Published by De Gruyter

Millennium-Studien / Millennium Studies

Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte des ersten Jahrtausends n. Chr. / Studies in the Culture and History of the First Millennium C.E.

Edited by: Wolfram Brandes, Laura Carrara, Dennis Pausch, Rene Pfeilschifter and Karla Pollmann

ISSN: 1862-1139

e-ISSN 1867-0318

Overview
Volumes

peer-reviewed

Millennium transcends boundaries – between epochs and regions, and between disciplines. Like the journal Millennium-Jahrbuch, the Millennium-Studien pursues an international, interdisciplinary approach that cuts across historical eras. The editorial and the advisory board represent a broad spectrum of disciplines: contributions from the fields of art and literature are just as well represented as historical, theological and philosophical contributions, and studies on Latin and Greek cultures as well as North African and Near Eastern cultures.

In addition to offering a forum for monographs and edited collections on diverse topics, Millennium-Studien publishes commentaries and editions. Publication languages are primarily German and English; French, Italian and Spanish studies may be included.

Editorial Board

Phil Booth, University of Oxford, UK
Patricia Ciner, National University of San Juan, Argentinia
Babett Edelmann-Singer, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Philip Forness, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Claudia Rapp, Universität Wien, Austria
Verena Schulz, Katholische Universität Eichstätt, Germany
Chiara Tommasi, Università di Pisa, Italy

If you want to submit a manuscript please send it to the editor from the most relevant discipline:

Wolfram Brandes, Frankfurt, Germany (Byzantine Studies and Early Middle Ages): brandeswolfram@gmail.com
Laura Carrara, Pisa, Italy (Greek language and literature): laura.carrara@unipi.it
Dennis Pausch, Marburg, Germany (Latin language and literature): dennis.pausch@uni-marburg.de
Rene Pfeilschifter, Würzburg, Germany (Ancient History): Rene.Pfeilschifter@uni-wuerzburg.de
Karla Pollmann, Tübingen, Germany (Early Christianity and Patristics): karla.pollmann@uni-tuebingen.de

All manuscript submissions will be reviewed by the editor and one outside specialist (single-blind peer review).

Topics

Book Open Access 2025

Spätantike Chroniken im Fluss der Zeit

Kompilieren, Kürzen, Kontinuieren als kulturelles Phänomen, historische Quelle und philologische Herausforderung

Niklas Fröhlich

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Die Spätantike brachte einen erheblichen Wandel in Gesellschaft, Staatlichkeit und Religion mit sich, der breite Diskussion über diese „Transformationsepoche" anregt. Zu diesen Wandlungen gehört auch ein historiographischer Trend zur Kürze, der sich nicht zuletzt in der weiten Verbreitung chronographischer Listenformate und voll als literarisches Genre ausgeprägter Chroniken niederschlug. Die vorliegende Studie unternimmt den Versuch, ein Panorama dieser Praktik als regelrechtes literarisches Breitenphänomen zu bieten: Voll ausgeformte literarische Chroniken, knapp annotierte Konsularfasten (Consularia) und chronographische Listen wurden in weiter Verbreitung dezentral gelesen, genutzt und in verschiedener Weise kürzend, ergänzend oder fortsetzend erneut bearbeitet. Die daraus folgende Überlieferungslage stellt die Erschließung und Edition des Materials vor grundsätzliche Herausforderungen. Diese werden im zweiten Schwerpunkt der Studie systematisch sowie in einzelnen Fallstudien herausgearbeitet. Damit erschließt der Band ein bislang vernachlässigtes historisch-philologisches Erkenntnisfeld spätantiker (Klein-)Historiographie samt ihrem Sitz im spätantiken Kulturleben.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.0000/9783111507958
ISBN:: 9783111507958
ISBN:: 9783111508030
ISBN:: 9783111506180
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2025

Die römische Vermessungsliteratur und ihre mittelalterlichen Schreiber

Gebrauchsformen und Sinnhorizonte einer antiken Kompilation (500–900)

Uta Kleine

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The writings of the Roman surveyors are unique documents for the history of ancient agriculture and law. The post-ancient epochs also drew on this collection of technological and mathematical knowledge. By examining the oldest surviving codices, this volume examines their transcription, transformation, and reception in the transitional period between 500 and 900, as well as the role played by scribes as agents in this complex textual history.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.0000/9783111354248
ISBN:: 9783111354248
ISBN:: 9783111354729
ISBN:: 9783111353555
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2025

Prokop und der soziale Kosmos der Historiographie

Exkurse, Diskurse und die römische Gesellschaft der Spätantike

Jakob Riemenschneider

Volume 108 in this series

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Procopius of Caesarea was one of the last authors of classical antique historiography. His major volume on Justinian’s wars is the most important historical source on the sixth century. This new interpretation of, above all, his manifold explorations reveals Procopius to have been a versatile author who was familiar with all facets of contemporary Roman society and served the various interests of his audience.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.0000/9783111547640
ISBN:: 9783111547640
ISBN:: 9783111548029
ISBN:: 9783111546865
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2025

Munera und Agone in der Gesetzgebung der Spätantike

Marius Kalfelis

Volume 107 in this series

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Public games shaped urban life in the Roman Empire up into late antiquity. This study is the first to systematically examine the legal texts pertaining to gladiator battles and animal baiting (munera), as well as athletic competitions (agones). They provide information about the measures taken by Roman emperors to maintain the games under the changing conditions of late antiquity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.0000/9783111475547
ISBN:: 9783111475547
ISBN:: 9783111477091
ISBN:: 9783111448022
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Sports and Recreation
Subject:: History of Sports
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2024

›Suétone narrateur‹

Biographie und Erzählung in ›De vita Caesarum‹

Edoardo Galfré, Christoph Schubert

Volume 106 in this series

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The Lives of the Caesars by Latin biographer C. Suetonius Tranquillus is one of the central texts for our understanding of the early imperial history of Rome as well as a work full of unique literary features. In eight connected chapters, this edited volume provides a narratological examination of the diverse range of narrative techniques that can be discovered in De vita Caesarum, from the micro to the macro level.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111333939
ISBN:: 9783111333939
ISBN:: 9783111333236
ISBN:: 9783111334240
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2024

Der Herrscher im Massenmedium

Fränkische Bildpolitik auf Münzen und Siegeln im Kulturvergleich

Daniel Seelbach

Volume 105 in this series

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This study on post-Roman Europe is the first to systematically examine and compare the media of seals and coins for diverse cultures, such as the Franks, Lombards, Anglo-Saxons, and Visigoths, over a period of 500 years. It focuses on political communication by means of the ruler’s image and the question of how it developed in specific media, which took place in very different ways despite a common heritage.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111341682
ISBN:: 9783111341682
ISBN:: 9783111341576
ISBN:: 9783111341873
Subject:: Arts
Subject:: Antiques and Collectibles
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Regional and National History
Subject:: Europe
Subject:: General European History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2024

Ganz Rhetor, ganz Philosoph – Themistios als Lobredner auf Valens

Ethik als göttliche Herrschaftslegitimation

Simone Mehr

Volume 104 in this series

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Themistios, a recognised philosopher of his time, is regarded as one of the most successful eulogists of the 4th century AD. For a long time, the role of a government spokesman was attributed to him and his claim that he praised the emperor as a philosopher was considered pure rhetoric. Based on the premise of the acceptance model, this work primarily examines the question of how Themistios' great success can be explained, given that he was the main speaker for four successive emperors. The textual examination of the speeches shows that Themistios, as a non-Christian philosopher, differs greatly from the Neoplatonic philosophers of his time and that they in particular denied Themistios the right to speak as a philosopher. One result of the study is that the group of non-Christian philosophers was less homogeneous than previously assumed, and that Themistios was closer to Christian ideas of domination than previously assumed. It turns out that Themistios' idea of a good ruler cannot be reconciled with that of the Neoplatonists and yet it was very popular with the majority of the elites. Themistios can therefore be regarded as one of the first political philosophers.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111013244
ISBN:: 9783111013244
ISBN:: 9783111013664
ISBN:: 9783111012957
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Ancient Philosophy
Subject:: Philosophy
Subject:: History of Philosophy
Subject:: Ancient Philosophy
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2023

Literarische Triumphe

Der römische Triumph als konzeptuelle Metapher in der Literatur der späten Republik und der frühen Kaiserzeit

Maximilian Höhl

Volume 103 in this series

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The triumphal procession determined the thoughts and actions of the Romans to a great extent. This applies not only to the period of the late Republic, in which triumphal processions were fiercely contested, but also to the early imperial period, in which the ritual increasingly disappeared from everyday life.

In addition to texts that refer back to the Roman triumph, this volume examines above all those that inscribe the triumph as a model performatively or metaphorically: While Caesar immortalises his own campaign in De bello Gallico, Pliny the Elder presents his Naturalis Historia as a triumph of science. Cicero and Vitruvius transfer the concept to the intellectual realms of rhetoric and architecture, and the early imperial Laus Pisonis makes the life of an imperial aristocrat appear as a single triumphal procession. The notion of conceptual metaphor makes it possible to understand the triumph as an intertextual and intermedial model and to examine its actualisation in different contexts.

By systematising the heterogeneous texts, taking cultural studies concepts into account, this volume makes an important contribution to the study of ancient aesthetics and cultural identity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111082479
ISBN:: 9783111082479
ISBN:: 9783111082844
ISBN:: 9783111080895
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2024

Gattungstheorie und Dichtungspraxis in neronisch-flavischer Epik

Christoph Schwameis, Bernhard Söllradl

Volume 102 in this series

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This anthology is dedicated to the Roman epic poets Lucan, Valerius Flaccus, Statius and Silius Italicus. The contributions examine the contrast between genre theory and practice, the interplay of genre interference and intertextuality, and the tension between convention and innovation.

The focus is on the relationship of post-Augustan epic poetry to the earlier tradition, i.e. to authoritative predecessors such as Homer, Virgil and Ovid. The self-positioning of later poets in relation to the canon often goes hand in hand with an endeavour to reconfigure traditional elements: By omitting, varying or exaggerating aspects typical of the genre, their works enter into a dialogue with the earlier epics, permanently subverting the audience's horizons of expectation. The integration of non-genre discourses plays a central role here: modern literary concepts for analysing genre interference are critically evaluated in the anthology and incorporated into the interpretation in a reflective manner.

