scholarly journals The Marble Bust of Mithras Tauroctone from Olbia

Archaeology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 95-105
Author(s):  
Roman Kozlenko ◽  

The article introduces a marble bust of the Mithras deity, which was found in 2010 in a pit of the 2nd — 3rd centuries AD during excavations at the “R-25” sector in the Upper city of Olbia. Based on the iconography of the sculpture, side and frontal holes, with remnants of rust from the iron rods intended for fastening, it should be assumed that it could have been a part of Mithras Tauroctone sculpture, which is slaying the bull. Such sculptural image of Mithras was found for the first time in the Northern Black Sea region, and has analogies in the sanctuaries of the European and Asia Minor provinces of the Roman Empire. At this time the cult of Mithras became widespread among the Roman army, in particular in the Danube provinces, from where, as part of Roman vexillations, it came to the antique centers of the Northern Black Sea area. His veneration in Olbia is confirmed by the finds of four marble votive relief slabs pieces. On the same sector, in the Roman layer, marble statues fragments, architectural details, an altar, and the lower part of a marble relief depicting a horse’s or a bull’s leg were found, which may be the parts of this sculpture, since they are made of the same kind of marble. In the Northern Black Sea region finds of votive slabs, sculptural images of Mithras, and Latin inscriptions dedicated to this deity mark the points of deployment of the Roman troops. The published marble bust may have come from the mithraeum — a sanctuary associated with the cult of Mithras, which appears in Olbia as a result of a stay of the Roman garrison in the city in the second half of the 2nd — first half of the 3rd centuries AD. Since all finds related to the cult of Mithras in Olbia were found on the territory of the citadel, the presence of mithraeum should be assumed in the Upper city.

Archaeology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 108-117
Author(s):  
Roman Kozlenko ◽  
◽  
Olha Puklina ◽  

The article introduces clay figurines of eagles and terracotta of a Roman soldier, which were found during excavations at the Lower City of Olbia in the 1930—1940-ies, and are kept in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. The iconography of the eagles is similar to the terracotta statuette of an eagle found in the praetorium building in the Upper City of Olbia. The series of rooms, in which the eagle figurines were found, belong to the Roman garrison structures, which were located in the port area of the city. Terracotta eagle figurines could be used in military sanctuaries, and imitate Roman military standards, or be associated with the worship of Jupiter. Analogies to these products are known from the Roman fortresses on the Danube and in Dacia province. The fragment of terracotta with a shield was a part of a Roman soldier figurine with hanging limbs. The warrior was depicted wearing a Roman military cloak (sagum). This indicates his higher rank, in contrast to the soldiers dressed in tunics. In his left hand he holds a shield (clipeus), which depicts a deity in armor, with rays above his head. The terracotta depicts warriors armed with gladius, and belted with a Roman military belt (cingulum militare). They depict the servicemen of the auxiliary troops of the Roman army — auxilia, or, given the non-standard shape of their shields, the sailors of the Moesian fleet (milites classiarii), whose units were stationed in Olbia, as is known from the epigraphic finds. The places of their finds mark the points of deployment of the Roman troops in the Northern Black Sea region. These terracottas could serve as votives in ritual rites associated with the cult of Mithras, which appears in Olbia as a result of the Roman garrison deployment in the city during the second half of the 2nd — first half of the 3rd c. AD.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Braund

Abstract The interaction of myth and history at Sinope is explored with regard (1) to Diogenes the Cynic and (2) Sanape/Sinope the Amazon. The modern statue of Diogenes illustrates the abiding and changing significance of an individual whose myth is much more important than the more probable details of his biography. His dwelling in a storage-jar may echo the image of Sinope as a centre of production and exchange (especially in wine and oil), while his apparent exile from Sinope (with his father) may shed some light on the obscure history of the city around the turn of the fifth into the fourth century BC, especially in its dealings with Athens.As for Amazons, it is argued that the distinction between Sinope the nymph and Sinope/Sanape the Amazon is not clear-cut, especially because the nymph was imagined (as often as not) as a daughter of Ares, like the Amazons. That explains why she is an Amazon (and not a nymph) in Pseudo-Scymnus, writing for a king of neighbouring Bithynia. The much-discussed version of Andron of Teos and his story of the hard-drinking Amazon may owe something to the city’s reputation for wine, but it seems to be marginal to the main-line tradition from Heraclitus to Pseudo-Scymnus and the Tabula Albana. Sinope was one of several cities of Asia Minor which claimed and celebrated an Amazon in its mythical past. Aeneas Tacticus gives a clue to Amazon cult practice in the city. The link with Amazons may also have assisted Sinope’s imperialism in the eastern Black Sea region.


