DOCSLIB.ORG

Spartan Women Among the Romans: Adapting Models, Forging Identities Author(S): Sarah B

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Spartan Women Among the Romans: Adapting Models, Forging Identities Author(S): Sarah B Spartan Women among the Romans: Adapting Models, Forging Identities Author(s): Sarah B. Pomeroy Source: Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Supplementary Volumes, Vol. 7, Role Models in the Roman World. Identity and Assimilation (2008), pp. 221-234 Published by: University of Michigan Press for the American Academy in Rome Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40379356 . Accessed: 04/07/2014 09:41 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. American Academy in Rome and University of Michigan Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Supplementary Volumes. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 146.96.24.14 on Fri, 4 Jul 2014 09:41:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 11 ♦ SPARTANWOMEN AMONG THE ROMANS: ADAPTING MODELS, FORGING IDENTITIES SarahB. Pomeroy did the Romansdistinguish respectable Greek womenfrom Romans? Why did they considerSpartans different from the others? In thischapter I willdiscuss the complex and changingrelationship between gender and ethnicidentity. I selected the Spartans for this investiga- tionbecause theywere the most distinctive and ethnicallyidentifiable of Greekwomen. "Ethnic identity"refers to inheritedcultural traits that are often observable only by comparison with people who do notexhibit these traits. Ethnic identities can be carvedout by members of the group being defined,by establishing similarities among them, or maybe conferredby outsiders. For thisstudy I use postcolonialtheory as currentlyapplied by ancient historians and feminist theorythat has becometraditional among historians of women. I firstcombined these approaches in Womenin Hellenistic Egypt, looking at theinteraction between Greek settlers and Egyptiansand theireclectic participation in themixed culture of Ptolemaic Egypt.1 In thatwork I showedthat the rateand qualityof Hellenization varied according to genderand thatconquest did notresult in the imperialpower overwhelming and eradicatingthe indigenous contribution to therelationship. In thefollowing chapter I applythis model to Spartanwomen under Roman domination. LiteraryModels We willlook first at the west, then east across the Adriatic, beginning with images of Spartan women in Romanliterature. Of courseall Romanswith any education would be familiarwith Helen as she is depictedin epic.The firstSpartan woman described in literaturewas beautiful,wealthy, daring, deceitful,and, as a maturewoman, chose her own husband; she was thearchetypal "power blonde." DoubtlessHomer's Helen was theultimate model for allusions to Spartanwomen in Latinpoetry. Cicero(Tusc. 2.36) quotesa verseabout Spartan maidens engaging in wrestlingand militaryexer- cise.Propertius (3.14) describesa Spartanwoman wrestling nude with men, boxing, throwing the discus,hunting, riding, girding on a sword,wearing her hair in a simplestyle, and walkingopenly withher lover without fear of some husband. The poetwishes his mistress Cynthia would choose to livewith him thus. Ovid (Her. 16.151-52)depicts Helen wrestlingnude. Vergil (Georg. 2.487-88) refersto theloud voicesof Spartangirls celebrating Bacchus in themountains. It was in prose,however, that intellectuals in the Romanworld considered Spartan women as a groupthat had evolvedin a specificsocial context.Romans thought that the Spartanpoliti- - cal system- withits mixed constitution, checks and balances,and governmentby theelite was comparableto theirown and farmore congenial than the democracy of Athens.2 If to theRomans 2 Pomeroy 1984,121, 124, 130, 135-36,152-53. For affinitiesbetween Rome and Sparta:Baladie 1980, 293-95. This content downloaded from 146.96.24.14 on Fri, 4 Jul 2014 09:41:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 222 SARAH B. POMEROY Greecewas "theother," it was theGreece of Athens.In Greekthought, on theother hand, most ofwhich emanated from Athens, Sparta functioned as "theother." It followsthat both Rome and Spartawere similar to eachother in being different from Athens. Discussions of differences between Romanand Greekmores focused on subtledistinctions