The methodological range and innovative approaches in this volume make an important contribution to deepening and expanding the current state of research.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111264134
ISBN:: 9783111264134
ISBN:: 9783110783988
ISBN:: 9783111265056
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Authors
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2023

Der lateinische ›Alexanderroman‹ des Iulius Valerius

Sprache, Erzählung, Kontext

Hartmut Wulfram, Gregor Schöffberger, Katharina-Maria Schön

Volume 101 in this series

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Within the scope of the Greek-Latin Alexander romance, the Res gestae Alexandri Macedonis by Julius Valerius (early fourth century CE) stand out due to their high literary and stylistic standards. The eleven contributions in this edited volume primarily focus on issues of narrative technique, linguistic design, and intertextuality, thereby illustrating the unique features and rank of this often-neglected work in literary history.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111091679
ISBN:: 9783111091679
ISBN:: 9783111093130
ISBN:: 9783111085586
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2022

Deskription und Metapoetik in der spätantiken lateinischen Dichtung

Untersuchungen zur literarischen Beschreibung bei Claudian, Prudenz und Ausonius

Leon Schmieder

Volume 100 in this series

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Leon Schmieder looks at selected passages from Claudian, Prudentius, and Ausonius to examine the aesthetic and poetological dimensions of the late ancient art of description. In its development of literary tradition, this art form proves to be shaped by complex textual strategies that, in their interplay between distance and proximity, touch on aspects of intertextuality and intermediality, and the creation of literary spaces.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111012698
ISBN:: 9783111012698
ISBN:: 9783111012896
ISBN:: 9783111007106
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Literary Studies
Subject:: Literary Genres and Media
Subject:: Poetry
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2022

Natur und Kunst bei Claudian

Poetische ›concordia discors‹

Wiebke Nierste

Volume 99 in this series

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This volume focuses on twelve of the so-called Carmina minora by the late ancient poet Claudius Claudianus (ca. 370–404 CE), which describe of different kinds. Nature, art, and the concordia discors that characterises both play a special role in the textual analyses. Together with distinctive intra- and intertextual references, they are understood as key aspects of Claudian's poetics.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110981421
ISBN:: 9783110981421
ISBN:: 9783110994889
ISBN:: 9783110981452
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Literary Studies
Subject:: Literary Genres and Media
Subject:: Poetry
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2022

Reading History in the Roman Empire

Mario Baumann, Vasileios Liotsakis

Volume 98 in this series

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Although the relationship of Greco-Roman historians with their readerships has attracted much scholarly attention, classicists principally focus on individual historians, while there has been no collective work on the matter. The editors of this volume aspire to fill this gap and gather papers which offer an overall view of the Greco-Roman readership and of its interaction with ancient historians. The authors of this book endeavor to define the physiognomy of the audience of history in the Roman Era both by exploring the narrative arrangement of ancient historical prose and by using sources in which Greco-Roman intellectuals address the issue of the readership of history. Ancient historians shaped their accounts taking into consideration their readers’ tastes, and this is evident on many different levels, such as the way a historian fashions his authorial image, addresses his readers, or uses certain compositional strategies to elicit the readers’ affective and cognitive responses to his messages. The papers of this volume analyze these narrative aspects and contextualize them within their socio-political environment in order to reveal the ways ancient readerships interacted with and affected Greco-Roman historical prose.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110764062
ISBN:: 9783110764062
ISBN:: 9783110764123
ISBN:: 9783110763782
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2022

City of Caesar, City of God

Constantinople and Jerusalem in Late Antiquity

Konstantin M. Klein, Johannes Wienand

Volume 97 in this series

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When Emperor Constantine triggered the rise of a Christian state, he opened a new chapter in the history of Constantinople and Jerusalem. In the centuries that followed, the two cities were formed and transformed into powerful symbols of Empire and Church. For the first time, this book investigates the increasingly dense and complex net of reciprocal dependencies between the imperial center and the navel of the Christian world. Imperial influence, initiatives by the Church, and projects of individuals turned Constantinople and Jerusalem into important realms of identification and spaces of representation. Distinguished international scholars investigate this fascinating development, focusing on aspects of art, ceremony, religion, ideology, and imperial rule. In enriching our understanding of the entangled history of Constantinople and Jerusalem in Late Antiquity, City of Caesar, City of God illuminates the transition between Antiquity, Byzantium, and the Middle Ages.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110718447
ISBN:: 9783110718447
ISBN:: 9783111521442
ISBN:: 9783110718584
ISBN:: 9783110717204
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2022

Creative Selection between Emending and Forming Medieval Memory

Sebastian Scholz, Gerald Schwedler

Volume 96 in this series

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Karl Valentin once asked: "How can it be that only as much happens as fits into the newspaper the next day?" He focussed on the problem that information of the past has to be organised, arranged and above all: selected and put into form in order to be perceived as a whole. In this sense, the process of selection must be seen as the fundamental moment – the “Urszene” – of making History. This book shows selection as highly creative act. With the richness of early medieval material it can be demonstrated that creative selection was omnipresent and took place even in unexpected text genres.
The book demonstrates the variety how premodern authors dealt with "unimportant", unpleasant or unwanted past. It provides a general overview for regions and text genres in early medieval Europe.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110757279
ISBN:: 9783110757279
ISBN:: 9783110757309
ISBN:: 9783110756609
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

Gewalt in Laktanz’ ›De mortibus persecutorum‹

Gianna Zipp

Volume 95 in this series

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Violence is a central topic in De mortibus persecutorum, one of the most significant sources on the Tetrarchy’s persecution of Christians. Gianna Zipp examines this piece of writing as a literary complete works and meticulously analyzes its conception using the method of close reading. She shows how Lactantius credibly portrays the violent Tetrarchs coming to their horrific end as determined by God.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110747003
ISBN:: 9783110747003
ISBN:: 9783110747102
ISBN:: 9783110740660
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Patristic Authors
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

Anachronismus und Aktualisierung in Ovids ›Metamorphosen‹

Eine Ästhetik uneigentlicher Zeitlichkeit

Philipp Geitner

Volume 94 in this series

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The temporal inconsistencies in Ovid’s Metamorphoses are just as multifaceted and numerous as the image that has revealed itself in previous interpretations of these text phenomena – often referred to as "anachronisms" – is blurry and diverse. This volume looks at theories of fiction and language to carry out a systematic reevaluation of Ovid’s poem that does justice to its ambitious aesthetics both in terms of theory and text analysis.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110735574
ISBN:: 9783110735574
ISBN:: 9783110739022
ISBN:: 9783110735642
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

Der Heeresdienst von Christen in der römischen Kaiserzeit

Studien zu Tertullian, Clemens und Origenes

Andreas Gerstacker

Volume 93 in this series

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This study examines the attitude of three important pre-Constantinian Church authors on the issue of military service by Christians. During their era, there were growing numbers of Christians in the army, and discussions began in their communities as to whether this was consistent with Christian beliefs. Many positions and arguments emerged. At the same time, the study shows how Christianity struggled to find its position within the Roman Empire.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110714357
ISBN:: 9783110714357
ISBN:: 9783110714395
ISBN:: 9783110714265
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Patristic Authors
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

The Good Christian Ruler in the First Millennium

Views from the Wider Mediterranean World in Conversation

Philip Michael Forness, Alexandra Hasse-Ungeheuer, Hartmut Leppin

Volume 92 in this series

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The late antique and early medieval Mediterranean was characterized by wide-ranging cultural and linguistic diversity. Yet, under the influence of Christianity, communities in the Mediterranean world were bound together by common concepts of good rulership, which were also shaped by Greco-Roman, Persian, Caucasian, and other traditions. This collection of essays examines ideas of good Christian rulership and the debates surrounding them in diverse cultures and linguistic communities. It grants special attention to communities on the periphery, such as the Caucasus and Nubia, and some essays examine non-Christian concepts of good rulership to offer a comparative perspective. As a whole, the studies in this volume reveal not only the entanglement and affinity of communities around the Mediterranean but also areas of conflict among Christians and between Christians and other cultural traditions. By gathering various specialized studies on the overarching question of good rulership, this volume highlights the possibilities of placing research on classical antiquity and early medieval Europe into conversation with the study of eastern Christianity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110725612
ISBN:: 9783110725612
ISBN:: 9783110725650
ISBN:: 9783110724691
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Religion in the Middle East
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

Das spätantike Rom und die stadtrömische Senatsaristokratie (395–455 n. Chr.)

Eine althistorisch-archäologische Untersuchung

Hendrik Wagner

Volume 91 in this series

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This study inquires into the political and social significance ascribed to the urban Roman senatorial aristocracy and the senate in the first half of the fifth century CE. This volume therefore examines a topic of central significance in the history of the Roman West and Christianization, connecting research perspectives from ancient history and archaeology.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110727630
ISBN:: 9783110727630
ISBN:: 9783110727760
ISBN:: 9783110727487
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Archaeology
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

Gefängnis als Schwellenraum in der byzantinischen Hagiographie

Eine Untersuchung früh- und mittelbyzantinischer Märtyrerakten

Christodoulos Papavarnavas

Volume 90 in this series

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This volume investigates the literary depiction of prison as a liminal space in early and middle Byzantine martyrs’ Passions. Prison proves to be a transitional space where both the formation of corporeal endurance and the spiritual maturation of the protagonists take place, contributing to their identity as martyrs. The aspects examined here include terminology, narrative structure, gender, emotions and the senses.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110725780
ISBN:: 9783110725780
ISBN:: 9783110725919
ISBN:: 9783110725421
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2021

Herakleios, der schwitzende Kaiser

Die oströmische Monarchie in der ausgehenden Spätantike

Nadine Viermann

Volume 89 in this series

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Focusing on the rule of Heraclius (610–643), this study examines the development of the Byzantine monarchy at the threshold between antiquity and the Middle Ages. It shows how the reigning Emperor responded to the domestic and external political challenges that endangered his rule and brought the Byzantine Empire to the brink of collapse.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110711356
ISBN:: 9783110711356
ISBN:: 9783110711370
ISBN:: 9783110711141
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Aulus Gellius und die ›Noctes Atticae‹

Die literarische Konstruktion einer Sammlung

Beate Beer

Volume 88 in this series

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Aulus Gellius’ Noctes Atticae is a collection of short texts that pursues an aesthetic of variation. Beer’s study is an appraisal of the texts and the collection in general. The author analyzes Noctes Atticae based on narratological criteria, develops associative links between the sections, and illuminates the agonal relationship between narrator and implicit reader.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110695083
ISBN:: 9783110695083
ISBN:: 9783110695144
ISBN:: 9783110695007
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

The Era of the Martyrs

Remembering the Great Persecution in Late Antique Egypt

Aaltje Hidding

Volume 87 in this series

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One of the most traumatic experiences of Late Antique Christians was the Great Persecution, begun by Emperor Diocletian and his Tetrarchic colleagues in 303 CE. Here Aaltje Hidding unites research of traditional memory studies with work done by cognitive scientists to examine how they remembered the Persecution. The resulting methodological framework, the ‘cognitive ecology’, systemically studies all what can be covered by this term - social surroundings, cognitive artefacts and the physical environment - and bridges the gap between individual and collective memory. The author analyses the remembrance of the Persecution in three different regions along the Nile river. In Oxyrhynchus, the thousands of papyrus fragments found at the city’s rubbish dump give a vivid image of the martyrs in the daily lives of the Oxyrhynchites. In Antinoopolis, known for the cult of the physician saint Colluthus, she zooms in on the rituals and practices at a martyr’s sanctuary. Finally, in Dandara, the rich hagiographical dossier of the anchorite Paphnutius shows how old memories of the Persecution became mixed with new monastic experiences. The Bohairic and Greek Passion of Paphnutius appear in their first complete English translations.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110689686
ISBN:: 9783110689686
ISBN:: 9783110689709
ISBN:: 9783110689570
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Poetry, Bible and Theology from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages

