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As a starting point, the author summarizes some unsolved problems and innovative results in iconographical studies of Roman sarcophagi. He puts also forward a proposal of interpreting the decorations on Roman sarcophagi as pictorial incitements for the mourner’s free contemplation. To describe the phenomenon he is introducing the term polysemious contemplation. The selection of examples engaged by him, derives mostly from erotic sarcophagi, especially from the so called sub-motifs.
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We present the results of the archaeological investigations carried out in the Neolithic Cucuteni A3 settlement from Pocreaca–Cetăţuia site, Schitu Duca commune, Iaşi county. The excavations unearthed a house platform of fired clay, alongside flint and polished stone tools, tri-chromatic painted and unpainted pottery, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic idols.
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The present study has in view an ancient period from the History of Art on the territory of Romania, that is the Middle Bronze Age. In this period which itself comes with changes, among which the most important is the spreading of the solar cult, a fact also reflected in art (in the general context of the entire Bronze Age Ŕ which brought social progress, but also an artistic one, if we were to mention a ceramics which tries to reproduce pots from metal), the culture Wietenberg is one of the important cultures of the moment, which comes with special achievements, regarding both the settlements and the ceramics. An enumeration could comprise: settlements disposed in a circle around one, as a fortress, which implies social differences, and one of the found houses has even preserved decorations in the soft clay; the ceramics brings rich, baroque forms and a diverse decor regarding the motifs and the obtaining technique, disposed in registers, with a radial succession (connected to the solar symbolism).
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A De finibus bonorum et malorum I. könyvében a következőket olvashatjuk Démokritos természetfilozófiájáról: „[Démokritos] úgy gondolja, hogy az általa atomoknak nevezett részecskék, azaz a tömörségük miatt oszthatatlan testek úgy mozognak a végtelen űrben, amelyben nincs sem legfelső, sem legalsó, sem középső, sem legutolsó, sem legszélső, hogy az összeütközések következtében összekapcsolódnak egymással.” A concursio szó egyértelműen nem meghatározott irányú mozgást fejez ki: az atomok rendezetlen mozgásuk eredményeként ütköznek össze. A folytatás is ezt az értelmezést látszik alátámasztani, mely szerint a következő melléfogás kizárólag Epikurosé: „Tudniillik azt gondolja, hogy ezek az oszthatatlan és tömör testek saját súlyuknál fogva egy egyenes vonal mentén lefelé hullanak, és ez valamennyi test természetes mozgása”. Következésképpen a démokritosi atomok nem esnek lefelé egy egyenes vonal mentén és értelemszerűen nincsen súlyuk, vagy ha van is, ez nem oka a mozgásuknak.
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In the course of the rescue excavations conducted in 2014at site 3 in Kryspinów, Liszki Commune, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, a coin of the Roman period was discovered. The investigations were commissioned by a private investor in association with the construction of ten detached houses.The excavation was carried out under the direction of Małgorzata Byrska-Fudali,M.A., and Tomasz Fudali, M.A.The trenches were discovered north of the Przeworsk culture settlement that had been investigated by the Jagiellonian University in the years 1993–1998.In 2014, numerous features of the settlement type were revealed, such as hollowed buildings (semi-dugouts), postholes, storage and utility pits, and hearths. Based on the archaeological material, this part of the settlement may be linked to the period from phase A3 until the beginning of phase C1 of the Roman period.The coin was found in the filling of semi-dugout no. 304. It is an extremely well preserved Trajan denarius. The only other materials obtained from this location were ceramic vessels. The pottery is represented by hand-made forms, typical, in general, of the early Roman period.
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The text Dumuzi and Geštinanna belongs to the problematic group of Sumerian narratives. A possible explanation for the unusual formulations in the text might be the attempt of an ancient scribe to comment on the problems of the stories of the god Dumuzi, which was adjusted to the form of the narrative text. The „author” summarized theological questions in an implicit way, with hermeneutical techniques. The special use of cuneiform signs is one such example applied to refer to the nature of Dumuzi. Also, many other formulas appear in the text, which intertextually allude to the relationship of Dumuzi, the king, and Inana.
