Roman Epigraphy

La chiesa monastica di San Nicolò del Lido rappresenta un luogo simbolico del rapporto tra Venezia e il mare, testimone di questa relazione in un arco cronologico che va dall'XI al XX secolo. Questo legame si esprime sia nella vita quotidiana sia, in forma cerimoniale, durante la festa della Sensa, che fin dall'XI secolo culminava in una funzione liturgica celebrata proprio nella chiesa. Le origini dell' edificio risalgono al 1053, quando fu fondato dal vescovo di Olivolo e dall' omonimo doge Domenico Contarini, in collaborazione con il patriarca di Grado Domenico Marengo. Secondo la tradizione, nel 1100-in seguito a un acceso dibattito tra le autorità religiose, politiche e civili-la chiesa, ormai parte integrante di un monastero benedettino, fu destinata ad accogliere le reliquie di San Nicola, di San Nicola zio, e di San Teodoro. L'ingresso del cenobio nella Congregazione di Santa Giustina, avvenuto nel 1451, segnò l'inizio di una graduale e sistematica trasformazione dell'intero complesso monastico. Tale processo portò allo smantellamento della chiesa medievale e alla costruzione di un nuovo edificio sacro tra il 1627 e il 1628. Una volta completata la nuova chiesa, le tracce della precedente vennero perdute, fino a quando, nel corso del XX secolo, una serie di scavi archeologici ha permesso di individuare l'area della primitiva chiesa di San Nicolò. Sono emerse porzioni delle strutture originarie, tra cui l'abside centrale e le due laterali, insieme a numerosi reperti, in particolare frammenti di mosaici parietali e pavimentali, oltre a elementi lapidei, dal 2021 in corso di manutenzione, restauro e valorizzazione da parte della Soprintendenza ABAP per Venezia e Laguna in convenzione con l'Istituto Veneto per i Beni Culturali. Il convegno si svolgerà esclusivamente in presenza. Ingresso libero a tutte le sessioni fino a esaurimento posti. Con la collaborazione di Ester Brunet. Si suggerisce di rimanere aggiornati consultando il sito www.chiesedivenezia.eu

Com'è noto, nel processo di municipalizzazione dell'Egitto romano una tappa fondamentale è rappresentata dall'istituzione delle βουλαί ad Alessandria e nelle metropoli da parte di Settimio Severo all'inizio del III secolo. Oggetto di questo contributo è l'evoluzione istituzionale che portò all'introduzione delle βουλαί, con l'intento di discutere le attestazioni del cosiddetto κοινὸν τῶν ἀρχόντων, inteso come consiglio collettivo di tutti i magistrati civici, non differenziati in base alla specifi ca ἀρχή rivestita. Quest'organo è stato concepito come un 'precedente' istituzionale della βουλή, nel quale avrebbero trovato espressione i diversi ἄρχοντες delle metropoli egiziane di II secolo. Tale ipotesi si basa su una continuità effettivamente riscontrabile tra le funzioni municipali possedute dagli ἄρχοντες nel II secolo e quelle assunte dalla βουλή nel III: è, infatti, ormai unanimemente accolta la teoria per la quale l'istituzione delle βουλαί non costituì l'inizio del processo di municipalizzazione in Egitto, poiché esso era già cominciato con la progressiva acquisizione di funzioni municipali da parte di alcuni magistrati civici (in particolare ginnasiarchi, esegeti e cosmeti) ben prima della riforma severiana 1 . La creazione di un sistema di magistrature civiche e di liturgie aveva permesso la progressiva formazione e, specialmente nel II secolo, il consolidamento di un'élite nelle cui mani era concentrata la gestione amministrativa della città. Una volta introdotte le βουλαί, la loro membership venne riservata agli stessi gruppi ristretti che si erano già costituiti nelle capitali di nòmo, in particolare attraverso il rivestimento di ἀρχαί; tali magistrature, in origine di carattere evergetico e a candidatura volontaria, già nel II secolo mostravano caratteri di coercizione e apparivano integrate nel sistema liturgico 2 . L'indagine in oggetto parte dalla considerazione che, nonostante la esistenza del κοινὸν τῶν ἀρχόντων sia stata data in genere per scontata in letteratura, le testimonianze tradizionalmente ricondotte a questo collegio risalgono a periodi in cui le βουλαί erano già attive:

Sport in ancient Athens was much more than the Olympics

David. M. Pritchard 

It is true that the Olympic Games were also a really big deal in ancient Athens. The Athenians followed how sports stars performed at the Olympics as obsessively as we do. They likewise swelled with national pride when one of their own was proclaimed an Olympic victor. In the fifth and fourth centuries BC, they gave such a victor their topmost public honours. These were free daily banquets and free front-row seats at local games – both for life. 

Yet, sport in ancient Athens was much more than the Olympics. Physical education was a well-established discipline of the education of Athenian boys. Ancient Athens actually had more local games than any other Greek state. 

Every day, there, schoolboys went to the classes of a paidotribes or athletics teacher. Today, physical education during schooltime usually does not focus on competitive sports. Instead, serious training for such sports takes place outside school hours. By contrast, Athenian physical education was all about the sports common to the Olympics and other games.