Author(s):  
Daniyar Memedemin ◽  
Marian Tudor ◽  
Dan Cogălniceanu ◽  
Marius Skolka ◽  
Gabriel Bănică ◽  
...  

Abstract We report the occurrence of the European otter (Lutra lutra Linnaeus, 1758) along the entire Romanian Black Sea coast, for the first time. Several sightings were within the harbor and the city of Constanţa, indicating that the otter can accommodate to and tolerate high human impact. The report is based on observations made between 2012 and 2015. The species has been previously reported from all Romanian regions but not from the Black Sea coast. The occurrences reported within this article confirm an extension of the range of this Near Threatened species on the Romanian Black Sea coast, most probably due to the increasing of population size from other sources such as the Danube floodplain.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-356
Author(s):  
Mikhail G. Abramzon ◽  
Vladimir D. Kuznetsov

Abstract The paper is a preliminary publication of a large hoard of Bosporan staters found in Phanagoria’s Eastern necropolis in 2011. It contains 3695 coins struck in the 3rd-4th centuries AD under Ininthimaios, Rhescuporis V, Pharsanzes, Sauromates IV, Teiranes and Thothorses, as well as barbarian imitations of latter staters. The Phanagorian hoard is evidence on the historical background of the epoch and sheds new light on the economy, currency and many technical aspects of the coin production in the Late Bosporos. The recent survey of coins from the hoard by X-ray spectroscopy and the neutron tomography first revealed staters of Sauromates IV, Teiranes and Thothorses with the silver content and surface-silvered coating. The treasure was deposited in AD 307/308, due to political instability in the region caused by the increased barbarian pressure on the borders of the Roman Empire and the ancient states in the Black Sea Region.


Author(s):  
Bernhard Weisser

The Editors of this Book Requested a study of an individual city to contrast with the broader regional surveys. This contribution attempts to demonstrate the advantages of a fuller exploration of the specific context of a civic coinage by focusing on selected issues from the coinage of Pergamum— alongside Ephesus and Smyrna one of the three largest cities in the Western part of Asia Minor. In the Julio-Claudian period Pergamum’s coin designs were dominated by the imperial succession and the city’s first neocorate temple (17 BC–AD 59). In AD 59 Pergamum’s coinage stopped for more than two decades. When it resumed under Domitian (AD 83) new topics were continuously introduced until the reign of Caracalla (AD 211–17). These included gods, cults, heroes, personifications, architecture, sculpture, games, and civic titles. After Caracalla the city concentrated on a few key images, such as Asclepius or the emperor. At the same time, coin legends— especially civic titles—gained greater importance. This trend continued until the city’s coinage came to an end under Gallienus (AD 253–68). The overall range of Pergamum’s coin iconography was broadly similar to that of other cities in the East of the Roman empire. Coins of Pergamum from the imperial period fall into (at least) sixty-four issues, the most diverse of which employed twenty different coin types. In all, around 340 different types are currently known. They provide a solid base from which to explore various relationships. These include the relationship between coin obverses and reverses, as well as the place of an individual coin type within its own issue, and within the city’s coinage as a whole. Coin designs could allude to objects and events within Pergamum itself, or focus on the city’s connections with the outside world: with small neighbouring cities, with the other great cities within the province of Asia, or with Rome and the imperial family. Communication via the medium of civic coinage was in the first instance presumably directed towards the citizens of Pergamum. At the same time coinage also reflected developments outside the city. Social and geographical mobility was encouraged by an imperial system which allowed distinguished members of local elites access to the highest military and administrative posts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Oylum Gokkurt Baki ◽  
Osman Nuri Ergun

