The presentation of Scipio Africanus: Hellenization and Roman elite display in the 3rd and 2nd Centuries BCE

Historically, Chinas Xinjiang Region has been important in Chinese-Western cultural exchange. This investigation into the diet of human populations in the Xinjiang region provides substantial information on the interactions between China and the West. We report here on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen from the 12th century BC to the 2nd century AD at the Yanghai Tombs, Xinjiang. The results of this study indicate the consumption of significant amounts of C3-based animal protein throughout these periods. We argue that animal husbandry dominated the lifestyle of ancient Yanghai populations, while agricultural cultivation was less important. The diet of ancient Yanghai human populations clearly changed with time and is closely related to the fluctuation of human populations. More specifically, there were significant differences in food resources available to the Yanghai ancestors in the middle to late Bronze Age (12th Century BC - 8th Century BC), which may reflect the diversity of these populations. Subsequently, during the early Iron Age (7th Century BC - 3rd Century BC), after an extended period of adjustment and development, the diet of all individuals became more similar. However, during the Han Dynasty (2nd Century BC - 2nd Century AD), the human diet consisted of a larger proportion of animal protein than in earlier periods. This suggests that stockbreeding played a more important role in Yanghai during this time. Based on careful consideration of historical records and archaeological features we suggest that this was due to the arrival of the Huns.

A Scythian cemetery, located near Glinoe village on the left bank of the Lower Dniester region, was studied by the Dniester archaeological expedition of T. G. Shevchenko Pridnestrovian State University during 1995-2012. Eighteen years of work on this cemetery brought the following results: 113 burial mounds have been studied, including 181 Scythian burials. Analysis of chronological indicators from burials of the Glinoe cemetery allow us to set its lower (turn of 4th – 3rd centuries BC) and upper (last quarter of the 2nd century BC) dates. Currently, there is no doubt that the Scythian steppe culture in the Lower Dniester littoral, not only does not extinguish at the end of the first or third quarter of the 3rd century BC, but also continues to develop until the end of the 2nd century BC, at least. Grave goods on the Glinoe cemetery are represented by all categories – weapons, horse harness, tools, household items, wares, decorations, details and accessories of costume, fancies and cult items. Materials from the Glinoe cemetery allow us to fix, quite surely, the Greek, Thracian and La-Tène elements, expressed in the funerary practice and material culture of the Lower Dniester Scythians. The elements of the material culture of the Central and Eastern European tribes are rarely found in adornments, costume accessories, horse harness and weapons. The emergence of the majority of hooks-clasps and all of the fibulae found on the cemetery however, should be attributed not only to the influence of the East European La-Tène cultures on the steppe Scythians of the North-West Black Sea littoral, but also to the penetration of their carriers directly into the Lower Dniester region. In addition, a belt buckle (2009), a pendant in the form of a sphere (2015, near Ternovka village) and two fibulae (2016, near Slobodzeya town and near Tokmazeya village) of the La-Tène construction were found on the settlements of the Lower Dniester region. But the most informative are items of the La-Tène type which were discovered in the Scythian graves of the last quarter of the 4th – the first half of the 3rd century BC, excavated in 2017 in the barrow groups "Sluiceway" and "Garden", as well as in the barrow 116 of the cemetery near Glinoe. These are torque, two rings and a bracelet, two belt plaques and three fibulae. Analysis of these findings in relation to the items from the Scythian cemetery of the 3rd – 2nd centuries BC near Glinoe village (excavations 1995-2012) shows that from the last quarter of the 4th century BC the material culture of the Scythians of the North-Western Black Sea Region is beginning to be influenced by the La-Tène and La-Tène type cultures of Eastern Europe. In the 3rd – 2nd centuries BC this influence increased and became especially noticeable in the costume complex.

