Expressions of Art in a Roman commercial city: Ostia

1915 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
Guido Calza
Keyword(s):  
Double Series ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Ground Floor ◽  
The Third ◽  
Dwelling House ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple

The noteworthy discovery which I have the honour of illustrating for the Journal of Roman Studies is a very recent one, and it was unlooked for because one would not expect to find a rich and beautiful series of small artistic bronzes among the ruins of a great bakehouse. This building consisted of a double series of rooms in which are gathered together the machines for crushing the grain, the machines for kneading the flour (machinae quae farinae subiguntur), and, lastly, two enormous ovens for the making of the bread. This great bakehouse, placed in the heart of the city, near the temple of Vulcan, was destroyed by a fire in the third century, as is proved by certain coins, and it was never re-built. The small bronzes, touched but not destroyed by the fire, were found among the ashes covering the pavement of the ground floor, and since they have nothing in common with the great bakehouse, they come assuredly from the first floor of the building, which was perhaps the dwelling-house of the miller, and it may be supposed from this that they were the religious and artistic furniture of his private chapel.

Why Was the Base Where It Was, and As It Was?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon James
Keyword(s):  
Second Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
City Wall ◽  
The Third ◽  
Open Ground ◽  
Face Saving ◽  
Saving Measure ◽  
The Military ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple

In the foregoing, it was argued that the unitary base area seen in the third century, encompassing the entire N part of the city from the W defences almost to the River Gate, resulted from expansion and coalescence of two later-second-century nuclei, one near the Temple of Bêl, the other focused on the Citadel. Subsequently, presumably increasing Roman troop numbers at Dura led to takeover of the far N part of the intramural area, linking up the military holdings. But why did it start as two nuclei? When Roman power became permanently established over Dura c.165, and a decision was made to station Palmyrene symmachiarii there, while the Realpolitik may have been that these were proxy forces holding the city for Rome, the option of sending in troops from a long-standing friend of Dura may have been chosen as a face-saving measure for the Durene elite. The Palmyrenes were likely presented as defending the newly ‘liberated’ city from Arsacid interference. Under such circumstances, a less obtrusive, peripheral location would have been appropriate. The zone around the Temple of Bêl appears at the time to have comprised only partially built-up city blocks offering open ground, with more free space along the city wall to accommodate the Palmyrene force with minimal disruption to civic life. The temple plaza also offered a ready-made military assembly space. It is further possible that the Palmyrenes attested in Arsacid Dura—visiting traders and soldiers, and resident expatriates—already tended to congregate in or use this zone, around the temple which, at least later, would become especially associated with Palmyrene Bêl. With subsequent arrival of regular Roman troops, and the proposed enrolling of the Palmyrene archers as the nucleus of the nascent cohors XX, the NW cantonment was then probably expanded as it was developed into a Roman auxiliary base. With regard to the inner wadi/Citadel zone, it was suggested above that the incoming Romans would have taken over the great inner stronghold by default, as part of the defensive circuit. They also used the flat wadi floor in its shadow as a campus.

Thucydides as Archaeologist

1955 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 266-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
Positive Evidence ◽  
The Third ◽  
Fountain House ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Made In

In i.1–21 Thucydides gives a brief interpretation of early Greek history. This is important not only for the critical standard of its author, but also because in ten instances he says what his evidence is. Twice his evidence is archaeological. The two passages deserve careful study.Mycenae had been destroyed by the Argives in the 460's and was deserted till the third century B.C. Thanks to modern archaeologists and Pausanias we can form some idea of what was to be seen in the time of Thucydides. Much of the Bronze Age wall, including the Lion Gate, should have been above ground; it was anyhow visible to Pausanias, and before him the Hellenistic fortifiers had made use of it. Some of the tholos tombs were open, to judge by finds made in their excavation and by Pausanias's mention of ‘underground treasuries of Atreus and his sons’. Of the Bronze Age palace and houses nothing was left above ground, so the stratification suggests. But the ruins of the city demolished in the 460's must still have survived, and its sanctuaries may have been intact; it would have been natural enough for the Argives to spare them, and there is some positive evidence that the temple on the summit of Mycenae and the sanctuary near the fountain house outside the Lion Gate were both kept in repair and that the Agamemnoneion over half a mile to the south was still visited.