Sinop is a province located at the Black Sea region and it is rich in scenic beauty and cultural values and has potential touristic resources. Moreover, it is one of the most prominent port towns in the Black Sea region. The area, which can be qualified as the most important and prominent image region of the city, comprise the coastal land use line of the province. However, the city fails to utilize this advantage. The master plan of the city has substantially changed through the years. The present study aimed to determine the changes in the master plans of the city through the years, the distribution of the coastal land use areas and changes in the utilization of the coastal areas through the years. Evaluating the current administrative competence/constraints in the coastal area with respect to the data obtained in the study is also among the goals of the study. Furthermore, by taking the impact of environmental factors on the ratio of the land use areas into consideration, examining these data in terms of coastal management planning to create habitats that better suit the vital requirements is another prospect of the study. In addition, the evaluation of some coastal area-associated issues including the extent of the effect of current erosion issues on the development of the coastal area was also included in the study. The percentage of the current functional coastal areas in the province, the distribution of the number of building floors and the changes in these data by years were also investigated. For these evaluations, zoning revisions and 1/2000, 1/5000 and 1/10000 maps were examined to determine the coastal area zoning changes and filling areas. Fieldworks were carried out in the coastal area of the city to determine and observe the state of the area. The data was collected by contacting relevant institutions and organizations and carrying out fieldworks. Considering the data obtained in the study, measures to remedy the zoning deficiencies in the coastal area and the city center were proposed. The obtained data and evaluations obtained revealed that the province is in need of new and sustainable planning and there is a necessity to include implementations that are based on integrated coastal area management principals.


Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2608 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. SULLIVAN ◽  
I. KARACA ◽  
S. K. OZMAN-SULLIVAN ◽  
J. KOLAROV

Overwintering pupae of the phytophagous lepidopteran pest Hyphantria cunea (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) were collected from 38 hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) plantations in Samsun province, Turkey. Five species of ichneumonids, Virgichneumon dumeticola (Gravenhorst), V. albilineatus (Gravenhorst), Enicospilus ramidulus (L.), Pimpla rufipes (Miller) and one Gelis sp. were reared. Average parasitism was 0.13% and 2.33% for 2008 and 2009, respectively. Highest site parasitism was 14.9% and highest site diversity was 4 species. Virgichneumon dumeticola was the commonest species, with 73% of the total speciments. Virgichneumon albilineatus and E. ramidulus are reported for the first time from H. cunea, and V. albilineatus is also reported for the first time from Turkey. Gelis sp. is reported for the first time as a parasitoid of H. cunea in Turkey.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
Carmen Costea ◽  
Adrian Vasile ◽  
Larisa Mihoreanu ◽  
Adrian Vasile

The reason/motivation for addressing issues related to the Black Sea region is multifaceted and requires adequate explanations which will be refereed to here from Romania’s perspective as, a Black Sea area country by geography, historical background, cultural and social characteristics, is the bridge of economic and cultural changes, peace stability and military safety. Its economy and standard of life is sensible to the various factors and trends originating in the region.This paper aims to offer new perspectives in sustaining the idea of a valuable contribution of whom/what at the regional stability.


Author(s):  
Tomasz Ciesielski ◽  

General Consulate of the Republic of Poland established in Odessa in 2003 is the third Polish diplomatic mission in the Black Sea region of present – day Ukraine. The second Polish consulate, representing the reviving Polish statehood, functioned at the Black Sea between January 1919 and the beginning of February 1920, with almost a 5-month-long break, during the first Bolshevik occupation of Odessa. Zenon Belina Brzozowki was the consul in office during the period of January, 4, 1919 to March, 3, 1919 and then again since the end of August, (between April and August he stayed in Istanbul), in October and November, 1919 he was replaced by Stanisław Srokowski, a diplomat in the rank of I class consul, i.e. the present general consul. The consulate changed its location few times, and in different months the number of its employees varied from a few people to over a dozen. The consulat functioned in Odessa until March, 3, 1920 when it was evacuated along with a large group of Polish citizens because of the inevitability of the Bolshevik takeover of the city. Consulate staff and archives reached Warsaw in March 1920. Not many archival materials regarding the functioning of Polish consulat in the Black Sea region were saved.


