LITHIC POETICS: POSIDIPPUS AND HIS STONES

Ramus ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaś Elsner
Keyword(s):  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Aesthetic Response ◽  
Standard View ◽  
The Third ◽  
Manuscript Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Insight Into

The 20 poems collected together as thelithikaof Posidippus, the first surviving poems on a papyrus roll only published in 2001 and dating from the third century BCE, offer a range of spectacular new evidence for a series of issues in Hellenistic history, art and literature. The standard view is that Posidippus was probably author of all the epigrams in the roll known as P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309, although this has been contested and by no means need certainly be the case. For my purposes here, I do assume that the interconnected poetics of the poems in thelithikado imply a single poet who is quite likely to be Posidippus, since poem 15—independently anthologised in antiquity and known through a manuscript tradition—was attributed to Posidippus in the twelfth century by the Byzantine poet and grammarian John Tzetzes. Historically speaking, the fact that so many of these poems focus on gems from the east gives remarkable insight into the interchange between Hellenistic and Achaemenid cultures: specifically, they signal the prestige of treasures from the east in the Hellenistic courts. In the history of collections, they represent a very early example of exoticism in elite collecting, of the accumulation of valuables in what we may assume was a royal and non-sacredSchatzkammer, of the need for an aesthetic response (in this case through short poems) to ‘label’ and valorise the precious items in the collection. In the history of ancientWissenschaft, the poems’ use of late Classical gem-lore (exemplified in texts like theOn Stonesof Theophrastus) offers a vivid instance of the ways theoretical knowledge circulated at least in elite contexts around the royal circle.

Athens and Tenos in the Early Hellenistic Age

1992 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Reger
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Greek History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Old Evidence ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Standing Problem

Some recent work on the history of Athens and Tenos in the third century B.c. has brought to light new evidence and new interpretations of old evidence for this notoriously shadowy period of Greek history. Reflection on this material has suggested to me solutions to a few minor puzzles (Sections IA, IB, III), a contribution to a long-standing problem in the history of Athens in the early third century (Section IB), and a new explanation for the entry of Rhodos into the war with Antiokhos (Section II).

Athenian Twilight: A.D. 267–600

1959 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 61-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homer A. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Case History ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Ancient Civilization ◽  
The Third ◽  
Classical Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The City

The excavations that have been conducted since 1931 by the American School of Classical Studies in the Athenian Agora have illumined virtually all phases in the development of the civic centre from its modest beginnings in the time of Solon to its dramatic end in the third century of our era. The exploration has also made it possible to trace the history of habitation in the area from Neolithic times down to the present day. One of the periods for which the excavations have yielded especially abundant documentation is late antiquity, more specifically the centuries from the third through the sixth. The new evidence has led to the correction of various misapprehensions that had arisen because of the paucity of evidence previously available for the study of this period. The results are the more interesting because our detailed knowledge of what happened in the Agora now helps in understanding contemporary developments in the city as a whole. Athens in fact has become a useful ‘case history’ for the study of the actual way in which ancient civilization went to pieces in one of the best known and most characteristic communities of the ancient world.

Joseph Kimhi's Sefer Ha-Berit: Pathbreaking Medieval Jewish Apologetics

1992 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Chazan
Keyword(s):  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Spiritual Leadership ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Jewish Intellectual ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
Anti Jewish ◽  
Rich History

Christian anti-Jewish polemics have a long and rich history, stretching all the way back to the early stages of the new faith community. Anti-Jewish treatises dot the history of Christian literature from the third century onward. By contrast, Jews seem to have been much less concerned with combatting Christianity. It has been widely noted that the earliest Jewish compositions devoted to anti-Christian polemics stem from the twelfth century. While the twelfth-century provenance of the earliest Jewish anti-Christian tracts has long been recognized, little attention has been focused on the significance of this dating. The fact that sometime toward the end of the twelfth century, perhaps in the 1160s or 1170s, two anti-Christian works, the forerunners of a substantial body of Jewish anti-Christian polemical-apologetic works, were composed almost simultaneously begs interpetation. What changes gave rise to a new Jewish sensitivity, to a need to present Jewish readers with formulation and rebuttal of Christian claims? The answer clearly lies in the enhanced agressiveness of western Christendom toward the Jews, as well as other non-Christians, a development that has been recognized and discussed extensively in modern scholarly literature. In the face of an increasingly aggressive Christendom, Jewish intellectual and spiritual leadership had to reassure the Jewish flock of the rectitude of the Jewish vision and the nullity of the Christian faith. This is precisely what the first two anti-Christian treatises, the Milhamot ha-Shem of Jacob ben Reuven and the Sefer ha-Berit of Joseph Kimhi, undertook to achieve. Given the pioneering nature of these works, it is striking that insufficient scholarly attention has been accorded to these two efforts. They surely have much to tell both of perceived Christian thrusts and of meaningful Jewish rebuttal of these challenges.

