Late Antiquity

Представлены результаты экспертизы антропологических материалов из могильника античного времени Сувлу-Кая в Юго-Западном Крыму. Обсуждаются демографические и краниологические особенности двух хронологических групп из подбойных могил III–IV вв. и из склепов IV–V вв. н.э. Захоронения в подбоях, по-видимому, оставлены кратковременным, преимущественно мужским коллективом, для которого характерны высокий травматизм, традиция искусственной деформации головы и краниометрические признаки, свойственные носителям позднесарматской культуры низовьев Волги и Дона. Выборка из склепов близка демографическим параметрам нормальной и сравнительно благополучной человеческой популяции; морфология единичных черепов позволяет предположить участие в формировании этой группы потомков местного догреческого населения Крыма.

Tra il II e il IV secolo d.C., per tentare di arrestare il dilagare del Cristianesimo all’interno dell’ecumene romana, alcuni filosofi, tra cui Celso, Porfirio e Giuliano, comprendono che per minare a fondo la credibilità della nuova fede, è necessario attaccare le sue scritture. La polemica di Celso, nonostante risenta della communis opinio popolare, si fonda sulla puntuale lettura delle scritture cristiane e del racconto su Adamo presente nel Genesi. Porfirio analizza la Bibbia considerandola un semplice gruppo di libri, diversi per autore e stile, non come un unicum che contiene la parola di Dio, in cui si palesano contraddizioni, falsità, irrazionalità, come nel racconto sul primo uomo. Infine Giuliano sferra la sua polemica, immaginando di essere in un tribunale in cui due attori dibattono per palesare le falsità di ognuno. Con questo metodo, l’imperatore attacca i testi delle scritture, tra cui il racconto di Adamo, tentando di farne emergere tutte le debolezze. 

Parole chiave.

Attacco, filosofi, politeisti, Cristianesimo, scritture, Adamo.

Greek gynecological and pediatric standards created ideal types. One was
the woman fit to breastfeed, another the newborn fit to be breastfed. This
study examines the consequences of these standards on human lives. Mothers
and newborns who failed to measure up to the ideal were rejected, giving
added impetus to wet nursing, infant exposure and infanticide. These were
aspects of Mediterranean medicine, culture and religion long before Soranos
of Ephesos wrote his gynecological treatise. However, his instructions for
midwives made these ideals and standards explicit and authoritative.
Carried through by midwives, they altered the lives of women and sometimes
ended the lives of newborns. Together these standards contributed to a
recursive dynamic of the displacement of infants from birth mothers, infant
abandonment, and wet nursing that was favorable to class affirmation and to
the maintenance of the slave system of early imperial Rome.

Sidonius C. Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius, Die Briefe. Eingeleitet, übersetzt und erläutert von Helga Köhler, Stuttgart: Hiersemann 2014, XXXVII + 355 pp., ISBN 978-3-7772-1414-6, € 224 (hb). Die Briefe des Apollinaris Sidonius sind seit eh und je eine erstrangige Quelle für das Gallien des fünften Jahrhunderts und haben bis in den Humanismus hinein die europäische Literatur entscheidend beeinflusst. Als prototypi-sche Mischgestalt aus Aristokrat und Seelenhirt, römischem Präfekt und Bischof von Clermont, Hofpoet und liturgischem Autor ist Sidonius wesent-lich für unser Verständnis des spätantiken Christentums. Helga Köhler (K.) stellt ihn nun erstmals in einer mustergültigen Übersetzung seiner ganzen Korrespondenz dem deutschsprachigen Publikum vor. Dank ihrem wegwei-senden Kommentarband zum ersten Buch der Korrespondenz (Heidelberg 1995) ist K. eine der Urheberinnen der heutigen Sidonius-Renaissance. Das Buch enthält, neben der Übersetzung, eine Einleitung, eine Auswahl-Bibliographie und ein Namen-und Sachregister. Die Einleitung ist eine gekonnte, äußerst zugängliche Zusammenfassung unserer Kenntnis auf dem heutigen Stand der Wissenschaft. Binnen dreißig Seiten wird der Leser infor-miert über den Autor, seine Briefkunst und sein Nachleben. Zudem legt K. Rechenschaft ab über die Entscheidungen, die sie bei der Übersetzung getroffen hat. Einige, für die Übersetzung wichtige Aspekte möchte ich hier hervorheben. Die Sammlung von 147 Briefen in neun Büchern würdigt K. zu Recht als mehr als ein historisches Dokument, nämlich als ein sorgfältig angeleg-tes Gesamtkunstwerk aus Prosa und poetischen Einlagen, das Politik und Privatleben, Weltliches und Geistiges verbindet zu einem Kaleidoskop wech-selnder Stimmungen. Form und Sprache der Briefe stehen dabei stets gleich-rangig neben ihrem Informationsgehalt. Dem Stil des Sidonius gerecht zu werden war Hauptaufgabe dieser Über-setzung. Die sehr langen Perioden, die alle denkbaren Stil-und Gedankenfi-guren häufen, überforderten schon nachweisbar manche Zeitgenossen. K. hat sich für die weitestmögliche Nachbildung des Originals entschlossen, da die deutsche Syntax ja die Möglichkeit zu Schachtelsätzen bietet. Das Ergebnis ist eine vornehme, zuweilen leicht altertümliche, aber immer kristallklare Über-setzung. Die erfindungsreiche Wortwahl und der präzise Aufbau steuern den langen Atem, den der Leser braucht. Die Übersetzung wäre besonders dazu geeignet, vorgetragen zu werden. Bemerkenswert sind die poetischen Einla-gen, die K. virtuos gemäß der ursprünglichen Metren übersetzt.

