DOCSLIB.ORG

Strabo's Geography*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Strabo's Geography* CHAPTER 14 Strabo’s Geography* Francesco Prontera Strabo was born to a prominent family in Amaseia (modern Amasya, Turkey) the capital of the Hellenistic kingdom of Pontus. His forbears held important public offices under Mi t hridates V Euergetes (150–120 BC) and later under Mithridates VI Eupator, and were directly involved in the affairs of the realm until its end. A few of them remained loyal to the monarchy. Others, as did Strabo’s grandfather, crossed over to the other side when the Romans took power, thanks to the military campaigns first of Lucullus and then of Pompey (66–63 BC). The geographer’s birth most likely dates to this period (perhaps in 64/3 BC) and his death probably came after that of Juba II of Mauretania (23 AD) to whom Strabo himself refers many times (17.3.7; 9; 25). The little biographical information we have about Strabo all comes from his geographi- cal treatise. He made repeated sojourns in Rome. In 25/24 BC he joined the expedition led by Aelius Gallus, prefect of Egypt, to Arabia Felix, after having accompanied him on the ascent of the Nile until Syene (Aswan), on the bor- der with Ethiopia (2.5.12). Strabo’s sojourn in Alexandria certainly dates to this period, but by 7 BC he is back in Rome. By the second half of the 2nd century BC, Rome had become a cosmopol- itan city, where an especially warm welcome was accorded to those Greeks who were ready to take advantage of their technical, artistic and intellectual talents by putting them at the service of the new rulers of the world. The per- sonal relationships, which, from the Mithridatic Wars to the closing years of the Roman Republic, developed between Roman political leaders and the local aristocracies of the East, are generally rather well known, and it is certainly no coincidence that a lot of information about those relationships is occasion- ally provided by Strabo. The choice of sides that divided his family between Mithridates VI Eupator and the Romans, was also imposed on other leading intellectuals (rhetoricians and philosophers), who were politically active in the Hellenistic cities of Asia. Later on, during the tormented decades of the civil wars, the necessity or opportunity of choosing sides between the two parties to the conflict—Pompey or Caesar, Octavian or Antony—would pres- ent itself again. Even when the choice proved to be mistaken, the defeated sometimes found the victor to be their new patron. As part of his following, * English transl. by Dr. Gregory Conti. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi 1�.1163/9789004284715_015 240 Prontera they came to Rome, where they were able to continue performing their peda- gogical and cultural services for the most prominent families of the aristocracy. After Actium (31 BC) and the end of the civil wars, the more favorable politi- cal climate allowed this process of cultural integration at the higher levels of Roman society to be fully completed. Strabo’s teachers included Aristodemus of Nysa (14.1.48), tutor to the chil- dren of Pompey the Grea t , and the philosopher Xenarchus of Seleucia in Cilicia (14.5.4). After sojourning in Athens and Alexandria, Xenarchus arrived in Rome, where he carried on with his pedagogical activities and, thanks to Arius Didymus, one of Augustus’ teachers, he became part of the emperor’s cir- cle of which he remained a respected and honored member for the rest of his life. Strabo also attended the lessons of a celebrated “grammarian,” his fellow countryman, Tyrannion of Amisus (12.3.16). Brought to Rome as a prisoner dur- ing the second Mithridatic War, Tyrannion enjoyed the friendship of Caesar, Atticus, and Cicero. He taught Cicero’s children and reorganized the library of Theophrastus, transported to Rome in 84 BC, after the sack of Athens by Sulla. Strabo also recalls as his friend (16.4.21) the stoic philosopher Athenodorus of Tarsus, student of Posidonius and tutor of Augustus (14.5.14). Apart from his friendship with Aelius Gallus, prefect of Egypt—to which can be added his acquaintance with Gnaeus Piso, proconsul of Africa (2.5.33)—Strabo tells us nothing more about his Roman patrons. He does seem, however, to have been well introduced into the thick network of relationships between important political leaders of the late Republic and exponents of Eastern Greek culture, a network