Roman Ludi Saeculares from the Republic to Empire
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1 the Politics of the Arena
THE POLITICS OF THE ARENA 1 1 The Politics of the Arena Origin and Growth of Games The great games of the ancient Mediterranean grew out of religious holidays to become spectacular celebrations of the divine pantheon, events that not only called upon divine support to ensure continued prosperity for the state, but also offered an elaborate, formalized series of actions that encouraged, even required, the participation of an expanded human audience. These spectacles tended to follow a standard format of procession, sacrifice, and games. The procession, the first part of the festival, was, practically speaking, a means of conveying the worshipers, the officiants, and their implements of worship to the sacred space of the altar or temple. To enhance the ritual quality of the movement, the procession followed a specific, religiously significant pathway; the personnel were arranged in a specific order; the participants wore particular kinds of clothing, spoke or sang ritual words. These guidelines could involve sacrificial animals in the procession as well, who not only would be draped in wreaths or ribbons, to set them apart from “common” animals, to make them “sacred”, but also were meant to conform to certain kinds of behavior: they had to seem willing to approach the altar, and cult officials who accompanied them made sure of this. The procession was followed by the sacrifice. Sacrifice was the basic act of Graeco-Roman religion, establishing a positive relationship between deity and worshiper through the offering of a gift; this could mean the immolation of an animal, the pouring of a wine or oil libation, or setting cakes or flowers on the god’s altar for his enjoyment. -
Colin Mcallister Regnum Caelorum Terrestre: the Apocalyptic Vision of Lactantius May 2016
Colin McAllister Regnum Caelorum Terrestre: The Apocalyptic Vision of Lactantius May 2016 Abstract: The writings of the early fourth-century Christian apologist L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius have been extensively studied by historians, classicists, philosophers and theologians. But his unique apocalyptic eschatology expounded in book VII of the Divinae Institutiones, his largest work, has been relatively neglected. This paper will distill Lactantius’s complex narrative and summarize his sources. In particular, I investigate his chiliasm and the nature of the intermediate state, as well as his portrayal of the Antichrist. I argue that his apocalypticism is not an indiscriminate synthesis of varying sources - as it often stated - but is essentially based on the Book of Revelation and other Patristic sources. +++++ The eminent expert on all things apocalyptic, Bernard McGinn, wrote: Even the students and admirers of Lactantius have not bestowed undue praise upon him. To Rene Pichon [who wrote in 1901 what is perhaps still the seminal work on Lactantius’ thought] ‘Lactantius is mediocre in the Latin sense of the word - and also a bit in the French sense’; to Vincenzo Loi [who studied Lactantius’ use of the Bible] ‘Lactantius is neither a philosophical or theological genius nor linguistic genius.’ Despite these uneven appraisals, the writings of the early fourth-century Christian apologist L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius [c. 250-325] hold, it seems, a little something for everyone.1 Political historians study Lactantius as an important historical witness to the crucial transitional period from the Great Persecution of Diocletian to the ascension of Constantine, and for insight into the career of the philosopher Porphyry.2 Classicists and 1 All dates are anno domini unless otherwise indicated. -
Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294 (Translated By, and Adapted Notes From, A
Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294 (translated by, and adapted notes from, A. S. Kline) [Latin text; 8 CE] Book I: January 1: Kalends See how Janus1 appears first in my song To announce a happy year for you, Germanicus.2 Two-headed Janus, source of the silently gliding year, The only god who is able to see behind him, Be favourable to the leaders, whose labours win Peace for the fertile earth, peace for the seas: Be favourable to the senate and Roman people, And with a nod unbar the shining temples. A prosperous day dawns: favour our thoughts and speech! Let auspicious words be said on this auspicious day. Let our ears be free of lawsuits then, and banish Mad disputes now: you, malicious tongues, cease wagging! See how the air shines with fragrant fire, And Cilician3 grains crackle on lit hearths! The flame beats brightly on the temple’s gold, And spreads a flickering light on the shrine’s roof. Spotless garments make their way to Tarpeian Heights,4 And the crowd wear the colours of the festival: Now the new rods and axes lead, new purple glows, And the distinctive ivory chair feels fresh weight. Heifers that grazed the grass on Faliscan plains,5 Unbroken to the yoke, bow their necks to the axe. When Jupiter watches the whole world from his hill, Everything that he sees belongs to Rome. Hail, day of joy, and return forever, happier still, Worthy to be cherished by a race that rules the world. But two-formed Janus what god shall I say you are, Since Greece has no divinity to compare with you? Tell me the reason, too, why you alone of all the gods Look both at what’s behind you and what’s in front. -
