds of the Iliad and Odyssey, the broader temporal scope of the Cyclic poems seems to have offered more opportunity for the involvement of these characters. Their varied depiction on the tragic stage implies the importance of the preceding period for the elaboration of their traits and place within the mythical tradition. Beyond inferring what the Cycle contained on the basis of later works, can we know anything at all about the presentation of seers within this body of lost poetry? Amphiaraus, Helenus, Cassandra and Calchas all had a part to play, and undoubtedly there were others besides.
This paper will offer an overview of the seers in the Cyclic poems, looking particularly at
the question of how far these characters depart from the Homeric model. Where possible, it will examine whether and to what extent the poets adopted the Homeric manner of drawing on real-life seers while adding a touch of the impossible to their mantic art. Treading more carefully than West (2013), who reconstructs the very words Helenus may have uttered in the Little Iliad, this paper will also suggest, contrary to Davies (1989), that the seers of the Cycle and the seers of Homeric epic, may not have differed all that much.
Bibliography
Davies, M. (1989) The Epic Cycle (Bristol: Bristol Classical Press).
Griffin, J. (1977) ‘The Epic Cycle and the Uniqueness of Homer’, JHS 97: 39-53.
West, M.L. (2013) The Epic Cycle: a Commentary on the Lost Troy Epics (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Name: Jennifer Hilder
Institution: University of Glasgow
Paper Title: When is a textbook not a textbook?: Re-thinking Roman education with the Rhetorica ad Herennium.
Abstract: From Aristotle’s Rhetorica onwards, rhetorical treatises became an important method of transmitting rhetorical theory in the ancient world. The Rhetorica ad Herennium, written in the 80’s BCE, belongs to this tradition. A practical work by an anonymous author, it is often referred to as a rhetorical handbook or even textbook. But in a context where teaching was most frequently done by a private tutor and given in an oral form, where would a textbook fit in? What audience might this work have been written for?
In this paper I will reassess the role of the ad Herennium by asking two questions. Firstly, I will consider how texts supplement and enhance oral learning. Viewing the ad Herennium as, for example, an authoritative statement suggests it had a broader remit than simply that of a textbook. Secondly, I will discuss who might use the work, when and for what purposes. The author’s pared-down, practical approach suggests an audience looking for clear, accessible information without the frills. While this might include younger students in their teens, the level of assumed knowledge within the text suggests it is better suited to a more experienced learner and could also function as a reference work.
By thinking about the role of the rhetorical treatise in more detail, we can better understand the educational process of late Republican Rome and identify more closely the motives and audience of the ad Herennium itself.
Name: Ellie Mackin
Institution: King’s College London
Paper Title: Global Mapping, Local Rites: Panhellenism and Greek Communities
Abstract: It has long been recognised that to speak of Greek religion as a whole and consistent entity is an erroneous approach. However, it is not necessarily the acknowledgement of the complex and chaotic nature of the study of ‘Greek religion’ where one may fall down, rather it is the application of a frame of understanding that ensures we do not resort to the easy habit of generalisation.[3] How, then, should we map local beliefs and religious structures without falling into the trap of reducing the local subtleties and variations to unexplained or unimportant points in the schema of general ‘beliefs’ or ‘belief structures’ when, in fact, it is the local variation which is not only the most important but the most interesting to study? Alternatively, how do we justly categorise Panhellenic ritual practices without losing sight of the local religious perspectives brought forward by individual participants?
This paper will explore ideas of local and panhellenic religion in an attempt to make progress towards undertaking a study that can help to illuminate both kinds of practice in light of the other.
Name: Ian McElroy
Institution: University of Glasgow
Paper Title: Temple to church: Understanding the Conversion of the Temple of Dionysus at Gerasa
Abstract: Understanding temple-church conversion is a challenge requiring careful examination of the archaeological evidence, both locally and in the wider context, as well as historical evidence where available, in order to understand why conversion took place and why in the form that it did. To demonstrate the issues involved in temple-church conversion study I explore the late antique conversion of the Temple of Dionysus into a Christian church at Gerasa in modern Jordan, specifically to demonstrate the importance of contemporary comparison in ancient conversion events, while also interpreting the physical architecture of conversion. After looking at conversion more generally and the forms taken, I outline the building phases at Gerasa before moving on to analyse these changes. The physical processes by which conversion was manifested are informative in very different ways, ranging from the retention of specific architectural elements to less tangible concepts of interpretation of created/retained spaces. I consider three facets of this conversion in order to explore these: the retained pagan propylaea; the intentional creation of architectural comparison; and the implications of continuity of cult practice. In order to do this I touch upon an adapted phenomenological approach to demonstrate the importance of acknowledging comparison as intentional, a concept overlooked regarding this site yet essential to its understanding. Memory is considered throughout owing to the fact that any conversion event results in the alteration of memory and influences all aspects of a monument, including its inception, construction, interpretations through time, and how we as academics interpret it.