Michele Cutino

Volume 86 in this series

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This volume examines for the first time the most important methodological issues concerning Christian poetry – i.e. biblical and theological poetry in classical meters – from a diachronic perspective. Thus, it is possible to evaluate the doctrinal significance of these compositions and the role that they play in the development of Christian theological ideas and biblical exegesis.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110687224
ISBN:: 9783110687224
ISBN:: 9783110687330
ISBN:: 9783110687194
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: General Topics and Biblical Reception
Subject:: General
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Ravenna and the Traditions of Late Antique and Early Byzantine Craftsmanship

Labour, Culture, and the Economy

Salvatore Cosentino

Volume 85 in this series

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In the last twenty years scholarship on late antique and early medieval Ravenna has resulted in a certain number of publications mainly focused on the fields of architecture, mosaics and archaeology. On the contrary, much less attention has been paid on labour – both manual and intellectual – as well as the structure of production and objects derived from manufacturing activities, despite the fact that Ravenna is the place which preserves the highest number of historical evidence among all centres of the late Roman Mediterranean. Its cultural heritage is vast and composite, ranging from papyri to inscriptions, from ivories to marbles, as well as luxury objects, pottery, and coins. Starting from concrete typologies of hand-manufactured goods existing in the Ravennate milieu, the book aims at exploring the multifaceted traditions of late antique and early Byzantine handicraft from the fourth to the eighth century AD. Its perspective is to pay attention more on patronage, social taste, acculturation, workers and the economic industry of production which supported the demand, circulation and distribution of artefacts, than on the artistic evaluation of the objects themselves.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110684346
ISBN:: 9783110684346
ISBN:: 9783110684438
ISBN:: 9783110684322
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Living the End of Antiquity

Individual Histories from Byzantine to Islamic Egypt

Sabine R. Huebner, Eugenio Garosi, Isabelle Marthot-Santaniello, Matthias Müller, Stefanie Schmidt, Matthias Stern

Volume 84 in this series

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This volume covers the transition period stretching from the reign of Justinian I to the end of the 8th century, focusing on the experience of individuals who lived through the last decades of Byzantine rule in Egypt before the arrival of the new Arab rulers. The contributions drawing from the wealth of sources we have for Egypt, explore phenomena of stability and disruption during the transition from the classical to the postclassical world.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110683554
ISBN:: 9783110683554
ISBN:: 9783110683585
ISBN:: 9783110683318
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Papyrology
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Egyptology
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Euripides-Rezeption in Kaiserzeit und Spätantike

Michael Schramm

Volume 83 in this series

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During the Imperial Rome Age and late antiquity, Euripides was considered a tragic dramatist par excellence, and, alongside Homer, was the most frequently cited poet. This book examines the reception of complete and partially transmitted Euripidean tragedies into the Greek language vis-à-vis key authors and literary genres of the Imperial Rome Age and late antiquity, situating them in the cultural and literary-historical context of the times.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110677072
ISBN:: 9783110677072
ISBN:: 9783110677157
ISBN:: 9783110671650
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Der inkriminierte Bischof

Könige im Konflikt mit Kirchenleitern im westgotischen und fränkischen Gallien (466–614)

Till Stüber

Volume 82 in this series

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In this study, Till Stüber analyzes loyalty conflicts between bishops and kings in post-Roman Gaul. He examines the political or social factors that resulted in these conflicts, and also explores the solutions that were found to avoid them. His approach offers fresh insights into the relationship between kings and bishops in this period.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619676
ISBN:: 9783110619676
ISBN:: 9783110620023
ISBN:: 9783110619232
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Medieval Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Ahead of Publication 2025

Auxiliartexte

Praxis und Theorie einer Textfunktion im antiken literarischen Feld

Markus Dubischar

Volume 81 in this series

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This book presents the first comprehensive examination of derivative texts in ancient literature – genres such as the compendium, anthology, florilegium, commentary, and glossary. These genres are explained as manifestations of the more general phenomenon of auxiliary texts, whose primary function is to ensure the long-term availability, usability, and comprehensibility of important primary texts.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.0000/9783110216554
ISBN:: 9783110216554
ISBN:: 9783110384284
ISBN:: 9783110203943
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2019

Animal Kingdom of Heaven

Anthropozoological Aspects in the Late Antique World

Ingo Schaaf

Volume 80 in this series

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The essays collected in this volume apply an interdisciplinary approach to explore aspects of the relationship between animal and human in late antiquity. With a focus on ways that anthropozoological connections were defined in the emergent Christian religious discourse of the epoch, the authors contribute to our understanding of a thematic area largely neglected in previous research.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110603064
ISBN:: 9783110603064
ISBN:: 9783110602357
ISBN:: 9783110601596
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2019

Vergangenes verhandeln

Spätantike Statusdiskurse senatorischer Eliten in Gallien und Italien

Tabea L. Meurer

Volume 79 in this series

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This study in cultural history addresses the value of past relations in Gallo-Roman and Italian discourses on social status in late antiquity. The volume examines how senatorial figures referred back to ancestors and ancient times to better position themselves in relation to their peers. At a broader level, it describes the negotiative processes surrounding the establishment of rank.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110645675
ISBN:: 9783110645675
ISBN:: 9783110643275
ISBN:: 9783110644326
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Antonius Diogenes, "Die unglaublichen Dinge jenseits von Thule"

Edition, Übersetzung, Kommentar

Helena Schmedt

Volume 78 in this series

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The Wonders Beyond Thule by Antonius Diogenes uniquely combines a range of themes, including aspects of a love story, fantastic journeys, and Pythagorean philosophy. The author reassembles this work, which has only been preserved through papyrus fragments as well as later authors’ accounts, into a new edition that offers detailed philological and interpretive commentary on all of the surviving descriptions and fragments.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110600148
ISBN:: 9783110600148
ISBN:: 9783110599022
ISBN:: 9783110585100
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2020

Kaiser Konstantin als Leser

Panegyrik, performance und Poetologie in den carmina Optatians

Anna-Lena Körfer

Volume 77 in this series

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To honor the 20^th year of his reign, Emperor Constantine was given what may be the most precious gift of his lifetime: a codex of artistic panegyrics and odes dedicated to him by the poet Optatianus. Optatianus’ poems showcase the poetic talent of their creator and go beyond the classical confines of a panegyric: they form a literary invitation to an intellectual bond between laudator and laudandus.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110657029
ISBN:: 9783110657029
ISBN:: 9783110655711
ISBN:: 9783110655322
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2019

Mord(s)bilder - Aufzählungen von Gewalt bei Seneca und Lucan

Maria Backhaus

Volume 76 in this series

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Often noticed, frequently criticized, the descriptions of physical violence in Seneca’s philosophical work De ira and Lucan’s civil war epic De bello civili irritate until today. Only looking at the theory of rhetoric, the use of exempla and the staging of violence allows an approach to ancient reception attitudes and reveals the connections between enumeration and visualizability, violence and the the arousal of the emotions.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110639551
ISBN:: 9783110639551
ISBN:: 9783110635973
ISBN:: 9783110636390
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2019

Das Christentum im frühen Europa

Diskurse – Tendenzen – Entscheidungen

Uta Heil

Volume 75 in this series

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During the transition from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, the geographical space of Europe was Christian and Christianity was “European.” The essays present the major theological discourses and decisions of that epoch that helped shape Church and society – from political regents to Church catechesis.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110643503
ISBN:: 9783110643503
ISBN:: 9783110736908
ISBN:: 9783110642766
ISBN:: 9783110642728
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Medieval Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2019

Das Epos im Blick

Intertextualität und Rollenkonstruktionen in Martials Epigrammen und Statius’ "Silvae"

Helge Baumann

Volume 73 in this series

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In detailed case studies, Helge Baumann analyzes how Martial and Statius presented, integrated, and functionalized the epic into small poetic formats. These authors associated different situations, cultural practices, and actors with the epic. In the literary communication between poet and patron, the small format became an effective medium of role construction for authors and for their audiences.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110600629
ISBN:: 9783110600629
ISBN:: 9783110598360
ISBN:: 9783110598902
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2018

Die Briefe des Ignatios von Antiochia

Motive, Strategien, Kontexte

Thomas Johann Bauer, Peter von Möllendorff

Volume 72 in this series

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The letters preserved under the name of Ignatios of Antiochia remain a contentious topic to this day among scholars of early Christianity. The essays collected in this volume discuss issues about their origins and cultural context, their function and intention, their theological content and transmission, and their form and composition as an epistolary collection.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110617993
ISBN:: 9783110617993
ISBN:: 9783110617177
ISBN:: 9783110604467
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Patristic Authors
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2018

Transformations of Romanness

Early Medieval Regions and Identities

Walter Pohl, Clemens Gantner, Cinzia Grifoni, Marianne Pollheimer-Mohaupt

Volume 71 in this series

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Roman identity is one of the most interesting cases of social identity because in the course of time, it could mean so many different things: for instance, Greek-speaking subjects of the Byzantine empire, inhabitants of the city of Rome, autonomous civic or regional groups, Latin speakers under ‘barbarian’ rule in the West or, increasingly, representatives of the Church of Rome. Eventually, the Christian dimension of Roman identity gained ground. The shifting concepts of Romanness represent a methodological challenge for studies of ethnicity because, depending on its uses, Roman identity may be regarded as ‘ethnic’ in a broad sense, but under most criteria, it is not. Romanness is indeed a test case how an established and prestigious social identity can acquire many different shades of meaning, which we would class as civic, political, imperial, ethnic, cultural, legal, religious, regional or as status groups. This book offers comprehensive overviews of the meaning of Romanness in most (former) Roman provinces, complemented by a number of comparative and thematic studies. A similarly wide-ranging overview has not been available so far.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110598384
ISBN:: 9783110598384
ISBN:: 9783110597561
ISBN:: 9783110589597
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2018

Justinian und die Armee des frühen Byzanz

Clemens Koehn

Volume 70 in this series

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Although the long reign of Emperor Justinian I (527–565 CE) and the military history of late antiquity have been frequent subjects of ancient historical research, the emperor’s military policy has not been closely studied until now. This study contributes to our understanding the specific course of decision-making and the intentions of imperial activity in the military sector.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110597202
ISBN:: 9783110597202
ISBN:: 9783110597578
ISBN:: 9783110597011
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Military History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2018