between the laws of Numa and Romulus, on theone hand,and ofLycurgus on theother. Prose writers variously praised and criticizedprovi- sionsfor women and marriagein archaicRome and Sparta.Referring to Spartans,Cicero (Rep. 4.6) prefersRoman to Greekrules about women, advocating that a censorteach men to governtheir wivesrather than, as theGreeks do, allowwomen to be supervisedby a gynaikonomos("praefectus," a magistratein chargeof women), a postthat was commonin HellenisticGreek states.3 Certainly Aristotle'scritique of the Spartan constitution and his condemnationof women not only for licen- tiousnessbut also forthe failure of thestate would have inevitably constituted part of thediscus- sion,as it does explicitlyin Plutarch'sLife of Lycurgus (14.1), where he statesplainly that Aristotle was incorrect.Nevertheless, in his Comparisonof Lycurgus and Numa (3.5) Plutarch,in agreement withCicero, praises the demeanor of Roman women as theywere said to be in thearchaic period, whenthey were under their husband's control, and he criticizesthe laws of Lycurgus that allowed Spartanwomen to dominatetheir husbands. Plutarch'sviews were influenced by Plato and Xenophon,both of whomwere also popular amongthe Romans. Plato's Republic was a Utopiathat incorporated elements of an idealizedSparta, nota blueprintfor any actual society. Yet some Romans considered the Republic a "how-to"manual presentingrole models for them rather than a workof social criticism.Epictetus reported that at Romewomen were carrying copies of Plato'sRepublic because theysupposed that he advocated communitiesof wives.They were quotingPlato to justifytheir own licentiousness,he alleged, but theymisinterpreted him in supposingthat his advicewas to entermonogamous marriage and thenpractice promiscuous intercourse.4 Xenophon 's pictureof Sparta was closerto thetruth than the reflectionin Plato's Republic,5but althoughRoman authorscite some worksof Xenophon specifically,there are no clearreferences in Latin to his treatiseon theSpartan Constitution.6 In anycase, if the Romans did not actuallyread Xenophon 's monograph,they nevertheless will have gottenthe informationat second hand throughPlutarch, an admirerof Xenophon.7Xenophon willhave been one ofhis informantsabout the daily life of Spartangirls, including their excellent nutrition,drinking wine, physical training, and freedomfrom weaving (which was the usual job of Greekwomen). Plutarch had been to Romeand Spartaand wrotefor both Greek and Roman audiences.8He participatedto the fullestin the debateon Spartanand Romanwomen. Though Plutarch'savowed subject is thewomen of the remote past, there is no doubtthat he is influenced by his contemporaries.Plutarch largely approves of the healthyregimen Lycurgus designed for Spartangirls and, as I havementioned, asserts that Aristotle was wrongto accuse Spartanwomen oflicentiousness: but his ideas and ideals concerningthe appropriate behavior of Greekwomen, exceptSpartans, are essentiallyconservative and traditionalin theGreek world, and barelyreflect thechanges of the Hellenistic period.9 3 SinceCicero mentions drinking, and was discussingSparta 6Munscherl920,63,106. inthe previous paragraph, he is probablyreferring to Spartan 7 women. On Plutarchand Xenophon,see Pomeroy1999b, 36, and 4 passim. Arr.Epict. diss. Fr. 15 = Stobaeus3.6.58 and see Schenkl 8 1965,455-60, 462-75. See mostrecently Stadter 2002. 5 See further 9 Miinscher1920, 51, 63, 107,114 and Pomeroy See furtherPomeroy 1999b and Nevett2002, esp. 84, 2002, 148-49. 87-88, 95. This content downloaded from 146.96.24.14 on Fri, 4 Jul 2014 09:41:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SPARTANWOMEN AMONG THE ROMANS 223 TheInfluence of Ethnic Identity on GenderRoles Like the Spartanwomen Aristotle had criticized(but unlikeother Greek women), Romans were neithersilent nor secluded.10 Both Sparta and Romewere warrior societies ruling alien territories, withthe result that long absences of men left women in charge.Aristotle did notapprove of women exercisingsuch power in defaultof men.In bothSparta and Rome somewomen controlled vast amountsof wealth that had comeinto their hands through dowry and inheritance.Since the fourth centuryB.C. Spartan women were conspicuous in theirownership and managementof real property and otherforms of wealth. In