Name: Wawrzyniec (Lawrence) Miscicki
Institution: Jagiellonian University, Cracow
Paper Title: Between hero and hoplite. Warrior in the iconography of the Archaic Greece.
Abstract: The subject of this paper is the social figure and symbolic meaning of an Archaic Greek warrior presented in the iconography, particularly in the vase paintings. The iconographical sources play a major role in the studying of warfare of this period, but most of those researches focus on the mechanics of combat, military formations, such as the phalanx, using only a small portion of the sources and often without proper methodology for the interpretation of artifacts. However, the scenes of vase painting offer a lot more, when interpreted with proper methods and putted in a wider context, that is the whole framework of Archaic art. Not only do they present methods of fighting, but they are also forming a complex narration about the role that warrior had played in Archaic society, making analysis of iconography crucial for our understanding of the warfare as a social activity. In my paper I will explore the possibilities of such studies, showing to what extent they can benefit to our reconstructions of the past, and what problems could scholar be facing when conducting such analysis.
Name: Victoria Rota
Institution: University of Wales, Trinity St. David
Paper Title: The Purposes of Using the Poetry in the ‘Universal History’ of Diodorus Siculus.
Abstract: The paper will discuss the purposes of using poetical extracts as a source in the Bibliotheka Historica of Diodorus Siculus. It argues that citing ancient poetry, which was a distinct method of reference for Diodorus, has different functions in different parts of the Bibliotheka, and helps the author to indicate individual aspects of his ‘universal history’.
This paper, corresponding with the arguments proposed in the recent scholarship attributing independence and originality to Diodorus’ text in a great extent (the works of K. Sacks, I. Sulimani, C.L. Rubincam etc.) deals with the issue which so far has not been examined in detail with regards to the ‘Quellenforschung’ of Bibliotheka Historica.
The comparative analysis of Diodorus’ Bibliotheka and those of other authors related to him in terms of genre and the same cultural background, as well as the textual study of the material, reveal that the role of poetry as an authority for ancient histories was far more significant than it has been considered before. With regards to the complex nature of the Bibliotheka Historica, at least three purposes of citing poetry followed by the author can be identified: providing evidence for the material described (mainly for those related to ancient myths); praising the main figures of this historical account (mythological ‘culture-heroes’, benefactors, and real kings and military leaders); making the narrative superior in style and comprehensible for different types of readers. Finally, Diodorus’ use of poetry reflects a reconsidered attitude towards this kind of source compared to the works of his predecessors.
Name: Pedro Baroni Schmidt
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo
Paper Title: Neronian Literature and Carolingian Literature: Aspects of Lucan's Bellum Civile in the Waltharius
Abstract: The Waltharius is a 9th-10th century Latin poem in hexameters, probably written in a monastery during the so called “Carolingian Renaissance”. Much has been said about the Virgilian influence on it, but there are few studies on the Lucanian poetic ways and methods as models of composition to Medieval Latin literature. The aim of this research is to find, describe and analyze the intimate textual connection between Lucan’s epic Bellum Civile and the Waltharius, and therefore to show the relevance of Lucan as model in order to understand some aspects of compositional structure of the Waltharius.
Name: Hugh Thompson
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: "Wonderful but useless – a new religion confronts the visual culture of Greece and Rome
Abstract: The visual culture of Greece and Rome produced many marvels – temples, statues, paintings and mosaics. When Christian emperors took control of the Roman empire, a new religion, based on the aniconic (or virtually aniconic) tradition of the Jews of Palestine, found itself confronting this established visual language.
During the conflict which resulted, masterpieces were destroyed and new masterpieces created. Preconceptions, on both sides of the argument, were refined, restated and revised. The classical culture which had, since 330 BC, extended across the Near East from its roots in the Greek city states, and, following the legions, had also conquered the West from North Africa to the Scottish border, was extinguished, and a completely new visual language, based on a world view entirely alien to that of the past, was created. This dominated the oikoumene for a thousand years.
I have been trying to understand this process of creative destruction as it was experienced by the people who were alive at the time, taking, as my starting point, a fragment of text apparently written by a more or less anonymous recluse in the second half of the fifth century, My presentation will review and illustrate the dialogue which defined some of the key elements in the new visual language."