Coming of Age in Byzantium

Adolescence and Society

Despoina Ariantzi

Volume 69 in this series

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The various phases of life and their manifestations in theory and social reality constitute a well-established area of research in the fields of western medieval studies and ancient history. In this respect the Byzantine East has been widely neglected. This volume will focus on the Byzantine experience of adolescence, which may be defined as the biological transition from childhood to adulthood as well as the social and psychological experience of leaving the care of parents, guardians and family groups and the gradual integration into adult society. The contributions gathered therein treat seven subtopics that correspond to crucial questions in the current research on adolescence: the legal status of adolescents; the mechanisms of transition from childhood to adolescence; the socialisation and gradual integration into adult society; adolescents in Byzantine art; psychological aspects of adolescence from medieval to modern times; illnesses of adolescents; adolescents in the western medieval world.The focus is on the Middle and Late Byzantine Period, where historical, hagiographical,legal and medical sources offer rich material for an investigation of these aspects. The book contributes to a better understanding of all these questions and to show future trajectories for research.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110576498
ISBN:: 9783110576498
ISBN:: 9783110576603
ISBN:: 9783110576467
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2017

Prosopon Rhomaikon

Ergänzende Studien zur Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit

Alexander Beihammer, Bettina Krönung, Claudia Ludwig

Volume 68 in this series

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This volume includes 17 studies that present aspects of the Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period. The book’s thematic focus is on structural developments, major personalities, and the Byzantine Empire’s relations with the West.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110533804
ISBN:: 9783110533804
ISBN:: 9783110532951
ISBN:: 9783110532180
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2017

Space, Time and Language in Plutarch

Aristoula Georgiadou, Katerina Oikonomopoulou

Volume 67 in this series

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'Space and time' have been key concepts of investigation in the humanities in recent years. In the field of Classics in particular, they have led to the fresh appraisal of genres such as epic, historiography, the novel and biography, by enabling a close focus on how ancient texts invest their representations of space and time with a variety of symbolic and cultural meanings. This collection of essays by a team of international scholars seeks to make a contribution to this rich interdisciplinary field, by exploring how space and time are perceived, linguistically codified and portrayed in the biographical and philosophical work of Plutarch of Chaeronea (1st-2nd centuries CE). The volume’s aim is to show how philological approaches, in conjunction with socio-cultural readings, can shed light on Plutarch’s spatial terminology and clarify his conceptions of time, especially in terms of the ways in which he situates himself in his era’s fascination with the past. The volume’s intended readership includes Classicists, intellectual and cultural historians and scholars whose field of expertise embraces theoretical study of space and time, along with the linguistic strategies used to portray them in literary or historical texts.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110539479
ISBN:: 9783110539479
ISBN:: 9783110538113
ISBN:: 9783110537710
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2017

Interfiguralität bei Phaedrus

Ein fabelhafter Fall von Selbstinszenierung

Johannes Park

Volume 66 in this series

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In the prologues and epilogues to his Fables, Phaedrus – despite the low reputation of the genre – develops a complex if at times inconsistent poetics. The ambivalences and contradictory nature of his poetics are part of the fabulist’s self-presentation, whereby certain figures, such as Aesop the trickster, the donkey, and even divine figures such as Prometheus play central role.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110528992
ISBN:: 9783110528992
ISBN:: 9783110527568
ISBN:: 9783110528596
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2017

Proclus and his Legacy

Danielle A. Layne, David D. Butorac

Volume 65 in this series

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This volume investigates Proclus' own thought and his wide-ranging influence within late Neoplatonic, Alexandrine and Byzantinian philosophy and theology. It further explores how Procline metaphysics and doctrines of causality influence and transition into Arabic and Islamic thought, up until Richard Hooker in England, Spinoza in Holland and Pico in Italy. John Dillon provides a helpful overview of Proclus' thought, Harold Tarrant discusses Proclus' influence within Alexandrian philosophy and Tzvi Langermann presents ground breaking work on the Jewish reception of Proclus, focusing on the work of Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (1591-1655), while Stephen Gersh presents a comprehensive synopsis of Proclus' reception throughout Christendom. The volume also presents works from notable scholars like Helen Lang, Sarah Wear and Crystal Addey and has a considerable strength in its presentation of Pseudo-Dionysius, Proclus' transmission and development in Arabic philosophy and the problem of the eternity of the world. It will be important for anyone interested in the development and transition of ideas from the late ancient world onwards.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110471625
ISBN:: 9783110471625
ISBN:: 9783110470376
ISBN:: 9783110466997
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Subject:: Ancient Philosophy
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2017

Exzerpieren - Kompilieren - Tradieren

Transformationen des Wissens zwischen Spätantike und Frühmittelalter

Stephan Dusil, Gerald Schwedler, Raphael Schwitter

Volume 64 in this series

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This study examines from multiple disciplinary perspectives the phenomenon of how knowledge was transformed and transmitted between late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The essays explore the ways that excerpting, compiling, and selective transmission resulted in a reduction of complexity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110516340
ISBN:: 9783110516340
ISBN:: 9783110501261
ISBN:: 9783110515084
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2016

Peoples of the Apocalypse

Eschatological Beliefs and Political Scenarios

Wolfram Brandes, Felicitas Schmieder, Rebekka Voß

Volume 63 in this series

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This volume addresses Jewish, Christian and Muslim future visions on the end of the world, focusing on the respective allies and antagonists for each religious society. Extensive lists of murderous end-time peoples, whether for good or evil, and those who merit salvation hold variably defined roles in end-time scenarios. Spanning late Antiquity to the early modern period, the collected papers examine distinctive aspects represented by each religion’s approach as well as shared concepts.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110473315
ISBN:: 9783110473315
ISBN:: 9783110469493
ISBN:: 9783110472639
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2016

Die Jugend des Dionysos

Die Ampelos-Episode in den "Dionysiaka" des Nonnos von Panopolis

Nicole Kröll

Volume 62 in this series

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The Ampelos episode is a critical scene in the Dionysiaca of Nonnos, the Late Antique poet. The death and transfiguration of the satyr Ampelos lends Dionysus his principal attributes – the grapevine and wine. The book uses a detailed literary analysis of the Nonnos episode to present the forms of poetic language in the Dionysika and put them in the context of the literary-aesthetic forms of Late Antiquity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110419207
ISBN:: 9783110419207
ISBN:: 9783110419245
ISBN:: 9783110412055
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2017

Traum - Mantik - Allegorie

Die "Hieroi Logoi" des Aelius Aristides im weiteren Kontext der griechisch-römischen Traumliteratur

Ursula Bittrich

Volume 61 in this series

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The highly metaphorical language that is used in the dream narratives of the Hieroi Logoi written by the Mysian orator Aelius Aristides has hitherto hardly been assessed in a manner adequate to its depth. In her interpretation of this text that turns out to be heavily loaded with religious meaning, the author of the present monograph deploys an allegorical approach that emerges from her analyses of relevant oneirocritical texts and literature.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110457391
ISBN:: 9783110457391
ISBN:: 9783110456455
ISBN:: 9783110455748
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2016

Lucius Cornelius Sulla in der antiken Erinnerung

Jener Mörder, der sich Felix nannte

Alexandra Eckert

Volume 60 in this series

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Lucius Cornelius Sulla led his army against Rome, devastated Athens, and, as dictator, took bloody revenge on his enemies after his victory in the Civil War. His iconoclasm was infused in the collective memory of Greeks and Romans for many generations. Based on the concepts of cultural trauma and cultural memory, this book presents the first comprehensive study on the ancient memory of Sulla, covering a period of almost 400 years.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110454130
ISBN:: 9783110454130
ISBN:: 9783110449815
ISBN:: 9783110453133
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Tradition and Reception
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2016

Das Mönchtum in der Religionspolitik Kaiser Justinians I.

Die Engel des Himmels und der Stellvertreter Gottes auf Erden

Alexandra Hasse-Ungeheuer

Volume 59 in this series

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With his religious politics and his self-representation as the vicar of God on Earth, Justinian I (527-565) had an enduring impact on Late Antiquity. What part did monks, believed to be heavenly angels, play in promoting this notion? This book offers the first exhaustive investigation of Justinian’s personal relations to monkhood and the role of monks in religious and legislative politics.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110411362
ISBN:: 9783110411362
ISBN:: 9783110411386
ISBN:: 9783110409437
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2016

Predigt und Politik im frühmittelalterlichen Bayern

Arn von Salzburg, Karl der Große und die Salzburger Sermones-Sammlung

Maximilian Diesenberger

Volume 58 in this series

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Many sermon manuscripts were created around 800 CE over the course of the Carolingian reform movement, but until now, historical researchers have largely overlooked them. The presentation analyzes selected sermon collections to reveal their importance as a medium for implementing reforms at the local level, thereby making them an important instrument of Carolingian rule.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110433616
ISBN:: 9783110433616
ISBN:: 9783110441178
ISBN:: 9783110433333
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Medieval Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2016

Holiness and Power

Constantinopolitan Holy Men and Authority in the 5th Century

Rafal Kosinski

Volume 57 in this series

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The book examines the origins, development, and the role of the monastic movement in the capital of Byzantium. It was in the 5th century that a certain pattern of the functioning of monastic circles evolved within the specific framework of the ecclesiastical structures of Constantinople, which was a political and ecclesiastical centre of the Eastern Roman Empire. The bulk of the book is devoted to an analysis of the written accounts of the lives of the four Constantinopolitan holy men: Hypatios, Alexander Akoimetos, Daniel the Stylite, and Markellos Akoimetos. The analysis proves that the model of relationship between the holy man and the secular authority would change less than the one between the holy man and the ecclesiastical authority. The authors often cast the holy man in the role of "father", who was a kind of patron to the Emperor and his apparatus of government. On the other hand, one can observe a gradual change of the model of the relationship between the holy man and the ecclesiastical authorities from the initial opposition to a fully harmonious partnership. All the "Lives" focus on the idea of the third kind of authority existing alongside the two others; this type of authority is called religious and charismatic.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110419221
ISBN:: 9783110419221
ISBN:: 9783110419252
ISBN:: 9783110417074
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2015

Mahnen und Regieren

Die Metapher des Hirten im früheren Mittelalter

Monika Suchan

Volume 56 in this series

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The shepherd metaphor is widely diffused in many civilizations. Using this metaphor Pope Gregory introduced a successful leadership model which, as the Author shows, was further developed by the clergy and the kings in Carolingian times. This book sheds new light on politics in the Early Middle Ages, depicting it less as a form of power legitimated by divine right, than as social discourse between leadership groups.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110415230
ISBN:: 9783110415230
ISBN:: 9783110415599
ISBN:: 9783110412109
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2015

L’historiographie tardo-antique et la transmission des savoirs

Philippe Blaudeau, Peter Van Nuffelen

Volume 55 in this series

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Late Antiquity witnessed enormous cultural changes, affecting all areas of intellectual life. Historiography is one of the most characteristic genres of this period and perhaps one of the most innovative ones. This volume seeks to understand how historiography both responded to the cultural changes and shaped these at the same time. Indeed, a historiographical work aims at providing its readers with experiences from the past and at interpreting these in a meaningful way and often seeks to integrate this type of knowledge into a wider body of knowledge. This theme is explored from six angles in the present volume: 1) the relationship between historiography and rhetoric; 2) the transmission of classical rhetorical culture to areas beyond the Roman Empire 3) the circulation of information, traditions and documents in the whole area of the Roman Empire and frontier areas; 4) the role played by intellectual groups (clerical and lay) in this process 5) the social, cultural, and religious variety of audiences; 6) the impact of difference in genre on the engagement with forms of knowledge.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110409239
ISBN:: 9783110409239
ISBN:: 9783110409314
ISBN:: 9783110406931
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2015