An athletics teacher, who was often a former Olympic victor (figure 1), owned his own palaistra or wrestling school. There, he taught his classes in wrestling, boxing and the pankration, which was like our kickboxing (figure 2). For the other common competitive sports, a paidotribes took his students out to a gumnasion or sports field. Democratic Athens had three such public sporting facilities just outside the city-walls. These open spaces were ideal for training in the pentathlon as well as the four common footraces (figure 3).

The two other disciplines of male education were music and grammata or letters. Music included lessons in lyre playing and singing poetry. The grammatistes or letter teacher taught basic reading and writing as well as arithmetic.

The Athenian state never subsidised this traditional education. Therefore, it was always difficult for poor families to cover private school fees. Such families often also relied on their boys to keep farms or businesses going. The end result was that poor families could afford to educate their sons only in a single discipline.

The one that they chose was letters because it was of greater practical value for working people. Consequently, rich boys were the only ones in the classes of the paidotribes. In ancient Athens, about 5 percent of male citizens were rich. This meant that it was only a tiny elite that got serious training in competitive sports.

Competition at games in ancient Greece was truly fierce. There were 1000 Greek microstates in the Mediterranean basin. The sports stars in them all made a beeline for the Olympic Games. Even the local games that each Greek state put on attracted international competitors. A good example is the Great Panathenaea in which 50 percent of sportsmen were non-Athenian.

In the face of such fierce competition, an athlete who had not seriously trained would come in dead last. Poor Athenians, who had missed out on such school-based training, understandably decided not to enter games. Therefore, competing in sport was also a preserve of the social elite.

Ninety-five percent of ancient Athenians might have missed out on participation in sport. Nevertheless, they still considered athletics to be unambiguously good. The poor agreed that every boy should ideally go to the classes of an athletics teacher. In their eyes, such sports classes helped to turn boys into just and temperate adults. Poor Athenians felt no less positively about local games, seeing victory at them as commendable. The demos or people even made sure that no one criticised sports stars in public (figure 1). 

In democratic Athens, soldiers who did their duty were seen as the ultimate role models. In battles, they endured ponoi or toils as well as kindunoi or dangers. In accepting the possibility of death, soldiers proved their arete or courage. Another aspect of the high regard in which sportsmen were held is that they were judged to be comparable to such role models. Like soldiers, they, it was thought, also bore toils and dangers, always putting their courage beyond doubt. 

Ancient Athens was, famously, a direct democracy, in which poor citizens set the political agenda. This made it possible for the demos to turn their high regard of sport into pro-sport policies. Consequently, they voted to create the largest program of local games in ancient Greece. Festival-based contests could be athletic, musical or equestrian. In these 15 Athenian festivals, athletics featured much more often than musical or horse-based events. On this program, the demos spent a truly staggering 2.6 tons of silver each year.

The biggest games that the Athenians staged were the Great Panathenaea. This festival honoured Athena, who was their chief goddess, and was staged, like the Olympics, every 4 years. On it, the demos spent an incredible 650 kilograms of silver each time. This explains why the Great Panathenaea had twice as many contests as the Olympics. The Athenians awarded victors and placegetters huge amounts of olive oil in beautifully painted amphoras. Each Panathenaic amphora depicted Athena as a warrior on one side and a sporting event on the other (figure 2). 

The Great Panathenaea had all the common competitive sports for men and horses. But it had too surprising numbers of events for musicians and dancers as well as for soldiers and sailors. A good example of such war-related contests was the race for ten warships (figure 4). Athenian soldiers were also a big part of the Panathenaic procession, which was depicted on the Parthenon frieze.

Most years saw the ancient Athenians also stage at Eleusis local games for Demeter and Persephone. These two goddesses were considered to be most responsible for good harvests. It was thus quite appropriate that athletes there competed for sacks of grain. At Marathon, every four years, there were games for Heracles, who, it was thought, had founded the Olympics.

The Athenian demos actually considered those fellow citizens who had died in war to be demi-gods (figure 5). Contests were a standard act of worship for demi-gods and gods alike. Each year, Athens thus staged local games for the war dead, for which the prizes were bronze pots.

Today, the torch relay is a cherished ritual of our Olympics. But there was never any such relay at the ancient Games. The closest ancient parallel is a contest that took place at 4 Athenian festivals: the relay race for runners carrying a torch.

It is truly remarkable that poor Athenians were so pro-sport in spite of never being sportsmen. A big reason was that local games brought them much terpsis or delight. As a games spectator, an Athenian got a holiday, watched gripping races or bouts, and enjoyed a free picnic. For the sake of such picnics, the demos constantly voted to expand sacrifices at local games. By the 320s BC, the state was sacrificing 1300 cows each year.

However, the biggest reason for this pro-sport stance was the close association of sport and war. The ancient Athenians waged almost nonstop wars. In their eyes, war was unambiguously good and always brought huge benefits. Sport being closely associated with war could thus only increase the regard that the demos had for it. Nonelite Athenians believed that sportsmen bore toils as much as they did when fighting wars. This meant that they also had a strong personal affinity for what sportsmen did.

David M. Pritchard is an ancient historian at the University of Queensland in Australia and the author of Sport, Democracy and War in Classical Athens (Cambridge University Press). These are excerpts from a public lecture that he will be delivering at the Brisbane Greek Festival on 17 May 2025.

Figure captions:

Figure 1: This is the thanks offering that an Olympic victory from Athens left for Athena at her sanctuary at Sunium (National Archaeological Museum [Athens], inv. no. 3344). Photo courtesy of Hans Goette.

