Hellenistic Research Articles

Mythography and Archaeology: The Case of Eulimene

The main aim of the present research work is to provide a new interpretative perspective on Eulimene’s story by combining literary testimonies and archaeological findings. The story is included in Parthenius’s collection entitled Περὶ Ἐρωτικῶν Παθημάτων, dating back to the 1st century BC. This story appears to be an exceptionally fertile example in which a multidisciplinary approach, that combines Philology and Archaeology, can, potentially, illuminate aspects and facts that would otherwise remain unearthed.
 Eulimene’s story deals with eponymous heroes and city founders of Crete. The Cretan cities of Lykastos and Kydonia are attested as early as in Homer and Aptera and Kydonia are also cited in Linear B tablets of Knossos; the name of Eulimene, referring to a Nereid, and the adjective ἄπτερος, applied to some gods, were known to Hesiod and Homer, respectively. Given that Crete was sui generis in terms of its own mythology, it is likely that before Homer there was already a background relating to those Cretan cities.
 Eulimene is known as a Nereid. Hesiod reports it in his Theogony and pottery as early as the 5th c. BC attests it, as well. A different perspective is introduced by a piece of textile and a pyxis, which hint at an association of Eulimene with Crete, particularly with Phaedra and Ariadne.
 There is also a Messenian story, reported by Pausanias, which presents similarities and common patterns. However, the story of Eulimene is rather more complex since the Messenian story was arguably modelled on the predating Cretan version.
 Eulimene’s story in Parthenius’ collection was structured according to the aesthetic standards of the Hellenistic era. However, the story seems to combine various elements, some of which echo Minoan times (the ritual of human sacrifice carried out by the king-priest, a union designed to result in fertility, interrupted in this case) and others which echo archaic times (dissection and forced extraction of the baby). Thus, I find particularly interesting the archaeological finding of the cut-up skull of a young girl, which Andreadaki-Vlazaki brought to light during the excavation at the Mycenaean palace of Kydonia at Chania.

Tin isotopes reveal changing patterns of tin trade, connectivity and consumption from Anatolia and Central Asia at Kültepe

Until recently, what was known about the trade of tin in the ancient Near East was based in large part on information derived from the extensive commercial archives found at the archaeological site of Kültepe (ancient Kaneš) in Turkey dating to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) c. 1900-1750 BC. These archives were produced by an expatriate community of traders native to the city of Assur in modern-day Iraq and document an extensive shipping of tin ingots from unnamed sources east of their hometown. Tin was carried by donkeys through northern Syria and across the Taurus Mountains to Anatolia where it was sold for silver.This paper presents the first set of tin isotope analyses of bronze objects from Kültepe to test the image provided by these ancient archives, finding that all artifacts dated to the main period of Assyrian trade excavated in the residential areas of the site indeed have high tin content and high values of δ124Sn (0.77–1.74‰) relative to the NIST 3161a standard. Such high values currently compare best with ores from Central Asia. The isotopic analysis of artifacts from the Assyrian Trading Colony Period of Kültepe is therefore consistent with the textual evidence.However, Early Bronze Age samples recovered at the site are instead characterized by lower ranges that extend to neutral δ124Sn values (0.02–1.31‰). Likewise, one artifact coming from Mound Level 7 (c. 1830-1700) at the center of the site where public buildings were concentrated, and one object dated to the Hellenistic Period (Mound Level 2), when the site saw a resurgence in political importance, likewise have lower δ124Sn compositions of 0.11 and 0.31‰, respectively. Both samples also have low to moderate tin content.The Early Bronze Age artifacts form a linear array between artifacts from low δ124Sn-low Sn wt% to high δ124Sn-high Sn wt% that suggests a mixing of two compositional groups – not simply the mixing of two isotopically distinct reservoirs of tin, but also distinct in the amount of tin present in the alloy. This would be consistent with the recycling of low tin bronze objects with local tin, together with high tin bronzes containing tin from Central Asia. The two samples from Mound Levels 7 and 2 suggest that although Central Asian tin was predominant in the MBA, Anatolian tin may have continued to be used in a separate bronze production system that remained active at shifting varying of intensity throughout antiquity.