Antike Mythologie in christlichen Kontexten der Spätantike

Hartmut Leppin

Volume 54 in this series

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It is well known that classical mythology outlasted the Christianization of the Roman Empire. This volume undertakes a new investigation of the complex conditions under which it continued to exist and thrive in Late Antiquity. Particular attention is devoted to the polemical and educational contexts in which classical mythology was often used, and to strategies designed to neutralize or assimilate it.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110404951
ISBN:: 9783110404951
ISBN:: 9783110405064
ISBN:: 9783110400434
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Early Christianity
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2015

Lucan und der Prinzipat

Inkonsistenz und unzuverlässiges Erzählen im "Bellum Civile"

Nadja Kimmerle

Volume 53 in this series

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Lucan’s Bellum Civile (Pharsalia) is traditionally read as a political critique of the Principate. However, several features of this text run counter to this interpretation. This study reexamines Lucan’s work using the model of the unreliable narrator to illuminate its portrayal of contradictory structures in Nero’s Principate. The interdisciplinary approach offers a new perspective on Lucan’s epic poem and its historical importance.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110367430
ISBN:: 9783110367430
ISBN:: 9783110385984
ISBN:: 9783110373462
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2015

Soziale Elite und Christentum

Studien zu ordo-Angehörigen unter den frühen Christen

Alexander Weiß

Volume 52 in this series

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The notion that early Christianity was a “lower class religion” is surely outdated. Yet the extent to which members of the social elites turned to the new faith remains a matter of intense scholarly dispute. Many researchers argued against the idea that the social elites were already represented among early Christians. However, the sources give extensive evidence that senators and local officials were among the Christians of the 1^st century CE.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110399370
ISBN:: 9783110399370
ISBN:: 9783110555547
ISBN:: 9783110399516
ISBN:: 9783110373806
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

Michaelis Pselli Chronographia

Diether Roderich Reinsch

Volume 51 in this series

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The new critical edition of Michael Psellos’ Chronographia takes into account the entire scholarly work on this text since 1874 in a critical apparatus and a separate text-critical commentary. Compared to previous editions, it provides an improved text, suggesting many new readings. Comprehensive indices facilitate the search within the Greek text. The German translation appears in the Sammlung Tusculum.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110347302
ISBN:: 9783110347302
ISBN:: 9783110384635
ISBN:: 9783110345483
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

Plato in the Third Sophistic

Ryan C. Fowler

Volume 50 in this series

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Plato in the Third Sophistic examines the influence and impact of Plato and Platonism in the era of Byzantine and Christian rhetoric. The volume brings together specially commissioned articles from leading scholars of late antique philosophy and literature. Their examinations show that Plato is the single most important and influential literary figure used to frame the literature of this time. Plato in the Third Sophistic will help scholars and students from a wide range of disciplines to better understand the development of Christian literature in this era as an essential link in the history of Platonism as well as that of Christianity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614510390
ISBN:: 9781614510390
ISBN:: 9781614519836
ISBN:: 9781614510321
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient Philosophy
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2015

Inspice diligenter codices

Philologische Studien zu Augustins Umgang mit Bibelhandschriften und -übersetzungen

Rebekka S. Schirner

Volume 49 in this series

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During the first centuries of the Christian era, a large number of discrepant Latin translations of the Old and the New Testaments were in circulation. Rebekka S. Schirmer examines St. Augustine’s comments about the problems raised by these texts, both descriptive and normative, and the extent to which Augustine’s engagement with different versions of the Bible employed philological methods of biblical exegesis.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110349702
ISBN:: 9783110349702
ISBN:: 9783110386561
ISBN:: 9783110349634
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

Das römische Spielewesen in der Spätantike

Alexander Puk

Volume 48 in this series

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Daily life in Late Antiquity was heavily influenced by the tradition of Roman games. This is the first comprehensive study of the world of games in Late Antiquity, with special attention to specific forms of games in the provinces. Using both documentary and archeological sources, the author suggests new regional and chronological differentiations in the development of games.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110337594
ISBN:: 9783110337594
ISBN:: 9783110382389
ISBN:: 9783110337457
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Archaeology
Subject:: History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Cultural History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religions
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

La “descrizione dei tempi” all’alba dell’espansione islamica

Un’indagine sulla storiografia greca, siriaca e araba fra VII e VIII secolo

Maria Conterno

Volume 47 in this series

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During the VII-VIII centuries Byzantine historiography is supposed to have remained silent, since no source dating to that period has come down to us. West Syriac historiography is believed to have been quite scanty as well because, according to Lawrence Conrad's theory, the only source that later Syriac chroniclers had for this period was Theophilos of Edessa, whose chronicle is commonly thought to be Theophanes' "oriental source" as well.
A thourough study of the materials shared by Theophanes (IX cent.), Michael the Syrian (XII cent.), the anonymous chronicler of 1234 (XII-XIII cent.) and Agapius of Mabbug (X cent.) has led the author of this book to reconsider the theory of the "circuit of Theophilos of Edessa" and to look with new eyes at the whole question of the writing of history in Greek, Syriac and Arabic during the first two centuries after the Islamic conquests.
The present work delves into this conspicuous case of "intercultural transmission" with the aim of finding some tentative answers to the unspoken questions due to our scarce knowledge of historiography in such a crucial period: who kept memory of what, why, for whom? in which forms were records produced, preserved and transmitted? how did religious issues influence this practice and how did these materials cross denominational borders?

I secoli VII-VIII sono ritenuti una fase stagnante della storiografia bizantina. Questo libro indaga la scrittura della storia in greco e in siriaco in tale periodo attraverso lo studio di quattro cronache più tarde che hanno utilizzato fonti dei secoli VII-VIII ora perdute. Il materiale comune a questi quattro testi consente di gettare luce sulle fonti stesse e sulla pratica della "conservazione della memoria" fra i cristiani in un'epoca così cruciale.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110330953
ISBN:: 9783110330953
ISBN:: 9783110382259
ISBN:: 9783110330847
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

Imitate Anacreon!

Mimesis, Poiesis and the Poetic Inspiration in the Carmina Anacreontea

Manuel Baumbach, Nicola Dümmler

Volume 46 in this series

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Despite their rich tradition, the Carmina Anacreontea transmitted in the Palatine Anthology have received little scholarly attention. This neglect is linked to questions concerning their authenticity. Long read as poems by the ancient lyricist Anacreon, they are now regarded instead as imitations of Anacreontic lyricism. This volume presents the latest findings on the language, poetology, tradition, and reception of this lyrical collection.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110334142
ISBN:: 9783110334142
ISBN:: 9783110370768
ISBN:: 9783110334029
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

Gottes Werk und Teufels Wirken

Traum, Vision, Imagination in der frühbyzantinischen monastischen Literatur

Bettina Krönung

Volume 45 in this series

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The volume provides the first comprehensive presentation of imaginary phenomena such as dreams and visions in early Byzantine monastic literature. Drawing on a broad range of sources, it examines imaginary experiences according to their literary expression and the cultural historical background they reflect, thus offering profound insights into the diverse treatment of imaginary phenomena in monastic literature.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110334395
ISBN:: 9783110334395
ISBN:: 9783110372908
ISBN:: 9783110334357
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2014

Der Kaiser und Konstantinopel

Kommunikation und Konfliktaustrag in einer spätantiken Metropole

Rene Pfeilschifter

Volume 44 in this series

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How did a Late Roman emperor stay on the throne? His position was always precarious, and in contrast to a modern hereditary monarch he could always lose power or even his life to a usurper. The Eastern emperors resided in Constantinople from 395 to 624 without a break. This book shows how they sought the support of the army, the populace, the clergy and the capital’s elite, how they gained it, and how they sometimes lost it. The result is a new picture of the socio-political system of Constantinople and of the Late Roman Empire in general.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110266887
ISBN:: 9783110266887
ISBN:: 9783110265903
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2013

Gallien in Spätantike und Frühmittelalter

Kulturgeschichte einer Region

Steffen Diefenbach, Gernot Michael Müller

Volume 43 in this series

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The period from the 5th to the 7th century AD was characterised by far-reaching structural changes that affected the entire west of the Roman Empire. This process used to be regarded by scholars as part of the dissolution of Roman order, but in current discussions it is now examined more critically. The contributions to this volume of conference papers combine approaches from history and literature studies in order to review the changing forms and fields of the establishment of collective identities, and to analyse them in their mutual relationships.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110260779
ISBN:: 9783110260779
ISBN:: 9783110260052
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2013

Die Basilika in Byzanz

Gestalt, Ausstattung und Funktion sowie das Verhältnis zur Kreuzkuppelkirche

Michael Altripp

Volume 42 in this series

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In Byzantium, the central structure is considered archetypical. This study shows that this assumption is only partly true. It presents the basilicas of the 7th to 15th centuries, addressing questions of typology, appointments, function, and the relationship to longitudinal and central constructions. It shows that the Byzantines were more flexible in their approach to these construction types than previously assumed, a conclusion supported by theological evidence.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110310351
ISBN:: 9783110310351
ISBN:: 9783110265026
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2013

Das Imperium Romanum und seine Gegenwelten

Die geographisch-ethnographischen Exkurse in den "Res Gestae" des Ammianus Marcellinus

Wiebke Vergin

Volume 41 in this series

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Ammianus is regarded as the greatest historian of late antiquity. Yet his geographic and ethnographic digressions were long underestimated as examples of feigned erudition and as undue interruptions to the historical narrative. The author of this volume believes that the key to understanding Ammianus’s work as a whole lies in his teaching of classical rhetoric, his metaphoric reading of landscapes, and the creation of spaces for memory and counterworlds to the Imperium Romanum. In this way, historical understanding and digressions concerning geographic knowledge must be viewed as interdependent features of the text. The author thus casts a new light on Ammianus’s literary achievements.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110297089
ISBN:: 9783110297089
ISBN:: 9783110296938
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2013

Der Fall Roms und seine Wiederauferstehungen in Antike und Mittelalter

Henriette Harich-Schwarzbauer, Karla Pollmann

Volume 40 in this series

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This collection of essays analyzes the construction of the “fall” of Rome from a range of perspectives native to different disciplines. Subjects addressed include comparable discourses dating from the earlier history of Rome, the perception of this historical moment by writers living at the time it occurred, and its reception in Byzantium and Western Europe during the Middle Ages.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110287158
ISBN:: 9783110287158
ISBN:: 9783110286984
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2012