Paleoecology of the ancient city of Tanais (3RD century BC–5TH century AD) on the north-eastern coast of the sea of Azov (Russia)

A new season of studies on the Etruscan-Roman city of Musarna have allowed us to establish that the city was occupied from the end of the 4th century BC up to the beginning of the 7th century AD, and that its foundation depended on a strategic and economic need of the Etruscan metropolis of Tarquinia, of which Musarna maintained its role of colony up approximately to 280 BC, when the entire territory was conquered by Rome. Later, the inscriptions and the epitaphs found in the site and in the nearby necropolis show that until the 1st century BC the only language spoken in Musarna was Etruscan, and that at least throughout the Hellenistic period, the administrative organization remained based on the model of a large Etruscan city. Therefore, the infrastructural networks, only partially restored later on, are fully Etruscan, as are the entire defense system and some public buildings, including a market and a portico built during various stages of the renovation of the square between the 3rd and 2nd century BC, as well as sacred buildings, such as two temples probably dedicated to Hercules and Bacchus. The excellent quality of the documentation of the urban plan made it possible to undertake a study aimed at determining the city’s spatial tracking practice. Some important considerations and insights on the organization of the territory have already emerged from this study and, in particular, we were able to verify on a territorial basis the size of the design module which had already identified on an urban scale. While this may already be considered an important result, the evidence of a design set on particular geometric properties prompts the investigation to highlight particular aspects of the Etruscan plan.

The Greek inscriptions from Central Asia give information mainly on the three centuries before our era, particularly on the 3rd and 2nd century BC. In the Greek inscriptions from Central Asia, we notice the absence of any sign of a civic life; the inscriptions, however, clearly show firstly on which cultural frontier the Greeks of Central Asia lived and secondly how proudly they asserted their cultural identity. The presence in Central Asia of a living Greek culture is unquestionable, and the most striking fact is that the authors of the inscriptions were proud of the Greek culture. Their Greek names however do not necessarily reveal the ethnic origin, and we do not know whether among them there were “assimilated” Bactrians or Indians. The Greeks, at any rate, constituted a limited community of people living very far from their country of origin, at the borders of two foreign worlds (Iranian and Indian) which were far bigger and older than theirs.

The article deals with the Ayurvedic treatises about the importance of regular physical exercises for keeping good health. It offers translation from Sanskrit into Russian of some excerpts from the medical works of the classical period. Among them are the «Astanga-hrdayam» (about the 7th century AD), «Caraka-samhita» (2nd century BC - about the 1-2nd century AD), «Susruta-samhita» (3rd century BC -about 5th century AD) accompanied by the translations from the relevant traditional Sanskrit commentaries, such as «Sarvanga-sundara» by Arunadatta, «Ayurveda-rasayana» by Hemadri, «Sasilekha» by Indu, «Ayurveda-dipika» by Cakrapani, «Jalpa-kalpataru» by Gangadhara, «Nibandha-sangraha» by Dalhana.

The article analyses remains of the Baitovo Culture fortifications in the focus of archaeological research. These remains are dated back to the early Iron Agee and situated in the Transural forest-steppes. Previously determined stages of the culture development (early to late 7th – 6th century BC and late 5th – 3rd century BC) are relied on to analyse and restore the walls that used to fringe the settlements. The study reviews the shapes, depth and water levels in the moats at Maray5, Likhachevskoe and Borovushka2 hillforts. The research suggests that the settlements used to be fortified with a stakewall at the bottom of the moat. Likhachevskoe hillfort had its gate towers restored. The researched Baitovskoe, Staro-LybaevoII and Bochanetskoe hillforts allow to conclude that even later on the early Iron Age settlements preserved the tradition of erecting compact stakewalls or wattles at the bottom of moats. However, this as when the Baitovo culture people started to erect fortifications with deeper moats and higher walls (Bolshoy Imbiryay3, Maray1 hillforts). This is evident of increasingly more substantial defence of the settlements. The studied Sargat and Gorokhovo culture fortifications peaked in 3rd – 2nd century BC. The comparison reveals that on one hand people kept opting for simple stakewall structures or wattlers to fortify their settlements, but they tended to change the properties and made their moats and walls more substantial. On the other, they reinforced fortifications through gate towers, wooden supports for moat walls, log frameworks and cages on the walls. Such structures are typical for fortresses that bore the function of social and economic centers. It is concluded that the defense works the Baitovo people erected illustrate the early defensive architecture of the early Iron Age Transurals.