THE VEGETATION HISTORY OF THE SHEPHELAH, SOUTHERN LEVANT: MIDDLE BRONZE AGE–HELLENISTIC PERIOD (c.2000–100 BC)

SummaryAlthough the Shephelah region (Israel) is of a great archaeological significance and has been intensively excavated, very little is known about its landscape history. This study presents two large‐scale charred wood assemblages (>2300 items) that were recovered from Tel Azekah and Tel Lachish in order to reconstruct the ancient vegetation of the Shephelah. The two assemblages cover a temporal range from the Middle Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period (c.2000–100 BC). This new diachronic environmental investigation demonstrates that the natural arboreal vegetation in the Shephelah was dominated by oak and pistachio. From the perspective of the regional fruit tree horticulture, olive was the dominant component, indicating that the region included extensive olive orchards. Other documented fruit trees are grapevine, fig, sycamore fig, carob, date palm and almond. The high frequencies of olive remains throughout all investigated periods point to climatic conditions in the region being close to what we are facing today, with at least 400–450 mm of annual precipitation, which is required for a profitable grove. During the Iron Age II, the proportion of olive remains reached its zenith, most probably as a result of Assyrian agroeconomic management that assigned the Shephelah to olive oil production. At the same time, a reduction in natural Mediterranean trees was identified, representing intense human pressure on the natural environment. The discovery of charred cedar of Lebanon remains only at Lachish points to the high status of the site within the region.

Officina di IG XIV2 – Probable Defixio on a Tile from Taranto

The paper discusses the first edition of a list of personal names inscribed on a terracotta tile. The document, which dates back to the early Hellenistic period, was brought to light in 1988 from a craft area site in Taranto (via Leonida 52). The type of inscription seems to refer to the genre of defixiones written in the form of a nominal list, while the type of medium appears to be rather unusual for a magical text. Comparison with a coeval defixio from Taranto and similar documents shows that magic lists are known to have been used in Taranto during the Hellenistic period, as well as in other areas of Magna Graecia and Sicily.

La maschera del soldato dall’archáia alla mese

The mask of the boastful, arrogant, cowardly soldier asserts itself as a stock character in the Greek comedy of the fourth-third century BC and comes to its fullest expression in Roman palliata with Pyrgopolinice, the protagonist of Plautus’ Miles Gloriosus. However, ‘anticipatory’ traits of this mask can already be identified in Ancient Greek comedy which sometimes turns notable contemporary men, such as Lamachus, in Aristophanes’ Acharnians, or Pisander in Plato Comicus’ homonymous comedy, into comic characters who exhibit in nuce many of the founding elements that will define the soldier’s mask in the subsequent comic production. Starting from the fourth century, after the defeat in the Peloponnesian War and the end of democracy in Athens, views about war and the role of soldiers in society deeply changed: the citizen army of fifth-century Athens, which used to fight for the polis, was progressively replaced by mercenary captains operating outside or along the borders of the Greek world. Before the nea and the palliata, traces of this new type of soldier can be found in the fragmentary production of the Middle comedy: in a gradual stereotyping of the mask, poets like Nicostratus, Mnesimachus, Alexis or Antiphanes stage vainglorious, rough and swaggering alazônes who return to their native land more or less enriched by the mercenary campaigns and often dwell on hyperbolic account of phantasmagoric adventures on the edge of reality in exotic places with fairy-tale contours and on detailed descriptions of gargantuan banquets taking place in luxurious oriental courts.

The Dismounting Horseman Scene on Cilician Coins

Several cities in Cilicia minted coins in the pre-Hellenistic period that show a horseman dismounting from a horse. Most of these issues can be safely attributed to Kelenderis and Holmoi in Cilicia Trachea, and one rare issue probably comes from Issos in Cilicia Pedias. However, there is also another rare issue remotely resembling Kelenderis coins, which cannot be assigned to any of these mints, nor can it be described as a mere imitation. The issue of this unknown mint differs from the coins of Kelenderis, among other things, in that the rider holds a cutlass, and significantly different additional symbols are used on the reverse. In addition, a specimen of another coin type resembling Kelenderis coins has appeared on the market, which cannot be assigned to any of the mints mentioned. Thus, there were probably as many as five mints in Cilicia or adjacent areas of the eastern Mediterranean that struck coins with the dismounting horseman scene. This scene is specific to the Greek equestrian competition called the kalpe, which was closely related to military equestrian training. Depictions of similar agonistic scenes with both unarmed and armed horsemen can also be found on coins minted in the Classical and early Hellenistic periods in Calabria and Sicily and possibly also in Ionia. It is suggested that the main reason for minting these coins was to present the horsemanship of local horsemen and their readiness for military tasks.

