A brief review article about three recently published editions/interpretations of Maximianus' love poetry.
In his Pro Roscio, Cicero discusses the sale of the property of the Elder Roscius and argues that it was illegal even "by the terms of that very law relating to proscription - whether it is the Valerian or Cornelian I have not been able to learn and do not know" (Cic. S. Rosc. 125). It is a paradox that Cicero claims not to know the name of this law, because he cites one of its clauses verbatim in the following passage (Cic. S. Rosc. 126). The standard explanation is that Cicero is feigning ignorance of a law he found offensive and refused to recognise as valid. I argue for an additional layer to Cicero's moralising. The proscription law was a lex Cornelia, but Cicero pretends it was a lex Valeria to create an antithesis with the historical Valerian laws on provocatio which established the principle that Roman citizens had the right of appeal against arbitrary state violence. The message was that the proscriptions were unlawful if not technically illegal.
In the fall of 252 or the spring of 253, the Persian emperor Shapur I defeated a Roman army at Barbalissos, moved on to Antioch which he took and sacked. Descriptions of this event found its way into all of the major historiographical traditions of Late Antiquity, from the orations of Libanius and the Vitae of Eunapius in the fourth-century Greek East, down to the ecclesiastical histories of 9th century Mosul. In the middle of the 6th century, a rhetor from Antioch named John (John Malalas) reproduced two accounts of the event but introduces errors, misunderstandings, and anachronistic details. This paper takes into consideration Malala's reproductions, disentangling the various strands to demonstrate that these two accounts indeed represent divergent traditions about the sack of Antioch and its immediate aftermath. By placing these two accounts in conversation, Malalas, this paper will argue, engages with contemporary discourses on the Roman state and, most importantly, loyalty to the Roman emperors in the years before the war with Chosroes.
This paper's first aim is, on the basis of the comparison with Aratus and the tradition of the scholia, to give a new interpretation of the adjective obtusa in Plin. nat. 18.347, which relates to the blurred light of the moon's horns. Secondly, it is proposed to read inflexa instead of infesta, which is not really comprehensible in this context; the emendation is based on the comparison with pi epsilon rho iota gamma nu alpha mu pi tau omega sigma iota of Arat. 790.
The foreign relations of the large communities or tribal groups (epsilon theta nu eta) of Numidia call for specific analysis. For this reason, this study examines the central role of the Masili and Masesili monarchs, both in their policies towards Carthage and Rome and in the conduct of diplomacy. The article also underscores the significance of hospitality practices in shaping both public and private agreements. Lastly, it delves into the nature and composition of embassies through an analysis focused on literary sources.
It was a custom of the Gauls to preserve the skulls of enemies whom they had killed and they were so proud of such trophies that, according to a comment of Posidonius related by Strabo and Diodorus, they refused to exchange them even for huge amounts of gold. The text of Diodorus also reports a comment, probably stemming from Posidonius, that defines this refusal as "a barbarous magnanimity" and then proceeds with a gamma alpha rho to explain the meaning of such a definition. On examining the divergent interpretations of the transmitted text, as proposed by translators and commentators, which either deny or assert the true magnanimity of that refusal, this paper shows that the transmitted Greek text, accepted until now without discussion, has been corrupted by a polar error and can be put in order by a simple correction, namely ei\ gamma alpha rho in place of omicron upsilon gamma alpha rho.
This contribution is to be considered part of the preparatory materials produced for the new collection of Roman epigraphic laws being developed by an international team of scholars coordinated by Clifford Ando, within the framework of the project Roman Statutes: Renewing Roman Law (University of Chicago). The present paper aims to anticipate only the critical edition and translation of the text, deferring to the final publication a full historical and juridical commentary.
Excavations at Nigde-Kinik Hoyuk (N-KH, Turkey) have reached this year the 14th campaign. During the 2022-2024 campaign several activities of excavations and restoration have taken place at the site and in the Nig.de Museum. Starting in 2022 Dr. Marina Pucci (University of Florence) has become the new director of the archaeological project and she started an extensive investigation of the site's lower town (Pucci et al. 2023). In the new setting, Dr. Lorenzo d'Alfonso (University of Pavia and New York University) leads the investigations of the pre-Hellenistic occupation of the citadel, and Dr. Burak Yolacan (Dokuz Eylul University Izmir) the extensive excavations of its Hellenistic and Roman occupation. Excavations of the pre-Hellenistic occupation of the mound in the campaigns 2022-2024 concentrated on Operation A, on the northern side of the mound, and on Operation C, on its southern slope. Activities on Operation C have been already partially reported (Pucci et al. 2023, pp. 85-90) and will be addressed elsewhere. This report will focus on the excavations activities operated in Sector A2, as well as the 2024 deep sounding in Operation E (Sounding Ed), in an area along the southern limit of Sector A2 (Fig. 1) (1).