Figure 2: Depicted on this Panathenaic amphora is an athlothetes or games-organiser umpiring the kickboxing contest at the Great Panathenaea (Metropolitan Museum of Art [New York], inv. no. 16.71).

Figure 3: This Athenian wine cup depicts an athletics teacher training students in two events of the pentathlon (Powerhouse Museum [Sydney], inv. no. 99/117/1). Photo: Ryan Hernandez.

Figure 4: Athenian rowers are depicted on this victory monument for the race of warships at the Great Panathenaea (Acropolis Museum [Athens], inv. no. 1339). Photo courtesy of Hans Goette.

Figure 5: This was part of the public tomb for Athenian war dead from the Corinthian War (National Archaeological Museum [Athens], inv. no. 2744). Photo courtesy of Hans Goette.

XLVIII Скупштина и годишњи скуп Српског археолошког друштва (XLVIII Annual Meeting of the Serbian Archaeological Society) (Trebinje, 29–31 May 2025)

https://arheologija.rs/saopstenja/

The paper presents and analyses a newly discovered limestone altar dedicated to the god Liber, found in 2018 during the cleaning of the Rakitnica riverbed in Rogatica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The monument, which is currently housed in the premises of the Tourist Organisation of the Municipality of Rogatica, contributes to the understanding of religious and cultural practices in the Roman province of Dalmatia.
The aim of the paper is to provide a detailed description and analysis of the monument and its inscription, with an effort to contextualise it within both micro- and macro-regional frameworks. Special attention is given to the meaning of the epigraphic text and the context of the cult of Liber in the province of Dalmatia.
Through analysis of available data and comparison with other monuments from the region, the study seeks to offer answers to questions related to the function and symbolism of this monument within the local economic and social landscape of ancient Rogatica.

« Définir et redéfinir » : journée des doctorant.e.s du CRAHAM 2025
18 avril 2025
Coordination : Jocelyn Coulon (UMR Craham · Unicaen)
Programme
10 h – 12 h 15
Hélène FLEURY-AMEZTOY (UMR Craham · Unicaen)
Spoliation et restitution chez les Romains, vers une redéfinition des enjeux de pouvoir en Méditerranée orientale à l’époque augustéenne
Marine LEROY (UR GRHis · Université de Rouen Normandie)
« Votum Communem ». Qu’est-ce qu’une « dédicace collective » par une unité de l’armée romaine sous le Haut-Empire ?

14 h – 16 h 30
Nicolas BERNIER (UMR LIENSs · La Rochelle Université)
Cours d’eau et sociétés humaines dans le bassin atlantique de la Gaule franque
Lény RETOUX (UMR Craham · Unicaen)
Coutumiers et perception des coutumes dans les seigneuries de l’archevêque de Rouen à la fin du Moyen Âge
Angèle TENCE (UMR Craham · Unicaen)
La chute des Géants à la Renaissance : repenser l’articulation entre l’image, le texte et les inscriptions, de Dante à Otto Vaenius

This is the abstract of an online lecture at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences at Kraków, Poland, on 24th of June 2025.
In this brief contribution several previously unpublished or less-known grave and votive monuments are analysed which were inscribed in ancient Greek and Old Aramaic and were found in four cities of southeastern and eastern Turkey. These monuments are ranging from the third century AD to the Late Byzantine period, and most of them are of funerary character. Through this material group one gains new insights about the historical and social background of the peripherial area in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

While in Classical and Early Hellenistic times the sculptors working in Knidos came in general from Athens, the artists of the later periods, as we learn from their signatures, came from very different regions. Some of them, like the Chiotian family of Zenodotos and his son Menippos settled in the city and the grandson finally got the citizenship of Knidos. In this time, the sculptors worked sometimes in cooperation on the same project as on the altar of Apollon Karneios where at least three signatures remained (Zenodotos the Jounger, Theon and Boulis). The figures of the frieze show clear affinities to Rhodian sculptures. This is of a certain importance because all the statues of the signed bases are missing and we have no idea about the style of the sculptors. However, one of the sculptors of the altar (Theon) worked also in Rhodes and received even the citizenship of the island. Once again, the close relationship of these two states can be documented and beside this, the global connections between the workshops in Hellenistic times can be recorded.

L’année 2028 marquera le 500e anniversaire de la découverte de
la « table claudienne » à Lyon et le (quasi) centenaire de l’édition de
référence de Philippe Fabia. Cette séance sera l’occasion de présenter
le projet collectif Tabula, qui se propose de réexaminer ce document
exceptionnel dans tous ses aspects, archéologiques, historiques,
littéraires et mémoriels, antiques comme modernes. Nous présenterons
le programme du projet scientifique (2026-2027) et en dessinerons les
premières pistes à partir d’exemples concrets, en suivant une trame
chronologique, depuis le discours de Claude prononcé au sénat jusqu’à
la fabrication et l’installation de la table à Lugudunum et, encore au-delà,
à son destin après sa découverte au 16e siècle.