Musical Borrowings in Songs about the Holocaust by the Jews of Greece


 
 
 This article deals with songs about the Holocaust. Most of these songs have remained almost unknown until today, and this article aims to bring them out and to highlight the fact that they serve as evidence to the sufferings of the Greek people during World War II. All songs were written in Greece, and the practice of contrafactum (borrowing melodies and changing the lyrics) was applied to all of them. The borrowed melodies originate from Western music (e.g., operas), Western and Greek popular songs of the time, and from Greek folk and urban folk music. The variety of musical borrowings reveals cultural interactions between the ethnic and religious groups of the Greek land. It is also indicative of the increasing role of the mass media (radio, cinema) at that time. The lyrics of the songs are usually written in Greek and, in some cases, in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish of the Eastern Mediterranean area). Apart from having musicological interest, the songs are also important from the historical point of view. They were written either before the transportations to the extermination camps, or in the camps, or after the Holocaust. Their lyrics depict aspects of the living conditions of Jews during World War II. Moreover, these songs acted as a way of expressing feelings and thoughts.
 
 

SINOP CITADEL THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Sinop, a strategically important city in history, has felt the need to defend against the dangers of being a widespread settlement in almost every period. Even today, traces of defensive structures can be found in the city. For this reason, it is possible to see how the inner castle changed over the years and how it was shaped according to needs from the Hellenistic period to the Ottoman period. This study aims to examine how the structure changes according to periods.

A New Phrygian Inscription from Gordion: A Pergamene Contingent in Phrygia in the early Reign of Antiochus I

This article contains the first publication of a newly discovered inscription from Gordion which is written in Phrygian and probably dates to early reign of Antiochus I. The inscribed slab appears to have formed part of a funerary monument which is associated with a man named Parsaparnas who probably was a member of the Persian nobility originating from the region of Pergamon in Mysia and commanded a Pergamene military contingent deployed by Antiochus in the region of Gordion. This is the first and, so far, the only inscription known to mention the city of Gordion by name. After an introduction sketching out the situation at Gordion in the Hellenistic period, the article presents in turn the article presents in turn a description of the stone (§1), a detailed commentary on the epigraphical features of the inscription (§§2- 4) and a concise philological discussion (§5), followed by a translation (§6), comments on the geographical and ethnocultural background of the text (§§7-8), the nature of the associated monument (§9), and finally, conclusions about its date and historical context (§10).

Shaping the Pamphylian alphabet: the puzzle of the two digammas

Abstract The origins and development of the Pamphylian alphabet and its relations with the other Greek alphabetic traditions have so far remained obscure. This study aims at elucidating the feature that, more than any other, has resisted a safe interpretation: the coexistence, without parallels in the Greek world, of at least two graphemes, namely <Ͷ> and <Ϝ>, representing the posterior approximant. To unravel the intricacy, we adopt a novel perspective, namely the ‘corpus doctrinae theory’, in order to address potential biases arisen from structuralist approaches. Preliminarily, we argue, on the basis of the distribution of the two graphemes, that such a cohabitation cannot always be explained by phonetic reasons. Therefore, we discuss the selection of <Ͷ> and <Ϝ> in the broader frame of the formation and transmission of the Greek alphabets, showing that Pamphylian did not stem from a single matrix-script, but rather goes back to the NE Peloponnesian corpus doctrinae. Such a filiation explains the origins of <Ͷ>, as both its paleography and phonetic value show that it is an adaptation of the Corinthian- type <B>.

The Transition from the Achaemenid to the Hellenistic Period in the Levant, Cyprus, and Cilicia. Cultural Interruption or Continuity? Symposion at Philipps-Universität Marburg, October 12–15, 2017, edited by Winfried Held

The Transition from the Achaemenid to the Hellenistic Period in the Levant, Cyprus, and Cilicia. Cultural Interruption or Continuity? Symposion at Philipps-Universität Marburg, October 12–15, 2017, edited by Winfried Held

Visualizing Pentateuchal Composition: A New View of the Creation of Ancient Hebrew Literature

This article describes a gap in scholarship on the Hebrew Bible, and demonstrates a way to address it via a digital humanities project that is at once a research tool and an interactive work of public scholarship. The gap results from the fact, well-known among scholars but still startling to much of the public, that ancient Israel had no Bible as we know it. This is the case for the Persian and Hellenistic period, when, as we know largely from the evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the textual form of many biblical books and the biblical canon as a unit was not yet fixed. But it is also true in a different way for an earlier period in the history of the Pentateuch, before the texts were edited into their current form. With this consensus as a starting point, we present the opportunity to visualize the most widely-agreed on possible sources and layers of the Pentateuch separately, offering a glimpse of texts closer to what people in ancient Israel may have actually had, and let readers experiment with how they may have been combined.