The Evolution of the Roman Calendar Dwayne Meisner, University of Regina
The Evolution of the Roman Calendar Dwayne Meisner, University of Regina Abstract The Roman calendar was first developed as a lunar | 290 calendar, so it was difficult for the Romans to reconcile this with the natural solar year. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, creating a solar year of 365 days with leap years every four years. This article explains the process by which the Roman calendar evolved and argues that the reason February has 28 days is that Caesar did not want to interfere with religious festivals that occurred in February. Beginning as a lunar calendar, the Romans developed a lunisolar system that tried to reconcile lunar months with the solar year, with the unfortunate result that the calendar was often inaccurate by up to four months. Caesar fixed this by changing the lengths of most months, but made no change to February because of the tradition of intercalation, which the article explains, and because of festivals that were celebrated in February that were connected to the Roman New Year, which had originally been on March 1. Introduction The reason why February has 28 days in the modern calendar is that Caesar did not want to interfere with festivals that honored the dead, some of which were Past Imperfect 15 (2009) | © | ISSN 1711-053X | eISSN 1718-4487 connected to the position of the Roman New Year. In the earliest calendars of the Roman Republic, the year began on March 1, because the consuls, after whom the year was named, began their years in office on the Ides of March. -
Roman Entertainment
Roman Entertainment The Emergence of Permanent Entertainment Buildings and its use as Propaganda David van Alten (3374912) [email protected] Bachelor thesis (Research seminar III ‘Urbs Roma’) 13-04-2012 Supervisor: Dr. S.L.M. Stevens Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 1: The development of permanent entertainment buildings in Rome ...................................... 9 1.1 Ludi circenses and the circus ............................................................................................ 9 1.2 Ludi scaenici and the theatre ......................................................................................... 11 1.3 Munus gladiatorum and the amphitheatre ................................................................... 16 1.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 19 2: The uncompleted permanent theatres in Rome during the second century BC ................. 22 2.0 Context ........................................................................................................................... 22 2.1 First attempts in the second century BC ........................................................................ 22 2.2 Resistance to permanent theatres ................................................................................ 24 2.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... -
Senecan Tragedy and Virgil's Aeneid: Repetition and Reversal
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 Senecan Tragedy and Virgil's Aeneid: Repetition and Reversal Timothy Hanford Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/427 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] SENECAN TRAGEDY AND VIRGIL’S AENEID: REPETITION AND REVERSAL by TIMOTHY HANFORD A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 ©2014 TIMOTHY HANFORD All Rights Reserved ii This dissertation has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Classics in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Ronnie Ancona ________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Dee L. Clayman ________________ _______________________________ Date Executive Officer James Ker Joel Lidov Craig Williams Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract SENECAN TRAGEDY AND VIRGIL’S AENEID: REPETITION AND REVERSAL by Timothy Hanford Advisor: Professor Ronnie Ancona This dissertation explores the relationship between Senecan tragedy and Virgil’s Aeneid, both on close linguistic as well as larger thematic levels. Senecan tragic characters and choruses often echo the language of Virgil’s epic in provocative ways; these constitute a contrastive reworking of the original Virgilian contents and context, one that has not to date been fully considered by scholars. -
Ritual Cleaning-Up of the City: from the Lupercalia to the Argei*