The period 550 to 750 was one in which monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. This collected volume of essays focuses on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c. 550-615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy.

The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus travelled and established his monastic foundations were made up of many different communities of peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences and what emerged from these encounters? How societies interact with outsiders can reveal the inner workings and social norms of that culture. This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact and to consider all of the geographical spheres in which Columbanus and his monastic communities operated (Ireland, Merovingian Gaul, Alamannia, Lombard Italy) and the varieties of communities he and his successors came in contact with — whether they were royal, ecclesiastic, aristocratic, or grass-roots.

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Maps
Contributors
Foreword Walter Pohl
Part I: Columbanus in Context
Chapter 1: Introduction: Columbanus and Europe Alexander O'Hara
Chapter 2: Columbanus and the Language of Concord Damian Bracken
Part II: The Insular Background
Chapter 3: The Political Background to Columbanus's Irish Career Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
Chapter 4: Movers and Shakers? How Women Shaped the Career of Columbanus Elva Johnston
Chapter 5: Columbanus's Ulster Education Alex Woolf
Part III: The Frankish World
Chapter 6: Columbanus in Brittany Ian Wood
Chapter 7: Columbanus and Shunning: The Irish peregrinus between Gildas, Gaul, and Gregory Clare Stancliffe
Chapter 8: Orthodoxy and Authority: Jonas, Eustasius, and the Agrestius Affair Andreas Fischer
Chapter 9: Columbanus and the Mission to the Bavarians and the Slavs in the Seventh Century Herwig Wolfram
Part IV: On the Fringe: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia
Chapter 10: Between the Devil and the deep Lake Constance: Jonas of Bobbio, interpretatio Christiana, and the Pagan Religion of the Alamanni Bernhard Maier
Chapter 11: Drinking with Woden: A Re-Examination of Jonas's Vita Columbani I. 27 Francesco Borri
Chapter 12: Between Metz and Überlingen: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia Yaniv Fox
Chapter 13: Quicumque sunt rebelles, foras exeant! Columbanus's Rebellious Disciple Gallus Philipp Dörler
Part V: Lombard Italy and Columbanus's Legacy
Chapter 14: Columbanus, Bobbio, and the Lombards Stefano Gasparri
Chapter 15: Disputing Columbanus's Heritage: The Regula cuiusdam patris (with a translation of the Rule) Albrecht Diem

"This publication presents the first study of the defining features of Psellos' Chronographia, written in the 11th century.
Character is the single most important feature of the Chronographia written by Michael Psellos (1018-1081?). It is an historical account of the events at court from the time of Basil II (986-1025) to Michael VII Doukas (1071-1078) with the insight of someone whose career developed within the imperial court and his unsurpassed eye for details of personality was enlightened by his intellectual interests. During his lifetime, Psellos was considered the forefront of philosophical studies in the capital and therefore was named consul of philosophers (ὕπατος τῶν φιλοσόφων) in 1047 and he credited himself with reintroducing Plato on the cultural scene of Constantinople. It was his attractive manner of speech which led him to remain in the emperor’s presence and his rhetorical ability also plays an important role in the Chronographia, especially when he emphasizes or fabricates events to justify his understanding of a person’s mind. Many have employed Psellos’ Chronographia for its value in shedding light on historic events, itself important, though it often neglects the fact that Psellos’ historiography is not based on factual details to explain multiple causes for events, but seeks to attribute blame or merit to the personality of the ruling emperor."

