Greek Religion

Co-organized by Leiden University (Institute for History / Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions) and the University of Potsdam (Department of History / Chair of Ancient History).

Organizers: Kim Beerden, Jens Fischer, Rafal Matuszewski

Co-organized by Leiden University (Institute for History / Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions) and the University of Potsdam (Department of History / Chair of Ancient History).

Organizers: Kim Beerden, Jens Fischer, Rafal Matuszewski

This paper presents a material and palaeographic analysis of the papyrus letter P.Zen.Pestm. 23 from the Zenon archive (3rd century BCE). The letter was written by two different hands: part by its nominal author, Amyntas, and part by a professional scribe. The study identifies and describes the distinct handwriting styles, their features, and the implications for the letter’s production process. It suggests that Amyntas did not merely dictate letters but revised and added to them personally, indicating a two-stage writing process involving dictation to a scribe followed by authorial review and addition.

Resumen. El presente trabajo se propone analizar la función de las fórmulas de felicitación o macarismos en las obras conservadas de Aristófanes. En la mayoría de los casos aparecen en contextos festivos, como las bodas o los triunfos, y tienen la finalidad de potenciar el tono solemne de la celebración del éxito del héroe cómico. En otras ocasiones los macarismos se dirigen a supuestos vencedores o sabios, pero presentan un carácter paródico, porque sus destinatarios son todo lo contrario. También se estudian casos de antimacarismos que parodian felicitaciones de la poesía seria.
Palabras clave. Aristófanes; comedia griega; macarismo; cultos mistéricos; ritos nupciales.

Abstract. This paper aims to analyze the function of the congratulatory formulae or macarisms in the preserved works of Aristophanes. In most cases they appear in festive contexts, such as weddings or triumphs, and are intended to enhance the solemn tone of the celebration of the comic hero’s success. On other occasions the macarisms are addressed to supposed victors or wise men, but they present a parodic character, because their addressees are quite the opposite. Cases of antimacarisms parodying congratulations of serious poetry are also studied.
Keywords. Aristophanes; Greek comedy; macarism; mystery cults; wedding rites.

This paper presents the publication of two new owners' graffiti discovered in Phanagoria in 2015. The first one, Ἀράτριος ἡ κύλιξ (the kylix of Aratris), dates back to the end of the first quarter of the 5th century BC. The name Aratris demonstrates obvious parallels to the ethnic name Aratrii mentioned in The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Peripl. M. Rubr.). The second graffito is Ἀρπάτρις-Arpatris. It dates back to the end of the 6th-first third of the 5th century BC. It is possible to suggest that it is a composite name of Scythian origin and it should be translated as 'the Keeper of Fire'.

A expressão "Velha Europa" ou "Europa Antiga" refere-se a um período da história e pré-história do continente, especialmente ao período neolítico e da Idade do Cobre, anterior à chegada dos Indo-Europeus. Arqueólogos utilizam esses termos para descrever as culturas e civilizações que existiram na Europa antes da expansão indo-europeia, que trouxe novas línguas, tecnologias e práticas culturais. A "Velha Europa" refere-se principalmente às culturas do Neolítico e da Idade do Cobre no sudeste da Europa, centradas no Vale do Baixo Danúbio, com extensões para a Europa Central e Oriental. Este termo também é usado para descrever as primeiras culturas agrícolas, como a cultura da cerâmica linear, que se espalharam pelo vale do Danúbio. A Europa Antiga, nesse contexto, abrange áreas que correspondem aproximadamente aos territórios de países como a Grécia,

Les études consacrées à la figure d’Alcmène se concentrent
souvent sur sa représentation dans l’Amphitryon de Plaute et
chez Euripide, mettant en avant sa maternité problématique
et les souffrances liées à son accouchement retardé.
Récemment, son portrait dans l’Idylle XXIV de Théocrite a
suscité un intérêt accru, soulignant à l’inverse une maternité
idéalisée, reflet de la reine ptolémaïque Bérénice, dans le
cadre d’une lecture politique. Nous proposons d’intégrer à
cette lecture du poème des éléments jusqu’ici mis de côté :
Alcmène, bien que dotée d’une agentivité certaine, montre
des signes de vulnérabilité (incapacité à agir, terreur)
savamment assimilés par le poète à des traits de son fils
non-héroïque, Iphiclès.
Cette ambivalence entre force et faiblesse, inédite par
rapport à Hésiode et Euripide mais qui pourra y faire écho,
reflète une représentation complexe, qu’il importe d’analyser
et d’interroger.

