Roman Elite Research Articles

Chalcedonian Bishops in the ‘Pagan Affair’ of 580

Abstract This paper offers an analysis of the dynamics at play in an under-studied episode of religious violence in Late Antiquity, the so-called ‘pagan affair’ which took place in 580 during the reign of Tiberios. It provides a novel explanation for why the Chalcedonian patriarchs Gregory of Antioch and Eutychios of Constantinople were targeted as pagans or sympathisers of pagans during the riots which erupted after the discovery of pagan circles among the Roman elite. The position of both of them was challenged: Eutychios held controversial theological views; moreover, he had previously been deposed and replaced by John Scholastikos, and many clerics considered his return to the episcopal throne uncanonical. Gregory was confronted with a similar difficulty, since his predecessor Anastasios had been sent into exile, but still had many supporters. In addition, both patriarchs were persecutors of the anti-Chalcedonians, who were therefore interested in slandering their persecutors in order to avenge themselves. The paper argues that charges in the form of anti-pagan polemic, such as those brought forth against the two patriarchs, were a useful weapon to deploy against political or religious opponents. It also sets the pagan affair in the context of Tiberios’ religious policy and analyses the strategies the emperor used to end the riots. Finally, it establishes a connection between the affair and an instance of pagan persecution which was triggered some years later, at the beginning of the reign of Maurice, by the successor of Eutychios, patriarch John the Faster.

“Make Rome Great Again” Preceded “Make America Great Again”: The Ancient Romo-Nationalism of Biblical Writers

The ideas about religious, sexual, gender, ethnic, urban, moral, and family decay that underlie “Make America Great Again’s” message have notable antecedents in ancient Greek and Roman mythologies about societal degeneration. Roman writers promoted a Romo-nationalist version we can call “Make Rome Great Again” that served to make the patriarchal, exploitative, and imperial power of elite Roman men seem like the solution to societal crisis. Biblical writers like Paul did not subvert these harmful Romo-nationalist logics but instead participated in them to describe gentile degeneration and sexual sin. Recognizing this troubling zone of contact between the Bible and MAGA-like ideologies can reveal the harm they cause and explain the depth of their attractiveness to White Christian nationalists.

Гален как представитель греческой paideia эпохи Второй софистики

Thanks to the extensive corpus of Galen's writings, which includes numerous autobiographical works and individual notes, we possess a wealth of information regarding his upbringing and education. According to a fami-ly tradition, he received a classical Greek education (known as paideia), which allowed him to transition from a provincial intellectual to one of the influential figures in Roman society and achieve the status of a court physi-cian. His brilliant command of language, extensive erudition, and active participation in the intellectual life of the Roman elite justify considering Galen as one of the authors of the so-called "Second Sophistic." This article scrutinizes Galen's various accounts of his mentors, early education, and scholastic experiences, with their veracity corroborated by contemporaneous testimonials. In addition to reading and scrutinizing the classical texts that formed the cornerstone of Greek paideia, Galen's education placed great emphasis on the study of exact sciences such as Euclidean geometry and arithmetic, which, together with Aristotle's logic, enabled Galen to adhere to the evidence-based method in medicine. An analysis of Galen's citation fre-quency of classical authors revealed that his foundational education was similar to other authors of his time, whereas the citation of medical authors is unparalleled in ancient literature. Unfortunately, we can only form a vague notion of his library since much of it was lost in a fire during Galen's lifetime in 192 AD. However, his collection of texts is a mix of various knowledge, rare writings, and quotes. Galen's interest in language and words, which confirmed his status as an intellectual, suggests his association with the "Second Sophistic" group. He wrote several works on ancient grammar, word usage, and rhetoric, criticiz-ing both extreme linguistic purism and loose interpretations of old-fashioned Attic language. This paints Galen not just as a doctor but also as a knowledgeable figure of his time.

The Agency of Christian Women and the Female Threat to Episcopal Power in Fourth Century Rome

Abstract This contribution sets the Christian widows in Rome in the late fourth century CE and their agency within their social milieu: the Roman elite. In doing so, it argues (a) that the agency of these widows built on class-specific dispositions rather than genuinely ‘female’ or religious dispositions, and (b) that such agency allowed these women to establish a network of influence and power that even threatened the episcopal power.