Name: Gary Vos
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: Teaching Pleasure and Wisdom: Callimachus’ Lini (Fr. 23, 253-26 Hdr.) and Plato’s Educational Views
Abstract: It is by now a well-established fact that Callimachus throughout the Aetia engages intensively with Plato and often uses him as a foil for his own poetic stance. A second feature of the Cyrenean’s emulative poetics is that he is very much concerned with ‘importing’ pre-Hellenistic Greece into his Egyptian surroundings. These two interests converge in a subset of Platonic dialogue, particularly the Phaedrus, Philebus and Republic. I shall argue that Callimachus in his Linus-myths (Aetia 1, frr. 23, 25e-26 Hdr.) appeals to, inverts, and misrepresents elements from these texts which have a bearing on Plato’s educational outlook, specifically (1) the ‘myth’ of the Egyptian god Theuth and the invention of writing (Phdr.274c-c-275b; Phlb. 18b) and (2) the matter whether pleasure or wisdom constitutes a greater boon. Callimachus does this by turning Plato’s ‘poetological’ imagery against him (e.g.Socrates’ sacrifice to the Muses in the Phaedrus) in order to upend the latter’s condemnation of poetry in the Republic and writing in general in the Phaedrus. To this end Callimachus casts his poem as a Platonic dialogue, dedicated to produce both pleasure and wisdom, the mixture of which according to Plato’s Philebus is the highest ideal in life. Callimachus’ wayward reading of Plato not only redeems poetry and literature on Plato’s own terms, but also anticipates Jacques Derrida’s ‘Plato’s Pharmacy’ – his (in)famous essay on the Phaedrus– by two millennia.
Name: Belinda Washington
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Paper Title: Theodosius I's Dynastic Takeover
Abstract: The Emperor Theodosius was the junior partner in the Roman Empire to two successive child Emperors from the previous Valentinianic dynasty, Gratian and Valentinian II, and his relationship with them was always uneasy. His assertion of his autonomy can be seen in the imperial panegyrics delivered to him by Themistius when Gratian was senior Augustus. Theodosius made a clear break from Gratian's authority when he made his own son, Arcadius, Augustus in 383. At the same time he also made his wife, Aelia Flaccilla, Augusta. This was the first attribution of this title to a living imperial woman since Constantine I's mother, Helena, and wife, Fausta, in the 320s. The promotion of Aelia Flaccilla in coinage and statuary can be seen as a promotion of Theodosius' own dynastic designs. To be considered alongside this image is the absence of evidence for Theodosius' second wife, Galla, the sister of Valentinian II. Theodosius' relationship with Valentinian II when the latter was senior Augustus was even frostier than that with Gratian. In this paper I will look at how Theodosius' imperial partnership with Gratian and then Valentinian II as senior Emperors was reflected by the evidence, and absence of evidence, for his first and second wives.
Name: Kim Young-Chae
Institution: Oxford University
Paper Title: The Nocelli farm at Luceria: a clue to the Gracchan countryside
Abstract: In contrast to scholarly interest in large villa buildings and commercial estates in Roman Italy, smaller and materially poor rural sites have rarely been a favourite of archaeological projects and historical monographs. Primarily interested in how much archaeology could offer in reappraising the Gracchan countryside, this paper focuses on a small farmhouse at Nocelli near Luceria in north Apulia, one of the few excavated small farmsteads. It has been suggested that the Nocelli farm and nearby farms at Luceria were the Gracchan allotments created around the 120s BC. However, by not only examining the results of the excavation and the centuriation on which the farms are located, but also comparing such evidence from archaeology with that from the epigraphic ‘lex agraria of 111’ and written sources, a very different picture of the settlement scheme at Luceria in the late second-century BC begins to emerge. This paper suggests that the farms at Luceria are the land ‘redditus’, the land restored (as is stated in the ‘lex agraria of 111’ ) to those who had surrendered their holdings on ager publicus or their private properties to the Gracchan commission for land distribution - not the Gracchan allotments. In turn, this study will shed light on the often-neglected ‘middling class’: those who were above the former landless Gracchan settlers but below the great landowners.
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[3] Julia Kindt describes this tendency, in relation to the application of ‘polis religion’: ‘Unfortunately, in the historiographic practice of works on Greek religion, such concessions have all too frequently remained mere programmatic statements, made in the introduction in order to silence potential disagreement before the writer produces yet another account of polis religion which makes perfect sense in all its aspects.’ J. Kindt, 'Polis Religion - a Critical Appreciation', Kernos, 22 (2009), 16.