In this study, two new inscriptions preserved in the garden of Kalecik Municipality
in Kalecik District of Ankara Province are introduced. One of the inscriptions was
identified by the Anatolian Civilizations Museum during research conducted in Kalecik
in 2019 and was placed in the open-air display area in front of Kalecik Municipality. It is
the epitaph of Aurelius Helios, dated to 228 AD. This inscription identifies the previously
unknown village of Ōnoukōme and the region named ALEBONŌN (Alebona?) in
Kalecik. The second one is thought to be a supplication to God. The inscription contains
meaningless letter combinations used to capture the listener's attention in the invocation
to the father of the light repository part of Pistis Sophia, a Gnostic text dated to the 3rd-
4th centuries AD. Additionally, it includes expressions composed of these combinations
found in the magical texts believed to belong to Mithras, preserved in the National Library
of France, in a broad codex referred to as the Greek Magical Papyri, also dated to
the 3rd century AD.

This study analyses the economic and social life of the city of Terracina (ancient Anxur) in the Roman era, through a systematic examination of epigraphic evidence. Based on a corpus of 339 inscriptions from the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) and catalogued in the Epigraphic Database Roma (EDR), the research investigates professions, trades, public offices, legal status, and social mobility dynamics. Particular attention is dedicated to the role of freedmen, acts of euergetism, and the epigraphic representation of economic activities. The qualitative analysis of a representative sample of inscriptions, directly examined in this study, together with quantitative data derived from the entire corpus selected for numerical analysis, reveals an urban fabric characterized by a certain degree of artisanal specialization, a marked presence of individuals of freedman status active in local economic sectors, and significant manifestations of euergetism. The issue of the so-called "epigraphic silence" concerning specific professional categories, particularly those related to port activities, is critically addressed in light of new evidence, suggesting future research perspectives oriented towards an integrated approach combining epigraphic, archaeological, and prosopographical sources.

Il presente studio analizza la vita economica e sociale della città di Terracina (antica Anxur) in epoca romana, attraverso un esame sistematico delle testimonianze epigrafiche. Basandosi su un corpus di 339 iscrizioni provenienti dal Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) e catalogate nell'Epigraphic Database Roma (EDR), la ricerca indaga le professioni, i mestieri, le cariche pubbliche, lo status giuridico e le dinamiche di mobilità sociale. Particolare attenzione è dedicata al ruolo dei liberti, agli atti di evergetismo e alla rappresentazione epigrafica delle attività economiche. L'analisi qualitativa di un campione rappresentativo delle iscrizioni, esaminate direttamente in questo studio, insieme ai dati quantitativi derivati dall'intero corpus selezionato per l'analisi numerica, restituisce l'immagine di un tessuto urbano contraddistinto da una certa specializzazione artigianale, da una marcata presenza di individui di condizione libertina attivi nei settori economici locali e da rilevanti manifestazioni di evergetismo. La questione del cosiddetto "silenzio epigrafico" relativo a specifiche categorie professionali, in particolare quelle legate alle attività portuali, è affrontata in chiave critica alla luce di nuove evidenze, suggerendo prospettive di ricerca futura orientate a un approccio integrato tra fonti epigrafiche, archeologiche e prosopografiche.

Based on the theme Forgotten Perspectives of History, this presentation will address the “forgotten perspective” of women's participation in Roman religion, more specifically the female imperial cult in Hispania. When we think of women in general in classical antiquity, in this case in the Roman Empire, we have that stereotypical view that women had little participation in Roman society, and that their contribution to society was restricted to the domestic context as wives, housewives and mothers. This lack of a social role applied to the religious context because they were supposedly forbidden to perform acts such as the sacrament or drink wine undiluted in water. These restrictions lead many of us to assume that women had no religious participation, since sacrifices and drinking wine were practices that were part of religious festivities. However, this view generalizes too much because there were exceptional cases to the norm, namely the flaminicae or imperial priests. They were priestesses appointed or elected individually by a province, convent or city within the Roman Empire (with the exception of the capital, Rome) to worship certain deities or deified imperial figures. In this paper I will contextualize the origins of these priestesses, demystify some parallels that are still established between the flaminicae or imperial priests and the flaminica Dialis, as well as define this priesthood by explaining the various administrative and honorary titles, the requirements to join, the clothing, the duties, the benefits and their importance at a socio-economic, personal and family level in local, conventual and provincial communities. Therefore, I will focus on this cult, since it is the Roman female cult with the largest number of epigraphic records, demonstrating the fundamental religious role of women in Roman society, in the evolution and subsistence of Roman urban centers outside the capital. For this reason, it was one of the only contexts in which Roman women could stand out socially. In addition, due to the vastness of the Roman Empire, I will focus on Hispania because of the geographical link between my research and the Iberian Peninsula.

A pesar de la ausencia de fuentes literarias que ofrezcan información sobre las características y esferas de acción de las divinidades locales del norte hispano, consideramos que las diversas formas de denominación de estas divinidades y la utilización de los epítetos también locales en los formularios de los dioses clásicos buscaban articular la comunicación entre la esfera humana y divina. Tal y como se ha indicado para otras religiones politeístas, como es el caso de la religión griega, la riqueza de los diferentes panteones del norte hispano, en particular los del noroeste, pone de relieve su fluidez y complejidad, y deja entrever las múltiples estrategias de los humanos para comunicarse lo más eficazmente posible con la esfera divina.

Este trabajo analiza las inscripciones de los conuentus Cluniensis, Asturum, Lucensis y Bracaraugustanus dedicadas a divinidades locales. Su estudio se enmarca en la expansión del hábito epigráfico y la religión romana provincial y se centra en examinar las fórmulas epigráficas que nos permiten identificar prácticas rituales romanas asumidas por la población local en el culto y comunicación con los dioses.
This paper analyses the inscriptions from the conuentus Cluniensis, Asturum, Lucensis and Bracaraugustanus dedicated to local divinities. The study is contextualized in the expansion of the epigraphic habit and provincial  Roman religión and pays especial attention to the epigraphic formulae related to Roman ritual practices assimilated by local population for the worship and communication with their gods.