La relación entre mandatos divinos y decisiones humanas se plantea como problema fundamental para la ética occidental desde tiempos inmemoriales. En Sófocles, aquella corresponde a un paralelismo que se intersecta cuando la acción humana transgrede la ley divina, sin que a los dioses les competa alguna responsabilidad por las faltas de los hombres. El propósito de este artículo es mostrar cómo Sófocles y su tesis de la soledad de la decisión ética se convierte en uno de los predecesores fundamentales de la tensión entre moral alienante y resistencia individual, poniendo al héroe trágico como símbolo de lo problémico y agonal.

In his essay 'Is There an Artificial God?' (The Salmon of Doubt (2003), 126-50, at 143-4), science-fiction writer Douglas Adams refers to a study by anthropologist John Reader (in Man on Earth (1988)) of rice cultivation on Bali. Religion suffused Balinese rice-growing practices, which were dictated by the temple calendar and resulted in very productive harvests. The introduction in the 1970s of modern cultivation methods, including the use of pesticides, at first generated bumper harvests, but then, in Adams's words, 'the whole predator/prey/pest balance went completely out of kilter' (144), harvests failed, and the Balinese went back to the temple calendar, restoring the balance. There are several ways to study economy and religion. One is to study economic aspects of religious institutions and practices; another is to focus on the role played by religion in the organisation of production, distribution and consumption. The latter approach particularly, as the Balinese example suggests, might deliver important insights into broader economic life. Yet, as Andrew Wilson writes in the introduction to the present volume, modern discussion of the Roman economy has a religious blind spot: the topic receives little attention among Roman economic historians. Wilson suggests this has to do with 'a lingering, and certainly erroneous, view that the Romans did not believe, could not really have believed, in their crazy pagan religion' (3), and that its economic impact was therefore negligible. Greg Woolf, in the volume's concluding chapter, suggests that the neglect originates in the scholarly division of labour since the Enlightenment between those studying the secular and those studying the sacred. The volume aims to set this situation right, and its editors and authors largely succeed in doing soeven if they push much harder in one direction than in another. Most chapters in the volume deal with the material side of religious activity or with 'economic behaviour' by religious institutions. Thus Jörg Rüpke and Javier Domingo estimate the annual cost of the public cults in the city of Rome (between thirty and fifty million sesterces, with c. four million spent on the major priesthoods) and the cost differentials between temple building at Rome and in the provinces (provincial building costs were lower) respectively. David Wigg-Wolf concentrates on temples as financial institutions, concluding that they often functioned as state treasuries and repositories of private valuables, but that evidence for lending by temples is scarce. Marietta Horster, in her survey of sanctuaries in the Roman east, similarly notes that for temples, 'banking operations seem to have been only occasional activities' (158), while Marie-Pierre Chaufray, focusing on the temple of the crocodile god Soknopaios at the village of Dime in Roman Egypt, notes how the temple collected licence taxes for the state, but did not lend, in contrast to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in the metropolis of the Fayyum, which drew most of its income from interest on loans. Both Horster and Chaufray deal with the impact of Roman rule on cults and sanctuaries, with Horster noting that Dionysia festivals declined during the period of the Roman civil wars, to be

The chapter focuses on one of the three Sacred Areas (referred to as 'temene' in earlier publications) of Olbia Pontica - the South Sacred Area, which was predominantly associated with the worship of Aphrodite in the Archaic and Classical periods, judging by the quantity and consistency of epigraphic references and typology of small finds. At the same time, recent excavations revealed graffiti on pottery that mention several other deities and heroes as addressees or owners of objects (most likely intended as gifts): hero Angelos, Achilles, and possibly Ietros. A body sherd of an amphora bearing the word ΒΟΡΥΣΘΕΝΕΟΣ (Gen. Sing.) is more likely a city-ethnic than a river-god or eponymous hero. The constellation of deities and heroes in the South Sacred Area overlaps to some extent with those attested in the West Sacred Area and invites comparison with the deities attested on Berezan/Borysthenes, prompting consideration of questions related to the foundation of Olbia and the identity of its settlers.

Stratonikeia's pantheon displays a unique civic profile with two (almost) equally predominant deities in the Roman period: Hekate (in Lagina) and Zeus Panamaros (in Panamara). Only these two deities were called megistoi kai epiphanestatoi. When they are both mentioned, during the events of 81 and 40/39 BCE when they were granted the onomastic attribute megistos.e, they work in a doublet fashion, fuelled by the usual rhetoric for salutary deities after manifesting their energeia (their power in action), to the point where both deities become the epiphanestatoi theoi indiscriminately. And yet some clues point to Zeus coming first. The 'Stratonicean exception' does not reflect a hierarchy in a civic pantheon, but rather two comparable historical situations from which the city drew the best diplomatic advantage by relying on its gods. It explains the relative prominence of Zeus Panamaros, "born" at the same time as the Imperial era as megistos, epiphanestatos and patrios theos, without downgrading Hecate who preceded him in the patronage of the city and served as a model for the construction of his image. τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου, Solon Civitas [.. .] Stratonicensium Iovis et Triviae religionem tueba[n]tur. Tacitus 1 Stratonicea is a Carian polis anchored on a Macedonian katoikia (settlement), with an enduring 'indigenous' identity besides its Greek status. 2 Yet its pantheon 3 displays a unique civic profile with two (almost) equally predominant deities in the Roman period: 4 Hekate in Lagina, and Zeus Panamaros in Panamara, whose "invention" dates Open Access.

