MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-09-20DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-12347344
Joshua M. Paul
{"title":"Voces Furiarum","authors":"Joshua M. Paul","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-12347344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-12347344","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract I argue that Priapus offers a bilingual gloss on the name ‘Tisiphone’ in Horace, Satires 1.8. I trace the folk etymology of the Fury’s name and identify various passages in which Latin authors emphasize a perceived connection between Tisiphone and φωνή , voice. I then demonstrate how this bilingual pun casts Priapus as a narrator capable of learned, Alexandrian wordplay.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136377443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-09-20DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10212
Travis Mulroy
{"title":"Reading Skillfully","authors":"Travis Mulroy","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10212","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper examines Socrates’ problematic analogy of reading big and little letters in Book 2 of Plato’s Republic . The examination highlights a significant grammatical detail, which has been generally overlooked in contemporary Platonic scholarship: Socrates refers to the justice of the city as ‘doing one’s own thing’ ( τὸ αὑτοῦ πράττων ), in the singular, but the justice of the individual as ‘doing one’s own things’ ( τὰ αὑτοῦ πράττων ), in the plural. In terms of Socrates’ analogy, the big and little letters of justice are not, in fact, the same. Ultimately, the paper argues that Socrates’ analogy of reading big and little letters is intentionally problematic, intended to draw attention to this literal difference between the justice of the city and the justice of the individual. The paper concludes with a discussion of a few immediate implications of this grammatical detail for interpreting the argument of Plato’s Republic .","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136377440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-09-18DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10213
Matthieu Réal
{"title":"Noisy Omens and Enslaved Gods","authors":"Matthieu Réal","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10213","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract I offer a reconsideration of Zoilus’ treatise Against Homer’s Poetry . Two fragments of this work, F9a and F14 Fogagnolo, especially showcase Zoilus’ significance in the context of ancient literary criticism. F9a is usually considered a sarcastic comment on Homer’s lack of realism. I propose instead that it is a critique of the way the poet crafted the bird omen of Il. 10.174-177: Zoilus regarded the omen as a symbolic device and focused on the details of the analogical relationship between interpretandum and the interpretamentum . I also suggest that Aristotle F369 Gigon may have originated as a defense of Homer against one of Zoilus’ criticisms. Through a new translation of F14, I show that Zoilus did not content himself with analyzing problematic lines of Homer in isolation, but also assessed passages of the poem in light of other relevant passages within the same poem. In short, he criticized Homer from Homer .","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135207799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-09-18DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10182
John Henry
{"title":"Was Medusa a Priestess of Athena?","authors":"John Henry","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10182","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In Book 4 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses , the famous backstory of the Gorgon Medusa is related by her slayer Perseus: Neptune raped her in the temple of Minerva, and the goddess turned her hair into snakes out of divine vengeance for the desecration of her sanctuary. With few exceptions, most Ovid scholars are hesitant to posit any explanation for Medusa’s appearance at the temple, which does not appear to be justified in Ovid’s poem as it stands. In this article, the possibilities will be further explored: was Medusa (1) a priestess, (2) a suppliant or (3) simply a young woman of otherwise unspecified status? On further examination of the Book 4 passage, it will be argued that Ovid presents the metamorphosis myth of Medusa as an allusion, and that earlier sources were more likely to be forthcoming in their identification of the character.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135208101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-09-12DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-12347340
Tomasz Mojsik
{"title":"Muses as ‘Fellow Citizens’?","authors":"Tomasz Mojsik","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-12347340","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-12347340","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In line 1 of the so-called Seal (118 AB), Posidippus invokes Μοῦσαι πολιήτιδες (‘Muses fellow citizens’). This fact has puzzled scholars for years, as the Muses are nowhere else referred to as such. Referring to an epigram of Queen Eurydice, a dedication in honour of the Muses from the Pella area as well as evidence of cultural activity in the Macedonian capital, I demonstrate that the term πολιήτιδες used in the poem is related to the poet’s hometown. I also illustrate that naming the Muses ‘fellow citizens’ and placing their statues in the agora, theatre or gymnasion reflected the central position of mousikē , education and literature, in Greek culture. In addition, I draw a parallel with the phenomenon of honouring poets with statues at central points in the city, often surrounded by the Muses.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135887692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-09-12DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10223
Giulia Marolla