which became more tightly woven following the Mithridatic Wars.1 1 The Structure: Map and Text Before beginning work on his Geography, Strabo (1.1.23) wrote a 43- or 47-book history (Ἱστορικά ὑπομνήματα),2 as a sequel to Polybius, whose narration stops at 146/5 BC, with the destruction of Carthage and Corinth. Only some twenty fragments remain (FGrHist 91), whose contents do not help us much in under- standing if and in what measure, by revisiting the events already narrated by Posidonius as a continuation of the Histories by Polybius, he wished to distance himself from his predecessor. The fact that Strabo was writing after the civil wars could in any case have offered him a more secure perspective on the last 1 On Strabo’s biography and education see Aujac 1969a, VII–XXIII; Maddoli 1988; Engles 1999, 17–44; Dueck 2000, 1–30; Panichi 2005. On Strabo’s homeland cf. Bowersock 2000; Lindsay 2005. 2 Ambaglio 1990; Engels 1999, 76–89..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE SECOND and THIRD WARS AGAINST ROME Mithridates
    CHAPTER FIVE THE SECOND AND THIRD WARS AGAINST ROME Mithridates got off lightly from the first war: even Sulla's own troops recognised that (Plut. Sult. 24.4). He was simply confined to the ter­ ritories he possessed before the war. Military defeat must have severely damaged his prestige, but the rich resources of his empire would soon enable him to build up his power again. The Jugurthine war had pro­ bably made it clear to the Senate that the only effective neutralisation of a determined native king was death or capture. And the terms of the treaty of Dardanus hardly constituted sufficient revenge for the thousands of Romans and Italians murdered in the Asian Vespers. Even immediately after the war, many must have thought that Rome had unfinished business with Mithridates. Some of the king's Black Sea subjects had taken advantage of his defeat to revolt, and the first thing he did on his return to Pontus was to go to war with these Colchian and Bosporan rebels (App. Mith. 64). 1 The Col­ chians wanted Eupator's son, also called Mithridates, as king, which may imply that they were dissatisfied with the previous administration of their country. When this request was granted they returned to their loyalty. 2 Eupator, however, was suspicious of the young prince and ex­ ecuted him. We do not hear how the Colchians reacted, but presumably another uparchos or dioikitis was sent to govern the region (Strabo 11. 2 .18 c.499). Indeed perhaps it was now that Colchis was transferred to another of the king's sons, Machares, ruler of the Bosporan kingdom, who certainly later on controlled it.
    [Show full text]
  • Strabo the Geographer: His Name and Its Meaning1)
    Mne/1002/Pothecary/691-704 11/18/99 5:26 PM Page 691 STRABO THE GEOGRAPHER: HIS NAME AND ITS MEANING1) SARAH POTHECARY The geographer Strabo is referred to in the sources and manu- scripts2) by that name alone, ‘Strabo’ or, in Greek, Strãbvn.3) The Greek name Strãbvn, meaning ‘cross-eyed’, is first held by Greeks of the pre-Roman period.4) The Roman cognomen5) ‘Strabo’, also meaning ‘cross-eyed’, subsequently becomes established in the Roman 1) I gratefully acknowledge the comments of Peter Fraser, Heikki Solin, Bruce Robertson, and Luc Bertrand of Ackermans & van Haaren. The views here expressed are my own. An early draft of this paper was read at the annual meet- ing of the Classical Association of Canada in Ottawa on May 30th 1998. The fol- lowing abbreviations of standard works are used: Latin Cognomina = Iiro Kajanto, The Latin Cognomina (Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum, 36:2; Helsinki 1965); Lexicon = P.M. Fraser and Elaine Matthews, A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (Oxford 1987-); L’Onomastique latine = Noël Duval, ed., L’Onomastique latine, Paris 13- 15 Octobre 1975 (Paris 1977); Pape-Benseler = Wilhelm Pape, Wörterbuch der griechi- schen Eigennamen, 3rd edition, rev. Gustav Benseler (Braunschweig 1884); Roman Onomastics = A.D. Rizakis, ed., Roman Onomastics in the Greek East. Social and Political Aspects. Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Roman Onomastics, Athens, 7-9 September 1993 (Athens 1996). 2) Book 9 of the 5th century ms. (the ‘Palimpsest’) of the Geography begins STPABVNOS Y; in some later mss., Strabo’s name is given in summaries pre- served at the beginning of books and apparently copied from earlier mss.