The Harmonious Organ of Sedulius Scottus

Introduction to His Collectaneum in Apostolum and Translation of Its Prologue and Commentaries on Galatians and Ephesians

Michael C. Sloan

Volume 39 in this series

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This book introduces and translates Sedulius Scottus' Prologue (to the entire Collectaneum in Apostolum) and commentaries on Galatians and Ephesians. The introduction outlines the historical context of composition, identifies Sedulius' literary model - Servius, discusses Sedulius' organizing trope for the Prologue - the septem circumstantiae, asserts for what purpose and for whom he composed the Collectaneum, explains pertinent philological and stylistic issues, such as formatting, existing (or lack thereof) traits of Hiberno Latin, and Sedulius' knowledge of Greek, and it explores his use of exegetical and theological sources - predominantly Jerome, Augustine, and Pelagius. Since the commentaries are based upon these formative religious authors (among many others), the introduction also surveys Sedulius' doctrinal stances on important theological and ecclesiastical issues of his own time with particular relation to his reception of these authors. Sedulius' Collectaneum in Apostolum reveals an erudite author familiar with the style of classical commentaries, which he uses to harmonize the sometimes discordant voices of patristic authors for the purposes of education in accordance with Carolingian programmatic aims.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110281880
ISBN:: 9783110281880
ISBN:: 9783110281224
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Authors
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Acts of Synods, Catenae and other Sources
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2012

Gottes Haus

Untersuchungen zur Kirche als heiligem Raum von der Spätantike bis ins Frühmittelalter

Miriam Czock

Volume 38 in this series

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Using the idea that church buildings are sacred spaces, this study seeks to examine a central figure of thought in medieval society, the “ecclesia”. Using normative, liturgical, and exegetic-theological sources, the book traces the profound transformational process that took place in the political and religious view of society from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. The study describes the dynamics that led to the development of a ecclesiology with a powerful impact on an entire epoch.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110294750
ISBN:: 9783110294750
ISBN:: 9783110294439
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Medieval Studies
Subject:: Church Law
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2012

The Battle of Vouillé, 507 CE

Where France Began

Ralph W. Mathisen, Danuta Shanzer

Volume 37 in this series

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This volume highlights the heretofore largely neglected Battle of Vouillé in 507 CE, when the Frankish King Clovis defeated Alaric II, the King of the Visigoths. Clovis’ victory proved a crucial step in the expulsion of the Visigoths from Francia into Spain, thereby leaving Gaul largely to the Franks. It was arguably in the wake of Vouillé that Gaul became Francia, and that “France began.” The editors have united an international team of experts on Late Antiquity and the Merovingian Kingdoms to reexamine the battle from multiple as well as interdisciplinary perspectives. The contributions address questions of military strategy, geographical location, archaeological footprint, political background, religious propaganda, consequences (both in Francia and in Italy), and significance. There is a strong focus on the close reading of primary source-material, both textual and material, secular and theological.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614510994
ISBN:: 9781614510994
ISBN:: 9781614511274
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2012

Kindheit in Byzanz

Emotionale, geistige und materielle Entwicklung im familiären Umfeld vom 6. bis zum 11. Jahrhundert

Despoina Ariantzi

Volume 36 in this series

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Although there have been many studies of childhood in Ancient Greece and Rome and in the Middle Ages in the West, there is no such study for the Byzantine world. To fill the gap, this book reconstructs the most important factors in childhood in Byzantium from the 6th through the 11th century. The main sources are the lives of the saints, which are of central importance for the analysis of the social history and daily life of the population. They also provide an insight into family, social and economic structures, as well as patterns of behaviour. This material is supplemented by legal, medical, theological and other sources.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110266863
ISBN:: 9783110266863
ISBN:: 9783110265682
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2012

Die Mosaiken der Acheiropoietos-Basilika in Thessaloniki

Eine vergleichende Analyse dekorativer Mosaiken des 5. und 6. Jahrhunderts

Benjamin Fourlas

Volume 35 in this series

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The volume examines further questions on the early Byzantine mosaics in the metropolis, and in particular their problematic chronology. A number of mosaics from the entire Mediterranean, which have to date received little attention, are also taken into account.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110278552
ISBN:: 9783110278552
ISBN:: 9783110278385
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Classical Archaeology
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2011

Spätantiker Staat und religiöser Konflikt

Imperiale und lokale Verwaltung und die Gewalt gegen Heiligtümer

Johannes Hahn

Volume 34 in this series

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The process of Christianisation brought with it a new form of violent conflict to the Roman world: religiously motivated attacks on places, objects or people. The most radical form of such conflicts were attacks on the sanctuaries of religious opponents ‑ on temples, synagogues and Church buildings. The results were dramatic and the attacks demanded a reaction from all institutions, from the Emperor to the urban elites. This volume analyses the role of the law, the imperial and local administrations, and the relationship between the institutions and the new regional and local communities which established themselves at the time.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110240887
ISBN:: 9783110240887
ISBN:: 9783110240870
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Constitutional and Legal History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2011

Bilder schreiben

Virtuose Ekphrasis in Philostrats "Eikones"

Mario Baumann

Volume 33 in this series

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The work Eikones (Imagines/Images) by Philostratus consists of 64 fictitious descriptions of images. Mario Baumann analyzes the aesthetic virtuosity which characterizes this text. The speaker who formulates the descriptions proves himself a master in interpreting the images. He creates a unique textual composition of images which continually surprises and challenges the reader due to its diversity. The text of Eikones takes up the tradition of literature and at the same time changes it through the creation of new combinations, always revealing the virtuosity of the author.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110254068
ISBN:: 9783110254068
ISBN:: 9783110254051
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2011

Konflikt und Bewältigung

Die Zerstörung der Grabeskirche zu Jerusalem im Jahre 1009

Thomas Pratsch

Volume 32 in this series

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On September 28, 1009, Caliph al-Hakim had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem destroyed. How did it come to this? What did it mean for contemporaries? Why were Jews persecuted as a result? Did it interrupt the stream of pilgrims to Jerusalem? What do we know about al-Hakim's personality? How was the crisis mastered? How was the church rebuilt? These are the questions considered in an interdisciplinary discourse by scholars of Arabic, Byzantine, Jewish, medieval and Nordic studies, as well as art historians and experts on the Christian East.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110253528
ISBN:: 9783110253528
ISBN:: 9783110253511
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Jewish Studies
Subject:: Jewish History
Subject:: General Jewish History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2010

Logos der Vernunft – Logos des Glaubens

Ferdinand R. Prostmeier, Horacio E. Lona

Volume 31 in this series

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The terms ‘logos of reason’ and ‘logos of belief’ refer to two important aspects of western culture at the beginning of the Christian era. On the one hand there is the classical tradition, with its comprehensive claim to be able to explain the truth about reality by means of the logos. On the other hand there is the Christian message, which proclaims the self-revelation of God in the form of the Son, and so also claims for itself the truth about God, mankind and the world. The semantic ambiguity of the term ‘logos’ provided the occasion for a controversy that unfolded among the educated.

The contributions to this volume present aspects of the controversy, and attempt to illuminate the connection between culture, belief and transmission against its historical background.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110247275
ISBN:: 9783110247275
ISBN:: 9783110247268
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religions
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2010

Hadrian and the Christians

Marco Rizzi

Volume 30 in this series

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The Second Century occupies a central place in the development of ancient Christianity. The aim of the book is to examine how in the cultural, social, and religious efflorescence of the Second Century, to be witnessed in phenomena such as the Second Sophistic, Christianity found a peculiar way of integrating into the more general transformation of the Empire and how this allowed the emerging religion to establish and flourish in Graeco-Roman society. Hadrian’s reign was the starting point of that process and opened new possibilities of self-definition and external self-presentation to Christianity, as well as to other social and religious agencies. Differently from Judaism, however, Christianity fully seized the opportunity, thus gaining an increasing place in Graeco-Roman society, which ultimately led to the first Christian peace under the Severan emperors. The point at issue is examined from a multi-disciplinary perspective (including archaeology, cultural, religious, and political history) to challenge well-established, but no longer satisfactory, historical and hermeneutical paradigms. The contributors aim to examine institutional issues and sociocultural processes in their different aspects, as they were made possible on Hadrian’s initiative and resulted in the merge of early Christianity into the Roman Empire.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110224719
ISBN:: 9783110224719
ISBN:: 9783110224702
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2011

Life, Death and Representation

Some New Work on Roman Sarcophagi

Jas Elsner, Janet Huskinson

Volume 29 in this series

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This volume presents a collection of essays on different aspects of Roman sarcophagi. These varied approaches will produce fresh insights into a subject which is receiving increased interest in English-language scholarship, with a new awareness of the important contribution that sarcophagi can make to the study of the social use and production of Roman art. The book will therefore be a timely addition to existing literature. Metropolitan sarcophagi are the main focus of the volume, which will cover a wide time range from the first century AD to post classical periods (including early Christian sarcophagi and post-classical reception). Other papers will look at aspects of viewing and representation, iconography, and marble analysis. There will be an Introduction written by the co-editors.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110216783
ISBN:: 9783110216783
ISBN:: 9783110482317
ISBN:: 9783110202137
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Classical Archaeology
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2010

Krise und Kult

Vorderer Orient und Nordafrika von Aurelian bis Justinian

Detlev Kreikenbom, Karl-Uwe Mahler, Patrick Schollmeyer, Thomas M. Weber

Volume 28 in this series

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This volume contains twelve contributions on the urban development of the Near East and North Africa in Late Antiquity. On the one hand the authors consider historical and cultural aspects of the region. A comprehensive section of illustrations of new archaeological material and its interpretation then form the second focus of this volume of papers.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110220513
ISBN:: 9783110220513
ISBN:: 9783110220506
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2010

Der Kaiser und sein Gott

Das Christentum im Denken und in der Religionspolitik Konstantins des Großen

Klaus M. Girardet

Volume 27 in this series

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In his reconstruction of the process and motivation of Constantine’s adoption of Christianity, the author proposes a number of new individual aspects. He commences with an analysis of the earliest testimonials by the Emperor himself after his conversion, his massive moral and material support for the Christian clergy and ecclesiastic communities, and Constantine’s role as the first ruler of all Christendom up to his death in 337. Finally, it is shown that the Emperor wanted to suppress non-Christian religions and make Christianity the sole religion of the Empire and all humanity.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110227895
ISBN:: 9783110227895
ISBN:: 9783110482300
ISBN:: 9783110227888
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Cultural History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religions
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2009

Der Anfang vom Ende der Ottonen

Konstitutionsbedingungen historiographischer Nachrichten in der Chronik Thietmars von Merseburg

Kerstin Schulmeyer-Ahl

Volume 26 in this series

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In the Chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg, the experiences and problems of the tenth and early eleventh centuries come together; they are taken up by Thietmar and formed into an epoch. This overall interpretation of the chronicle by the Bishop of Merseburg sees historical knowledge as a consistent product of a dynamic process, as an interplay of cultural and cognitive factors in a particular historical situation. On the basis of this dynamic concept of knowledge, it is possible to present a new interpretation of central episodes of Ottonian historiography and at the same time to demonstrate the future potential of images from the past.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214000
ISBN:: 9783110214000
ISBN:: 9783110191004
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2009

Jenseits der Grenzen

Beiträge zur spätantiken und frühmittelalterlichen Geschichtsschreibung

Andreas Goltz, Hartmut Leppin, Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen

Volume 25 in this series

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The process of transformation which saw the Byzantine Empire and the world of the Early Middle Ages develop from the Late Antique Imperium Romanum led to changes in all areas of life. The central topic of this volume of international contributions is the question of how the historiography of the period confronted these changes.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110216585
ISBN:: 9783110216585
ISBN:: 9783110206463
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2009

Umstrittene Vergangenheit

Historische Argumente in der Auseinandersetzung Augustins mit den Donatisten

Arne Hogrefe

Volume 24 in this series

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The struggle with the Donatists in North Africa dominated Augustine’s term of office as bishop. In order to disprove their views, in his writings not only did he employ theological arguments, he also referred to events which occurred at the time of the origins of the schism. Augustine’s aim was to use historical documents to prove that the Donatists had no right to claim that they represented the pure Church, free of “traditores”.