This paper is devoted to the publication of amphora stamps discovered during excavation at the settlement of Vilino (Rassadnoe) in 2008—2014. During the research of the settlement the eastern border of the ancient estate and the main chronological framework of the settlement life were ascertained. The stone monumental structure was discovered in 2008. This is the cistern for collecting and storage of rainwater. In the Late Scythian time it was used as a burial structure (crypt). Ceramic stamps found at the site are represented by such centers as Sinopa, Chersonesos, Rhodes. Unfortunately not all of them were discovered in the cultural layers (in situ) and some were found in disturbed layers, at the surface or in the looter’s holes. Nevertheless, with a lesser or greater degree of probability, it’s possible to correlate them with the chronology of the settlement and periods of its life. On the excavated areas of the site four building periods (A—D) were observed — two Classic and two Late Scythian. The first period is associated with the time of activity of the Greek fortified estate (Chersonesos Сhora) from the last quarter of the 4th to the early 3rd century BC. In the second period, after a break, the population has come back to the settlement in the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. There was the period of recolonization during which the restructuring of the settlement has carried out. At the end of the first quarter of the 2nd century BC the life at the settlement was stopped. The next two periods correspond to the Late Scythian culture. However, the layers and building remains of the late 2nd century BC — 1st century AD was destroyed by plowing and looter’s holes. The upper horizon of the settlement contains the material from the 1st—3rd centuries AD. The stamps and other archaeological material are important chronological indicators of the archaeological site in the system of the Chora of Chersonesos and in the whole Western Crimea.

It has been generally acknowledged that falconry was unknown in Antiquity until it was imported in the 5th century AD by Germanic tribes into the lands of the Roman Empire. However, this theory contrasts with a 1st century AD epigram by Martial that depicts a hawk kept in captivity that regrets hunting for a fowler, a concept that can be perfectly understood as falconry. Due to a lack of knowledge of Iberian iconography and the absence of other early sources that attest to the existence of hawking in Antiquity, historians of hunting have interpreted Martial's epigram in diverse ways to avoid accepting that the poet was familiar with falconry. However, a careful look at Iberian figurative arts between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC reveals that Iberians depicted scenes perfectly coherent with falconry. Furthermore, some of these images were created in the region around Bilbilis where Martial was born, grew up and retired. Thus, we can conclude that it is highly likely that Martial was describing falconry in his epigram due to his knowledge of the sport in his native Hispania. Iberians seem to have practiced falconry since at least the 3rd century BC. This constituted an exception in the ancient world, since there is no evidence to prove that falconry was known in Middle Eastern, Greek or Roman civilizations.

The development of amphora production in Colchis is examined, from its beginnings in the mid-4th cent. BC under the influence of vessels from Sinope. The emergence of amphora production should be seen as the result of Hellenic influence upon the economy and upon craftsmen of the E littoral of the Black Sea. Throughout the Classical period one type of Colchian amphora existed, which underwent drastic change in the course of time. Three successive variants may be discerned. The earliest, from the mid-4th to 3rd cent. BC, retains similarities with the Sinopean prototypes. In the late 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, substantial changes in morphology and dimensions take place. In the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD the third variant, with a rib under the rim, appears. Petrographic analysis shows that the vessels were made within one extensive region, Colchis, but at a variety of centres. They were produced in state-owned and private workshops, employing both Greek and local craftsmen. The Greek workshops (or those which had links with Greek potters) were the main exporters of amphorae to the northern Black Sea coastal region from the 4th cent, BC to 1st cent. AD.