    [Show full text]
  • The Herodotos Project (OSU-Ugent): Studies in Ancient Ethnography
    Faculty of Literature and Philosophy Julie Boeten The Herodotos Project (OSU-UGent): Studies in Ancient Ethnography Barbarians in Strabo’s ‘Geography’ (Abii-Ionians) With a case-study: the Cappadocians Master thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Linguistics and Literature, Greek and Latin. 2015 Promotor: Prof. Dr. Mark Janse UGent Department of Greek Linguistics Co-Promotores: Prof. Brian Joseph Ohio State University Dr. Christopher Brown Ohio State University ACKNOWLEDGMENT In this acknowledgment I would like to thank everybody who has in some way been a part of this master thesis. First and foremost I want to thank my promotor Prof. Janse for giving me the opportunity to write my thesis in the context of the Herodotos Project, and for giving me suggestions and answering my questions. I am also grateful to Prof. Joseph and Dr. Brown, who have given Anke and me the chance to be a part of the Herodotos Project and who have consented into being our co- promotores. On a whole other level I wish to express my thanks to my parents, without whom I would not have been able to study at all. They have also supported me throughout the writing process and have read parts of the draft. Finally, I would also like to thank Kenneth, for being there for me and for correcting some passages of the thesis. Julie Boeten NEDERLANDSE SAMENVATTING Deze scriptie is geschreven in het kader van het Herodotos Project, een onderneming van de Ohio State University in samenwerking met UGent. De doelstelling van het project is het aanleggen van een databank met alle volkeren die gekend waren in de oudheid.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Rome
    Ancient Rome William E. Dunstan ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK ................. 17856$ $$FM 09-09-10 09:17:21 PS PAGE iii Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright ᭧ 2011 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. All maps by Bill Nelson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. The cover image shows a marble bust of the nymph Clytie; for more information, see figure 22.17 on p. 370. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dunstan, William E. Ancient Rome / William E. Dunstan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7425-6832-7 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-7425-6833-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-7425-6834-1 (electronic) 1. Rome—Civilization. 2. Rome—History—Empire, 30 B.C.–476 A.D. 3. Rome—Politics and government—30 B.C.–476 A.D. I. Title. DG77.D86 2010 937Ј.06—dc22 2010016225 ⅜ϱ ீThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/ NISO Z39.48–1992. Printed in the United States of America ................
    [Show full text]
  • 6 X 10 Long.P65
    Cambridge University Press 0521853060 - Strabo’s Cultural Geography: The Making of a Kolossourgia Edited by Daniela Dueck, Hugh Lindsay and Sarah Pothecary Table of Contents More information Table of contents List of maps page vii List of illustrations viii List of tables ix List of figures x List of contributors xi Acknowledgements xiii List of abbreviations xiv Introduction 1 1 Kolossourgia. ‘A colossal statue of a work’ Sarah Pothecary 5 2 Reflections of philosophy: Strabo and geographical sources Christina Horst Roseman 27 3 Who is a barbarian? The barbarians in the ethnological and cultural taxonomies of Strabo Eran Almagor 42 4 Gender at the crossroads of empire: locating women in Strabo’s Geography Denise Eileen McCoskey 56 5 Strabo and Homer: a chapter in cultural history Anna Maria Biraschi 73 6 Strabo’s use of poetry Daniela Dueck 86 7 Strabo’s sources in the light of a tale Nikos Litinas 108 v © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521853060 - Strabo’s Cultural Geography: The Making of a Kolossourgia Edited by Daniela Dueck, Hugh Lindsay and Sarah Pothecary Table of Contents More information vi Contents 8 The foundation of Greek colonies and their main features in Strabo: a portrayal lacking homogeneity? Francesco Trotta 118 9 3Amdqe| e3mdonoi or ‘men of high reputation’ in Strabo’s Geography Johannes Engels 129 10 Comparing Strabo with Pausanias: Greece in context vs. Greece in depth Maria Pretzler 144 11 The European provinces: Strabo as evidence Sarah Pothecary 161 12 Amasya and Strabo’s patria in Pontus Hugh Lindsay 180 13 Cappadocia through Strabo’s eyes Silvia Panichi 200 14 Greek geography and Roman empire: the transformation of tradition in Strabo’s Euxine David Braund 216 15 Josephus’ hidden dialogue with Strabo Yuval Shahar 235 16 Temporal layers within Strabo’s description of Coele Syria, Phoenicia and Judaea Ze’ev Safrai 250 Bibliography 259 Index of geographical names 276 Index of personal names 282 © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org.