Legal Knowledge among Late Roman Elites: The Evidence of Jerome

Abstract: Hans-Dieter Spengler sodali et iuris consulto Jerome's oeuvre is huge; it comprises translations and commentaries of many books of the Christian Bible, a universal history, a history of Christian literature, biographies of monks, many treatises, and more than 130 letters addressed to people from the educated upper classes of the late Roman West. This article investigates what role Roman law played in Jerome's writings, what he knew about it, and how he evaluated it. It also looks at his views on late Roman jurisdiction and collects the evidence he provides for petitions to the emperor and for imperial rescripts. The main section analyzes Jerome's ideas about imperial legislation, his knowledge of individual laws, and the way he presented them. On this basis, it is argued that Jerome's writings bear impressive witness to the importance of Roman law for both the social practice and the mindset of the provincial and local elites in the late Roman empire.

Religious Pluralism and Diversity in the Ancient World: Herodotus, the Roman Republic and Late Antiquity

The subject of religious pluralism and diversity is much debated today, but has attracted much less attention in discussions of ancient Greek and Roman religion. In my contribution, I first look at the genealogy of the term ‘religious pluralism’ and differentiate it from diversity as being more normative. Subsequently, I look at Herodotus’ view of Persian religion as an example of religious diversity. I note that this Greek author, himself from a multicultural background, would today be considered a relativist. In his time, though, there was not yet a specific term for religious deviancy, which, as noted, started to emerge in the later fourth century BC (§ 1). I continue by looking at the Roman Republic and the early Principate. From a quantitative analysis, it is clear that the Roman term religio becomes more important in the first century BC and also acquires the meaning of a system of religious observances that can be regulated, which is an important step towards its later meaning ‘religion’. At the same time, we note the rise of the concomitant term superstitio as the wrong religio. Still, the Roman elite tolerated a wide variety of new cults outside civic religion and basically practised diversity (§ 2). After this, I will turn to the demise of religious diversity and pluralism in Late Antiquity, where we start to see religious persecutions for the very first time (§ 3). I conclude with some final considerations on the necessity of dialogue in negotiating religious differences.

Violência e Finanças no Mediterrâneo Antigo: Alguns dos Conflitos Sociais e Políticos do Final da República Romana

The following article intends to present considerations concerning the social function of indebtedness, as was used in the Late Republic by Roman dominant elites to perpetuate their control over the Ancient Mediterranean. We seek to demonstrate that “financial intermediation” was an apparatus conveyed by members of the roman elites to “legitimize” their political and financial use of indebtedness which we comprehend as social domination, that is, the usage of cultural – ideological – elements and of violence to perpetuate their control over that social formation.

Christian Emperors and Roman Elites in Late Antiquity by Rita Lizzi Testa (review)

Christian Emperors and Roman Elites in Late Antiquity by Rita Lizzi Testa (review)

The Social Networking Function of Cicero’s Prefaces to the Philosophical Works

AbstractThe value of theprohoemiaor ‘prefaces’ to Cicero’s later philosophical works, composed in the last years of his life, has not yet been settled. Two schools of thought have emerged somewhat more clearly in recent times: one places a greater value on the prefaces as tools for understanding Cicero’sphilosophicaas a whole, the other applies a more skeptical approach, using a degree of caution as to the nexus between the prefaces and the treatises to which they were affixed. The article advocates for the latter camp, however not only to temper the recent emphasis the optimists have placed on the prefaces as key interpretive elements to the dialogues, but to refocus their importance as extensions of Cicero’s personal and social networking with other Roman elites of his time. I rely on two main lines of argument: the anecdotal evidence from Cicero’svolumen prohoemiorum, “book of prefaces”, mentioned in a letter to Atticus in 44bce, as well as a broader analysis of a deeper disconnect between Cicero’s prefatory rhetoric regarding Latin philosophical vocabulary compared with Greek and his translation practices in his treatises.

Christian Emperors and Roman Elites in Late Antiquity. By Rita Lizzi Testa. London: Routledge, 2022. xxxi + 279 pp. $143.00 cloth.

Christian Emperors and Roman Elites in Late Antiquity. By Rita Lizzi Testa. London: Routledge, 2022. xxxi + 279 pp. $143.00 cloth.

Cicero and the Mirage of the Tirocinium Fori

Abstract: Assumptions about the tirocinium fori are based on claims by Joachim Marquardt that it was a form of training for young elite Romans at about the age of 16, that it lasted for one year, and that it consisted of mentorship by a distinguished elder. Though there is little evidence to support these claims, the theory of a tirocinium fori continues to influence discussions of oratory in the age of Cicero, where it gives a false picture of the process by which aspiring young orators made the transition from the school of rhetoric to practice in the courts.