III. A Samaritan MS. of the Second or Third Century: A Palæographic Study

1918 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-83
Author(s):  
M. Gaster
Keyword(s):  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Good For ◽  
Prayer Books ◽  
Insight Into

All the elements are missing for even a moderate attempt at establishing definite rules for Samaritan Palæography. Of all the MSS. of the Pentateuch known in Europe only a few specimens have hitherto been published in facsimile, and, as far as I am aware, not one of them dated. The same holds good for all other Samaritan documents, prayer-books, letters, etc. There is therefore practically nothing to go upon, except personal experience, and the examination as far as possible of the materials available to as large an extent as circumstances allow. It is the course which I have endeavoured to pursue, but as will be seen the examination of MSS. hitherto known does not lead us further back than the eleventh or twelfth century. With all modesty I may claim to have seen most of the Samaritan MSS. in England and in Nablus. In the rest of Europe they are an almost negligible quantity: possibly the oldest dated fragment of a scroll of the Bible is in rny possession. I have seen all the scrolls in the Kinsha in Nablus, inclusive of the famous one ascribed to Abisha, grandson of Eliezar, the son of Ahron the priest, and I have obtained copies of the Tarikh, or as they call it of the Teshkul (pronounced Tesh'ul), i.e. the date of most of them. I have taken a photo of the scroll of 1140, and done my best to get an insight into Samaritan palæography, intimately bound up as it is with the history of the Bible. If anywhere, it is among the Samaritans that the ancient traditions have been fossilized, and their scribes betray a most touching anxiety to imitate the originals as closely as possible.

scholarly journals The Battles of Andros and Cos

1909 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. W. Tarn
Keyword(s):  
Third Century ◽  
Subsequent Paper ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of ◽  
Working Out ◽  
Important Evidence

No apology should be needed for treating afresh these much-discussed battles, if only because the last two years have produced new and important evidence from Delos; though in fact the literary allusions, scanty as they are, have hardly even yet been sufficiently elucidated. I hope in this paper to fix the dates of Andros and Cos by the Delian archon-list, and to consider what that means in terms of B.C. In a subsequent paper, to be published in the next number of this Journal, I hope, by working out the history of the ship which Antigonus Gonatas dedicated to Apollo, to confirm the date assigned to Cos in this paper. If these two dates could really be fixed, they would be invaluable for our understanding of Aegean history in the middle of the third century.

scholarly journals The history of settlement and agrarian land use in a boreal forest in Värmland, Sweden, new evidence from pollen analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrún Dögg Eddudóttir ◽  
Eva Svensson ◽  
Stefan Nilsson ◽  
Anneli Ekblom ◽  
Karl-Johan Lindholm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractShielings are the historically known form of transhumance in Scandinavia, where livestock were moved from the farmstead to sites in the outlands for summer grazing. Pollen analysis has provided a valuable insight into the history of shielings. This paper presents a vegetation reconstruction and archaeological survey from the shieling Kårebolssätern in northern Värmland, western Sweden, a renovated shieling that is still operating today. The first evidence of human activities in the area near Kårebolssätern are Hordeum- and Cannabis-type pollen grains occurring from ca. 100 bc. Further signs of human impact are charcoal and sporadic occurrences of apophyte pollen from ca. ad 250 and pollen indicating opening of the canopy ca. ad 570, probably a result of modification of the forest for grazing. A decrease in land use is seen between ad 1000 and 1250, possibly in response to a shift in emphasis towards large scale commodity production in the outlands. Emphasis on bloomery iron production and pitfall hunting may have caused a shift from agrarian shieling activity. The clearest changes in the pollen assemblage indicating grazing and cultivation occur from the mid-thirteenth century, coinciding with wetter climate at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. The earliest occurrences of anthropochores in the record predate those of other shieling sites in Sweden. The pollen analysis reveals evidence of land use that predates the results of the archaeological survey. The study highlights how pollen analysis can reveal vegetation changes where early archaeological remains are obscure.