    [Show full text]
  • Hugh Lindsay, Strabo and the Shape of His Historika Hypomnemata
    The Ancient History Bulletin VOLUME TWENTY-EIGHT: 2014 NUMBERS 1-2 Edited by: Edward Anson David Hollander Timothy Howe Joseph Roisman John Vanderspoel Pat Wheatley Sabine Müller ISSN 0835-3638 ANCIENT HISTORY BULLETIN Volume 28 (2014) Numbers 1-2 Edited by: Edward Anson, David Hollander, Sabine Müller, Joseph Roisman, John Vanderspoel, Pat Wheatley Senior Editor: Timothy Howe Editorial correspondents Elizabeth Baynham, Hugh Bowden, Franca Landucci Gattinoni, Alexander Meeus, Kurt Raaflaub, P.J. Rhodes, Robert Rollinger, Carol Thomas, Victor Alonso Troncoso Contents of volume twenty-eight Numbers 1-2 1 Hugh Lindsay, Strabo and the shape of his Historika Hypomnemata 20 Paul McKechnie, W.W. Tarn and the philosophers 37 Monica D’Agostini, The Shade of Andromache: Laodike of Sardis between Homer and Polybios 61 John Shannahan, Two Notes on the Battle of Cunaxa NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS AND SUBSCRIBERS The Ancient History Bulletin was founded in 1987 by Waldemar Heckel, Brian Lavelle, and John Vanderspoel. The board of editorial correspondents consists of Elizabeth Baynham (University of Newcastle), Hugh Bowden (Kings College, London), Franca Landucci Gattinoni (Università Cattolica, Milan), Alexander Meeus (University of Leuven), Kurt Raaflaub (Brown University), P.J. Rhodes (Durham University), Robert Rollinger (Universität Innsbruck), Carol Thomas (University of Washington), Victor Alonso Troncoso (Universidade da Coruña) AHB is currently edited by: Timothy Howe (Senior Editor: [email protected]), Edward Anson, David Hollander, Sabine Müller, Joseph Roisman, John Vanderspoel and Pat Wheatley. AHB promotes scholarly discussion in Ancient History and ancillary fields (such as epigraphy, papyrology, and numismatics) by publishing articles and notes on any aspect of the ancient world from the Near East to Late Antiquity.
    [Show full text]
  • 7666 Acta Classica 2010 BOEK.Indd
    ACTA CLASSICA LIII (2010) 211-217 ISSN 0065-1141 THE SACRED CROCODILE OF JUBA II OF MAURETANIA Jane Draycott University of Nottingham Introduction Among the theories presented regarding the source and course of the Nile in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History (5.51) was that espoused by King Juba II of Mauretania: ut Iuba rex potuit exquirere, in monte inferioris Mauretaniae non procul oceano habet lacu protinus stagnante, quem vocant Nilidem. ibi pisces reperiuntur alabetae, coracini, siluri. crocodilus quoque inde ob argu-mentum hoc Caesareae in Iseo dicatus ab eo spectatur hodie. So far as King Juba was able to ascertain, [the Nile] has its origin in a mountain of lower Mauretania not far from the Ocean, and imme- diately forms a stagnant lake called Nilides. Fish found in this lake are the alabeta, coracimus and silurus; also a crocodile was brought from it by Juba to prove his theory, and consecrated in the temple of Isis at Caesa- rea, where it is on view today. Duane Roller has suggested that, in placing the crocodile in the Iseum, Juba was imitating the Carthaginian explorer Hanno.1 Juba was well acquainted with Hanno and his achievements; he came across a copy of the explorer’s record of his voyage around Africa that had been transcribed into Greek from a Punic inscription and wrote a commentary on it, in addition to later using the work as a source for his treatise on Libya.2 This record included Hanno’s report of an encounter with a strange race: NDLHMQWDXYWKQKCVRaK?QH-WHYUDPHVWKDMQTUZYSZQDMJULYZQSROXGH SOHLYRXaK?VDQJXQDLCNHaGDVHLCDLWRLCaVZYPDVLQD^aRL-H-UPKQHYHaHMNDY 1 D.W.
