Fourth Century BC Research Articles

Rural hinterlands of the Black Sea during the fourth century BCE: expansion, intensification and new connections

AbstractThis paper takes a holistic approach to the data for rural hinterlands in the Black Sea region in the fourth century BCE to reveal pan-Black Sea patterning, importantly including the southern coast and the territory of ancient Sinope. During a period of dynamic mobility and prosperity, the rural hinterlands of Greek settlements around the Black Sea expanded in ways that demonstrate significant regional commonalities in terms of increased settlement, intensified agricultural infrastructure, new connections via road and path networks and the inclusion of dependent territories beyond the traditional chora. Decisions to expand rural territory and intensify agricultural production were taken at the local level, but this patterning demonstrates that such developments were also a response to the dynamics of Black Sea economic and political networks. The associated increased density of occupation and connectivity in these rural hinterlands made them key facilitators of social networks, creating stronger ties between Greek settlements and other local communities, and ultimately enmeshing a more diverse group of people within Black Sea networks.

The Tragedy and Comedy of Tyranny: Plato's Symposium and Aristophanes's Frogs

Diogenes Laërtius reports Socrates saying that beauty is a "short-lived tyranny." Ironically, the beauty of Plato's Symposium immortalized the tyranny within. I argue that theoretical reflection, especially concerning Plato's dialogues, must be understood in tandem with our reflection on the theater of life—its beauty and its terror. The dramatic structure of the Symposium comes into focus under the lens of Aristophanes's humor, which exposes tyranny in the Symposium and Athens in the fourth century BCE.

On the Ionian League in the fourth century BC

The author argues that the revival of the Ionian League, most likely dissolved by the Persians right after 494, happened ca. 373 BC. The League seems to have been refounded then as a purely religious association. Its life was very long this time: the League most probably did not cease to exist not only during the rest of the 4th century BC but it was the ame one which functioned almost interruptedly throughout further several centuries and disappeared only at a moment after the mid-3rd century AD.

Xenophon de Halbattiker?

Summary This article analyses Xenophon’s lexical choices in Anabasis. It examines ancient and modern critical approaches to his language: Xenophon has often been criticized for lapses from ‘pure’ Attic, but this notion of a ‘pure’ Attic should be regarded as a conservative response to the increasing variety of spoken Attic in the fourth century BC. Xenophon’s lexical choices reflect the influence both of this ‘Great Attic’ (which developed into koine Greek) and of the non-parochial historiographical tradition inaugurated by Thucydides.

Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World by Rosalind Thomas

Reviewed by: Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World by Rosalind Thomas John Dillery Rosalind Thomas. Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. xii, 490. $135.00. ISBN 978-1-107-19358-1. With this volume, Rosalind Thomas introduces us to a massive set of ancient Greek writers who are almost entirely unknown to modern students and scholars: local Greek historians, "poorly understood or recognized" now, but forming a brand of writing that was "once popular and widely read" (386)—a type of historiography we should want to know more about. Thanks to Thomas's efforts, we are given a rare and precious glimpse into what was, for want of a better term, popular history in the late Classical and Hellenistic periods. The book is a triumph and will be required reading for those interested in ancient historical writing, and Hellenistic history and culture. Thomas begins with a crucial distinction: her focus will not be local history, but polis history (16–17). She very rightly wonders what "local" means, since most of these histories are of city-states and their regions, or they are island-or ethnos-histories; "local" history and historians (typically ἐπι-/ἐγχώριος: e.g., D.H. Th. 5, Paus. 1.1.4; cf. Hdt. 7.197.1, Thuc. 1.20.1) were really only called that by others, since "local history" is not really local for the people concerned; it is an understanding of the history of their world, one that happens to be defined by their locality. Another reorientation that she makes is temporal. Thomas observes that while these historians can be found in the early days of Greek historiography, they really flourished in the fourth and third centuries BC. Superficially, this finding puts Thomas in line with Jacoby, but only superficially: unlike Jacoby, who argued that local history was a late development and one in reaction to Herodotus, Thomas sees local history as written in ways that were animated by the same concerns Herodotus had; she often sees the more generous ("baggier," 19), Herodotean scope of the work of the epichorioi than the supposed predominance of a Thucydidean view of the past, one that "included customs, geography, early traditions and more recent political history" (21). The bulk of Thomas' volume consists of surveys of the different aspects or topics of polis- and island histories. Thomas does well to note how different city-states and regions developed distinct proclivities in how they understood their pasts: some histories were overtly political, others were focused on the cultural and religious; one set might tell the same story of the expulsion of a tyrant over and over again ("accumulative historiography") through a succession [End Page 232] of writers, while another might acknowledge past stasis but ultimately emphasize the solidarity of a notional and almost timeless demos. Above all, Thomas wishes to stress that "the writing of local history . . . and particularly polis history . . . is almost always an activity that . . . is a reflection of something else in addition to a simple interest in place" (390). Forcefully rejecting the "antiquarian/ism" (e.g., 20, 143–149, 324, 340, 388 and n.3) promoted by Momigliano as the essential orientation of these histories, Thomas holds that polis-history always has a hidden (or not so hidden) agendum: "we have a right to this land," or "we originated this cult," or simply "we are still important" in an age when the people concerned were not, or some combination of these orientations and others. Of course, one could take issue regarding some of the matters raised in the book. I am not sure if Thomas has succeeded completely in explaining a figure like Hellanicus and the problems of periodization that he poses (a contemporary of Herodotus and Thucydides, he sets the table for the later writers of Attic local history); and I wish she had more to say about Rome. But these are quibbles. Thomas ends her book with an enormously important discussion of the "big picture" relating to local history. As regions and localities, real places but also places of the "imagination," they asserted both their uniqueness and importance through what they thought their past was. At the...

Un errore antico: nota testuale a Plut. Pel. 35, 2 e a Paus. 9, 13, 6

The article reassesses the evidence for Malekidas, a boeotarch of the mid-sixties of the fourth century BC (IG VII 2408), to whom similar forms of the personal name at Plut. Pel. 35, 2 and Paus. 9, 13, 6 have been attributed. Similarity with the form Malekidas, however, does not constitute grounds for emending the name Malkites at Plut. Pel. 35, 2. In fact, a mistake that had already been made in antiquity may explain the other erroneous form, *Malgis, at Paus. 9, 13, 6, which is not generally emended. The forms in Plutarch and Pausanias are probably derived from textually corrupt sources about this person, and hence should not be emended.

The Parthenon Treasury on the Acropolis of Athens

A location referred to as “Parthenon” appears in the fifth- and fourth-century BCE inventories of Athena's riches as one of the treasuries on the Acropolis of Athens, along with the Hekatompedon, the Proneos, the Opisthodomos, and the Archaios Neos. It is usually identified with the west room of the building today known as the Parthenon. Here, I offer a thorough review of the epigraphical, archaeological, and literary evidence and propose that the treasury called the Parthenon should be recognized as the west part of the building now conventionally known as the Erechtheion.1

Cracking bones and numbers: solving the enigma of numerical sequences on ancient Chinese artifacts

Numerous recent discoveries in China of ancient tombs have greatly increased our knowledge of ritual and religious practices. These discoveries include excavated oracle bones, bronze, jade, stone and pottery objects, and bamboo manuscripts dating from the twelfth to fourth century BCE. Inscribed upon these artifacts are a large number of records of numerical sequences, for which no explanation has been found of how they were produced. Structural links to the Book of Changes, a divination manual that entered the Confucian canon, are evident; yet, the algorithm described therein dates to the slightly later second to first century BCE. By combining archeological and statistical evidence, we propose a new methodology that enables us to reconstruct and test cleromantic techniques which can explain how these numerical sequences were generated. Dice and divination stalk use, either in combination or separately, appear in fact to have been underlying the rather stable numerical patterns in ancient China all the way back to the late Shang dynasty (1300–1046 BCE). Bringing to light such a long-standing technique, which awaits further confirmation from the ever-growing database of newly discovered numerical and textual records, can change drastically our understanding of early Chinese history and of the historical development of sophisticated arithmetical practices and the rationalization of chance.