U radu se analizira i tumači specifična muzejska dokumentarna građa iz dokumentacijskog fonda Evidencija o izložbama Arheološkog muzeja Istre. Riječ je o dvije rukopisne knjige koje sadrže potpise i dojmove posjetitelja Muzeja grada Pule, prethodnika današnjeg Arheološkog muzeja Istre. Prva knjiga sadrži upise posjetitelja datirane od 1. rujna 1902. do 31. prosinca 1921. godine. Druga se kronološki nadovezuje na prvu, s upisima posjetitelja do 12. travnja 1929. godine. Danas ove knjige služe kao vrijedna sekundarna dokumentacija koja pruža podatke o posjetiteljima tj. korisnicima stalne izložbe najstarijeg pulskog muzeja. Također, kao vjerodostojan dokument vremena, predstavljaju vrijedan izvor za istraživače povijesti Pule.

U radu se donosi i analizira dosad neobjavljena i nekorištena projektna dokumentacija za gradnju zgrade Pulskog radničkog društva na Clivo Santo Stefano 3 u Puli, danas Usponu sv. Stjepana 1. Zgrada je sagrađena 1883. godine, a početkom 20. stoljeća dodijeljena je Gradskom muzeju (Museo Civico), prethodniku Arheološkog muzeja Istre, i Gradskoj knjižnici (Biblioteca Civica). Od 1930. sjedište je Državne organizacije za zaštitu materinstva i djece (Federazione provinciale dell’Opera Nazionale per la Protezione della Maternità e dell’Infanzia - Aiuto materno). Nakon njezina rušenja, 1937. godine na istom je mjestu podignuta nova zgrada za potrebe javnih službi (Casa della Madre e del Bambino). Danas u njoj djeluje Dječji vrtić - Scuola dell’infanzia Rin Tin Tin.The paper presents and analyses previously unpublished and unused design documentation for the erection of the building of the Workers’ Society of Pula at No. 3 Clivo Santo Stefano, now No. 1 Uspon svetog Stjepana. The building ...

In The New Despotism (2020), John Keane explored middle class complicity in the rise of authoritarian governments, the trade-off being the voluntary servitude of that class in exchange for comfort and security. This chapter explores parallel phenomena in Late Republican Rome: the role of communal compliance with authoritarian solutions to political impasse; more importantly, the general disinclination (and/or sense of inability) to contest the loss of political freedoms; and, most significantly, a resultant disillusionment with public life, manifesting in a debilitating 'fractionalism' which paid ever-decreasing deference to shared values or willingness to engage in a non-violent manner with alternative thinking. The result would be the Augustan primacy (in effect, the death of what modern scholarship defines as the libera res publica, the Free Republic). Episodes from the 160s to the 50s BCE illustrate the development of such collective and individual dispositions, and expose the growing alienation(s) of the broader community and, we would argue, a crisis of confidence that might be discerned within the political elite. Special attention is given to the mounting political disenchantment evident in the 50s, particularly the escalating incivility of public discourse and the signs of pessimism in Cicero's De Re Publica. Note: We would like to thank the three editors for their invitation to join a stimulating and broad-ranging symposium with lively exchanges. What would have been two papers here becomes one. The paper was written long before the unfolding events in New York in May 2024, resulting in a former American President becoming the first to be found guilty on criminal charges by a unanimous New York jury (May 30th) and the clear demonstrations, both before and after that judgment, of a broad disregard for the judicial process (based principally on party political allegiances and ideological differences). This resonates greatly with our section on 'The Erosion of Trust.' On November 5th of that year, during the week in which the final draft of this paper was submitted, a clear majority of voters judged that the shadow of adverse judicial findings was not of overriding consequence in determining political sentiment and alignments. This does not shape appraisal of the factors at play in Rome in the 1st century BCE, but it adds perspective.

This paper offers the list of local deities recorded in the Latin epigraphy of
the conuentus Lucensis and the Spanish territory of the conuentus Asturum and Bracaraugustanus. The repertoire was completed after the direct examination of the religious inscriptions with local theonymy preserved in the northwest of Spain, specifically in Galicia and the provinces of León, Zamora and Asturias. The final objective is to review and update the list of local theonyms in the northwest of Hispania citerior.

Horace William Sandars (Londres 1852-1922) fue un británico vinculado a ciertas explotaciones mineras del distrito  Linares - La Carolina, entre 1896 y 1922. En paralelo a su labor profesional se dedicó apasionadamente a estudiar y divulgar multitud de hallazgos arqueológicos. Recopiló infinidad de piezas iberas, reprodujo epigrafías romanas y fotografió distintos objetos de interés de los que tenía conocimiento. También intermedió para que se donaran importantes piezas al Museo Arqueológico Nacional y, sobre todo, él mismo adquirió objetos directamente o en subastas que luego donó a distintos museos. No se quedó ahí; en paralelo hizo lo propio en Londres, su ciudad natal. Realizó varias publicaciones allí, divulgando y defendiendo internacionalmente la originalidad de la cultura ibera en una época en la que era algo controvertido. Igualmente donó muchísimo material al Museo Británico. Lo que pretende este pequeño trabajo es profundizar en la vida de Horace Sandars antes de su llegada a España e intentar entender el porqué de esa atracción apasionada por la arqueología.