    [Show full text]
  • Aelius Gallus at Cleopatris (Suez) . and on the Red Sea Philip Mayerson
    Aelius Gallus at Cleopatris (Suez) and on the Red Sea Mayerson, Philip Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Spring 1995; 36, 1; ProQuest pg. 17 Aelius Gallus at Cleopatris (Suez) . and on the Red Sea Philip Mayerson HE MILITARY EXPEDITION of Aelius Gallus to Arabia in 26/25 B.C. 1 has attracted considerable scholarly comment T on his campaign regarding its chronology, the political and economic reasons behind it, the identification of Arabian sites mentioned in the sources, Gallus' misadventures caused by the duplicity of his Nabataean guide Syllaeus or by his own miscalculations, and his inglorious retreat to Egypt. Arabia has been the focal point of interest, understandably so since little was known of Rome's relationship with this exotic region at the end of, or prior to, the first century B.C. The mounting of the amphibious operation at Cleopatris, on the other hand, has been generally ignored, perhaps because Strabo 16.4.23 is its only source, whereas Pliny the Elder (HN 6.160ff), Josephus (AJ 15.317), Cassius Dio (53.29.3-8), and the Res Gestae Divi Augusti (5.26) supplement Strabo's account of Gallus' campaign in Arabia (16.4.23f). Be that as it may, the early phase of the expedition bears upon the factors that led to Gallus' failure in Arabia. It also raises questions regarding the historicity of certain details in Strab(,)'s acc9unt, Strabo tells us that Gallus "built not less than eighty boats, biremes and triremes and light boats, at Cleopatris, which is near the old canal (1tP0C; 'tn 1taA.al~ OlOOPUYl) that extends from the Nile (to the Gulf of Suez)." When Gallus realized that Syllaeus had deceived him into thinking he was to be opposed by an Arabian navy, "he built.
    [Show full text]
  • 10 · Greek Cartography in the Early Roman World
    10 · Greek Cartography in the Early Roman World PREPARED BY THE EDITORS FROM MATERIALS SUPPLIED BY GERMAINE AUJAe The Roman republic offers a good case for continuing to treat the Greek contribution to mapping as a separate CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THEORETICAL strand in the history ofclassical cartography. While there CARTOGRAPHY: POLYBIUS, CRATES, was a considerable blending-and interdependence-of AND HIPPARCHUS Greek and Roman concepts and skills, the fundamental distinction between the often theoretical nature of the Greek contribution and the increasingly practical uses The extent to which a new generation of scholars in the for maps devised by the Romans forms a familiar but second century B.C. was familiar with the texts, maps, satisfactory division for their respective cartographic in­ and globes of the Hellenistic period is a clear pointer to fluences. Certainly the political expansion of Rome, an uninterrupted continuity of cartographic knowledge. whose domination was rapidly extending over the Med­ Such knowledge, relating to both terrestrial and celestial iterranean, did not lead to an eclipse of Greek influence. mapping, had been transmitted through a succession of It is true that after the death of Ptolemy III Euergetes in well-defined master-pupil relationships, and the pres­ 221 B.C. a decline in the cultural supremacy of Alex­ ervation of texts and three-dimensional models had been andria set in. Intellectual life moved to more energetic aided by the growth of libraries. Yet this evidence should centers such as Pergamum, Rhodes, and above all Rome, not be interpreted to suggest that the Greek contribution but this promoted the diffusion and development of to cartography in the early Roman world was merely a Greek knowledge about maps rather than its extinction.