The Donatists reacted to this challenge by developing their own version of the history of the schism. This study draws on Augustine’s anti-Donatist writings to analyse and assess the historical arguments and views of both groups.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110216615
ISBN:: 9783110216615
ISBN:: 9783110203639
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2009

Religion und Städtekonkurrenz

Zum politischen und kulturellen Kontext von Pausanias' "Periegese"

Christa Frateantonio

Volume 23 in this series

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Christa Frateantonio follows a new line of research in this study of Pausanias’ Periegesis, his historical and geographical description of Greece. Her underlying premise is that it is in fact concealed praise (or criticism) of cities, and supports this view by drawing attention to intention “riddles” in the Periegesis. These she expounds in detailed textual analyses, and explains the structures of the work, some of which are unexplained, as the result of rhetorical principles of description, which she considers in their relationship to the cultural context of the Second Sophistic.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110216561
ISBN:: 9783110216561
ISBN:: 9783110206890
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religion
Subject:: Literary Studies
Subject:: Topics in Literary Studies
Subject:: Poetics
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religions
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2010

Erzbischof Hinkmar und die Folgen

Der vierhundertjährige Weg historischer Erinnerungsbilder von Reims nach Trier

Olaf Schneider

Volume 22 in this series

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The present study is concerned with sources for the history of the dioceses of Reims and Trier since the 8th century. It starts with essential information on the history of these dioceses in the Early Middle Ages which can be traced back mainly to accounts by the influential Archbishop Hinkmar of Reims (845-882). The problems of Hinkmar’s accounts and their continued influence are brought out against the contemporary background of the age of their composition, and their later deformations are followed over time. By taking up the trail of these deformations, the contingency of historical information and transmission becomes clear.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110210606
ISBN:: 9783110210606
ISBN:: 9783110200560
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Medieval Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2008

Kaiser Julian 'Apostata' und die philosophische Reaktion gegen das Christentum

Christian Schäfer

Volume 21 in this series

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During his short reign in the 4th century, Emperor Julian II, known as the Apostate, attempted to combat Christianity philosophically and to set up a pagan Neo-Platonic doctrine as a counter-programme. The volume presents a collection of papers on the general relationship between Platonism and Christianity, on Julian's character and his philosophical programme and on individual writings in which the Emperor sets out his own position and his critique of Christian thought.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110210330
ISBN:: 9783110210330
ISBN:: 9783110205411
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2008

Inzestverbot und Gesetzgebung

Die Konstruktion eines Verbrechens (300-1100)

Karl Ubl

Volume 20 in this series

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From the 6th to 11th centuries, the prohibition of marriage between relatives (incest) often headed the agenda of legislative assemblies and can be seen as a key topic of this age. The reasons for this unique development have occupied ethnologists, sociologists and historians for quite some time. This book is the first to trace the radical expansion of marriage prohibitions across epochs and advances the thesis that this development came about as a result of the decline of power in Antiquity and the changing functions of legislation.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110210682
ISBN:: 9783110210682
ISBN:: 9783110202960
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Constitutional and Legal History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2008

The Unity of Plutarch's Work

'Moralia' Themes in the 'Lives', Features of the 'Lives' in the 'Moralia'

Anastasios Nikolaidis

Volume 19 in this series

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This volume of collected essays explores the premise that Plutarch’s work, notwithstanding its amazing thematic multifariousness, constantly pivots on certain ideological pillars which secure its unity and coherence. So, unlike other similar books which, more or less, concentrate on either the Lives or the Moralia or on some particular aspect(s) of Plutarch’s œuvre, the articles of the present volume observe Plutarch at work in both Lives and Moralia, thus bringing forward and illustrating the inner unity of his varied literary production.

The subject-matter of the volume is uncommonly wide-ranging and the studies collected here inquire into many important issues of Plutarchean scholarship: the conditions under which Plutarch’s writings were separated into two distinct corpora, his methods of work and the various authorial techniques employed, the interplay between Lives and Moralia, Plutarch and politics, Plutarch and philosophy, literary aspects of Plutarch’s œuvre, Plutarch on women, Plutarch in his epistemological and socio-historical context. In sum, this book brings Plutarchean scholarship to date by revisiting and discussing older and recent problematization concerning Plutarch, in an attempt to further illuminate his personality and work.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110211665
ISBN:: 9783110202496
ISBN:: 9783110211665
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Ancient Philosophy
Subject:: Philosophy
Subject:: History of Philosophy
Subject:: Ancient Philosophy
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Die Landmauer von Konstantinopel-Istanbul

Historisch-topographische und baugeschichtliche Untersuchungen

Neslihan Asutay-Effenberger

Volume 18 in this series

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The land walls of Constantinople are one of the largest and most important defensive fortifications from Late Antiquity. The subject of this book are the history and topography of the Theodosian Land Walls and the Walls of Blachernae (the so-called walls of the XIVth region, the Komnenian Walls, the section between the Komnenian Walls and the Golden Horn). The central topics are the conception and planning of the Theodosian Walls, the chronology of the Walls of Blachernae, the date of the Golden Gate and the actual gateway of the outer gate, an investigation into the Byzantine names for the gates north of the re-discovered Romanos Gate, the identification of the Mermerkule castle and other localities, as well as an analysis and documentation of the structure itself.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110203998
ISBN:: 9783110196450
ISBN:: 9783110203998
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Quintus Smyrnaeus: Transforming Homer in Second Sophistic Epic

Manuel Baumbach, Silvio Bär, Nicola Dümmler

Volume 17 in this series

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The “Events after Homer”, described by Quintus Smyrnaeus in the third century AD in his Greek epic Posthomerica, are an attempt to bridge the gap between the Iliad and the Odyssey , and to combine the various scattered reports of the battle for Troy into a single tale: the fate of Achilles, Ajax, Paris and the Amazon Penthesileia, the intervention of Neoptolemos and the story from the Trojan horse to the destruction of the city. The volume presented here summarizes the results of the first international conference on Quintus Smyrnaeus.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110942507
ISBN:: 9783110942507
ISBN:: 9783110195774
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2008

Endzeiten

Eschatologie in den monotheistischen Weltreligionen

Wolfram Brandes, Felicitas Schmieder

Volume 16 in this series

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In this volume, leading scholars examine the ideas of the last days of the world held in Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age. They discuss the mutual influence of these ideas together with their intended and actual political effect at the time. They open up a significant source for political and intellectual history, because apocalyptic writings are always to be found among the powerful.

Key Features:

overview of the latest research findings, presented in the form of a handbook
successful interdisciplinary dialogue
particular focus on the political history and intellectual history of this epoch

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110209709
ISBN:: 9783110209709
ISBN:: 9783110186215
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Comparative Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Bildung und Briefe im 6. Jahrhundert

Studien zum Mailänder Diakon Magnus Felix Ennodius

Bianca-Jeanette Schröder

Volume 15 in this series

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Ennodius lived during the reign of the Ostrogothic King Theoderic. When he wrote his various works he was deacon in Milan, later becoming Bishop of Pavia. This study is an introduction to his life and works, and reveals how the deacon promoted the ‘worldly’ culture of languages and rhetoric. Particular attention is paid to the letters which he sent to secular and ecclesiastic officials (including the Pope), as well as relatives. Among other things, he demanded that the Roman ruling classes crown their privileged position by dedicating themselves to cultural matters.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110921724
ISBN:: 9783110921724
ISBN:: 9783110199550
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Subject:: History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Cultural History
Subject:: Literary Studies
Subject:: Topics in Literary Studies
Subject:: Poetics
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Tertullian the African

An Anthropological Reading of Tertullian's Context and Identities

David E. Wilhite

Volume 14 in this series

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Who was Tertullian, and what can we know about him? This work explores his social identities, focusing on his North African milieu. Theories from the discipline of social/cultural anthropology, including kinship, class and ethnicity, are accommodated and applied to selections of Tertullian’s writings. In light of postcolonial concerns, this study utilizes the categories of Roman colonizers, indigenous Africans and new elites. The third category, new elites, is actually intended to destabilize the other two, denying any “essential” Roman or African identity. Thereafter, samples from Tertullian’s writings serve to illustrate comparisons of his own identities and the identities of his rhetorical opponents. The overall study finds Tertullian’s identities to be manifold, complex and discursive. Additionally, his writings are understood to reflect antagonism toward Romans, including Christian Romans (which is significant for his so-called Montanism), and Romanized Africans. While Tertullian accommodates much from Graeco-Roman literature, laws and customs, he nevertheless retains a strongly stated non-Roman-ness and an African-ity, which is highlighted in the present monograph.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110926262
ISBN:: 9783110926262
ISBN:: 9783110194531
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Theatron

Rhetorische Kultur in Spätantike und Mittelalter / Rhetorical Culture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Michael Grünbart

Volume 13 in this series

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This volume presents 22 studies on aspects of rhetorical culture from Late Antiquity to the last years of the Byzantine Empire. Many of them concentrate on the effects and social relevance of the art of public speaking, above all in the Greek speaking world, and particular attention is paid to the performative character of rhetoric. The contributions deal both with individual authors, as well as general phenomena of medieval literature.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110923865
ISBN:: 9783110923865
ISBN:: 9783110194760
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Literary Studies
Subject:: Topics in Literary Studies
Subject:: Poetics
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2008

Barbar – König – Tyrann

Das Bild Theoderichs des Großen in der Überlieferung des 5. bis 9. Jahrhunderts

Andreas Goltz

Volume 12 in this series

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Theodoric the Great is one of the most fascinating characters among the rulers from the time of the migrations of the Germanic peoples. Like no other Germanic king, this East Goth polarised the world of his time and made an impression on posterity. Opinions on him range from glorifying him as the ideal ruler to condemning him as a tyrant and heretical persecutor. Andreas Goltz examines the many-faceted image of Theoderic in the early centuries after his death (5th–9th centuries), analyzes the reasons behind the different views of him, and thus helps us to understand Theoderic, his age, and the history of his reception and influence.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110210125
ISBN:: 9783110210125
ISBN:: 9783110189858
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Römische Erinnerungsräume

Heiligenmemoria und kollektive Identitäten im Rom des 3. bis 5. Jahrhunderts n. Chr.