Alle für die Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung, eingereichten Beiträge werden einem doppelblinden Peer-Review-Verfahren durch internationale Fachgutachterinnen und -gutachter unterzogen. / All articles submitted to the Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung, are reviewed by international experts in a double-blind peer review process.

Für die Rekonstruktion römischer Militärkleidung sind wir vor allem auf Abbildungen auf Siegesdenkmälern wie die Trajanssäule und die Grabsteine römischer Soldaten angewiesen. Als einzige konkrete antike Beschreibung liegt eine Bestellung römischer Militärkleidung aus dem frühen 2. Jahrhundert n. Chr. vor. Anhand der dort angegebenen Maße wurde eine Tunika rekonstruiert und auf ihre Tauglichkeit auf Tragfähigkeit und Faltenwurf getestet wurde.

Jakab Handler, a master builder from Kismarton, worked in Sopron between 1803 and 1828. He created his antique-style, early classicist-style residential buildings in the mid-1810s. One of his most striking works is residential building number 88 in the Várkerület district, which was formed by rebuilding two previous, two-story buildings and adding a 2-meter-wide, single-story house on top. The floors of the four-axis facade facing the Várkerület district are connected by five two-story, fluted Tuscan half-pillars. The windows on the first floor have a gabled cornice above them, while those on the second floor have straight stone frames. The axes of the ground-floor openings do not fit into the lines of the upper windows, preserving the location of the entrances of the former houses.

This is a publication of a rare Cyzicene electrum hemihecte (1/12 stater) uncovered during excavations at Phanagoria, dating back to 400–330 BC. The hemihecte features an image of a kneeling Perseus holding a harpe and the head of the Gorgon Medusa (Hurter, Liewald 2004, no. 162). The Perseus series of electrum includes the stater, hecte, hemihecte, and myshemihecte, with only one specimen of the hemihecte recorded until today. A stater depicting Perseus was previously found in the chora of Phanagoria, now complemented by this hemihecte from the same series. Small and fractional denominations of Cyzicene staters – such as hectae and hemihectae – are rare in the numismatic landscape of the Bosporos and Thrace, in contrast to areas like Berezan, Olbia, or Istrus, where they are more commonly found. Aside from the Patraeus 1998 hoard (CH XI, 4), which included three hectae and hemihectae mixed with Panticapaean
silver, only seven separate finds of Cyzicene electrum fraction have been recorded in the Bosporus, specifically in Kerch, Hermonassa, Phanagoria, Kepoi, and the Taman 3 Settlement. Bosporan epigraphy frequently mentions hectae, hemihectae, and myshemihectae, indicating that Cyzicene electrum was commonly used as small change by Bosporans in international trade transactions. Of particular interest is a fourth century BC Phanagorian graffito, roughly contemporaneous with the published find, which mentions hemihectae in connection with the grain trade: an unidentified Phanagorian merchant appeals to Hermes for help in selling
grain at a rate of three hemihectae per medimnos. Since the Cyzicene stater’s exchange rate was notably higher in the Bosporan Kingdom than in Athens, trading Bosporan grain became highly profitable. For instance, in 328/7 BC, the Bosporan Kingdom rate was 28 Attic drachmas per stater, compared to 21 drachmas and 4 obols in Athens (Demosth. Against Phormio XXXIV. 23), where the grain price, at times, rose to 11 drachmas per medimnos. Given the exceptional rarity of single Cyzicene electrum finds, particularly smaller fractions of stater in the Bosporus, this hemihecte from Phanagoria offers valuable insights into the circulation of Cyzicene electrum in the Northern Black Sea region and its role in the Black Sea grain trade.

En este trabajo analizamos algunos de los primeros testimonios onomásticos conservados en la documentación epigráfica y numismática de la Hispania meridional buscando en ellos a personas que disfrutaron de diferente estatutos jurídicos, es decir, personas que poseyeron la condición jurídica latina, la ciudadanía romana o que simplemente fueron peregrinos. Los temas concretos que abordamos son:
- Sobre la adopción por peregrinos de la onomástica romana.
- Los cives Latini de Carteia.
- Algunos testimonios de onomástica peregrina.
- No todos los cives Romani indicaban su tribu.
- Los cives Latini del municipio Borense.
- Los cives Latini y Romani de los municipios flavios.

Abstract: In this paper we have analysed the onomastic system used by peregrini and by people who possessed Latin status or Roman citizenship in Hispania Ulterior Baetica during the Republican period and the first century of the Imperial age. Our purpose is to seek, in the epigraphic and numismatic evidence, different attestations which would allow us to clearly identify the personal legal status of the persons who had native or Latin names. Thus, we have reached a series of conclusions that we think should be borne in mind when undertaking any onomastic study of the population of southern Roman Spain during the Republic and the early Empire.