Relevance. The relevance of this study is determined by its examination of the dramatic poem «Orgy» through a historical-receptive lens. This approach allows for the identification of the mechanisms behind the author’s interpretation of the historical period and the tracing of the specifics of the reception of Antiquity within the text. Aim. The aim of the article is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the dramatic poem «Orgy» by the Ukrainian writer and poet Lesia Ukrainka, utilizing the methodological framework of classical reception studies. It also seeks to identify the mechanisms and reveal the role of these historical borrowings in the context of the author’s vision of Antiquity as a whole, and specifically the Greco-Roman relations from the military conquest of Hellas to the era of the Second Sophistic (2nd century BC – 2nd century AD). Methodology. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, characterized by an interdisciplinary approach. The theoretical and methodological framework relies on the principles of receptive aesthetics and the concepts of classical reception studies. The study also employs analytical, hermeneutic, and comparative-historical methods. Results. The study establishes that the specificity of the author’s interpretation of historical events, against which the main plot unfolds, lies in chronological hybridization – combining two temporal spaces to provide a deeper elucidation of Greco-Roman relations. It was found that the historical narrative in the work functions as a «safe distance» for constructing analogies between the past and the present. The history and specifics of the perception of Greek culture in the ancient world (from the 2nd century BC to the Second Sophistic period in the 2nd century AD) are examined. It is revealed that the reception of Greek culture by ancient Rome, as described in the text, is based on the principles of selectivity and pragmatism, utilized for cultural appropriation to achieve the political self-determination of the Roman elite and the legitimization of power by the Antonine dynasty emperors. The evolution of the concept of «orgy» in a historical context is analyzed: from a sacred ritual associated with the cult of Dionysus to its interpretation by the recipient – ancient Rome. It is established that throughout the plotline, there is a shift in semantic accents regarding the primary definition of the concept of «orgy», which indicates the conflict of Greek and Roman identities depicted in the work. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate that applying the methodology of classical reception allowed for a holistic disclosure of the mechanisms of assimilation and interpretation of ancient history in Lesia Ukrainka’s dramatic poem «Orgy». The study emphasizes that the author appeals to universal problems, actualizing the issue of Greco-Roman relations during Antiquity (2nd century BC – 2nd century AD) as a model of interaction between dominant and subjugated nations. The semantic transformation of the concept of «orgy» serves as a key marker demonstrating the specifics of the Roman reception of Greek culture. The proposed approach opens prospects for further studies of Antiquity in the context of classical reception within the writer’s creative heritage.

In 1942, following readjustment works of the road connecting the Saveni and Avrameni communes, a barrow was destroyed, resulting the find of a bronze cauldron. A. Nițu deemed the vessel of Avrameni as part of the series of cauldrons coinciding with the civilisation and expansion of the Sarmatians by the Don and Lower and Mid Danube in the 1st – 4th century AD and dated it to this chronological span. Gh. Bichir argued that the Avrameni cauldron is somewhat later than that of Piatra Șoimului (Calu), which the scholar dated to the 1st century BC. The vessel’s shape resembles that of a “bell” cast together with its handles, while the biconical foot was made separately, the two parts being attached by a bronze cast-made plug. On the body, the vessel displays several repair traces. According to its features and specificities, the Avrameni cauldron belongs to type Demidenko II.1.B, being the single of the type in the area between the Don and the Carpathians. The remaining resembling specimens come from 2nd – 1st century BC complexes from territories left of the Lower Don and the Kuban region. The author believes that according to its shape, the curved vertical handles decorated each with a knob as well as its making manner and foot attachment, the Avrameni vessel is an artefact joining elements specific to the Sauromatian cauldrons used in the Volga and Lower Don area, but also in the Kuban region also in the 2nd – 1st century BC. Within the context of its analysis are also discussed the cauldrons of Bubueci and Velikoploskoe, both from “ritual hoards/deposits” part of a larger group of such features of the 3rd – 1st century BC from territories comprised between the Volga – the pre-mountain area from North Caucasus in the east and the Lower Danube - Prut to the west. The cauldron of Bubueci belongs to type Demidenko I.3.A. It has a body cast together with the handles, while the iconical foot, surviving fragmentarily, was cast separately. Similarly to the Avrameni vessel, that of Bubueci is the most western find of a cauldron of the type. The body shape, curved vertical handles decorated each with three knobs, the lip shape and its making manner, how the handles start from the cauldron rim as well as how they were made, indicate that the vessel combines elements specific to the Sauromatian and early Sarmatian cauldrons. In the case of the Avrameni and Bubueci cauldrons, as well as those similar, the author concludes they are either a continuation of ancient casting traditions or were produced sometime earlier, yet continued to be used for a good period of time after their production cease. The exhibited repair traces and presence far from their territories of origin, where they were made and used, as well as their find together with 2nd – 1st century BC artefacts confirm, according to the author, their use for a longer time span. In the case of the Avrameni vessel, its deposition might have occurred sometime during the 2nd century BC as well as between the end of the 2nd – first decades of the 1st century BC. With respect to the dating of the “ritual hoard/deposit” of Bubueci, the author believes it dates no earlier than the 2nd century BC, and that its framing sometime between mid 2nd century BC and early 1st century BC is very likely. In the case of the Velikoploskoe cauldron, its body shape and sizes resemble those of the Demidenko VI type cauldrons emerging in the 2nd century BC, yet the remaining elements specific to this vessel type are missing. The rudimentary attachment procedure of the foot to the body, rim shape, its making manner, as well as how the handles start from the vessel rim, are according to the author, specific to the Sauromatae and early Sarmatian cauldrons (types Demidenko I-III, V) used in the first centuries BC, which hinders its ascribing to a certain type. Therefore, it was concluded that the Velikoploskoe vessel seems to be intermediary between the 5th - 3rd century BC cauldrons, mainly Sauromatae, and those of the early and mid armatian periods between the 2nd century BC and mid 2nd century AD. Its elements and making manner allow, according to the author, for its dating to the 2nd – 1st century BC, likely only sometime during the 2nd century BC, which is not contradicted by the remaining artefacts in the find.