The stories engraved on the Lydian and Phrygian stelae known as “confession-texts”—in fact glorifications of the gods—are very often considered to be accounts of personal religious experiences. But as soon as one turns to the backstage of these devotional acts, the priestly authorities intervene at various levels in experiences that started out as individual
‘events’ indeed, but they are masked in the narratives. The rational construction of the texts and their stereotyped formulas, the emphasis put on the same systematised ritual stages, the judicialization of the process—up to its apologetic use in certain sanctuaries—, and the fact that sanctions followed fixed pricings, all bear the mark of close supervision by priestly authorities caring to preserve and publish the memory of these events in the courts of the sanctuaries, to which they were powerful servants. The traces of their influence can be seen even in the friction that the priestly powers happened to cause with the polis’ authorities (police, doctors).

Comparing the Albanian family and woman with their Western European counterparts, in the historical context of the Victorian era (1820-1905), it results that the values and identity of the Albanian family and woman are qualitatively similar to those of the Europeans.
Comparing the development of the European family with the Albanian one, we can underline that:

The article examines the relationships between Asclepius and Trikki, Asclepius' place in Greek mythology and history, and Asclepius' significance for sports education. The research focuses on the discovery of the Trikkeos Asclepius sanctuary, the most ancient sanctuary in Greece, and description of rituals and cults related to diagnostic and therapeutic medicine, prayers, dreams, divination, gymnastics and nutrition. These issues were also related to the sources of athletics and sports pedagogy. The research was based on literary, archaeological, monetary and mythological sources and works on religious studies, in particular, L. Preller (1964) and R. Graves (1998). "Not only was Thessaly the cradle and the anchor point of Hellenism, but it was also the birthplace of medicine, because medicine as a science prospered for the first time in Thessaly. The first medical personalities appeared in this area, such as the wisest Centaur Chiron and the illustrious son of Thessalian Trikki, the doctors' first ancestor, the Divine Asclepius. Asclepius was Chiron's student, practiced medicine systematically in Trikki and bequeathed it to all the Greeks" . According to literary sources, e.g. Pausanias' Description of Greece , mentioned by Preller and Thomson : "∆είκνυται δ' εν τη Γερηνία Τρικκαίον ιερόν Ασκληπιού αµφίδρυµα του εν τη Θεσσαλική Τρίκκη" ("They show a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius in Gerinia, a 'replica' of the sanctuary situated in Thessalian Trikki") [39]. The acknowledgment of the aforementioned sources by Preller and Thomson, as well as by other researchers make them most accurate and credible. According to the excerpt by Strabo above (also referred to by Thomson) there are three important contexts of Asclepius: a) Asclepius Sanctuary; b) Asclepius Cult and c) Trikkeos Asclepius . The mentioned sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius (a temple, oracle or any other type of sacred place), is still being searched for. So far archeological excavations run by the Archaeological Service of Trikki have revealed only a small part of it. Thus, the cult of Trikkeos Asclepius can be best reconstructed on the basis of Greek mythology and other Asclepius' sanctuaries in Greece. The sanctuary dedicated to Trikkeos Asclepius is regarded as the "αρχαιότατον και επιφανέστατον", i.e. "the most ancient and most renowned" . Preller emphasizes that among Asclepius' numerous worship and therapeutic

This article reexamines a textual issue at Ov. Pont. 1.1.41 scimus ab imperio fieri nil tale Dianae. Specifically, it proposes the replacement of Dianae, the presence of which in this context is controversial, with Dionae, a reference to the oracular goddess at Dodona. This suggestion is supported through a comparative analysis with Strabo's contemporary description of the oracle in Book 7 of his Geography.

In the eastern part of Fthiotida prefecture, in Pelasgia beach, and more specifically at the southern foot of Agios Konstantinos hill, the excavation brought to light a cemetery of the Hellenistic and Roman period inside a ruined unknown city of classical times. In a cist grave with many burials and use from the middle of the 1st to the middle of the 3rd century AD, an object with strong magical symbolism was found. It is an inscribed semi-precious stone – amulet, in which Χνούμις (Chnoumis) is represented.