Comparisons of Cities

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dora P. Crouch
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Water System ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Related Factor ◽  
Physical Constraints ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
Aesthetic Sense ◽  
The Hill ◽  
The City

A brief reprise of the geological aspects, organization, physical constraints, and appearance of each city will remind us of their common and unique features. Then we can compare them by groups linked by research questions. Agrigento is built on two ridges of 120 and 320–390 m, setting generous limits not yet filled by the modern city. A plain extends from the lower ridge south to the sea. Vistas were provided along contours and across elevations. Grouping the public buildings on stony ridges, with temples above and below and government structures along the west side, made economic and aesthetic sense. Landslides provide important clues to the nature of the hill the city is built on, and they correlate with occupation of various parts of the site. Additionally, the water system shows unexpected correlation with the families of discontinuities in the stone rather than the surface grid of the streets (Ercoli and Crouch 1998; Crouch 1989). Morgantina stretches along a ridge about 600 m in elevation. The agora most clearly reveals the interface of urban design and geology. Sanctuaries and fountains were the focus during the fifth century B. C. E. In the third century, modest but elegant new architecture (theater, great steps, flanking stoas, fountains, sanctuary) combined with pragmatic engineering as framework and connector between points of observation. Morgantina had one aqueduct, from the springs that later supplied Aidone. The site has numerous springs although some are now dry or give less than 1 l/s. Yet, during the third century B. C. E. when the population was at its maximum, the aquifer was also at maximum, and higher springs were fed from it more amply than at present. Improper management of water resources likely hastened the demise of the town after the Roman conquest. At the turn of the era, the shift from small rural towns to great landed estates as centers of population affected Morgantina strongly. Deforestation of the hills and mountains for fuel and building materials could have resulted in desiccation, with climate change a related factor. Occupation by the Hispanii (Spanish veterans) who replaced the Hellenized Sicilians after 211 B. C. E. coincided with a negative water balance.

The so-called “Magazzini Repubblicani” near the Porta Romana at Ostia

1935 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick H. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Considerable Importance ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Building Activity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
Region Ii ◽  
Eastern Half

The building with which this study is concerned occupies the eastern half of Region ii, 2, just inside the city gate at Ostia. Two specific statements have been made concerning it, that it commenced as magazzini or horrea in the republican era, and that it was converted into baths in the late third century A.D.; these were the suggestions of the excavators, and have never yet been questioned. They are points of considerable importance, because this building would thus be the only example of republican horrea yet discovered in Ostia, and the conversion of horrea into baths or shops, which the theory implies, would be important for the economic history of Ostia, whether the reason for the change was the concentration of horrea elsewhere or merely the decline of the city. The second statement, too, would point to building activity in Ostia at a time when no other big building was being put up. This paper is an attempt to prove that at no time was the building used as horrea, and that the conversion to baths is to be placed not in the third, but in the late first, or very early second century A.D. Five main periods will be distinguished, of which the appended table gives a summary.

Christian Initiation

2018 ◽  
pp. 522-537
Author(s):  
Paul F. Bradshaw
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Rites Of Passage ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Stage Structure ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Christian Initiation ◽  
The Third ◽  
The City

The limited evidence for Christian initiation practices in Syria and North Africa in the third century suggests ritual patterns that differed from each other in some ways but followed the three-stage structure of rites of passage outlined by Arnold van Gennep, even if the first and third of the stages were relatively undeveloped at that time. The fourth century saw the elaboration of these together with the temporal contraction of the middle or liminal phase in the rites of Syria and Milan, as well as in the variant practice of the city of Jerusalem.

scholarly journals THE ANTIKYTHERA WRECK: A NUMISMATIC APPROACH

2021 ◽  
pp. 105-120
Author(s):  
Daniele Castrizio
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
The Third ◽  
Relative Chronology ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