Author(s):  
Vodotyka S. ◽  
Robak I.

The article is devoted to reviewing the book by the well-known Turkish historian İlber Ortaylı "Ottomans on Three Continents". The authors consistently analyze the main postulates of the work in the history of Ottoman possessions in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, focusing on the role of the Ottoman Empire in the interaction of Black Sea civilizations in the late Middle Ages and early modern times.The authors prove that the history of the Ottoman Empire is essential for understanding the history of Ukraine. Ottoman influences significantly impacted the history of the Ukrainian people and other indigenous peoples of Ukraine – Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks, Crimean Greeks.The authors agree with the thesis of the Turkish researcher about the significant and sometimes decisive influence of the Ottomans on the situation in the Black Sea region in the XV–XVIII centuries. Furthermore, the authors express their views on certain statements of the book. In particular, İlber Ortaylı proves that the Ottoman Empire was a "state of the Middle Eastern Islamic type". Its presence in the Black Sea resulted in the interaction of Islamic Mediterranean civilization with Eastern European Orthodoxy and Ukraine were at the centre of this interaction. However, the authors cannot agree with the historian's statement about the primary basis of the empire – the system of the state, especially military, slavery (devshirme). It allowed to creation of a vast empire, The Sublime or Ottoman Porte. However, slavery could not create social mechanisms of progress. The civilizational basis of the Ottoman Empire was its steppe, Turkic-steppe, essence.In the Ottoman Empire, Western modernization borrowings were superficial, served utilitarian-pragmatic purposes, and did not change the foundations of civilization. Such selectable reforms were the reason why the Omans lost their possessions in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region to the Russian Empire in the eighteenth century. Significantly, both empires claim the imperial, not civilizational, heritage of the Roman Empire. The intelligence emphasizes that these claims are not sufficiently substantiated.Key words: İlber Ortaylı, Ottoman Empire, heritage, history of Ukraine, Northern Black Sea Coast, Crimea. Стаття присвячена огляду-рецензії книги відомого турецького історика Ільбера Ортайли «Османи на трьох континентах». Автори послідовно проаналізували основні постулати праці в координатах історії османських володінь в Криму і Північному Причорномор’ї, приділивши головну увагу ролі Османської імперії у взаємодії цивілізацій Чорномор’я у періоди пізнього середньовіччя і раннього модерного часу.Доведено, що історія Османської імперії має важливе значення для розуміння історії України. Османські впливи відіграли значну роль в історії українського народу та інших корінних народів України – кримських татар, караїмів і кримчаків, кримських греків.Автори погоджуються з тезою турецького дослідника про значний, а часом визначальний, вплив Османів на ситуацію у Чорномор’ї у ХV–ХVІІІ ст. та висловлюють свої міркування щодо окремих положень праці. Зокрема, І. Ортайли кваліфіковано доводить, що Османська імперія була «державою близькосхідно-ісламського типу» і її присутність у Чорномор’ї мала наслідком взаємодію ісламської середземноморської цивілізації зі східноєвропейською православною, причому Україна знаходилась у центрі цієї взаємодії. Однак, не можна погодитись з твердженням історика щодо головної основи імперії – системи державного, передусім військового, рабства (девшірме). Вона дозволило створити величезну імперію, Сяючу Порту, але рабство не може створити суспільних механізмів поступу. Цивілізаційною основою Османської імперії стала її степова, тюрксько-степова, сутність. В Османській імперії західні модернізаційні запозичення були поверховими, служили утилітарно-прагматичним цілям і не змінювали цивілізаційних основ. Власне це і стало основною причиною того, що у ХVІІІ ст. Омани втратили свої володіння в Криму і Північному Причорномор’ї, які дістались Російській імперії. Показово, що обидві імперії висувають претензії на імперську, а не цивілізаційну, спадщину Римської імперії. У розвідці наголошується, що ці претензії не є достатньо обґрунтованими. Ключові слова: І. Ортайли, Османська імперія, спадщина, історія України, Північне Причорномор’я, Крим.


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