imperialSparta economic status was stillbased on landholding,and Romansrespected that indication of old wealth.Aristotle {Pol 1269bl2-1270a34)had criticizedthe Spartansfor allowing women to ownso muchproperty that some men could no longercontribute to theirsyssitia and losttheir status as fullcitizens. The Romans,on theother hand, beginning with thelex Voconia(169 B.C.),repeatedly tried to preventwomen from obtaining large fortunes, fearing lestmen might lose theirrank in thehigher property classes in thecensus and thusbecome exempt fromheavy military obligations.11 In bothSparta and Rome one ofthe reasons women acquired wealth was thatfamilies were smaller,and womenwere
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Conflict in the Peloponnese
    CONFLICT IN THE PELOPONNESE Social, Military and Intellectual Proceedings of the 2nd CSPS PG and Early Career Conference, University of Nottingham 22-24 March 2013 edited by Vasiliki BROUMA Kendell HEYDON CSPS Online Publications 4 2018 Published by the Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies (CSPS), School of Humanities, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. © Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies and individual authors ISBN 978-0-9576620-2-5 This work is ‘Open Access’, published under a creative commons license which means that you are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work as long as you clearly attribute the work to the authors, that you do not use this work for any commercial gain in any form and that you in no way alter, transform or build on the work outside of its use in normal academic scholarship without express permission of the authors and the publisher of this volume. Furthermore, for any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/csps TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................. i THE FAMILY AS THE INTERNAL ENEMY OF THE SPARTAN STATE ........................................ 1-23 Maciej Daszuta COMMEMORATING THE WAR DEAD IN ANCIENT SPARTA THE GYMNOPAIDIAI AND THE BATTLE OF HYSIAI .............................................................. 24-39 Elena Franchi PHILOTIMIA AND PHILONIKIA AT SPARTA ......................................................................... 40-69 Michele Lucchesi SLAVERY AS A POLITICAL PROBLEM DURING THE PELOPONESSIAN WARS ..................... 70-85 Bernat Montoya Rubio TYRTAEUS: THE SPARTAN POET FROM ATHENS SHIFTING IDENTITIES AS RHETORICAL STRATEGY IN LYCURGUS’ AGAINST LEOCRATES ................................................................................ 86-102 Eveline van Hilten-Rutten THE INFLUENCE OF THE KARNEIA ON WARFARE ..........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pausanias' Description of Greece
    BONN'S CLASSICAL LIBRARY. PAUSANIAS' DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. PAUSANIAS' TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH \VITTI NOTES AXD IXDEX BY ARTHUR RICHARD SHILLETO, M.A., Soiiii'tinie Scholar of Trinity L'olltge, Cambridge. VOLUME IT. " ni <le Fnusnnias cst un homme (jui ne mnnquo ni de bon sens inoins a st-s tlioux." hnniie t'oi. inais i}iii rn>it ou au voudrait croire ( 'HAMTAiiNT. : ftEOROE BELL AND SONS. YOUK STIIKKT. COVKNT (iAKDKX. 188t). CHISWICK PRESS \ C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCEKV LANE. fA LC >. iV \Q V.2- CONTEXTS. PAGE Book VII. ACHAIA 1 VIII. ARCADIA .61 IX. BtEOTIA 151 -'19 X. PHOCIS . ERRATA. " " " Volume I. Page 8, line 37, for Atte read Attes." As vii. 17. 2<i. (Catullus' Aft is.) ' " Page 150, line '22, for Auxesias" read Anxesia." A.-> ii. 32. " " Page 165, lines 12, 17, 24, for Philhammon read " Philanimon.'' " " '' Page 191, line 4, for Tamagra read Tanagra." " " Pa ire 215, linu 35, for Ye now enter" read Enter ye now." ' " li I'aijf -J27, line 5, for the Little Iliad read The Little Iliad.'- " " " Page ^S9, line 18, for the Babylonians read Babylon.'' " 7 ' Volume II. Page 61, last line, for earth' read Earth." " Page 1)5, line 9, tor "Can-lira'" read Camirus." ' ; " " v 1'age 1 69, line 1 , for and read for. line 2, for "other kinds of flutes "read "other thites.'' ;< " " Page 201, line 9. for Lacenian read Laeonian." " " " line 10, for Chilon read Cliilo." As iii. 1H. Pago 264, " " ' Page 2G8, Note, for I iad read Iliad." PAUSANIAS. BOOK VII. ACIIAIA.