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In the collection of the University Museum of Wroclaw is a spherical faience aryballos of unknown provenance. It belongs to a group of vessels which enjoyed widespread popularity over a vast area of the Mediterranean in the 6th century BC. The analysis clearly shows that the spherical faience aryballos at the University Museum of Wroclaw should be classified within section 3 of V. Webb’s classification, that containing the most common and crudest type of faience aryballos. Aryballoi classified within this section were made, judging from their distribution, partly or mainly at Naukratis and they belong in date to the second part of the 6th century. It is likely that the Wroclaw aryballos is the product of an Egyptian workshop, perhaps of that located at Naukratis. An Eastern Greek workshop cannot be ruled out either.
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„Ovid’s Fasti could never be real poetry” – állapította meg egykor H. Fränkel az Ovidius-filológiában korszakalkotónak számító monográfi ájában, s e lesújtó ítéletnek megfelelően – mely egyébként mindenestül összevágott a XX. században uralkodó communis opinióval – az életmű második legterjedelmesebb darabjának bemutatására alig tíz oldalt szentelt. Annál szembetűnőbb az ezredfordulón látványosan megélénkülő érdeklődés, melynek intenzitását jól mutatja, hogy a 2002-ben, G. Herbert-Brown szerkesztésében megjelent tanulmánykötet 12 szerzője közül nyolcan (A. Barchiesi, E. Fantham, E. Gee, S. J. Green, G. Herbert-Brown, J. F. Miller, C. Newlands és M. Pasco-Pranger) önálló kötetben (monográfi a, ill. kommentár formájában) is közzétették kutatásaikat.
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The faunal remains were collected during the archaeological researches carried out in 1988 and 2000. The analysed assemblage consists of 902 remains, out of which four are human (Homo sapiens). The remains originate from fish, birds and mammals. The mammalian bones number 615 remains, out of which 397 were identified by species. The list of identified domestic mammal comprise cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), horse (Equus caballus), and pig (Sus domesticus), with domestic cattle prevailing. Only three species of wild mammals were identified: red deer (Cervus elaphus), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus); the largest number of remains belongs to red deer. There is a single fragment coming from birds and six fragments from reptiles (Testudo graeca and Emys orbicularis). Fish bones are numerous (276), and the identified species are pike (Esox lucius), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), tench (Tinca tinca), wels catfish (Silurus glanis), and zander (Sander lucioperca); the highest share is represented by the common carp. Archaeogenetic analyses were carried out for some swine remains from Romanian territory, dating from the Iron Age, in order to identify their genetic profile. The analysed samples presented two different ancient haplotypes, previously described in the literature, haplotypes that sustained the pattern of spread for the domestic pigs on the European continent.
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Although scholars have pored over them for many years, there are still more questions than answers concerning the temple-boy figurines. Aside from canonical presentations, many figurines are considered as belonging to the temple-boy category, even though they do not possess features compatible with it. Symbolic analysis of the manner of their presentation, as well as animals, fruits and other objects held by the boys, shifts the direction of influence from Phoenicia to Egypt, also raising the age of the presented boys to two to three years old. Finally, they might be interpreted as votive gifts to ensure protection and well-being for Cypriot heirs to the throne.
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The article analyzes certain early Byzantine hagiographic texts concerning various forms of brigandage (both maritime and land-based). Two such accounts are studied in detail, one by Gerontius of Jerusalem and another by Theodoret of Cyrus. The instances described unveil theweakness of Roman state structures at the borders of the state as well as in lands harassed by barbarianraids, including piracy. Despite certain flaws (mostly the lack of precision), the accounts underdiscussion constitute valuable and reliable sources of historical knowledge.