Benjamin Domer 3/14/2014 Religious Studies Capstone Religion and War in Classical Greece: The effect of pre-battle sacrifice and omens on strategic decision making. This detailed discussion analyzes the decisions making processes during the Persian 1 and Peloponnesian wars. 2 It will focus mainly on sacrifices and omens and explore how these religious events affected the varying levels of warfare. This exploration in based on five separate episodes from the three main Classical Greek 3 Historians: Herodotus 4 , Thucydides 5 , and Xenophon 6 . Each of these episodes has, at its beginning, a sacrifice or religious event that must be read. This reading influences the decisions made by the leaders of the armies. There are different variables to consider in each episode; through these explorations conclusions can be drawn about the importance of religion and sacrifice to different people in the Classical Greek world. In the specific context of omens during war-time and before battles, there are four important variables to consider. The most obvious variable is the omen itself, while the others variables are more subtle. These variables are the diviners 7 , the ones who read the omens, the generals who are held responsible for the result of the battle, and the soldiers. The most important variable, it appears at first glance, is the sign being read. There were many different types of signs in the ancient world. These signs were 1 The Persian Wars were an ongoing conflict between the Greeks and Persians. This paper focuses specifically on the invasion of Xerxes, the second invasion of the Persians, 480-479 BCE. 2 The Peloponnesian War was a war between Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful city states, which lasted from 431-404 BCE. 3 All of these historians wrote during the Classical Greek time period or 510 BCE to 323 BCE. 4 Herodotus was the first of the Greek historians; he lived from 484-425 BCE and wrote the Histories. 5 Thucydides lived from 460-395 BCE and wrote The Peloponnesian War. 6 Xenophon lived from 430 -354 BCE and wrote the Hellenika which is regarded as a continuation of Thucydides' work. 7 This term will be used interchangeably with seer, since, in this context their duties are the same, and in the histories cited, both words are used. represented in both fictional 8 and historical works, some being more believable that others. These signs can most simply be defined as a form of communication with the gods. 9 This paper will focus specifically on communications before battles, whether they were pre-battle sacrifices or natural omens. Sacrifices and omens were thought of as the manifestation of communication with the gods. Once the sacrifice was made the communication had to be interpreted, bringing us to the second variable on the chain: the diviners. These interpretations came from the diviners who witnessed the omen, or from the ones who had made the specific sacrifices. The diviners were not necessarily trained in their tasks but in some cases proved their worthiness through deeds. Herodotus tells the tale of the rise to prominence of two seers of the Persian war. One gained his status through successfully aiding the Spartans with his seeing ability. 10 The other rose to prominence by performing an act of desperation. He cut off part of his foot in order to escape captivity. 11 There is no known specific curriculum or rule book that these diviners followed, and much of what they did was likely subjective. The third decision making variable was the General, who, despite the diviners interpretation, had the final say in battle decisions. These generals varied in their reverence for religion which influenced their abidance to the omens of the diviner's interpretations of a given omen. Greek religion and belief was not a monolith. 8 For further reading see excerpts from the Iliad. Most importantly book 24.309-13 9 Naiden, F.S, pp 3-4 10 Teisamenos, a Greek seer, more detail will be presented further in the paper. 11 Hegistratos, a Persian seer, see previous footnote.