Students’ other-oriented cognitions: The roles of teachers’ emotional competence and classroom social support in a Greek sample

The current study examined whether the extent to which students perceived their teachers provided positive support influenced associations between teachers’ emotional intelligence and social emotional learning (SEL) beliefs and multiple dimensions of students’ other-oriented cognitions (i.e., perspective taking empathetic concern, and prosocial motivations and goals). Forty-three fifth-grade and sixth-grade teachers from 12 Greek elementary schools and 353 students (192 boys) were participants. The majority of students were White and of Greek nationality. Teachers’ emotional intelligence was associated positively with students’ empathic concern and prosocial goals. However, the association between teachers’ emotional intelligence was related negatively to students’ perspective taking skills, but only when students reported receiving less positive support from their teachers. Conversely, when students reported high levels of positive teacher support, teachers’ comfort with SEL teaching practices was related positively to students’ prosocial goals. Findings also highlighted differences in Greek teachers’ emotional intelligence and comfort with and commitment to SEL teaching practices as compared to those reported in other countries. Additionally, girls rated themselves as higher in empathetic concern than did boys. Implications for teacher training and professional development that support teachers and students’ SEL are discussed.

About Alfred Baeumler’s Nietzsche. 4. ‘Hellas and Germania’

The article ‘Hellas and Germania’ by Alfred Baeumler explores the relationship between ancient Greece and modern Germany. Baeumler discusses Nietzsche's relationship with Winckelmann in his work on the conquest of German Hellenism. He notes that Nietzsche was deeply influenced by Winckelmann's insights into the Hellenic world and saw himself as continuing Winckelmann's work. Baeumler argues that Nietzsche believed that subsequent scholars had failed to fully appreciate the essence of the Hellenic spirit, and that he saw himself as carrying on Winckelmann's legacy in this regard. He also notes that Nietzsche believed that the Germans had a special affinity with the Hellenic world, and that he saw Winckelmann and Goethe as examples of this connection.

Some themes in anthropomorphic and zoomorphic stone sculpture of the Mountainous Dagestan

Actuality of the article is caused by the fact that the sculptural representations of men and animals that are inserted in the walls of the structures of different function (houses, bridges, mosques) from the traditional villages of the Mountainous Dagestan are published for the first time. The aim of the research is to understand the meaning of the images in the traditional everyday life. In course of the research methods of comparative historical and typological analyze are used. Artistic cultural context of the representations is revealed. The roots of the sculptural representations re shown. Similar representations (human and animal heads) can be seen on the medieval Christian churches of Caucasus. They are also present in architectural decoration of earlier periods up to the Hellenistic culture. In case of animal heads it can be traced back to the neolithic period. To conclude it is possible to confirm that the representations were used as protective signs (apotropaios).

Hellenistic Amphora Stamps from Kalynda

This article analyzes twenty-six amphora stamps found during the excavations at the ancient city of Kalynda in 2022-2023. Twenty are identified as being of Rhodian origin, five are from Knidos, and one is unidentified. These finds not only contribute to our understanding of the Hellenistic history of the settlement but also provide some new information on the distribution and statistics of stamped amphora handles in southwestern Asia Minor. The quantity of stamped amphora handles found in Kalynda during a brief excavation period suggests that the settlement engaged in commercial relations with neighboring regions in the Hellenistic era. About 85% of the stamps found relate to the 3rd century BC, verifying the locality’s situation on a bustling trade path as backed by epigraphic documents and literary sources. These connections indicate an important relationship between Kalynda and the Ptolemaic administration.

Presbeis Autokratores: A Study in Ancient Greek Diplomacy and Constitutional Law

Summary This essay analyzes the term presbeis autokratores found in historical sources and in inscriptions. Previous scholars have not been able to give a consistent account of the term, which appears to vary in meaning. The analysis starts by examining the use of the term autokrator as applied to officials and public bodies and shows that the term refers to different special powers granted to officials, which are specified in each case but which may vary according to circumstances. The rest of the essay analyzes the use of the term and shows that presbeis autokratores were either sent to start negotiations with the power to receive proposals from a foreign state and to bring them back for ratification or to swear the oaths to a treaty the community had already decided to accept. The term is never found in multilateral negotiations. The use of the term in the speech ‘On the Peace’ attributed to Andocides is inconsistent with its use in the Classical and Hellenistic period, which provides additional evidence against the authenticity of this speech.