Antidotes and Counter-Poisons in the Ancient World: Onions (hdw) (Allium cepa L.) in Egypt, the Preferred Antitoxic for Snake Bites

Modern toxicology focuses on studying adverse effects of poisons and chemical exposures but understanding the toxicity and risks developing antidotes and counter-poisons has taken science a long time. The lack of a proper theory in antiquity to treat poisoned patients didn’t allow for the improvement in diagnosis and treatment. However, in Papyrus Brooklyn 47.2180 dated to the fourth century bc, ancient Egyptians classified local snakes, poisonous symptoms, diagnosis, and simple treatments with drugs and magical incantations, ignoring the effectiveness of remedies and their potential side effects. To solve the problem and protect themselves, people first tried to observe animal behavior and the reactions to different substances ingested. Ancient medicine found certain alexipharmic therapy or antidotes to reverse lethal intoxication based on two axioms: similia similibus, studying the tolerance of a poison and the dose, as with the modern theory of immunity, and contraria contraris, using substances with contrary properties, as in the case of antibiotics. This allowed the development of pharmacology, because “For the Egyptians, poisons are substances that may be offset by antidotes or substances with opposite properties.” An extremely common food, the Egyptian species of onion Allium cepa L., seemed to be the preferred alexipharmic to repel snake venom. Its characteristic smell comes from a volatile and fragrant sulphide gas and, through recent chemical research, scientists have reported its antibiotic properties, since it contains allium, transformed in allicin, the key ingredient responsible for its broad-spectrum and anti-bacterial activity. Useful for all kinds of treatment in the Egyptian pharmacopoeia, its defensive power also became known abroad.

Pottery and trade at Euesperides in Cyrenaica: an overview

AbstractThe excavations conducted at Euesperides between 1999 and 2007 under the auspices of the Society for Libyan Studies, London, and the Department of Antiquities, Libya, and jointly directed by Paul Bennet and Andrew Wilson, brought to light private houses and a building complex, industrial areas related to purple dye production and part of the city's fortification wall. Among the finds was a highly significant body of local, regional and imported pottery (from the Greek and Punic world, Cyprus, Italy and elsewhere), dated between the last quarter of the seventh and the middle of the third century BC, when the city was abandoned.This archaeological project adopted an innovative approach to the study of pottery from the site, based on the total quantification of the coarse, fine wares and transport amphorae. This was supplemented by a targeted programme of petrographic analysis to shed light on production centres and thus questions about the trade and the economy of ancient Euesperides. The pottery study by K. Göransson, K. Swift and E. Zimi demonstrated that although the city gradually developed a significant industry of ceramics, it relied heavily on imports to cover its needs and that imported pottery reached Euesperides’ sheltered harbour either directly from the supplying regions or most often through complex maritime networks in the Mediterranean which changed over time.Cooking pots from Aegina and the Punic world, mortaria, bowls, jugs and table amphorae from Corinth as well as transport amphorae from various centres containing olive oil, wine, processed meat and fish were transported to the city from Greece, Italy/Sicily, Cyprus and elsewhere. The so-called amphorae B formed the majority, while Corinthian, Aegean (Thasian, Mendean, Knidian, etc.), Greco-Italic and Punic were adequatly represented. Regarding fine wares, East Greek, Laconian and Corinthian are common until the end of the sixth century; Attic black-glazed, and to a lesser extend, black-figure and red-figure pots dominate the assemblages between the fifth and the mid-third centuries BC, while Corinthian, Italian/Sicilian and Punic seem to have been following the commodities flow at Euesperides from the fourth century BC onwards. Finally, Cyrenaican pottery and transport amphorae have been also identified at Euesperides implying a considerable volume of inter-regional trade.