For many years causes of the fall of Scythia have been a subject to a great deal of scientific scrutiny. The topic is still debatable. The author has recently published several papers, which justify Sarmatians’ involvement in the fall of Scythia in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC based on the written and archaeological evidence. Previously, the concept has also been supported by other researchers. These days, however, there are studies in favor of alternative versions claiming Sarmatians’ innocence in the events leading to the fall of Scythia. The main ideas of the studies boil down to the statement of no evidence of Sarmatians from the 3rd century BC being found not only in the North Pontic region but also to the east from the Don river. In the light of the statement, they implement the idea that Sarmatians’ appearance in the Eastern European steppes dates back to the time not earlier than the 2nd century BC. In the article, the author, given the anthropological and archaeological datasets, confirms the Sarmatians’ continuous presence in the Volga-Urals region without any chronological gaps between the 4th and the 1st century BC. The idea of the stage-by-stage settlement of the eastern nomads in the Volga-Don region and the North Pontic region is suggested. In the first stage, since the middle of the 4th century BC, the political situation underwent some destabilization processes due to the appearance of Sarmatians in the Lower Don region. The second stage is characterized by Sarmatians attacking Scythia in the first half of the 3rd century BC. For most of the 3rd century BC, Sarmatians’ main habitat was located to the east of the Don river. From there they conducted raids on the territory of the Northern part of the Black Sea region to plunder or collect the tribute. This concept is also supported by linguists’ new interpretations of written sources.

The paper analyses the "Athenian plot" in the ancient biographies of Anacharsis. The main objective of the paper is to date the emergence of stories about Anacharsis’ meeting with Solon in Athens. It is analysing written reports of ancient authors of from the 8th century BC to 3rd century AD. The first mention of Anacharsis we find in "The History" of Herodotus (5th century BC). It is spoken in detail about Diogenes Laërtius and the primary source of his «Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers». The fact that Diogenes Laërtius uses the works of Sosicrates of Rhodes and Hermippus of Smyrna, who are the ancient authors of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, is stressed. This makes it possible to date the appearance of the «Athenian plot» in ancient biographies of Anacharsis precisely this period. The author described in short, the political and economic situation in Greece and Rome of this period. It is shown that Anacharsis became an ideal image of a noble barbarian for the ancient world. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) and the crisis of the post-war period made philosophers to think a place of a man in this world. The noble barbarian became the new ideal of ancient philosophy. It is concluded that the popularity of Anacharsis and the wise barbarian is a reaction of ancient authors to crises in ancient times. He was a sample of wisdom and purity. Anacharsis became famous for the simplicity of his way of life and his acute observations on the institutions and customs of the Greeks. None of the works ascribed to him in ancient times, if indeed they were written by him, have survived.

Το ιερό του Ερμή και της Αφροδίτης στη Σύμη Βιάννου