    [Show full text]
  • 323455 1 En Bookfrontmatter 1..31
    World Geomorphological Landscapes Series editor Piotr Migoń, Wroclaw, Poland More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10852 Catherine Kuzucuoğlu Attila Çiner • Nizamettin Kazancı Editors Landscapes and Landforms of Turkey 123 Editors Catherine Kuzucuoğlu Nizamettin Kazancı Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP, Ankara University UMR 8591) Ankara, Turkey CNRS, Universities of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris 12 U-Pec Meudon, France Attila Çiner Istanbul Technical University Istanbul, Turkey ISSN 2213-2090 ISSN 2213-2104 (electronic) World Geomorphological Landscapes ISBN 978-3-030-03513-6 ISBN 978-3-030-03515-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03515-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018960303 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
    [Show full text]
  • A COMPANION to the ROMAN ARMY Edited By
    ACTA01 8/12/06 11:10 AM Page iii A COMPANION TO THE ROMAN ARMY Edited by Paul Erdkamp ACTA01 8/12/06 11:10 AM Page i A COMPANION TO THE ROMAN ARMY ACTA01 8/12/06 11:10 AM Page ii BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD This series provides sophisticated and authoritative overviews of periods of ancient history, genres of classical lit- erature, and the most important themes in ancient culture. Each volume comprises between twenty-five and forty concise essays written by individual scholars within their area of specialization. The essays are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner, designed for an international audience of scholars, students, and general readers. Ancient History Published A Companion to the Roman Army A Companion to the Classical Greek World Edited by Paul Erdkamp Edited by Konrad H. Kinzl A Companion to the Roman Republic A Companion to the Ancient Near East Edited by Nathan Rosenstein and Edited by Daniel C. Snell Robert Morstein-Marx A Companion to the Hellenistic World A Companion to the Roman Empire Edited by Andrew Erskine Edited by David S. Potter In preparation A Companion to Ancient History A Companion to Late Antiquity Edited by Andrew Erskine Edited by Philip Rousseau A Companion to Archaic Greece A Companion to Byzantium Edited by Kurt A. Raaflaub and Hans van Wees Edited by Elizabeth James A Companion to Julius Caesar Edited by Miriam Griffin Literature and Culture Published A Companion to Catullus A Companion to Greek Rhetoric Edited by Marilyn B. Skinner Edited by Ian Worthington A Companion to Greek Religion A Companion to Ancient Epic Edited by Daniel Ogden Edited by John Miles Foley A Companion to Classical Tradition A Companion to Greek Tragedy Edited by Craig W.
    [Show full text]
  • Establishing Roman Rule in Egypt: the Trilingual Stela of C
    Originalveröffentlichung in: Katja Lembke, Martina Minas-Nerpel, Stefan Pfeiffer (Hg.), Tradition and Transformation: Egypt under Roman Rule; proceedings of the International Conference, Hildesheim, Roemer- and Plizaeus-Museum, 3–6 July 2008, Leiden ; Boston 2010, S. 265-298 ESTABLISHING ROMAN RULE IN EGYPT: THE TRILINGUAL STELA OF C. CORNELIUS GALLUS FROM PHILAE Martina Minas-Nerpel Stefan Pfeiffer Introduction When Octavian departed Egypt in 30 BC, he placed C. Cornelius Gallus, an eques by rank, in charge of the new Roman province Aegyptus. Gallus, who was responsible to Octavian himself, received the newly created title of praefectus Alexandreae et Aegypti, Prefect of Alexandria and Egypt. Soon enough, not even three years after his appointment, Gallus incurred the emperor ’s utter displeasure. The prefect was dismissed by Augustus, returned to Rome, was convicted by the Senate and fore­ stalled the impending banishment by committing suicide in 26 BC, as we are informed by Cassius Dio. 1 Gallus ’ alleged hubris and his assumed damnatio memoriae have much been discussed among ancient historians, papyrologists, and Egyptologists. In this respect, the most important and crucial Egyptian document is a trilingual inscription —hieroglyphic Egyptian, Latin, and Greek—dated to 16 April 29 BC (Fig. 1-5). It was carved on a stela re-discovered in 1896 in front of Augustus ’ temple at Philae (Fig. 6),2 which the prefect Rubius Barbarus had dedicated in Augustus ’ year 18 (13/12 BC).3 Cut into two parts, the stela had been reused in the foun ­ dations, presumably of the temple ’s altar. The victory stela of pink Aswan granite, originally about 165 cm high, now 152 cm by 108 cm, is housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (CG 9295).
    [Show full text]