    [Show full text]
  • University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan LINDA JANE PIPER 1967
    This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 66-15,122 PIPER, Linda Jane, 1935- A HISTORY OF SPARTA: 323-146 B.C. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 History, ancient University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan LINDA JANE PIPER 1967 All Rights Reserved A HISTORY OF SPARTA: 323-1^6 B.C. DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Linda Jane Piper, A.B., M.A. The Ohio State University 1966 Approved by Adviser Department of History PREFACE The history of Sparta from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C; to the destruction of Corinth in 1^6 B.C. is the history of social revolution and Sparta's second rise to military promi­ nence in the Peloponnesus; the history of kings and tyrants; the history of Sparta's struggle to remain autonomous in a period of amalgamation. It is also a period in Sparta's history too often neglected by historians both past and present. There is no monograph directly concerned with Hellenistic Sparta. For the most part, this period is briefly and only inci­ dentally covered in works dealing either with the whole history of ancient Sparta, or simply as a part of Hellenic or Hellenistic 1 2 history in toto. Both Pierre Roussel and Eug&ne Cavaignac, in their respective surveys of Spartan history, have written clear and concise chapters on the Hellenistic period. Because of the scope of their subject, however, they were forced to limit them­ selves to only the most important events and people of this time, and great gaps are left in between.
    [Show full text]
  • An Allied History of the Peloponnesian League: Elis, Tegea, and Mantinea
    An Allied History of the Peloponnesian League: Elis, Tegea, and Mantinea By James Alexander Caprio B.A. Hamilton College, 1994 M.A. Tufts University, 1997 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA January, 2005 © James A. Caprio, 2005 Abstract Elis, Tegea, and Mantinea became members of the Peloponnesian League at its inception in 506, although each had concluded an alliance with Sparta much earlier. The initial arrangement between each city-state and Sparta was reciprocal and membership in the League did not interfere with their individual development. By the fifth century, Elis, Mantinea, and Tegea had created their own symmachies and were continuing to expand within the Peloponnesos. Eventually, the prosperity and growth of these regional symmachies were seen by Sparta as hazardous to its security. Hostilities erupted when Sparta interfered with the intent to dismantle these leagues. Although the dissolution of the allied leagues became an essential factor in the preservation of Sparta's security, it also engendered a rift between its oldest and most important allies. This ultimately contributed to the demise of Spartan power in 371 and the termination of the Peloponnesian League soon thereafter. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Maps iv List of Abbreviations v Acknowledgements viii Introduction • 1 Chapter One: Elis 20 Chapter Two: Tegea and southern Arkadia 107 Chapter Three: Mantinea and northern Arkadia 181 Conclusion 231 Bibliography , 234 iii Maps Map 1: Elis 21 Map 2: Tegean Territory 108 Map 3: The Peloponnesos 109 Map 4: Phigalia 117 Map 5: Mantinea and Tegea 182 Map 6: Mantinea and its environs 182 Abbreviations Amit, Poleis M.