The paper examines the coins found inside the Antikythera wreck. The wreck of Antikythera was discovered by chance by some sponge fishermen in October 1900, in the northern part of the island of Antikythera. The archaeological excavation of the wreck has allowed the recovery of many finds in marble and bronze, with acquisitions of human skeletons related to the crew of the sunken ship, in addition to the famous “Antikythera mechanism”. Various proposals have been made for the chronology of the shipwreck, as well as the port of departure of the ship, which have been based on literary sources or on the chronology of ceramic finds. As far as coins are concerned, it should be remembered that thirty-six silver coins and some forty bronze coins were recovered in 1976, all corroded and covered by encrustations. The separate study of the two classes of materials, those Aegean and those Sicilian allows to deepen the history of the ship shipwrecked to Antikythera. The treasury of silver coinage is composed of thirty-six silver cistophoric tetradrachms, 32 of which are attributable to the mint of Pergamon and 4 to that of Ephesus. From the chronological point of view, the coins minted in Pergamon have been attributed by scholars to the years from 104/98 B.C. to 76/67 B.C., the date that marks the end of the coinage until 59 B.C. The coins of Ephesus are easier to date because they report the year of issue, even if, in the specimens found, the only legible refers to the year 53, corresponding to our 77/76 B.C., if it is assumed as the beginning of the era of Ephesus its elevation to the capital of the province of Asia in 129 B.C., or 82/81 B.C., if we consider 134/133 B.C., the year of the creation of the Provincia Asiana. As for the three legible bronzes, we note that there are a specimen of Cnidus and two of Ephesus. The coin of the city of Caria was dated by scholars in the second half of the third century B.C. The two bronzes of Ephesus are dated almost unanimously around the middle of the first century B.C., although this fundamental data was never considered for the dating of the shipwreck. The remaining three legible bronzes from Asian mints, two from the Katane mint and one from the Panormos mint, belong to a completely different geographical context, such as Sicily, with its own circulation of coins. The two coins of Katane show a typology with a right-facing head of Dionysus with ivy crown, while on the reverse we find the figures of the Pii Fratres of Katane, Amphinomos and Anapias, with their parents on their shoulders. The specimen of Panormos has on the front the graduated head of Zeus turned to the left, and on the verse the standing figure of a warrior with whole panoply, in the act of offering a libation, with on the left the monogram of the name of the mint. As regards the series of Katane, usually dated to the second century B.C., it should be noted, as, moreover, had already noticed Michael Crawford, that there is an extraordinary similarity between the reverse of these bronzes and that of the issuance of silver denarii in the name of Sextus Pompey, that have on the front the head of the general, facing right, and towards the two brothers from Katane on the sides of a figure of Neptune with an aplustre in his right hand, and the foot resting on the bow of the ship, dated around 40 B.C., during the course of the Bellum siculum. We wonder how it is possible to justify the presence in a wreck of the half of the first century B.C. of two specimens of a very rare series of one hundred and fifty years before, but well known to the engravers of the coins of Sextus Pompey. The only possible answer is that Katane coins have been minted more recently than scholars have established. For the coin series of Panormos, then, it must be kept in mind that there are three different variants of the same type of reverse, for which it is not possible to indicate a relative chronology. In one coin issue, the legend of the ethnic is written in Greek characters all around the warrior; in another coin we have a monogram that can be easily dissolved as an abbreviation of the name of the city of Panormos; in the third, in addition to the same monogram, we find the legend CATO, written in Latin characters. In our opinion, this legend must necessarily refer to the presence in Sicily of Marcus Porcius Cato of Utica, with the charge of propraetor in the year 49 B.C. Drawing the necessary consequences from the in-depth analysis, the data of the Sicilian coins seem to attest to their production towards the middle of the first century B.C., in line with what is obtained from the ceramic material found inside the shipwrecked ship, and from the dating of the coins of Ephesus. The study of numismatic materials and a proposal of more precise dating allows to offer a new chronological data for the sinking of the ship. The presence of rare bronze coins of Sicilian mints suggests that the ship came from a port on the island, most likely from that of Katane.

scholarly journals Mogontiacum: czynniki rozwoju

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leszek Mrozewicz
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Military Base ◽  
The Third ◽  
Political Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City ◽  
Real City

The history of Mogontiacum spans the period from 17/16 BCE to the end of the fourth century CE. It was a strong military base (with two legions stationed there in the first century) and a major settlement centre, though without municipal rights. However, the demographic and economic development, as well as the superior administrative and political status enabled Mogontiacum to transform – in socio-economic and urbanistic terms – into a real city. This process was crowned in the latter half of the third century with the construction of the city walls.

scholarly journals Liberating the Temple Mount: apocalyptic tendencies among Jewish temple activists

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 193-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Leppäkari
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
The Third ◽  
Research Material ◽  
Temple Mount ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Political Groups