NE SPADONES FIANT: DOMITIAN'S EMASCULATION BAN

AbstractThis article questions the prevailing opinion that Domitian's prohibition of castration was intended as a protective measure devised to check masters’ abuses on their slaves, as part of a larger trend towards more enlightened attitudes towards slavery among the Romans. While brutal, castration was the only type of mutilation which increased the monetary value of slaves. Banning it curtailed slaves’ chances of social climbing and narrowed their channels towards positions of power. The emasculation ban is, instead, better understood as one of the many measures directed towards the control of the sexual behaviour and the sumptuary practices of the Roman elite. Introduced as a censorial decree, the ban gave Domitian the opportunity to act as the upholder of Republican traditions at the same time as he impinged on the private lives of his subjects and put senators and equestrians under his thumb. The article also argues that, contrary to what is usually argued, the constant re-enforcement of the prohibition to castrate by Domitian's successors is an indication of the effectiveness of the Roman legal machinery and its capacity to reach the most distant corners of the Roman empire.

Investigation of Three Migration Periods of Roman Elites in the Formation and Survival of the Jundishapur Scientific Center Applying the Theory of migration by Everett S. Lee

Jundishapur has been one of the oldest scientific and educational centers in Iran. A civil and intellectual field that emerged from the time of Sassanid Shapur (I), and gradually a scientific center emerged, especially in the medicine field. The splendor of the scientific center and the city of Jundishapur has been deeply correlated with the phenomenon of migration of Roman (Syriac-Nestorian) elites. Therefore, the causation and explanation of these migrations on the formation, life, and continuity of scientific center are significant to study. The present article attempted to investigate the dimensions of this issue from the perspective of historical sociology, relying on the theory of attraction and repulsion of Everett Lee. Thus, the present study tries to analyze three periods of elite migration from Rome to Jundishapur by using a descriptive-analytical method and relying on library resources and answer question of whether these migrations can be explained using the theory of attraction and repulsion? Findings indicate that in all three periods of the main migration of Roman elites to Jundishapur, Roman repulsions against Sassanid attractions have been very effective in the issue of residence and migration of elites. Religion has also been a crucial factor in the convergence and divergence of elites to migrate from Rome to Iran. The city of Jundishapur developed certain Syrian-Christian scientific and cultural features since its establishment. According to Everett Lee's migration theory, these characteristics had eliminated or downplayed the negative interventionist barriers and distance dilemma of elite migration from Rome to Jundishapur. Furthermore, the migration of elites from Rome to Jundishapur has been very effective in the survival of the city and the scientific center of Jundishapur.

CLARA Review: Brenda Longfellow & Molly Swetnam-Burland (eds), 2021: Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices. Roman Material Culture and Female Agency in the Bay of Naples. Austin: University of Texas Press

Editors Brenda Longfellow (University of Iowa) and Molly Swetnam-Burland (College of William & Mary) have previously published insightful work on ancient Roman art and monumental architecture, and the social history and material culture of Pompeii and Rome. In Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices. Roman Material Culture and Female Agency in the Bay of Naples they bring together fourteen leading specialists in a pathbreaking collection of essays that challenge us to rethink gender-based occupational stereotypes, Roman women’s identities and public participation in spheres exclusively associated with Roman elite men. By drawing on epigraphic, archaeological, art historical and architecturalevidence, the various authors investigate female agency with an emphasis on social engagement and the lived experiences of Roman women in the Bay of Naples. Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices adopts an interdisciplinary approach to research, covering a wide range of theoretical frameworks, methodological objectives and materials. Taken together, these innovative discussions challenge entrenched beliefs about women’s essential passivity and inactivity in Roman society by drawing attention to how women from different social backgrounds engaged with the local community through families, businesses and religious activity, and how they expressed their identities in the funerary realm. Challenging familiar elitist-classicist standards dominating past scholarship, this book pushes women’s and gender studies, feminist art history, urban materiality, women’s local involvement and daily lives into a new era of research.

A Book for the King. Some Reflections on the Situation of the Roman Population and the Preservation of the Heritage of Ancient Civilization in Gallaecia and Lusitania in the 5th and 6th Centuries

Saint Martin of Braga, active in Gallaecia in the second half of the 6th century, referred to cardinal virtues in several of his writings, in accordance with the teachings of Seneca that he knew well. One of these works was Formula vitae honestae, given to Miro, king of Suebi and Gallaecia. The existence of Roman and “barbarian” elites in the kingdom of Suebi, capable of understanding the moral teachings of St. Martin of Braga in the 6th century, prompts reflection on the continuity of Roman culture and heritage of ancient civilisation in 160 years after the invasion of Hispania by Germanic tribes. The article contains some remarks on the preservation of Roman civilisation among the Roman elites in the times of the existence and development of the kingdom of Suebi , and on the processes of romanization of the tribal elites. The problem of the assimilation of the local population and Germanic newcomers, which was very interesting and specific to Gallaecia under the reign of Suebi, was also discussed.