This article rejects the traditional explanation that the Social War, or the conflict between Athens and some members of her Second League, was provoked by the resurgence of Athenian imperialism in the late 370s and 360s. Reexamining the corresponding evidence suggests that the actual reason for the outbreak of the Social War was certain League members' desire to establish regional hegemonies and, accordingly, subjugate smaller participants of the League. Athens countered such aspirations by reinforcing the principle of individual membership in the League, which she consistently used to break down local military alliances from the time of the foundation of the League in 379-378 before compromising on this principle for the sake of building an anti-Macedonian coalition in the early 330s, just before the League disintegrated in the wake of the battle of Chaeronea.
Counter-accusations of fact (alpha nu tau epsilon gamma kappa lambda eta mu alpha tau iota kappa omicron iota sigma tau omicron chi alpha sigma mu omicron iota) hold a significant place within discourses in which speakers seek to draw conclusions from conjecture. This article aims to investigate both the theoretical reflections produced by the late ancient rhetorical tradition and the methods of constructing such argument to produce effective and coherent discourse. The second aspect is investigated through the analysis of declamation 49 from Libanius' corpus. A particularly effective means is the ability to arouse in the public a vivid vision of what is being reported: the words must also make the facts evident through the use of devices and scenic images, which increase the drama of the story. Theatricality, a subject of rhetorical reflection, finds its privileged place in declamations that rely on conjecture. Nevertheless, it also finds use in other contexts, which are mentioned in the final parts of this article.
This article provides a critical assessment of the recent book on Niebuhr, Mommsen, Munzer, and Gelzer by C.M. Barber. Barber aims not only to disseminate the knowledge of the four scholars among English-speaking students and scholars, but also to offer innovative scientific insights into their works. The discussion tackles the declared purposes of the book, its effectiveness, and its scientific niveau.
In this paper I intend to investigate certain aspects of a mythical episode from Book II of Ovid's Metamorphoses, concerning Coronides, Apollo and the Raven (met. 2.531-632). I will focus on the killing by the god Apollo of the maiden deemed guilty of adulterium according to the revelation of the raven, a faithful witness (index) that is punished with the transformation of its plumage from white to black. The display of juridical terms seems to testify to an allusive intent to contemporaneous events and, in particular, to the lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis, as is confirmed by the comparison with a similar story presented at Amores 2.2.47-54, where we read the form scire coactus of a betrayed husband, as also of Apollo in the Metamorphoses. In conclusion, I suggest that an allusion to the theme of the punished witness can also be recovered in the exile poetry, in the theme of the metamorphosis of the poet who describes himself transformed metaphorically from candidus to ater as suits one who persists in a living death.
The present paper aims to study the relationships of Pompey the Great's sons, Gnaeus and Sextus with female family members. Those relationships are pieced together and investigated from a twofold perspective: on the one hand, by reference to the opportunity that relationships with such women presented for Pompey's sons to come into contact with men linked in various ways to these women and who were potentially useful to Gnaeus' and Sextus' own political activity; on the other hand by reference to how such relationships may have acted as a constraint and limitation on their freedom of action, precisely because of the constraints involved in having to relate to certain groups associated with female family members. The focus is, therefore, on Gnaeus' and Sextus' ties with Claudia Pulchra, Pompeia, Cornelia, Scribonia, Mucia Tertia and Julia. The aims of this paper are to clarify an aspect of the political and military activity of Gnaeus and Sextus and to contribute to a more precise reconstruction of the history of the Late Republic, through the study of a very specific aspect of that history. The contextualisation of this aspect of the biography of Pompey the Great's sons within their broader political strategies is achieved through the discussion of the recent and valuable monograph dedicated to Gnaeus and Sextus by Guillaume de Meritens de Villeneuve and published by the Ecole franc,aise de Rome.