Citizenship or Inheritance? The Phratry in Classical Athens

Abstract This article challenges the modern orthodoxy which states that phratry membership was a necessary precondition of Athenian citizenship in the fifth and fourth centuries BC and argues that the purpose of the phratry was to establish not claims to citizenship, even though membership in a phratry was proof of citizenship, but inheritance entitlements. It questions the widespread assumption that citizens needed to be born of unions legally cemented by engyê. In turn, it challenges a recent attempt to argue that legitimacy of birth and legitimacy in community were one and the same. Finally, in examines passages of orators which show that the concern of the phratry was to establish not the right to participate in Athenian polity, which was the business of the deme to determine, but the right to inherit property, and in the light of those conclusions argues that while membership in the phratry proved citizenship, it was not essential or necessary for each and every citizen of Athens to be a member of a phratry, the chief purpose of which was to establish inheritance claims.

Funerary customs of Golasecca Culture

Both M. Primas in 1970 and the Author in 1988 argued that within the Golasecca culture three cultural facies were recognizable: Como, Golasecca, Sopraceneri including Mesolcina. On the basis of the available data then it could be said that in the first two facies the exclusive funerary rite was cremation, while to the north of the Monte Ceneri gradually passed from cremation to biritualism and finally to inhumation as an exclusive funeral rite. Recently the thesis was presented that in the Golasecca facies also inhumation tombs were present. According to Gambari, two pit tombs of the necropolis of Pombia, the t. 12/1995 and the t. 15/1995, would be interpreted as childhood or adolescence inhumation graves. In the complete absence of skeletal remains, the hypothesis was formulated solely on the basis of the pit size, which was not exceptional. According to Grassi and Mangani four pit tombs of the necropolis of Monsorino di Golasecca would always be inhumations exclusively on the basis of the pit size. The Author rejects these interpretations as unfounded. First of all, in the absence of skeletal remains due to the strong acidity of the soil, two hypotheses can be taken into consideration: the inhumation or the rite of spreading the burnt bones on the bottom of the tomb. The analysis of the grave goods indicates as likely the second hypothesis. For example in the tomb 12/1995 there is a fragment of a broken and bent pin. De-functionalization in accordance with ritual norms is characteristic of cremation tombs. In the necropolis of Pombia two tombs, the 4/1995 and the 7/1995, have a size comparable to those considered to be inhumations, but burnt bones were discovered in them, thus confirming the ritual of spreading the ashes on the bottom of the tomb. In the tomb 39 of Monsorino a beaker with a globular body and distinct neck has the ribbon handle removed with a clean cut both to the upper and lower attachment, according to a ritual norm typical of the Golasecca culture when a pot is used as a container for the burnt bones, also in the same grave the metal objects have been discovered towards one end of the pit, but if it were an inhumation tomb the bronze belt-plate should be in the center of the pit. Grassi, Mangani and Voltolini argue that the grave of the Tripod from Sesto Calende-Bellaria would have been an inhumation burial, relying on the position of the objects, moreover they believe that the tomb would have had a bottom entirely covered with wooden planks and also a covering of wooden planks and it would never have been subject to violation with removal of the slab cover and part of the grave-goods. The author presents the excavation data, some of which are still unpublished, which clearly demonstrate the violation of the tomb and the unreliability of the reconstruction proposed by Grassi, Mangani and Voltolini. Since no rest of the skeleton has been preserved, one must think of its complete dissolution due to the nature of the soil, too acidic, but this fact is denied by the preservation of animal bones in one of the cups. Furthermore, in the NE corner of the tomb the body of a small leech fibula was found, devoid of spring, and catch-plate, all deformed by thermal effect, evidently coming from the funerary pyre. The arrangement of the materials is incompatible with the hypothesis of an inhumation, in particular an iron spit was found mixed with the chains of the long pendant / breastplate. Grassi, Mangani and Voltolini believe that the incontrovertible proof of the existence of inhumation burials in the facies of Golasecca and Como are two tombs from the small necropolis of Urago d’Oglio, dated to the second half of the fifth century and attributed to the Golasecca culture. This thesis is the result of a series of macroscopic typological classification, dating and cultural background mistakes. In fact, four cremation graves can be dated to the end of the sixth century, while two inhumations date back to the La Tene B (fourth century BC) and must be attributed to the Cisalpine Gauls.