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The article attempts to summarise the role of maat in Ancient Egyptian kingship. As such, it is important to consider which gods were connected with kingship, like Osiris, Ra, Horus and Seth. It seems that Egyptians thought these and other gods were kings before the predynastic period. The Golden Age myths and the story of Osiris could be a great example for the kings of the Historical period. During the Old Kingdom, especially during Hufu’s reign, the sun god had the main role; Hufu may have identified his reign with the Age of Ra. The same ideas appeared during the kingship of Amenhotep III, and may have had an important effect on Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. The unsuccessful end of the Amarna era could be the reason for the negative perception that such associations carried in later times. The Amarna era was considered as a period of chaos which was incompatible with the traditional view of the Egyptian kingship.
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By examining the role of the Phoenician tradesmen and craftsmen of the 9—7th century BC in Creta based on the archaeological evidence known from the Idaean Cave, Kommos and Knossos, the present study emphasises the importance of the Phoenician ivory works in the Cretan art. The representation of a Phoenician style ivory panel found in the Idaean Cave, a tree of life beside two griffins, constitutes the subject of the following interpretation. The figural composition allows for the identification of the local adaptations as a variation of a theme imported from the eastern world. In addition, it enables us to broaden our knowledge about the Cretan craftsmen’s choice of subject and the copy of model. The main achievement of the study is the parallel interpretation of the Cretan sources and those of the Near-Eastern hinterland (primarily the Biblical and Assyrian records and the ivories of Nimrud); that allows for the estimation of the Phoenician’s cultural influence to Creta.
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The discovery of a fragment of a Hunnic cauldron by a metal detectorist acted as the springboard of this study, in which various aspects of Hunnic cauldrons are discussed: their findspots and find contexts, their typology, their dating and their origins. Questions regarding the broader cultural context of Hunnic cauldrons in the Roman and the Hunnic Empires are also addressed, as are their functional, ritual and social dimensions. The archaeological findings are complemented by metallographic analyses that shed light not only on the composition of the cauldron, but also on its possible use.
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There are some important editions of this inscription (CIL I, 756) nevertheless their text is unsatisfactory. Althought some details are disputable in the Latin text of the inscription, yet its intention and aim are clear and unambiguous. The temple in Furfo is dedicated to Jupiter Liber. In the temple regulations every activity is permitted — except bad faith and stealing — in interest of the temple and this suits well both the utilitarian view of the local vineyardists, and the businesslike, contractual nature of the roman religion.
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The function of the roman ceramic censers has long since been a controversial one. Based on the information gained from the processing of the censers found in Zalalövő and on the ancient sources we can refute, that the censers were used as oil-lamps, libation vessels, fruit bowls or flower pots. There were turibula in each roman household (Liv. XXIX,14,13) and on the basis of the burned traces they were used for the regular offerings for the domestic gods. The name of the turibulum derives from the most often burned substance, the frankincense, which — beyond its ritual aspect — had several practical advantages. With the spread of Christianity, the censers started to disappear from the life of the Roman people because the early Christians considered substance-burning as a pagan act, and refused it.
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There is no doubt that the highly dynamic and prolonged military clash between Byzantium and the Bulgarian Tzardom from the 70s of the tenth century until the end of the second decade of the eleventh century attracts and will continue to attract the attention of scientists. In this regard, despite the abundance of publications, when it comes to the fate of Byzantine war captives – direct participants in the battles, there seems to be something to add. Even within the limited frames of an article, it is possible to emphasize on an essential feature. It is related to the fact that, when it comes to the Byzantine prisoners of war (regular warriors as well as commanders of all ranks), Tzar Samuel and his successors followed the experience gained in the previous centuries in Early Medieval Bulgaria.
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The Jewish people came into view of the Greek world in the time of Alexander the Great. The Greeks fitted the newly discovered people into the notion of „barbarian philosophy”. In Ptolemaic Egypt, Jews and Greeks could live side by side without serious problems. Neither can anti-Semitism be discovered in the literature of the age, aside from a few commonplaces. The beginnings of „Greek antiSemitic literature” are mostly connected to Egyptian priestly circles. In the works of Hellenized authors coming from these circles, there appear some motifs of a tradition of ancient religious conflicts between Egyptians and Jews. Apion is the author in whose work the threads of Greek discourse of barbarism, of the Egyptian inversion of the Exodus narrative, and of daily political tensions between Jews and Greeks.
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