existencia de multiplicidad de prejuicios históricos, otrora interesadamente difundidos, la disposición, aún hoy, de toda una red de mitos intelectuales y sociales, el gratuito prestigio concedido a funestas teorías de la sociedad, no obstante ser teóricamente infundadas y empíricamente falsas, predisponen al historiador de la Historia Antigua a hacer un uso incorrecto de las fuentes en general y de los restos escritos, en particular. Por lo que se refiere a estos últimos, sólo un examen sosegado de sus concretas condiciones de gestación y transmisión, acompañado del desbrozamiento paralelo, tanto de las falsedades teóricas como de las mitologías aludidas, puede ayudar a redefinir su alcance y limites. La reubicación resultante muestra, diáfanamente, cuán oscuro está «El futuro del pasado», cuán desvalida la Historia Antigua, sin la fraternal asistencia de las otras ciencias sociales 1 Todo trabajador manual experimentado tiene bien aprendido, sin poder precisar, seguramente, cómo ni desde cuándo, en qué medida su trabajo depende de la perfección del instrumental que usa. Así, se emplea el horticultor a ajustar los mangos de sus azadas, antes de emplearlas, como concienzudamente se aplica el marinero, o, más bien, hace que se apliquen sus mujeres, al repaso de sus redes antes de salir a la mar Cuida, así, el segador castellano su hoz, como mima el paisano cántabro su guadaña, interrumpiendo ambos, de vez en cuando, su faena para, mientras dan aliento a sus cansados cuerpos, atender a sus herramientas, al tiempo que, dando un paso atrás, contemplan el curso de la faena. Limpias y convenientemente engrasadas sólo usa el podador sus tijeras y hachas, abandonando de vez en cuando la poda para, desde la distancia conveniente, determinar mejor Gerión, 11. 1993 -Editorial Complutense de Madrid. '~Así podría ser considerada ya la Academia de Platón (Diog. Laerc. 3.9) y el Liceo de Aristóteles (Estrabón 13.608) y, desde luego, las de Alejandría, las de Pérgamo, Atenas, Rodas, etc. Cf. Kí.EBERG, T., «Commercio librario ed editorie nel mondo antico», en CAvALLO, E. (ed.), Libri, editori e publico... cit.,esp. pp. 36ss. y, para el mundo romano, esp. pp. 63ss. El argumento seria válido para otras ciudades, en las que, según parece, se aplicaron

El epitafio de Sercius Polensis (CIL V 1* = CIL XI 299*), transmitido por fuentes manuscritas e impresas desde el siglo XV, es un texto extenso en prosa con un marcado tono humorístico dedicado a un actor cómico, cuya autenticidad y procedencia han sido objeto de un prolongado debate. Este estudio analiza su compleja tradición textual y presenta una edición, traducción y análisis del epitafio que confirman que se trata de una creación literaria del s. XV. El texto, que se inspira y a la vez parodia el estilo de la poesía sepulcral latina, fue tal vez compuesto por Jacopino Badoer, humanista y arzobispo de Split. Asimismo, el estudio revela una marcada influencia de la comedia plautina en el estilo, el léxico y la ortografía del epitafio, lo que lo convierte en un ejemplo significativo de la recepción de Plauto en la Italia del Quatroccento.

Although the mountainous countryside of the Western Balkans is today only used occasionally for grazing, it has formed an integral part of pastoral landscapes since prehistoric times. The challenge, however, is how to recognise the presence of transhumance in such areas through archaeology. This article presents the integrative archaeological transdisciplinary research of a historical moun- tain pastoral station – a katun – on the Crvanj and Morine mountains above Nevesinje in Herzegovina. A group of remote sensing and spatial experts, prehistoric and medieval archaeologists, geoarchaeologists and soil scientists, each bringing their own unique perspective to the study, focused on two summer pastoral camps, locally named the Busovača and Tarasovača katuns, to understand the remarkable long-established occupation of these highlands.

This study posits that depictions of Jesus with his “magic stick” (virgus) in early Christian art draw upon a precedent found in certain funerary reliefs of Roman centurions holding the vine-stock (vitis). This thesis challenges previous studies of the virgus which suggest that it is a feature unique to Christianity, imbued with narrowly religious significance. Placing these objects into conversation reintroduces Jesus art into the larger panoply of imperial symbolism, while also highlighting that the social aims or aspirations of the deceased are a key factor in commemorative compositions.

This volume is one of the main outcomes of the PEAI Project: Public Epigraphy in Ancient Italy, III–I BC. The project focuses on public inscriptions in ancient Italy, particularly from the 3rd to the 1st century BC. It was during the 3rd century BC that Italy came under Rome’s political sphere of influence, and then after the Bellum Sociale, in the early 1st century BC, equal rights were given to both Italics and Romans through the concession of Roman citizenship in conjunction with the process of municipalization. Surprisingly, the majority of epichoric inscriptions –Etruscan, Messapic, Oscan and Umbrian– date from the period after the Roman conquest of Italy: the development of monumental Oscan epigraphy took place then, while the majority of Etruscan funerary inscriptions date to the period between the second Punic war and the first half of the 1st century BC. The volume explores how both classical and epichoric epigraphy developed simultaneously in the same region and cities, though they have typically been studied separately.