The ‘Incense Road’ from Petra to Gaza: an analysis using GIS and Cost functions

ABSTRACTAs early as the fourth century BCE, the Nabateans established the Incense Road to facilitate the transport of aromatic substances (frankincense and myrrh) from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean basin. An important part of this road was the segment between Petra and Gaza. Although studied before, the accurate route of parts of this segment is still vague since evidence of Roman milestones are scarce and significant portions of the landscape have changed dramatically in modern times, essentially wiping out the tracks of ancient roads. In this study, we use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Least Cost Path (LCP) analyses for reconstructing the original path of the Incense Road as well as verifying the factors influencing its establishment. The implemented analyses support the archeological evidence of two travel phases between Petra and Oboda (Avdat): During the first phase the Nabateans used the Darb es-Sultan route; during the second phase, from the first century BCE onwards, they passed through the Ramon Crater. This is the first time such reconstruction is made in the southern Levant. It was found that slope degree and the distance to water resources are dominant factors in reconstructing the accurate path of the Incense Road.

The Ostensible Author of PS.-Aeschines Letter 10 Reconsidered

AbstractThis article examines the alleged author, or first-person narrator, of the tenth pseudonymous letter in the Corpus Aeschineum. It argues that the forger, in a short epistolary novel that describes the seduction of a certain Callirhoe in Troy, uses puns (αἰσχύνειν, ἀναισχυντία, etc.) on the name of the fourth-century BC orator Aeschines. It notes that αἰσχρός-words recur in ancient works and, as a rhetorical device, are attested in Demosthenes. The forger’s aims are, first, to serialize the ‘Aeschinean’ letters as a whole by relating them to the same author and, second, to create an ‘aischrologic’ counterpart of the Callirhoe, which is attributed to Chariton (Χαρίτων/‘The Graceful’). Thus there is less likelihood of suggesting other figures such as the eponymous Aeschines Socraticus.

Merchant and marauder—The adventures of a Sabaean clansman

AbstractTen years ago, a Sabaean inscription on a votive plaque of bronze was made known—immediately attracting the attention of the scholarly world because of its historical implications. This text, which has been given the sigla BL‐Nashq ? and Demirjian 1, respectively, by the editors, speaks—among others—about a commercial journey of its author to the north of the Arabian Peninsula—as far as Gaza, Judah, and even Cyprus. While the key message of this account is quite clear, a controversial discussion has evolved around the date of the “war between Chaldaea and Greece” mentioned in the text, thus yielding inconsistent proposals stretching from the seventh up to the early fourth century BC. In the search for possible synchronisms of the events mentioned in the text, however, clear parallels from Ancient South Arabia have almost been neglected. In a number of mostly Minaic inscriptions, first of all RES 3022, some striking lexical and formulaic isoglosses with the Sabaic text can be made out which can hardly be explained by coincidence. A thorough reconsideration of these texts will demonstrate that the events described in BL‐Nashq ? = Demirjian 1 could have found resonance in other documents from the region—resulting in a consistent chronological framework for all involved texts. In conclusion, we may watch the story of a Sabaean official in his commercial and diplomatic involvement with northern Arabia and the Levant in the shadow of political tensions within the Achaemenid Empire in the late fifth–early fourth century BCE.

Os Pláucios, a emancipação da plebe e a expansão romana: conectando as histórias interna e externa da República Romana

A história da República romana normalmente é dividida entre fenômenos internos, como lutas sociais e transformações institucionais, e externos, como guerras e conquistas. A crítica ao internalismo metodológico desenvolvido pela história global tem trazido uma importante discussão sobre as definições de internalidade e externalidade e sobre as conexões históricas entre processos que antes eram tomados como internos ou externos. Ao longo do século IV a.C. acontecem importantes transformações tanto no que tradicionalmente se toma como “história interna” romana (a emancipação da plebe) quanto no que seria sua “história externa” (a reorganização e a consolidação da dominação romana sobre a Itália central). O intuito deste artigo, tendo por ponto de partida o estudo de caso da atuação política da família dos Pláucios, é mostrar que podemos entender as transformações da época como partes de um mesmo processo histórico: a rearticulação dos grupos sociais da Itália central. Assim, emancipação da plebe e expansão romana não são meros processos históricos coevos e paralelos, mas facetas de um mesmo processo histórico, maior e de escopo geográfico mais amplo.