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee This detailed discussion analyzes the decisions making processes during the Persian 1 and Peloponnesian wars. 2 It will focus mainly on sacrifices and omens and explore how these religious events affected the varying levels of warfare. This exploration in based on five separate episodes from the three main Classical Greek 3 Historians: Herodotus 4 , Thucydides 5 , and Xenophon 6 . Each of these episodes has, at its beginning, a sacrifice or religious event that must be read. This reading influences the decisions made by the leaders of the armies. There are different variables to consider in each episode; through these explorations conclusions can be drawn about the importance of religion and sacrifice to different people in the Classical Greek world. In the specific context of omens during war-time and before battles, there are four important variables to consider. The most obvious variable is the omen itself, while the others variables are more subtle. These variables are the diviners 7 , the ones who read the omens, the generals who are held responsible for the result of the battle, and the soldiers. The most important variable, it appears at first glance, is the sign being read. There were many different types of signs in the ancient world. These signs were 1 The Persian Wars were an ongoing conflict between the Greeks and Persians. This paper focuses specifically on the invasion of Xerxes, the second invasion of the Persians, 480-479 BCE. 2 The Peloponnesian War was a war between Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful city states, which lasted from 431-404 BCE. 3 All of these historians wrote during the Classical Greek time period or 510 BCE to 323 BCE. 4 Herodotus was the first of the Greek historians; he lived from 484-425 BCE and wrote the Histories. 5 Thucydides lived from 460-395 BCE and wrote The Peloponnesian War. 6 Xenophon lived from 430 -354 BCE and wrote the Hellenika which is regarded as a continuation of Thucydides' work. 7 This term will be used interchangeably with seer, since, in this context their duties are the same, and in the histories cited, both words are used. represented in both fictional 8 and historical works, some being more believable that others. These signs can most simply be defined as a form of communication with the gods. 9 This paper will focus specifically on communications before battles, whether they were pre-battle sacrifices or natural omens. Sacrifices and omens were thought of as the manifestation of communication with the gods. Once the sacrifice was made the communication had to be interpreted, bringing us to the second variable on the chain: the diviners. These interpretations came from the diviners who witnessed the omen, or from the ones who had made the specific sacrifices. The diviners were not necessarily trained in their tasks but in some cases proved their worthiness through deeds. Herodotus tells the tale of the rise to prominence of two seers of the Persian war. One gained his status through successfully aiding the Spartans with his seeing ability. 10 The other rose to prominence by performing an act of desperation. He cut off part of his foot in order to escape captivity. 11 There is no known specific curriculum or rule book that these diviners followed, and much of what they did was likely subjective. The third decision making variable was the General, who, despite the diviners interpretation, had the final say in battle decisions. These generals varied in their reverence for religion which influenced their abidance to the omens of the diviner's interpretations of a given omen. Greek religion and belief was not a monolith. 8 For further reading see excerpts from the Iliad. Most importantly book 24.309-13 9 Naiden, F.S, pp 3-4 10 Teisamenos, a Greek seer, more detail will be presented further in the paper. 11 Hegistratos, a Persian seer, see previous footnote.

Current scholarship on the topic of ‘failed prophecy’, both in
social psychology and Classics, seeks to explain how groups continue to
believe in prophetic truth even after ‘failures’. In this paper, I critically
examine the current research to show that this etic (outsider) approach
collapses a meaningful distinction between prophetic signs and their
interpretations. Going in a different direction, I use evidence for the
continuity of belief in prophetic truth from Herodotus’ Histories and studies
on new religious and millennial movements to develop an emic (insider)
understanding of what prophecy and prophetic truth are among believers. In
so doing, I demonstrate a consonance in thinking about prophecy between
ancient and modern groups of believers and distinguish three types of
prophetic truth in which such groups may come to believe: fulfilled truth,
expectational truth and conditional truth. I conclude by arguing that it is
only ever a specific expectation, framed by a particular (usually literal and
conventional) interpretation of a prophecy – not the prophecy itself – that may
be understood as proven false. This clearer delineation of prophetic sign and
prophetic meaning have benefits for interpreting Herodotus’ Histories and
for understanding those who believe in prophecy today.

Questo articolo revisiona l'analisi dei giochi isolimpici Sebastà di Neapolis e della famiglia degli Eumelidi attraverso l'esame di un basamento marmoreo del II secolo d.C. conservato presso il Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Il manufatto testimonia la vittoria sportiva di due fratelli e le connesse pratiche commemorative, rivelando l'intreccio tra identità greca e romana nella Neapolis imperiale. Lo studio integra evidenze archeologiche, epigrafiche e storico-letterarie per indagare come le pratiche commemorative legate alle vittorie agonistiche costituissero uno spazio privilegiato di negoziazione identitaria, in cui la comunità urbana rielaborava il proprio rapporto con il passato greco e con il presente romano.

Plutarch in his treatise, De gloria Atheniensium, makes a surprising statement: the polis, which was made great and famous by generals and not by historians, poets, and artists, spent more on theater performances dealing with the sufferings of Oedipus and Antigone than on fighting her wars. Can Plutarch be right? Did the theater or the festive culture that provides a framework for the theater really cost Athens more than the maintenance of the army and the fleet, and the financing of the various campaigns? Can we take Plutarch seriously when he expresses such an opinion? The article, which seeks answers to the above questions through the testimony of Greek historians, Athenian orators and epigraphic sources, examines Plutarch’s position in the light of the hybrid economic system of Classical Athens and points to the peculiarity that in Athens culture and army depended on the individual contributions of citizens.
Keywords: Plutarch, Thucydides, Lysias, Athens, Great Dionysia, choregia, Peloponnesian war