    [Show full text]
  • ATLAS of CLASSICAL HISTORY
    ATLAS of CLASSICAL HISTORY EDITED BY RICHARD J.A.TALBERT London and New York First published 1985 by Croom Helm Ltd Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 1985 Richard J.A.Talbert and contributors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Atlas of classical history. 1. History, Ancient—Maps I. Talbert, Richard J.A. 911.3 G3201.S2 ISBN 0-203-40535-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-71359-1 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-03463-9 (pbk) Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Also available CONTENTS Preface v Northern Greece, Macedonia and Thrace 32 Contributors vi The Eastern Aegean and the Asia Minor Equivalent Measurements vi Hinterland 33 Attica 34–5, 181 Maps: map and text page reference placed first, Classical Athens 35–6, 181 further reading reference second Roman Athens 35–6, 181 Halicarnassus 36, 181 The Mediterranean World: Physical 1 Miletus 37, 181 The Aegean in the Bronze Age 2–5, 179 Priene 37, 181 Troy 3, 179 Greek Sicily 38–9, 181 Knossos 3, 179 Syracuse 39, 181 Minoan Crete 4–5, 179 Akragas 40, 181 Mycenae 5, 179 Cyrene 40, 182 Mycenaean Greece 4–6, 179 Olympia 41, 182 Mainland Greece in the Homeric Poems 7–8, Greek Dialects c.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Ion of Chios the Case of a Foreign Poet in Classical
    ION OF CHIOS THE CASE OF A FOREIGN POET IN CLASSICAL SPARTA ABSTRACT This paper aims to reassess one piece of evidence for the performance of music and poetry in classical Sparta: an elegy by the Chian poet Ion (fr. 27 West). It is argued here that this poem evokes the atmosphere of a Spartan festival and, specifically, a symposium held as part of that festival. Ion was present in Sparta not merely as a friend of prominent Athenians, as is often claimed, but as a professional travelling poet. This suggests that Sparta remained an important centre for μουσική in the classical period and, moreover, was part of a broader Panhellenic network of festivals and contests. χαιρέτω ἡμέτερος βασιλεὺς σωτήρ τε πατήρ τε· ἡμῖν δὲ κρητῆρ’ οἰνοχόοι θέραπες κιρνάντων προχύταισιν ἐν ἀργυρέοις· †ὁ δὲ χρυσὸς οἶνον ἔχων χειρῶν νιζέτω εἰς ἔδαφος.† σπένδοντες δ’ ἁγνῶς Ἡρακλεῖ τ’ Ἀλκμήνηι τε, Προκλεῖ Περσείδαις τ’ ἐκ Διὸς ἀρχόμενοι πίνωμεν, παίζωμεν· ἴτω διὰ νυκτὸς ἀοιδή, ὀρχείσθω τις· ἑκὼν δ’ ἄρχε φιλοφροσύνης. ὅντινα δ’ εὐειδὴς μίμνει θήλεια πάρευνος, κεῖνος τῶν ἄλλων κυδρότερον πίεται. May our king rejoice, our saviour and father; let the attendant cup-bearers mix for us a crater from silver urns; †Let the golden one with wine in his hands wash to the base † 1 Pouring libations piously to Heracles and Alcmene, Procles and the sons of Perseus and Zeus first of all, let us drink, let us play, let our song rise through the night. Dance someone, willingly begin the festivities. And anyone who has a fair girl waiting to share his bed will drink more like a man than all the others.
    [Show full text]
  • La Localidad De Carias En La Frontera Entre Esparta Y Arcadia Mª Del Mar Rodríguez Alcocer 135
    1 CIJIMA I I Congreso Internacional de Jóvenes Investigadores del Mundo Antiguo (26-29 de marzo de 2014) www.um.es/cepoat/cijima © De los artículos: los autores © De esta edición: Centro de Estudios del Próximo Oriente y la Antigüedad Tardía C O: Rafael González Fernández (Universidad de Murcia) Gonzalo Matilla Séiquer (Universidad de Murcia) Pedro David Conesa Navarro (Universidad de Murcia) José Javier Martínez García (Universidad de Murcia) José Antonio Molina Gómez (Universidad de Murcia) C : Alejandro Egea Vivancos (Universidad de Murcia) Laura Arias Ferrer (Universidad de Murcia) José Miguel García Cano (Universidad de Murcia) José Miguel Noguera Celdrán (Universidad de Murcia) Nuria Castellano Solé (Universidad de Barcelona) Juan Carlos Olivares Pedreño (Universidad de Alicante) Carlos Molina Valero (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) Celso Sánchez Mondéjar (Universidad de Murcia) Josep Padró i Parcerisa (Universidad de Barcelona) Helena Jiménez Vialás (Université de Toulouse) Fernando Prados Martínez (Universidad de Alicante) 2 ANTIGÜEDAD IN PROGRESS... Actas del I Congreso Internacional de Jóvenes Investigadores del Mundo Antiguo (CIJIMA I) Pedro D. Conesa Navarro - José J. Martínez García Celso M. Sánchez Mondéjar - Carlos Molina Valero Lucía García Carreras (Coords.) 3 CIJIMA I 2014 Reservados todos los derechos por la legislación en materia de Propiedad Intelectual. Durante los primeros doce meses, ni la totalidad ni parte de este libro, incluido el diseño de la cubierta, puede reproducirse, almacenarse o transmitirse en manera alguna por ningún medio ya sea electrónico, químico, mecánico, óptico, informático, de grabación o de fotocopia, sin permiso previo por escrito de la editorial. Centro de Estudios del Próximo Oriente y la Antigüedad Tardía C/ Actor Isidoro Máiquez, 9, 30007, Murcia.