Every now and then instances of violence are played out at the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem, also known as the Haram-esh-sharif. Some of the cases are referred to as results of the so-called ‘Jerusalem syndrome’, incidents when individuals’ manifestations of pre-existing psychopathology culminate in violent actions. Israeli psychiatrists and others have treated such incidents as examples of when peoples’ expectations of a heavenly Jerusalem collide with the very earthly reality in the city. For some people, such encounters may create anxiety that may threaten the victim’s very sanity. In such situations, an apocalyptic mission may become the only way for them to cope with the situation at hand. But the Temple Mount does not only attract lone-acting individuals, it also attracts organized groups who refer to the very spot as an important identity marker. In this article, the author draws on her field research material and interviews with Jewish Third Temple activists in Jerusalem collected on and off between 1998 and 2004. Here Yehuda Etzion’s, Gershon Salomon’s and Yoel Lerner’s theology and activities are studied in light of apocalyptic representations, and how these are expressed in relation to religious longing for the Third Temple in the light of the Gaza withdrawal. Not all those who are engaged in endtime scenarios act upon their visions. In Jerusalem, there have been, and still are, several religious-political groups that more or less ritually perambulate the Temple Mount area. 

scholarly journals The Adyton at the Temple of Apollo at Bassae: Multiple Cult Worship in the Adyton

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nikki Carter
Keyword(s):  
Architectural Design ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
The Third ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Primary Literature ◽  
South Axis ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Southern Wall ◽  
Eastern Wall

<p>Situated on Mount Kotilion in the Peloponnese, the Temple of Apollo at Bassae sits high in the middle of a mountain range. Upon rediscovery, it became evident that most of the offerings had long since disappeared, and this was in turn paired with a lack of primary literature. Though the temple is mentioned in Pausanias’ work, discussion about the cultic aspects of the temple is severely lacking. This leads to a large gap in the knowledge of the temple’s religious function. It is for this reason that the architecture of Bassae is explored to help understand the cultic aspects of this temple. This thesis shows that multiple cults were celebrated at the temple of Bassae, and that there is a high probability that multiple cult worship occurred in the adyton of the building.  The cult at Bassae has been celebrated since geometric times, and worship to Apollo was fairly consistent until the sanctuary’s demise in the third century BCE. Three epikleseis are often associated with this temple: Apollo Epikourios, Apollo Bassitas and Hyperborean Apollo. The epithet of Epikourios comes from Pausanias’ passage, and nowhere else. The original reason for this epithet may be either medicinal or martial, and both are explored within this thesis. Bassitas is another epithet provided. However, this is in the form of a singular archaeological find, a small bronze tablet found in the wider Kotilion sanctuary. The third epithet, Hyperborean, is a tenuous but commonly made connection. This epithet relies heavily on the localised subject matter of the sculptural programme at Bassae.  The architecture of the building is also in need of discussion. The temple at Bassae is famed for its odd, and in some cases, unparalleled architectural design. The temple is on a north-south axis, and features not only a northern entranceway, but also an opening in the eastern wall, leading into the adyton. This eastern doorway allows light to enter twice a year, which hits the southern wall. The decorative features of the temple are unparalleled, with the first known Corinthian column and extended engaged Ionic columns. These unusual design features create a focus within the adyton.  Within the adyton, four positions can be considered possible sites for housing offerings or cult statues. These include the southwest corner, the centre of the southern wall, the centre of the northern limits of the adyton directly south of the Corinthian column, and finally, the Corinthian column itself. The evidence for these positions being a focus for cult comes from architectural features, such as the paving of the adyton floor, the light phenomenon and a small plinth.  These four positions are by no means definite, and this thesis discusses the probability of each of these positions in terms of the likelihood of them being the focus of a cult. While the southwest corner is the most likely position for a cult statue, the Corinthian column seems the least likely.  The architecture at the Temple of Apollo at Bassae strongly suggests worship occurring inn the adyton of the temple, and it seems likely it was at least one of these three epithets that was celebrated in one of the four positions in the adyton.</p>

Organization of Festivals and the Dionysiac Guilds

1965 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-214
Author(s):  
G. M. Sifakis
Keyword(s):  
Third Century ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
The Third ◽  
Theatre Production ◽  
The City ◽  
Theatrical Companies

I. We know fairly well how the City Dionysia at Athens was celebrated in classical times. But although the numerous dramatic festivals of the Hellenistic period were in many respects modelled on the Athenian Dionysia, it is not clear how the performances at these festivals were organized. The difficulty arises from the fact that apart from a few great centres which may have had their own theatre production, playwrights, actors, etc., the majority of cities depended on the travelling of Dionysos’.1 It seems that the of Dionysiac artists were formed early in the third century. Three major Dionysiac associations—the Athenian, the Isthmian and Nemean, and the Ionian and Hellespontian—operated in Greece, Asia Minor, and the islands in Hellenistic times. The question is how these associations functioned. Were they theatrical companies as well as professional guilds? Did they undertake the organization of musical and dramatic performances at various festivals? Was there a division of territories between the and were certain festivals dominated by certain guilds?

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