(mit einem Beitrag von Diether Schürr) Der Begriff der "frühen Elektronprägung" ist nicht streng definiert. Liselotte Weidauer, die ihn für den deutschen Sprachraum prägte, hat sich nicht dazu geäußert, wie sie die frühe Elektronprägung von Späterem abgrenzen wollte. Aus dem Zusammenhang ihres Kataloges läßt sich erschließen, daß sie die frühe Elektronprägung auf Serien des 7. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. beschränken wollte; lediglich auf dem Gebiet der königlich-lydischen Prägungen war auch das frühe 6. Jahrhundert einbezogen. Als Entscheidungsgrundlage, was zur frühen Elektronprägung zu zählen sei, dienten Weidauer zwei Hortfunde: das Foundation Deposit aus dem Artemision von Ephesos (IGCH 1153/1154) sowie ein Hortfund von Samos (IGCH 1158). Den dort vergesellschafteten Münzen schloß Weidauer weitere Serien an, die sie aus stilkritischen Gründen ebenfalls ins 7. Jahrhundert setzte. Man kann ihrem Urteil heute noch im Wesentlichen folgen. Nur ausnahmsweise trifft man in Weidauers Katalog auf Münzen, die dann doch um einiges jünger sein dürften: die Triten mit der ephesischen Biene, 1 die Statere und Hekten mit dem Löwen von Milet, 2 und wohl auch manche der "typenlosen" Münzen mit blanker bzw. amorph aufgerauhter Oberfläche auf der Vorderseite. Bei der letzten Gruppe greift keine Stilkritik, und so pflegt man sich auf technische Merkmale der Punzen auf der Rückseite zu berufen. Darüber hinaus dürfte ein typologisches Argument wirksam sein. In der Diskussion um das Foundation Deposit galten die typenlosen Exemplare immer als primitive Erstlinge -darunter selbst diejenigen, die keine Prägung der Rückseite

The aim of this chapter is to analyze whether and to what extent layout played a role in re-engraved inscriptions. By these I mean new versions of older texts that were carved into new blocks of stone or elsewhere on the original stone at a later point in time. In particular, I discuss whether stonecutters who re-engraved older epigraphic texts reacted to their original layout, whether they recognized specific features and tried to reproduce them, or whether they dismissed them as irrelevant in order to meet new requirements in terms of layout. While some aspects of re-engraved texts, such as the transition from dialects to koine and from one alphabet to another, have been thoroughly investigated, 2 layout issues -as far as I know -have not been addressed. This chapter has two parts. In the first, I discuss -by drawing on several examples -the factors we must preliminarily consider when dealing with re-engraved texts. In the second, I focus on case studies drawn from the genre of dedicatory inscriptions, where layout issues may or may not have been affected by the existence of previous versions of the inscription. Before getting to the heart of the matter, however, I must note several caveats. First, even if we assume that many texts are later copies of pre-existent ones, this phenomenon can be ascertained 1 Unless otherwise indicated, all dates are BCE. For the sake of convenience, I use the word "original" for older versions even though they were clearly copied from perishable texts. For the distinction between original and copy, cf. Rousset et al. 2015, 443 n. 8 following the considerations of G. Rougemont in CID I, p. 87 n. 363. I do not consider here media engraved with different texts at different times or multiple engravings of the same text made on different media at the same moment -two widespread phenomena in ancient epigraphy. I thank the editors of the volume and the anonymous referees for their advice, which prompted me to better clarify my line of argument, as well as M. Santini and M. Garré for their suggestions in the early stages of this chapter. 2 Cf. the stele from Sigeion (IG I 3 1508) and especially Minon 2009.

Herms were an omnipresent feature in the civic and sacred landscape of fifth-century Athens. Composed of a bearded head, an erect phallus, and two short arms or shoulders, this image of Hermes was frequently encountered by the ancient passerby during his movements through the asty and the chōra. Classical sources attest to the installation of herms along roads, in gymnasia, private houses, the Agora, and within sanctuaries (hiera). While modern historiography continues to debate the circumstances, place, and reasons for its origin, ancient authors consistently presented the herm as a statue intrinsic to Athenian tradition and rooted in the local ancestral past (Hdt. II, 51.1; Thuc. VI, 27.1; Paus. I, 24.3; Paus. IV, 33.3). This talk addresses the presence of herms in the cult spaces of Attica through a material and visual approach. The primary aim is to explore the perception, functions, and semantic range of the herm within sacred spaces, with particular attention to the interactions between viewer/worshipper and this semi-anthropomorphic divine image. To that end, a selection of key archaeological contexts and herm fragments found in Attica and Athens, dating to the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, will be examined, alongside relevant literary and iconographic evidence. Special emphasis will be placed on the material and textual strategies employed in the display of herms, which, it will be argued, in certain contexts contributed to 'simulating' the epiphanic embodiment of Hermes. This artifact fulfilled a multiplicity of functions within sacred spaces-functions that must be individually examined and collectively redefined. As it will be demonstrated, the herm should not be understood merely as a static 'marker' or 'guardian' of sacred space, as it is often described in scholarship, but rather as a divine image that actively mediated and shaped cult practice. The seminar takes place Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at 17.00 (Athens) in a hybrid format with live presence at the Swedish Institute at Athens and online via Zoom. To participate, please register at: https://www.sia.gr/en/events.php?eid=496#ParticipationForm