    [Show full text]
  • Thucydides HISTORY of the PELOPONNESIAN WAR
    Thucydides HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR Thucydides HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR ■ HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvisori/mbs%20Library/001%20-Da%20Fare/00-index.htm2006-06-01 15:02:55 Thucydides HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR:Index. Thucydides HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR General Index ■ THE FIRST BOOK ■ THE SECOND BOOK ■ THE THIRD BOOK ■ THE FOURTH BOOK ■ THE FIFTH BOOK ■ THE SIXTH BOOK ■ THE SEVENTH BOOK ■ THE EIGHTH BOOK file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvisori/mbs%20Library/001%20-Da%20Fare/0-PeloponnesianWar.htm2006-06-01 15:02:55 PELOPONNESIANWAR: THE FIRST BOOK, Index. THE FIRST BOOK Index CHAPTER I. The State of Greece from the earliest Times to the Commencement of the Peloponnesian War CHAPTER II. Causes of the War - The Affair of Epidamnus - The Affair of Potidaea CHAPTER III. Congress of the Peloponnesian Confederacy at Lacedaemon CHAPTER IV. From the end of the Persian to the beginning of the Peloponnesian War - The Progress from Supremacy to Empire CHAPTER V. Second Congress at Lacedaemon - Preparations for War and Diplomatic Skirmishes - Cylon - Pausanias - Themistocles file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...i/mbs%20Library/001%20-Da%20Fare/1-PeloponnesianWar0.htm2006-06-01 15:02:55 PELOPONNESIANWAR: THE SECOND BOOK, Index. THE SECOND BOOK Index CHAPTER VI. Beginning of the Peloponnesian War - First Invasion of Attica - Funeral - Oration of Pericles CHAPTER VII. Second Year of the War - The Plague of Athens - Position and Policy of Pericles - Fall of Potidaea CHAPTER VIII. Third Year of the War - Investment of Plataea - Naval Victories of Phormio - Thracian Irruption into Macedonia under Sitalces file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...i/mbs%20Library/001%20-Da%20Fare/1-PeloponnesianWar1.htm2006-06-01 15:02:55 PELOPONNESIANWAR: THE THIRD BOOK, Index.
    [Show full text]
  • 'No Freer Than the Helots' Messenian Rebel Behaviour
    ‘NO FREER THAN THE HELOTS’ MESSENIAN REBEL BEHAVIOUR IN PAUSANIAS’ MESSENIAKA IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Drs. Lydia L.B.M. Langerwerf Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy FEBRUARY 2010 1 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores Pausanias’ depiction of the (mythical) Messenian revolt against the Spartans in book 4 of his Periegesis in comparative perspective with ancient depictions of slave revolts and Flavius Josephus’ Jewish War. I concentrate on how Pausanias portrays Aristomenes and the other rebels, as well as the Messenians in general. Although recently the Messenian Wars have been the subject of scholarly interest from literary critics, historians, and archaeologists, who have fruitfully combined their disciplines in their interpretations of the story, Pausanias’ aims and agenda in his representation of the Messenians have so far been left unexplored. This dissertation therefore asks: What stance did Pausanias take in the contested history of Messenia? In my analysis of Pausanias’ figuration of Messenian history, in chapters 1 (the introduction) and 2 I concentrate on his frequent use of τόλμη and in particular in its combination with ἀπόνοια (‘despair’). Τόλμη, translated as daring, contains both positive and negative connotations. It is a necessary ingredient of courage, but can also lead to recklessness if uncontrolled. My comparative framework in chapters 3 to 6 puts this reading of Pausanias’ book 4 to the test. In chapter 3 I compare Pausanias’ depiction of Aristomenes’ leadership qualities with Athenaeus’ use of the story of Drimakos, the rebel leader of a slave revolt on the island of Chios. In chapters 4 and 5 I pursue the connection between slavery, τόλμη and ἀπόνοια further in a comparison of the Messenian revolt with Diodorus’ depiction of the two Sicilian slave wars, along with Plutarch’s and Appian’s account of Spartacus’ revolt.