{"title":"The Names of Sidonius’ Addressees and the Manuscript Tradition of the Letters","authors":"Giulia Marolla","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10223","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Sidonius is often the only source of information on his addressees. Following Dolveck’s stemma codicum of Sidonius’ Letters , the present contribution offers a timely reassessment of the manuscript tradition attesting the names of his addressees by using manuscript studies and onomastics as a tool for prosopography. The paper first examines the evolution of onomastics in the Late Antique West and Sidonius’ own name. These introductory remarks are closed by some considerations on what is commonly believed to be Sidonius’ epitaph and whether it bears the author’s name or that of his son Apollinaris. The contribution then analyses some of the most noteworthy case studies of diverging readings of names of addressees in his collection, questioning the prosopographical tradition. The survey shows that the popularity enjoyed by some names—rather than attested variants—in Sidonius’ prosopography is a remnant of prior editions and of their influence over the collective knowledge of the author.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135886608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-08-15DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10174
Shanshan Bai
{"title":"The Subdivision of Boys in the Leonidean Decree (IG V.1 19)","authors":"Shanshan Bai","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10174","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper examines two problematic appellations of boy victors, παῖς καθαρός and παῖς κρίσεως τῆς Ἀγησιλάου, and the subdivision of boys in the Spartan festival Leonidea in inscription IG V.1 19. I propose several emendations to the edition of this inscription with the hope to correct a mistake and add two events into the athletic contest. I argue that age and birth were important criteria for the sub-classification of παῖδες, whereas physical development did not play a major role in the process. By means of adopting different categorizations in different games, Sparta memorialized its heroes, both warriors in the past Persian war and contemporary benefactors, innovated its traditions of athletic training and contests, and displayed its reputation of excellence in the Leonidea.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83043030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-07-27DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10193
Antonis Tsakmakis
{"title":"Τὸ κενὸν τοῦ πολέμου (Th. 3.30.4) and Its Uses in Greek and Latin Texts","authors":"Antonis Tsakmakis","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10193","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The analysis of Thucydides 3.30.4 (from the speech of Teutiaplos), which contains the obscure phrase τὸ κενὸν τοῦ πολέμου, as well as of all occurrences of the same phrase in Greek and Latin texts confirms the reading κενόν against the vv.ll. καινόν and κοινόν, and helps establishing the meaning of the proverbial expression πολλὰ (τὰ) κενὰ τοῦ πολέμου. It does not refer to a mental state (illusion etc.), as has been generally assumed, but to a particular situation that can emerge in warfare. The ‘void of war’ means that one side is in a way neutralized. One of the two opponents is either unable or unwilling to fight, or is clearly inferior, to the degree that it withdraws or surrenders without a battle. The investigation of the proverb’s semantics also leads to a better understanding of the Thucydidean use and improves the understanding of Teutiaplos’ speech (Th. 3.30).","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76572930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-07-27DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10171
Arben Hajdari, Christophe J. Goddard
{"title":"Le culte de la déesse dardanienne, dea Dard(…), au cœur de la diplomatie divine de l’armée romaine","authors":"Arben Hajdari, Christophe J. Goddard","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10171","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10171","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Tributes to the enigmatic dea Dard(…) show a typically Roman political and religious intention to show respect for a local deity, within the framework of the control of isolated but strategic areas in the heart of the Illyrian region and the province of Moesia Superior. These acts of piety reflect the desire on the part of the Roman authorities to carry out diplomatic action with the local population, particularly in the vicinity of the stationes, often away from the legions and officia of which they were a detachment. In any case, these dedications cannot be considered irrefutable proof of the resistance of a Dardanian identity to the Roman order. They do, of course, suggest that the cult of these local and enigmatic deities had survived in the heart of the province of Moesia Superior. The paradox lies in the fact that we know more about the existence of these local deities thanks to the tributes of Roman soldiers, even if their names remain unknown.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87683879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MNEMOSYNEPub Date : 2023-07-03DOI: 10.1163/1568525x-bja10173
Ana Valtierra
{"title":"Olivier ou palmier ?","authors":"Ana Valtierra","doi":"10.1163/1568525x-bja10173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-bja10173","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The oldest Greek sources narrate how Leto at the time of childbirth held on to a palm tree on the island of Delos to help herself with the effort of contractions. Under this palm tree, the god Apollo was born, making it an element of sacred worship of which the ancients said that it never died. Despite the clarity of the sources in the plant identification from the 5th century BC onwards, we can observe an attempt to appropriate the sacred tree of Leto’s childbirth that is made manifest through written and visual sources. Thus, the olive tree or the image of Athena began to appear as protagonists of the myth. They began to oversee the birth of the god Apollo. This iconographic manipulation had a single purpose: to justify, through religion, the economic and political control of a key commercial centre in the Greek world.","PeriodicalId":46134,"journal":{"name":"MNEMOSYNE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78727869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}