Στο: Ι. Ασημακοπούλου / Β. Π. Βερτουδάκης / Ε. Σιστάκου (επιμ.), Πολύνοια. Μελέτες προς τιμήν του Καθηγητή Μ. Ζ. Κοπιδάκη, Αθήνα: Εκδ. Κίχλη, 2025, σσ. 345–357. - The study presents and analyzes a deeply moving short story by Heinrich Böll, which is considered one of the most penetrating examples of Trümmerliteratur, or "rubble literature." The story’s title, "Wanderer, kommst du nach Spa...," is reminiscent of Schiller's translation of Simonides’s epigram for the fallen at Thermopylae: "O stranger, tell the Spartans..." (Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις…). Böll uses the unfinished epigram written on the blackboard of a German school in 1945, during the relentless bombing of a city, as a symbol of the mutilation and distortion of classical tradition in Nazi Germany. The study analyzes the ideological uses of Simonides's epigram by the Nazi regime after the Battle of Stalingrad.

This article examines the relationship between AI literacy-defined as one's knowledge and understanding of artificial intelligenceand emotional reactions such as fear, anxiety, and avoidance. Using survey and interview data from Greek consumers, we explore how lack of knowledge or familiarity with AI can amplify feelings of anxiety, while greater techsavviness can alleviate unwarranted fears but also lead to more nuanced concerns. The quantitative results show a significant inverse correlation between AI knowledge and anxiety levels: participants who rated themselves as less tech-savvy or who had lower education tended to exhibit higher fear and wariness towards AI. For instance, older and less-educated groups in our sample reported the highest "AI anxiety" scores, often expressing fear of misusing the technology or being harmed by it. Conversely, those with more technology experience or education were generally less afraid of AI, viewing it as a manageable toolthough they

This study examines hοw Greek cοnsumers perceive and develοp trust in artificial intelligence (AI) systems, with a particular fοcus οn data privacy cοncerns, ethical cοnsideratiοns, and perceived algοrithmic transparency. Drawing οn a mixed-methοds dοctοral research dataset, we integrate quantitative survey results (N = 318) with qualitative insights frοm interviews (N = 20) tο explοre the factοrs influencing trust in AI-enabled services amοng cοnsumers in Greece. The findings reveal that data privacy is a paramοunt cοncern, with a majοrity οf cοnsumers expressing reluctance tο share persοnal infοrmatiοn with AI systems. Ethical issues, such as fears οf bias οr AI

This study skills guide introduces the “Essay Blob” technique—an innovative and student-friendly method for exam revision in the humanities and social sciences. Rather than relying on memorised essays or endless notes, students are shown how to construct compact, structured argument units (“blobs”) that can be quickly expanded under exam pressure. With practical examples, playful metaphors (including the now-iconic towel tablet), and advice tailored to Oxford-style tutorial writing, this note helps undergraduates develop confidence, clarity, and critical voice in their exam responses. Perfect for students seeking high-impact strategies that prioritise argument over description.

Pain is a strange beast. The assessment and understanding of pain presents the greatest of challenges for students of pain and patient history (ancient and modern alike). The lived experience of pain evades the historian of disability, the ancient historian, and the archaeologist. It often eludes even the palaeopathologist, who might be able to recognise the physical markers of an ancient ailment on human remains but misses altogether the pervasiveness of chronic suffering in the individual’s lived experience and relationships. Even modern pain specialists, who rely exclusively on quantitative neuroscientific tools, such as fMRI results, for the exploration of pain cannot quite fully comprehend nor qualify its impact on the everyday life of the individual sufferer(s). This study targets narrative strategies and the individual experience of pain in the ancient world, with an extra focus on gout-induced pain in the first and second centuries CE. To that end, this chapter surveys key literary and epigraphic
evidence from this period. The main aim is to showcase the high impact
that gout-related pain has on the ‘lived bodies’ of sufferers.