    [Show full text]
  • Artemis and Virginity in Ancient Greece
    SAPIENZA UNIVERSITÀ DI ROMA FACOLTÀ DI LETTERE E FILOSOFIA DOTTORATO DI RICERCA IN FILOLOGIA E STORIA DEL MONDO ANTICO XXVI CICLO ARTEMIS AND VIRGINITY IN ANCIENT GREECE TUTOR COTUTOR PROF. PIETRO VANNICELLI PROF. FRANCESCO GUIZZI 2 Dedication: To S & J with love and gratitude. Acknowledgements: I first and foremost wish to thank my tutor/advisor Professor Pietro Vannicelli and Co- Tutor Professor Francesco Guizzi for agreeing to serve in these capacities, for their invaluable advice and comments, and for their kind support and encouragement. I also wish to thank the following individuals who have lent intellectual and emotional support as well as provided invaluable comments on aspects of the thesis or offered advice and spirited discussion: Professor Maria Giovanna Biga, La Sapienza, and Professor Gilda Bartoloni, La Sapienza, for their invaluable support at crucial moments in my doctoral studies. Professor Emerita Larissa Bonfante, New York University, who proof-read my thesis as well as offered sound advice and thought-provoking and stimulating discussions. Dr. Massimo Blasi, La Sapienza, who proof-read my thesis and offered advice as well as practical support and encouragement throughout my doctoral studies. Dr. Yang Wang, Princeton University, who proof-read my thesis and offered many helpful comments and practical support. Dr. Natalia Manzano Davidovich, La Sapienza, who has offered intellectual, emotional, and practical support this past year. Our e-mail conversations about various topics related to our respective theses have
    [Show full text]
  • Wronged Maidens in Myron's Messenian History and the Ancient Novel Berg, Beverly Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Spring 1998; 39, 1; Proquest Pg
    Wronged maidens in Myron's Messenian history and the ancient novel Berg, Beverly Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Spring 1998; 39, 1; ProQuest pg. 39 Wronged Maidens in Myron's Messenian History and the Ancient Novel Beverly Berg HEN PAUSANIAS reaches Messenia in his guide to Greece he inserts his most extended historical Wexcursus, a narration of the wars by which the Spartans imposed helotry on the Messenians. Pausanias dates the wars to the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., a millennium before his own day, and portions his materials into two sep­ arate wars, basing his division on lines of the poet Tyrtaeus, who inspired the Spartans during the second war and reminded them of the glorious struggle of their grandsires in the previous war (Paus. 4.15.1-3). As his sources Pausanias names the prose work of Myron of Priene and the epic poem of Rhianus. He will use Myron for the first war and Rhianus for the second. Com­ plications arise because Aristomenes, Rhianus' hero, appeared as a warrior also in Myron's tale. One or the other author must be incorrect. Pausanias decides the poet is more accurate than the prose writer, and condemns Myron for retailing false and untrustworthy material both in his Messenian work and his other writings (4.6.1-4). To this day Myron's reputation as a historian remains low. Writing in the early Hellenistic age about a period from which only legends survived, Myron has produced what Pearson! has 1 L. Pearson, "The Pseudo-History of Messenia and its Authors," Historia 11 (1962) 397-426 (hereafter PEARSON) at 425 .
    [Show full text]
  • The Population and Policy of Sparta in the Fifth Century Author(S): G
    The Population and Policy of Sparta in the Fifth Century Author(s): G. B. Grundy Source: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 28 (1908), pp. 77-96 Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/624558 . Accessed: 25/03/2013 15:01 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Hellenic Studies. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 141.161.91.14 on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:01:28 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE POPULATION AND POLICY OF SPARTA IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. IT is, perhaps, somewhat venturesome to attempt to say anything upon a subject which demands full treatment from anyone who would write a History of Greece, and which has, therefore, been discussed at considerable length by many great historians. Still the research of the last twenty years has led to such material modifications of the views which formerly prevailed as to the exact significance of various important factors in the history of the Greek race, that the learned world has become emancipated from the tyranny of stereotyped tradition, and has ceased to regard deviation from the accustomed views as necessarily fanciful and untrue.
    [Show full text]