The Normativity of Law in Nature Revisited: Natural Law in Late Hellenistic Thought

In this paper I revisit nature as a source of normativity for law in the later Hellenistic period, that is beyond the opposition of law and nature in the early classical period, Plato’s and Aristotle’s naturalism, or the early Stoics’ conception of the common law. I will focus on the first century BCE, when the expression ‘natural law’ gained prominence, reconstructing its origins in the interaction between Hellenistic philosophers and the Roman elite, including jurists. I argue that for the jurists the Stoic doctrine of law in nature offered a theoretical underpinning for their unique practice of dispute resolution, whereas for the Stoics this Roman practice offered an unexpected opportunity to instrumentalise their conception of law.

Snuggling with your identity: beds and the sense of touch in Roman culture

AbstractThis article seeks to find attitudes and judgments elite Romans made based on a person’s bed. It culls written sources from a diverse range of genres to argue that elite Roman men saw beds as transformative and reflective items. Through long-lasting and frequent contact, a bed’s qualities seeped into bodies and characters. Consequently, as a powerful part of the built environment, beds could strengthen or weaken soldiers as well as help or harm a person’s health. Furthermore, beds’ transformative power meant elite Romans thought where a man slept revealed who he was: his social status, moral fiber, and civilization. In short, beds marked a person’s identity. Examining how Roman elites conceptualized beds informs us on the larger issue of the history of the body, in general, and the sense of touch, in particular. Scholarship on the history of touch tends not analyze the effects of sustained and repetitive contact with a mundane object.

Review: Religious Violence in the Ancient World: From Classical Athens to Late Antiquity, edited by Jitse H. F. Dijkstra and Christian R. Raschle

Review: <i>Religious Violence in the Ancient World: From Classical Athens to Late Antiquity</i>, edited by Jitse H. F. Dijkstra and Christian R. Raschle

Рим – империя на интегрираните елити

One of the unique features of the Roman state-political model is the ability of Roman elites to integrate those of the conquered into their political, military, and social structures. This practice was unique for ancient societies and states, which, by conquering a territory, turn the conquered into a secondary social and economic factor that has no access to political and military power. The history of Rome is an example of how to build a powerful state through the constant gradual integration of conquered elites into institutions of power. The analysis of the policy pursued by the ruling Roman elite in relation to those conquered by the Romans shows that, over the centuries, they have followed the same political practice with varying intensity and some fluctuation. Roman history shows that, after a period of fierce military expansion and forcible subjugation, the Romans gradually shifted to a policy of integration, which in most cases was expressed in the gradual inclusion of local elites in the traditional Roman patron-client relations, and through them their involvement in Roman administrative and military institutions. After moving to live permanently in Rome, the most ambitious and intelligent representatives of these local elites gained access to Roman magistrates, and some of them even reached the highest Roman magistracies. In many cases, they even became one of the most influential politicians in ancient Rome during their time.

Prestigious early Roman gardens across the Empire: the significance of gardens and horticultural trends evidenced by pollen

The present study has two main goals. The first is to reconstruct the botanical components that grew in the impressive garden of Villa Arianna (Stabiae). The garden, which was extensively destroyed and covered by tephra ash in 79 CE, is considered the largest peristyle garden in the Vesuvian region. Its plants were revealed based on a unique palynological-archaeological method involving the extraction of pollen from plaster attached to structures that faced the garden. The second aim is to compare this prestigious garden with other early elite Roman gardens, located in the eastern part of the Empire, to trace the importation of plants, horticultural trends, etc. For this purpose, gardens of Herod the Great, the client king of Judaea, which the author recently studied palynologically (in Caesarea, Herodium and Jericho), were compared with the new pollen results of Villa Arianna. The comparison between the gardens’ botanical components and their different landscapes led to the following conclusions: (1) Plants were imported from both ends of the Empire as elite products (rather than cash crops). Hazelnut (Corylus) and cedar (Cedrus) were introduced from west to east, while the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) was introduced along an east-west axis. (2) The gardening trend of tree dwarfism was observed both at Villa Arianna and Jericho. (3) The gardens flourished in challenging habitats. At Villa Arianna and Caesarea, efforts were devoted to sustaining splendid gardens in the relatively harsh, saline Mediterranean Sea environment; at Herodium and Jericho, special efforts were required for the success of Mediterranean plants in semi-arid climate. (4) Herod’s mausoleum garden in Herodium, whose dark evergreen trees on the whitish slopes of the artificial tumulus could be seen from the Temple in Jerusalem, may have been inspired by the architectural arrangement of the Pantheon and the Mausoleum of Augustus, the patron of Herod.