scholarly journals Los mártires de Libisosa: origen, transformación y pervivencia de una tradición hagiográfica

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
José Antonio Molina Gómez ◽  
Héctor Uroz Rodríguez ◽  
José Ángel Munera Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Third Century ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
The Third ◽  
Local Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Traditions

En el presente artículo los autores estudian las tradiciones hagiográficas sobre los mártires del siglo III Vicente y Leto, quienes murieron en Libisosa (Lezuza, Albacete). El estudio se centra en la relación entre tradiciones martirológicas, la evidencia arqueológica y las tradiciones locales. Escritores modernos como Higuera y Requena podrían haber usado fuentes antiguas para (re)escribir la historia de Vicente y Leto. De acuerdo con la tradición local ambos fueron ejecutados en un lugar llamado hoy en día Vallejo de los Santos, en las inmediaciones de Lezuza, donde habría sido levantado un templo para rendirles culto. In the following article, the authors study the hagiographic tradition of the Third Century Christian Martyrs Vicente and Leto, both of which died in Libisosa (Lezuza, Albacete). Said study shall focus upon the link between the matyrological tradition, archaeological evidence and local traditions. Modern writers such as Higuera or Requena may well have employed these ancient sources while (re)writing the history of Vicente and Leto. According to local tradition, both were executed in a place now called Vallejo de los Santos, in the outskirts of Lezuza, where a temple would have been built for their worship.

scholarly journals “The Milan Papyrus” of the Posidippus as the Source of History of the Nabataeans

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Third ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Points Of View

The author considers the content of the “Milan Papyrus” with the epigrams of Posidippus of Pella, the first edition of which was published in 2003, with reference to the history of the Nabataean Arabs. The mention of the Nabataean king in the work is the very first in narrative sources, which allows to reconsider some traditional points of view on the life of the Nabataeans in the early Hellenistic period before their transition to a settled life. It should be noted that referring to the early period of the history of the Nabataeans, researchers inevitably encounter a problem that is associated with a lack of narrative sources. The data available today do not fully restore the course of historical events, especially during the period when the Nabataean tribes led a nomadic lifestyle. To a certain extent, the fragmentariness of the written sources is compensated by the data of archeology, epigraphy and numismatics, however, the early Hellenistic period of the history of the Nabataeans, unfortunately, is still not adequately covered by the sources. Meanwhile, it was at that time when the Nabataeans experienced a gradual transition from a nomadic way of life to a sedentary one, as well as the most important historical processes that determined the path of their further existence under statehood were being held. Nevertheless, the range of sources is gradually expanding, which allows researchers to set new tasks and look for ways to solve them. Thus, as a result of the research, the author concludes that the data of the “Milan Papyrus” suggest that the royal Nabataean dynasty has deeper roots than was commonly believed, and from the middle of the third century BC at the head was the king, under whose command was the cavalry corps. This conclusion changes the generally accepted idea of the socio-political development of the Nabataean society in the early stages of its history.

scholarly journals Searching for the History of the Ancient Basilicata: Archaeogeophysics Applied to the Roman Site of Forentum

Heritage ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1097-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Capozzoli ◽  
Sabrina Mutino ◽  
Maria Grazia Liseno ◽  
Gregory De Martino
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Geophysical Measurements ◽  
Regular Patterns

This paper describes the results obtained using an archaeogeophysical-based approach for discovering new Roman structures belonging to the ancient settlement of Forentum, currently identifiable by a well-preserved sanctuary from the third century BC. The investigated area has been affected by invasive anthropic activities that have partially damaged the Roman structures. Extensive geophysical measurements, including detailed ground-penetrating radar investigations supported by magnetometric data, have allowed for the identification of an impressive complex of structures composed of various buildings. Magnetometric and electromagnetic anomalies suggest the existence of an “urban” dimension close to the Gravetta Sanctuary, totally unearthed and unknown until now, organized into regular patterns in a similar way to the most famous site in the vicinity of Bantia, or the famous Apulian archaeological sites of Ordona and Arpi.

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