Half-Human Half-Vegetal Hybrids in Eastern Mosaics

The aim of this paper is to investigate the evolution of the use of half-human half-vegetal figures, the so-called Rankenfrau and Rankengott, in the pavements of the Eastern Mediterranean, from their appearance in the Classical period to their appropriation in the Roman and Christian times. The contextualised analysis of this corpus, combined with a comparison to other media such as architectural sculpture, provide a good opportunity to better understand to what extent the motif varied at different times and how the worldview of the commissioners of the decors can, or not, affect their meaning. In the Classical and Hellenistic contexts, vegetalisation of the human body seems to plastically translate the prerogatives of different divinities of wild nature, growth, and life. Through the mastery of their primitive savagery, these deities allow the coexistence of two different natures and bring divine prosperity into everyday life. In Roman times these figures inherited from the Greek world went through an unprecedented formal and syntactic diversification. A new variant is even created: the foliate head, which concentrates the force of a vital principle and appears as the metonymic representation of its primordial and spontaneous fecundity. In Eastern pavements, bearded and beardless foliate heads are associated with young foliate boys in the peopled scroll borders of the public rooms of rich houses. They evoked the mastery of a vital impulse that is made beneficial for wealthy owners. During the 6th century AD, whilst the foliate heads survive in the pavements of Christian monuments, the Rankenfrau and the Rankengott seem to disappear from the Eastern repertoire.

The Representation of the Nile on Mosaics: Various Contexts, Various Meanings

Based on a few examples from different regions of the Roman Empire, we study the representation of the Nile from the end of the Hellenistic period to Late Antiquity. Depending on the case, the river is represented for itself, as a major element of the Egyptian landscape, a pleasant setting that brings benefits and abundance; this landscape, characterized by its flora and fauna, can also be depicted in “Nilotic scenes” with caricatured characters. In other representations, on the other hand, the god Nile is personified and the celebrations offered to him are shown to greet - and guarantee - the abundance of his flood, source of wealth and pleasure. It also happens that the personification of the Nile only serves as an allegory of the river, without wanting to highlight the god. These different iconographic schemes were to be found and intermingled in all regions of the Roman Empire until Late Antiquity. We show how the same iconography can take on, depending on the context, a religious character - when these images are associated with the cults of Egyptian deities, particularly Serapis - or a profane character, essentially in a domestic context. In the early Christian period, the Nile was considered one of the rivers of Paradise, and images of it took on a new meaning for both the commissioners and the faithful. We show how the same iconographic elements were used in different contexts, and how they were adopted, sometimes adapted, to serve different purposes and ideologies.

Kabalis / Kabalia Yüksek Yayla Yerleşimlerinde Zeus ve Şimşek Demeti Kabartmaları

The worship of Zeus, the head of the gods of Olympus, is more widespread in rural areas than in urban centers in the Kabalis / Kabalia region. Zeus, who is generally seen in cities for the prosperity and well-being of the city or for amity in treaties, has a different presence in rural areas than the established cult in the cities. Zeus, who is mostly associated with the sky and celestial phenomena, also manifests himself in rural life in agriculture and animal husbandry. In this context, the bust of Zeus and the reliefs, altars and architectural blocks bearing winged or wingless thunderbolt, the attribute of Zeus and recorded in ancient literature, were analyzed on the basis of rural life and especially seasonal migration. In addition to these finds, two altars, one with an inscription, registered in the inventory of the Burdur Archaeological Museum, were also included in the research, and, in relation to rural life and transhumance activities the characteristics related to this deity were investigated. This depiction, which is sometimes seen as a winged thunderbolt and sometimes as a thunderbolt carried by an eagle on the coins of the cities of the Kabalis / Kabalia Region during the Hellenistic Period, appears on rock reliefs, architectural blocks, and altars in the high plateaus, permanent or periodic rural settlements during the Roman Imperial Period. Through the identification of the finds in the region, including those with similar reliefs, a preliminary impression of the epithets with which this deity may have been worshipped has been attempted.