"This book is the first-ever monograph on the family of royal converts from Adiabene including the broader perspective of the cultural and political environment of Hellenistic and Parthian Adiabene. It collects, arranges and discusses all available sources on the topic.
The study consists of three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1-5) is devoted to the longest ancient account on the Adiabene royalty from all ancient literature – Josephus, Ant. 20:17-96 (“the Adiabene Narrative”). It examines the Adiabene narrative as Josephus’ conscious literary product with all its rhetorical features and ideological agendas.
Part 2 (chapters 6-7) deals with other sources about the family of royal converts from Adiabene. Chapter 6 is devoted to Rabbinic traditions about Queen Helena and King Munbaz. Chapter 7 discusses all Jewish and non-Jewish literary sources which refer to the resting place of Queen Helena and to the palaces of the Adiabene royalty in Jerusalem, what is more, it also provides an updated discussion of relevant archaeological sites in Jerusalem (Le Tombeau des Rois and the Givati Parking Lot).
Part 3 (chapters 8-13) presents the material and political environment of Adiabene from the third century BCE to the third century CE. It discusses all available kinds of sources: geographical and ethnographical texts (chapter 8), archaeological sites (chapter 9), epigraphic and numismatic material (chapter 10), as well as onomastic evidence (chapter 11). Furthermore, chapter 12 provides a basic chronology of the Adiabene royalty in the Hellenistic and Parthian periods, and chapter 13 presents the political environment of Adiabene and Judea in the context of the international relations between Rome and Parthia."
P.S.
So far reviewed by K. Atkinson, Biblica 96 (2015) 635-638; D.M. Jacobson, Palestine Exploration Quarterly 147 (2015) 169-170; E. Kettenhofen, Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia 6 (2015) 297-307; E. Lipiński, Polish Journal of Biblical Research 14 (2015) 201-207;  D.M. Downing, Journal of American Oriental Studies 137 (2017) 428-430; E. Nodet, Revue Biblique 122-124 (2015) 634-635; K. Berthelot, Syria 94 (2017) 415-416; J.-S. Caillou, L’Antiquité Classique 86 (2017) 517-519.

Procopius's Secret History has attracted the attention of a generation of social historians. Yet, the significant, albeit subtler ways, in which gender colors Procopius’s most significant work, the Wars, has received far less notice. Seeking to address this imbalance, the present study examines how gender shapes Procopius’s presentation of the Goths, East Romans, and Italo-Romans in his Wars. Rather than uncovering the Goths, East Romans, and Italians “as they really were,” this paper seeks to unearth some of the purpose and reasoning behind Procopius’s gendered depictions and ethnicizing worldview. A careful investigation of Procopius’s discussions about the manly and unmanly provides crucial insights into not just the larger narrative but also the historian’s knotty authorial agenda. Despite the Gothic War’s reliance on classical ethnic and gender patterns, Procopius did not compose his history in a vacuum. Indeed, the gendered discourse, which undergirds much of the Wars, must be understood within the broader context of the political debates reverberating around the late antique Mediterranean at a time when control of Italy from Constantinople was contested.

Preface; I. Introduction: I.1 Prelude "To Imitate the Bees"; I.2 Towards an Interpretation of Spolia: Delimitations and Methods; I.3 Reuse The Development of a New Architectural Practice; II. Translatio of Materials: II.1 Fragments and Fragmentation. The Disposition of Spolia in Church Buildings; II.2 Translations and Transferences: Christian Versions of Roman Architecture; II.3 The Aesthetics of Appropriation Eclecticism, Variety, and Antithetical Harmonies; III. Translatio of Meanings: III.1 Breaking Down the Past Rejections of Rationality; III.2 "Seeing the invisible" Towards a New Metaphorical Architecture; III.3 To "Strip Error Bare" The Rhetoric of Transformation; IV. Translatio of Time: IV.1 "Novelty in the Old and Age in the New". The Rhetoric of Renovation; IV.2 Recollecting the Past Spolia and Historical Consciousness; IV.3 Inventing the Past: Spolia and the Ideology of Classicism; Bibliography; List of Illustrations; Photo Credits; Index.

This article analyzes the techniques by which the kings of the early Sasanian dynasty engaged the past and shaped the experience of future generations. I concentrate on the innovations and legacy of the first two kings of kings of the dynasty, Ardashir I (r. 224–239/40 C.E.) and his son Shapur I (239/40–270/2 C.E.). These sovereigns fashioned a new and politically useful vision of the past to establish their dynasty's primacy in Persia and the wider Iranian world, eclipsing their Seleucid, Fratarakid, and Arsacid predecessors. I identify and examine the artistic, architectural, and ritual means by which the early Sasanians conformed the built and natural environment of their homeland to their grand new vision of the past. I argue that the Achaemenid patrimony of the province of Pars played an important role in these efforts, serving as inspirations and anchors for the Sasanians' new creations.

L’Antiquité tardive constitue une période de première importance en raison de l’ampleur des sources conservées et des événements survenus. Durant cette époque, qui s’étend du IIIe au VIIe siècle, l’Empire romain connaît des évolutions profondes et progressives qui ont non seulement modifié l’organisation du monde méditerranéen antique, mais aussi posé les fondements des périodes et des civilisations postérieures et limitrophes.
C’est durant l’Antiquité tardive que l’autorité de l’État monarchique et bureaucratique devient omniprésente par le biais de la loi, de l’impôt et de l’armée, que le poids des autorités locales se réduit au profit des capitales administratives et de leur système de cour, que le brassage des populations aboutit à leur recomposition et à une fusion des élites, que la conversion au christianisme, malgré les divisions confessionnelles, provoque une intégration et une uniformisation culturelle sans précédent des populations par l’adhésion à une même transcendance et l’élaboration d’une esthétique commune.