Steffen Diefenbach

Volume 11 in this series

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Between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD Rome underwent a process of transformation which profoundly marked the urban, social, and religious structure of the city. Examing the memory of saints, this study inspects a central field in which this structural change took place. The main themes are, on the one hand, the connection between memoria and various group identities, and, on the other, the specific Christian concept of remembrance, which in turn formed an important prerequisite for the change from a city of late Classical Antiquity to an early medieval city.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110204261
ISBN:: 9783110191295
ISBN:: 9783110204261
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Subject:: Religious Studies
Subject:: Ancient Religions
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2006

Staatlichkeit und politisches Handeln in der römischen Kaiserzeit

Hans-Ulrich Wiemer

Volume 10 in this series

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This collected volume contributes to the discussion among ancient historians of the character and form of political action in Imperial Rome. It concentrates on the East of the Imperium Romanum for the whole duration of the Imperial Era, including Late Antiquity. Using concrete examples, the individual papers explore the question of how much latitude and freedom of action was exercised by the emperors - and by other authorities, such as governors and cities - and whether their actions display a political strategy which went beyond merely reacting to impulses from their subjects and subordinates.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110926590
ISBN:: 9783110926590
ISBN:: 9783110191011
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Constitutional and Legal History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2006

Körper und christliche Lebensweise

Clemens von Alexandreia und sein Paidagogos

Martin Pujiula

Volume 9 in this series

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The author examines the historical context of instructions for the everyday conduct of prosperous Christians and the authors of these instruction manuals from 200 AD and links this examination with a study of attitudes towards the human body as revealed in the instructions. The volume shows how, far from denying the body, the standards relating to health display a legitimate concern for bodily well-being. At the same time, however, there is a fear of the body, which makes it necessary to keep it constantly under control.

Key Features

it makes a contribution to the intensive research at present being conducted into the “Second Sophistic”
it combines historical, philological, and theological methods and insights
it is also of relevance for the history of medicine.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110891621
ISBN:: 9783110891621
ISBN:: 9783110189209
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Greek
Subject:: Greek Language and Literature
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Patristics
Subject:: Introductions and Overviews
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2005

Barbarische Bürger

Die Isaurier und das Römische Reich

Karl Feld

Volume 8 in this series

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The Isaurians, a mountain people from Asia Minor, challenged Roman rule for over 600 years. Though one Isaurian did make it onto the Eastern imperial throne, they were never successfully integrated. Karl Feld's study brings together, and critically assesses, all the available documentation on the Isaurians and presents it systematically in chronological order.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110927405
ISBN:: 9783110927405
ISBN:: 9783110188998
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2006

Life and Works of Saint Gregentios, Archbishop of Taphar

Introduction, Critical Edition and Translation

Albrecht Berger

Volume 7 in this series

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In the late 10^th century, an anonymous author wrote the fictitious account of a religious dialogue between Archbishop Gregentios and the Jewish scribe Herban and included it in a life of Gregentios based on earlier sources, which indicate that he was a missionary in Yemen in pre-Islamic times. Albrecht Berger examines and translates these texts, and he presents a critical edition.

Key Features

first edition of a large proportion of the extant texts
critical edition using all known manuscripts, including those which only recently have been discovered

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110911060
ISBN:: 9783110911060
ISBN:: 9783110184457
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Medieval History
Subject:: Theology and Religion
Subject:: Medieval Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2005

Der hagiographische Topos

Griechische Heiligenviten in mittelbyzantinischer Zeit

Thomas Pratsch

Volume 6 in this series

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This is the first systematic study of literary formulae (topoi) in Greek medieval lives of the saints. Thomas Pratsch compiles a comprehensive collection of material, including a systematic catalogue of the topoi. In his evaluation of them he provides new insights into the genesis, transmission and historical development of the genre of Greek saints’ vitae. He traces the gradual development of the vitae from various other literary forms and, working from a new perspective, lends support to the thesis that a canon of Greek lives of the saints became established from the end of the 10^th century and into the 11^th century. This study is a valuable reference work on Byzantine hagiographic literature.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110912715
ISBN:: 9783110912715
ISBN:: 9783110184396
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Early Christianity
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Volume 2 Byzantium, Pliska, and the Balkans

Part of the multi-volume work Post-Roman Towns, Trade and Settlement in Europe and Byzantium

Volume 5/2 in this series

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DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110218831
ISBN:: 9783110218831
ISBN:: 9783110183580
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

Volume 1 The Heirs of the Roman West

Part of the multi-volume work Post-Roman Towns, Trade and Settlement in Europe and Byzantium

Volume 5/1 in this series

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In this collection leading international authorities analyse the structures and economic functions of non-agrarian centres between ca. 500 and 1000 A.D. – their trade, their surrounding settlements, and the agricultural and cultural milieux. The thirty-one papers presented at an international conference held in Bad Homburg focus on recent archaeological discoveries in Central Europe (Vol.1), as well as on those from southeastern Europe to Asia Minor (Vol. 2).

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110218848
ISBN:: 9783110218848
ISBN:: 9783110183566
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Pre-History
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Print Only 2007

Volume 1+2

Joachim Henning

Part of the multi-volume work Post-Roman Towns, Trade and Settlement in Europe and Byzantium

Volume 5 in this series

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The 'disappearance of towns and trade' (Pirenne) has been considered synonymous with the 'Dark Ages' of Post-Roman Europe and Byzantium for decades. Now, the scholarly and public understanding of the European and Mediterranean history of the later half of the first millennium is going through a dramatic change due to new archaeological findings, greater scientific investigation, and a reappraisal of written sources. Thus, economic archaeology and the history of the early Middle Ages are emerging as decisive fields in the debate on the role of this period in the 'origins of the European economy' (McCormick). In this book, leading international authorities analyse the structures and economic functions of non-agrarian centres between ca. 500 and 1000 A.D. - their trade, surrounding settlements, as well as, the agricultural and cultural milieux. The thirty-one papers presented by contributors from England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany at an international conference held in Bad Homburg focus on recent archaeological discoveries in Central Europe (Vol. 1), as well as, those in southeastern Europe and Asia Minor (Vol. 2). They are supplemented by the first broad survey of the results of recent fieldwork in The Pliska Project, which sheds new light on Europe's biggest town-like agglomerations of the 8th and 9th centuries.

ISBN:: 9783110183573
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Byzantine Studies
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2004

Biographie und Bildungskultur

Personendarstellungen bei Plinius dem Jüngeren, Gellius und Sueton

Dennis Pausch

Volume 4 in this series

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What role did biographies play for the intelligentsia of the 2nd century AD? What literary forms were used by contemporary authors in their personal portrayals? These two questions have led to this cross-genre investigation of the personal portraits in the letters of Pliny the Younger, in the miscellaneous work of Gellius, and in the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius. Among the common features which can thus be observed are the normative potential of historical figures, the commemoration of contemporaries, and the interaction with communicative conditions of the Roman Empire. Such a functional and historical perspective further demonstrates that many of the characteristics of the featured authors, which to date have been seen as deviations from the genre tradition, are, in actuality, conscious developments, closely related to the authors' common social and cultural background.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110919844
ISBN:: 9783110919844
ISBN:: 9783110182477
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Latin
Subject:: Latin Language and Literature
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2007

"Donation of Constantine" and "Constitutum Constantini"

The Misinterpretation of a Fiction and its Original Meaning. With a contribution by Wolfram Brandes: "The Satraps of Constantine"

Johannes Fried

Volume 3 in this series

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The Donation of Constantine is the most outrageous and powerful forgery in world history. The question of its precise time of origin alone kept generations of researchers occupied. But, what exactly is the Donation of Constantine? To find the answer, it is necessary to approach the question on two different semantic levels: First, as the Constitutum Constantini, a fictitious privilege, in which, among other things, rights and presents were bestowed on the catholic church by a grateful Emperor Konstantin. Secondly, as a reflection of the Middle Age mindset, becoming part of the culture landscape midway through 11^th century A.D. The author not only reinterprets the origin of this forgery (i.e. puts it down to the Franks’ opposition of Emperor Louis the Pious), but retells, as well, the history of its misinterpretation since the High Middle Ages.

In an appendix, all relevant texts are printed in the original language, an English translation is provided.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110902235
ISBN:: 9783110902235
ISBN:: 9783110185393
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Constitutional and Legal History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2004

Paideia: The World of the Second Sophistic

Barbara E. Borg

Volume 2 in this series

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In the World of the Second Sophistic, education, paideia, was a crucial factor in the discourse of power. Knowledge in the fields of medicine, history, philosophy, and poetry joined with rhetorical brilliance and a presentable manner became the outward appearance of the elite of the Eastern Roman Empire. This outward appearance guaranteed a high social status as well as political and economical power for the individual and major advantages for their hometowns in interpolis competition. Since paideia was related particularly to Classical Greek antiquity, it was, at the same time, fundamental to the new self-confidence of the Greek East. This book presents, for the first time, studies from a broad range of disciplines on various fields of life and on different media, in which this ideology became manifest. These contributions show that the Sophists and their texts were only the most prominent exponents of a system of thoughts and values structuring the life of the elite in general.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110204711
ISBN:: 9783110182316
ISBN:: 9783110204711
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Subject:: Topics in History
Subject:: Cultural History
Publisher:: De Gruyter

Book Open Access 2004

Diokletian und die Tetrarchie

Aspekte einer Zeitenwende

Alexander Demandt, Andreas Goltz, Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen

Volume 1 in this series

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"As a statesman a genius of the first order" was Theodor Mommsen's verdict in 1886 on Diocletian, the Dalmatian whose career took him from a released slave to Emperor. Diocletian stabilised the Imperium after it had been thrown into turmoil in the imperial crisis of the period of military anarchy. After his abdication in 305, he retired to the magnificent palace of Spalato (Split, Croatia) built for his old age. Although his arrangements for the succession, his price controls and his anti-Christian policies were not a lasting success, his comprehensive reforms created the basis for Constantine and the transition to the Late Classical Age.

Renowned scholars from Germany, Great Britain, Croatia, Slovenia and Switzerland contributed to an international conference held in Split in 2003. Their papers collected here show the present state of research on the Tetrarchy in its political, social, economic, ideological, historico-religious and archaeological aspects and on the reception of Diocletian up to modern times.

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110914603
ISBN:: 9783110914603
ISBN:: 9783110182309
Subject:: Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Subject:: Classical Studies, other
Subject:: History
Subject:: Historical Periods
Subject:: Ancient History
Publisher:: De Gruyter