Dating Ancient Egyptian Papyri through Raman Spectroscopy: Concept and Application to the Fragments of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife and the Gospel of John

The Ancient Ink Laboratory is an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental working group based at Columbia University and New York University dedicated to exploring the chemical nature of ancient inks. We report here the results of a systematic study of the Raman spectra of 23 Egyptian papyri from the fourth century bce to the tenth century ce and its implications for two controversial papyri: the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife and an associated fragment bearing a text from a Coptic Gospel of John. Close study of the Raman spectra reveals specific variations that correlate closely with the date of writing. This discovery enables us to determine the average Raman spectroscopic parameters as a function of manuscript date and so establishes, in principle, the basis for a non-destructive scientific model capable of predicting the date of ancient manuscripts written in carbon ink from Egypt for the period defined by this study. We have analyzed Gospel of Jesus’ Wife and the Gospel of John according to this methodology and present our findings here in the context of our wider study and our current research.

Compositional study of bronze vessels from the Derveni tombs of central Macedonia of the fourth century bce using energy‐dispersive micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (EDμXRF) spectrometry

The chemical composition of 61 copper alloy vessels was studied non‐invasively by energy‐dispersive micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (EDμXRF) spectrometry. The vessels were found in five tombs (A, B, D, Z and H) at Derveni in central Macedonia, Greece, which belong to the cemetery of the ancient city of Lete. The tombs are dated to the last quarter of the fourth century bce. The opulence of the numerous grave offerings denotes the high social status of the deceased within Macedonian society. The material under study was divided into two main groups according to their appearance and use. The first group included 44 vessels with a golden appearance for use in banquets; the second group consisted of 17 dark vessels for domestic use. The aim of this research was to study the vessels' technology according to their chemical composition. Both golden and dark vessels consisted of a binary Cu‐Sn alloy and a slight amount of impurities (Fe, Ni, Zn, Pb, As, Co, Sb, Ag, Ti). It is probable that during construction the ancient metalsmiths were taking into account criteria such as the desired appearance, cost of metals, future use and physical properties such as resistance to corrosion. Banquet vessels had a consistent chemical composition in all their different parts compared with those for domestic use. The only chemical element used systemically for alloying purposes, except Sn, was Pb in order to improve the castability of the bases and handles of the vessels. The study provides additional information about the metalworking of bronzes in central Macedonia in the fourth century bce, as well as about the access Macedonian metalworkers had at the time to the raw materials for such use.

A rock-boring and rock-ingesting freshwater bivalve (shipworm) from the Philippines.

Shipworms are a group of wood-boring and wood-feeding bivalves of extraordinary economic, ecological and historical importance. Known in the literature since the fourth century BC, shipworms are both destructive pests and critical providers of ecosystem services. All previously described shipworms are obligate wood-borers, completing all or part of their life cycle in wood and most are thought to use wood as a primary source of nutrition. Here, we report and describe a new anatomically and morphologically divergent species of shipworm that bores in carbonate limestone rather than in woody substrates and lacks adaptations associated with wood-boring and wood digestion. The species is highly unusual in that it bores by ingesting rock and is among the very few known freshwater rock-boring macrobioeroders. The calcareous burrow linings of this species resemble fossil borings normally associated with bivalve bioerosion of wood substrates (ichnospecies Teredolites longissimus) in marginal and fully marine settings. The occurrence of this newly recognized shipworm in a lithic substrate has implications for teredinid phylogeny and evolution, and interpreting palaeoenvironmental conditions based on fossil bioerosion features.

Dämonen als „Krankheitserreger“ in den sumerisch-akkadischen Beschwörungen des Muššu᾿u-Handbuches

This paper discusses the ancient Mesopotamian phenomenon of demons as „pathogens“, taking for example the so-called Muššu᾿u manual, which contains Sumerian as well as Akkadian incantations. The oldest texts contained therein date back to the first millennium BC, the youngest to the fourth century BC. Based on these incantations, it will be clarified which demons are mentioned by name and what kind of knowledge the texts reveal about demonic beings.