In this text, we would like to discuss the way in which the relationship between the conceptions of divinity and mortality is reformulated in the final scene of Euripides’ Heracles. This entails a transformation of the virtues by which the hero decides to live at the end of the play. First, we will discuss the traditional heroic virtues and how they are reshaped in Heracles. Next, we will examine the relationship with the traditional conception of divinity as it is presented in Greek tragedy in general and in the work of Euripides in particular. For this, we will draw a parallel between Republic II and its criticism of the poetic representation of gods and of death and the way in which suicide is understood in this piece and in Greek tragedy in general. In this way, we will argue that, contrary to the usual accusation of atheism against Euripides, this play argues in favor of a more human virtue, which does not deny the gods but emphasizes the value of human philia.

Maria G. Spathi, Maria Chidiroglou, Jenny Wallensten, Apotropaia and phylakteria: confronting evil in ancient Greece. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2024. Pp. 280. ISBN 9781803277493.
Review by Christina Aamodt, Thessaloniki, Greece
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.05.08/

Dioniso es la divinidad griega más compleja, contradictoria, poliédrica y por ello más apasionante del panteón griego. Los ritos de Dioniso permean la religiosidad griega no solo en el terreno del culto extático y femenino protagonizado por las Bacantes, sino también en el de los cultos cívicos, en los que va penetrando progresivamente a lo largo del tiempo.
El principal objetivo de este libro es contribuir a un conocimiento fundado y riguroso del dios desde dos frentes complementarios. Por un lado, se reúne en él una completísima colección de textos referidos a Dioniso, sus actividades, sus mitos o sus cultos, en la literatura griega de época arcaica y clásica, textos que son ofrecidos de forma ordenada en su lengua original acompañados de cuidadas traducciones. Anteceden y dan sentido a esta colección diversos capítulos que examinan y comentan los textos, clasificándolos dentro de los géneros literarios a los que pertenecen (épica, himnos, lírica, mitografía, historia, tragedia, comedia, filosofía, oratoria), y señalando las características comunes y diferenciales que presenta su figura en cada uno de ellos. Esta serie de perspectivas, en las que los materiales se hacen significativos, de la mano de conocidos especialistas permite acceder al apasionante universo de este dios sobre bases más completas y matizadas.

Ever since their discovery by Cavallari in 1879 at the Timpone Piccolo at Thurioi, the so-called ´Orphic` Gold Leaves have given rise to heated discussions among scholars of Greek Religion about the role they played in setting the initiant on the right path in the Netherworld. This paper is an attempt to explore the importance and the function of the ritual of adoption as an initiation ritual, both in these texts and in the mystery cults of Magna Graecia more generally. By discussing analogous examples of mimetic re-birth from the Near East, Ancient and Modern Greece, and Rome, this study aims to offer a better understanding of the ritual formula “I sunk under the lap of the chthonian royal mistress” (Δεσσποίνας δὲ ὑπὸ κόλπον ἔδυν χθονίας βασίλειας) as it appears in A1 – A3 Zuntz = 488–90 Bernabé = 5–7 Graf and Johnston.

In the Callimachean Hymn to Apollo, among the prerogatives and abilities of the god, we find those in the art of divination. In particular, the prophetic nymphs Θριαί are mentioned. Although more marginal than other similar creatures, they played an important role in the invention of cleromancy: indeed, the prophetic stones (θριαί) took their name from these nymphs. Starting from the Callimachean passage, this paper aims to shed light on the divination attributed to the Θριαί, as well as the link between cleromancy and arithmancy.

afectó negativamente al lugar. Por lo tanto, el rey Edipo intervino inmediatamente en el asunto, adentrándose así a un viaje que revela a profundidad la causa del mal y culmina en tragedia. En el contexto ideológico de la Grecia Clásica del siglo V. a.C. se creía que cada ser humano tenía un destino establecido que nadie podía evitar. Este pensamiento obtuvo gran repercusión en la literatura del clasicismo griego por la creación de varias obras relacionadas al tema. El propósito era representar su cultura e inculcar valores en la sociedad. Por otro lado, el estilo de cada obra es variado y depende del género dramático tal como, la tragedia que se caracteriza por incluir un lenguaje de formalismos, la ironía trágica y utilizar la catarsis. Uno de los mayores representantes de la dramaturgia griega fue Sófocles quien presenta en sus obras la figura del "héroe trágico", un personaje bien dotado que afronta la condena de un futuro fatal. La fuerza para el desarrollo de la historia en Edipo Rey consiste en la revelación del cumplimiento del destino del protagonista. No obstante, hay más trascendencia en las actitudes de los personajes y las consecuencias de sus acciones. «La tragedia ofrece (…) el espectáculo de su conocimiento por los afectados, la reacción lírica de éstos, y la construcción reflexiva y esclarecedora a que dan lugar esos hechos» (Hoz, 1984, pág.4). En ese sentido, aludimos a la "condición humana" que para este ensayo está delimitada a las reacciones del Jave Escuadra M.