The display of writing was the specific object of study, or in other words, inscriptions located in public spaces such as squares, sanctuaries and necropolises which underwent a significant process of monumentalization during this period. These texts were placed in busy social spaces and were clearly composed to attract the attention of the maximum number of readers. Displaying inscriptions in public places, which became a feature of Roman society above all during the early imperial period, was the most important medium of social communication and it became a prominent cultural practice that has been termed as «epigraphic habit», «epigraphic culture», and «monumental writing». The latter expressions are the outcome of a new conceptual approach to epigraphic studies that not only addresses inscriptions as a source of philological and historical data, but also as a cultural phenomenon and a means of social communication worthy of study in its own right. The display of epigraphy required a public space and implied a potential public whose development would have been linked to the spread of literacy, the emergence of specific political forms –such as the fierce political competition that emerged during the final centuries of the Roman republic– and, in addition, social factors, such as the social promotion of freedmen and their wish to leave a testimony of their social status in funerary epigraphy. The qualifying term, «public», does not imply that inscriptions of this kind were necessarily official ones, in the sense of texts produced by political communities or their magistrates. «Public» refers to texts displayed in a public place, such as forums, sanctuaries or necropolises, whereby they were accessible to a high number of potential readers. In other words, the accessibility provided by a public space is the common feature. Consequently, these public texts could be commissioned by private individuals, as was the case for the vast majority of the inscriptions found in necropolises and sanctuaries. The inscribed sepulchral monuments located alongside roads and the inscribed monumental ex-votos installed in places of worship testify to the fact that these inscriptions were intended to attract the maximum number of readers. This aim is clearly demonstrated by epitaphs that addressed passers-by with a range of striking formulas, inviting them to stop and give the epigraphic text, which was often in verse, an attentive reading; the most renowned of these texts has been chosen as the title for this volume: siste et lege.

The eight contributions examine the economic impact of the inclusion of Asia Minor in the political space of the Roman Empire. Two themes are central to the investigation. On the one hand, the aim is to understand the mechanisms of the spread of imperial property on the basis of an extensive review of sources, in order to determine the extent to which the emperor had a policy of acquiring property in the region. On the other hand, case studies show the importance of Roman taxation and the needs of the army in restructuring the region's economic landscape.

This master’s thesis examines trends in demographics of the Brežice parish during the period of Vormärz and attempts to determine the historical causes and factors which influenced them. Furthermore, the thesis aims to compare the demographical trends found in Brežice to the wider trends present across southern Styria and the wider space inhabited by Slovenians, as well as comparisons with demographical trends across the Croatian border. Research was based on the data which could be gleaned about the Parish of St. Laurence in Brežice with the aid of parish registers of christenings, weddings, and deaths, as well as an analysis of secondary sources.

Epigraphic polymetra. Are they really so? La clásica colección de inscripciones latinas en verso publicada por Franz Bücheler y Ernst. Lommatzsch entre 1895 y 1926 bajo las siglas de CLE contiene una recopilación de Carmina Latina Epigraphica agrupados según el metro en que fueron compuestos. La parte final de la colección contiene una serie de polymetra y commatica, denominaciones que los editores de los CLE no explicaron -el libro carece de prólogo-y que han venido planteando muchos interrogantes. Examino en este artículo cada uno de los epígrafes que fueron clasificados como polymetra y explico que el término se usó, y no solo en aquella colección, para agrupar epígrafes que no son polimétricos. Palabras clave: epigrafía; polimetría; métrica latina. This article is a revision of the inscriptions classified as polymetra by Franz Bücheler and Ernst Lommatzsch in their Carmina Latina Epigraphica (CLE) published between 1895 and 1926. The Latin verse inscriptions gathered by them were classified by metre. The polymetra appear at the end of the collection but the editors do not give any explanation about the reasons for using this term. Although it is a well-known term, the metric heterogeneity of these inscriptions raises many questions. In fact, some of them are not to be classified as polymetra.

Los términos hospes/hospita presentan distintos significados en la epigrafía romana, relacionados en unos casos con la noción de extranjero, en otros con el hospedaje, e incluso con el concubinato. En este trabajo analizamos la presencia de estos vocablos en la epigrafía militar del Imperio romano, en la cual manifiestan una relación conyugal.

The Author takes into consideration the imperial comites epigraphically attested, and who participated in the military campaigns of L. Verus, L. Verus and M. Aurelius, M. Aurelius alone, and M. Aurelius with Commodus (161-180), comparing their careers. These comites Augusti were selected from among the senators deemed most suitable for fulfilling this highly
significant role. The key requirements seem to have been a close connection to the imperial household, but also military abilities, since they had to fight alongside the emperor. Some of them had already fought along the Roman frontiers and belonged to that small circle of viri militares.

Over thousands of years Greek culture has spread across the globe to many people -through language, medicine and the sciences, philosophy, art, archaeology, architecture and politics; much of has been bestowed upon the world by Greek civilization. Greek culture has survived from the 3rd millennium BC when the original Hellenes first arrived in the area now known as Greece. Despite many wars, foreign occupations and other threats to its culture, Hellenism has persisted. Today however, we question its future. What do we mean today by the concept of Hellenism? How will Hellenism survive in a globalised world? The trends of speedy explorations, technology and the sciences as well as the minimisation of the concept of time and place, the unprecedented mobilisation of the populations and the rapid diversification of what were once perceived as exclusive national cultures have transformed the Globe into a village. As such, these circumstances have created new avenues by which to understand the world. Globalisation is paradoxical insofar as it restricts the world and at the same time effectuates a global dynamism. New trends construct new identities, and the need of a re-evaluation and redefinition of the Shelf is now paramount to many academic disciplines. The articles included in this publication well -project this attitude, encapsulating the concept of Hellenism in light of the contemporary concerns that relate to global realities.