Theatre has long been a subject of interest for rhetoricians, as evidenced by Quintilian's recommendation that future orators should read comedies. In particular, Quintilian emphasised the importance of the works of Menander, who is regarded as a master in the depiction of real life on stage. This study aims to demonstrate how Quintilian's theorising on the importance of verisimilitude in comedy is reflected in one of the declamations of his school, distinguished by its references, even lexical, to the theatre. In Declamatio minor 330, for instance, the use of comic models plays a fundamental role. The controversy presents a case of adultery: a husband repudiates his wife, leaving her in a state of destitution. The son solicits financial assistance from him, pretending to want to court a harlot, yet using the money to assist his mother in need, and then suffering an abdicatio by his father who has discovered the deception. A close analysis of Minor 330 reveals that the declaimer has assimilated Quintilian's teachings, structuring the discourse in a way that aligns with Menander's reflexivity and verisimilitude. However, the contrast between educational models (pater indulgens and pater durus) evokes parallels with Terence's Heautontimorumenos and Adelphoe. Consequently, Quintilian's predilection for Menander is replaced by a preference for the palliata, which is given effect according to the constituent elements of the comedy of manners. From the perspective of the master of the Minores, the comedy that is useful to the rhetorician must correspond to the definition of vitae imago, which in Rome is embodied in Terence.
In addition to rejecting the theories of a correlation between Varro's Satire lex Maenia and a lex Maenia de dote (Voigt) and a lex convivialis (Della Corte), this analysis makes it plausible that Varro may have wanted to allude to the lex Maenia de auctoritate patrum-well known to Cicero-or to the lex Maenia de die instauraticio-cited by Macrobius in an etymological discussion with reference to Varro himself-or even to both in a satirical tone. In particular, a renewed analysis of Varro's fragments and the themes emerging from them is presented; in conclusion, the indirect but plausible reference to the lex Maenia de die instauraticio, otherwise neglected in previous literature, and the consequences for the framing of the same lex in the historical-political context are highlighted.
Owing to a problem of syntax, modern editors print Seneca's Letter 98 with a lacuna between 14 and 15. Nevertheless, the question is far from settled, as several scholars have suggested that the epistle may end with 14 and that 15-18 may be part of a different letter; even Reynolds' edition, which prints Letter 98 as one epistle, takes this hypothesis into account. In this article, I maintain that Letter 98 is not made up of two letters, but it is indeed one epistle, and that arguments for separation are weak; in addition, I will advance hypotheses concerning the size, content, and origin of the lacuna. More precisely, I will suggest that the lacuna is relatively brief (one or two sentences at most), that its content may be by and large envisaged, and that it possibly originated in a saut du meme au meme.
The transition from the Roman Republic to the Empire has often been described as a crisis. Christian Meier even introduced the idea of a crisis without alternative. By taking up the notion and associating it with the concept of reproduction, we can see that the process mainly concerned the aristocracy, which nevertheless retained the essence of its values by shifting the evaluation of bonus vir from the arbitration of the People in a public relationship to that of the prince in a private relationship of amicitia, but subject to the requirements of mos or even those of philosophy.
This article endeavours to explain the contrast, repeatedly noted by scholars, in different parts of the portrait of the philosopher presented in the digression at Theaet. 172c.3-177c.5. While Socrates initially presents philosophers as being fully absorbed by their theoretical investigation of the universe and of beings (i.e., for many critics, the Forms), in the last part of the excursus he refers to the philosophers' concern with ethico-political concepts. Although some scholars discern in this portraiture two distinct types of philosopher, a close reading of the structure of the digression reveals instead that Plato builds his portrait of the philosopher through a piecemeal revelation of the usefulness of theoretical speculation and of philosophy for the examination of ethico-political themes, a compositional scheme which is also evident in the Statesman and the Timaeus.
Aristotle has the merit of highlighting the beneficial role of epieikeia, which he defines as a superior element to dikaion, or what is << just >>. This is because epieikeia arises from a concern for understanding that brings it closer to suggnome, that attitude of understanding and leniency that wards off violent retaliation. Unlike the enmities that the search for justice can arouse, the practice of epieikeia, as well as the search for the attribute epieikes, which describes an attitude marked by epieikeia, are sources of peaceableness and conciliation. However, they presuppose a common desire for negotiation. In the context of Athenian courts, the practice of epieikeia led to a more understanding, even lenient, examination of cases submitted to judges. Here again it is a source of peaceableness, unlike the bitterness generated by judgments which choose to ignore the context of the cases submitted to them.
The exile and death of Tarquinius Superbus in Tusculum only appears in Eutropius and St. Augustine. Contrary to the canonical tradition, which places these events in Cumae, the 'Tusculan' version is simpler and without ideological connotations. It is possible that it is older and comes from Tusculan cultural environments. This note points to Cato as the likely propagator of this story.