RITUAL CLEANING-UP OF THE CITY: FROM THE LUPERCALIA TO THE ARGEI* This paper is not an analysis of the fine aspects of ritual, myth and ety- mology. I do not intend to guess the exact meaning of Luperci and Argei, or why the former sacrificed a dog and the latter were bound hand and foot. What I want to examine is the role of the festivals of the Lupercalia and the Argei in the functioning of the Roman community. The best-informed among ancient writers were convinced that these were purification cere- monies. I assume that the ancients knew what they were talking about and propose, first, to establish the nature of the ritual cleanliness of the city, and second, see by what techniques the two festivals achieved that goal. What, in the perception of the Romans themselves, normally made their city unclean? What were the ordinary, repetitive sources of pollution in pre-Imperial Rome, before the concept of the cura Urbis was refined? The answer to this is provided by taboos and restrictions on certain sub- stances, and also certain activities, in the City. First, there is a rule from the Twelve Tables with Cicero’s curiously anachronistic comment: «hominem mortuum», inquit lex in duodecim, «in urbe ne sepelito neve urito», credo vel propter ignis periculum (De leg. II 58). Secondly, we have the edict of the praetor L. Sentius C.f., known from three inscrip- tions dating from the beginning of the first century BC1: L. Sentius C. f. pr(aetor) de sen(atus) sent(entia) loca terminanda coer(avit). -
The Imperial Cult and the Individual
THE IMPERIAL CULT AND THE INDIVIDUAL: THE NEGOTIATION OF AUGUSTUS' PRIVATE WORSHIP DURING HIS LIFETIME AT ROME _______________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Department of Ancient Mediterranean Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _____________________________________________________ by CLAIRE McGRAW Dr. Dennis Trout, Dissertation Supervisor MAY 2019 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled THE IMPERIAL CULT AND THE INDIVIDUAL: THE NEGOTIATION OF AUGUSTUS' PRIVATE WORSHIP DURING HIS LIFETIME AT ROME presented by Claire McGraw, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. _______________________________________________ Professor Dennis Trout _______________________________________________ Professor Anatole Mori _______________________________________________ Professor Raymond Marks _______________________________________________ Professor Marcello Mogetta _______________________________________________ Professor Sean Gurd DEDICATION There are many people who deserve to be mentioned here, and I hope I have not forgotten anyone. I must begin with my family, Tom, Michael, Lisa, and Mom. Their love and support throughout this entire process have meant so much to me. I dedicate this project to my Mom especially; I must acknowledge that nearly every good thing I know and good decision I’ve made is because of her. She has (literally and figuratively) pushed me to achieve this dream. Mom has been my rock, my wall to lean upon, every single day. I love you, Mom. Tom, Michael, and Lisa have been the best siblings and sister-in-law. Tom thinks what I do is cool, and that means the world to a little sister. -
Poetic Difficulty in the Gemini Myth of Fasti 5
Poetic Difficulty in the Gemini Myth of Fasti 5 From the beginning of the Fasti (1.295-6), Ovid makes clear that the stars form an integral part of his calendrical poem. For some time, scholarship was disappointed in the inaccuracies of Ovid’s astronomy. He often confuses risings and settings, sometimes by a forgivable amount of days, sometimes by an inexplicably large number of months. Recently, scholars have tended to look more generously on these scientifically incorrect star placements and have sought to explain their presence thematically within the Fasti (Gee 2000; Newlands 1995; Robinson 2011). In light of this, this paper explores three thematic readings of the Gemini story (5.693-720): programmatic concerns, metapoetics, and political context. These readings help reveal the difficulty Ovid’s poetry faces and exemplifies the creative ways Ovid adheres to and adapts his project. I begin by examining the three Greek sources for the myth of the Gemini: Pindar, Apollodorus, and Theocritus. Although Ovid follows the basic narrative framework presented by these sources, he departs by emphasizing the story as an aetion of the constellation and love as the motivation of the brothers’ battle. Throughout the Fasti, Ovid tries to maintain his programmatic dichotomy of arma against sidera and amor (Hinds 1992). Ultimately, this dichotomy breaks down in Fasti 5 with the death of the peaceful poet Chiron and the entrance of Mars Ultor. The separation of stars and weapons collapses in this catasterism myth because of its graphic battle scene. To try to rehabilitate this myth and his poem, Ovid turns to his other programmatic concern, love. -
Ancient Authors 297
T Ancient authors 297 is unknown. His Attic Nights is a speeches for the law courts, collection of essays on a variety political speeches, philosophical ANCIENT AUTHORS of topics, based on his reading of essays, and personal letters to Apicius: (fourth century AD) is the Greek and Roman writers and the friends and family. name traditionally given to the lectures and conversations he had Columella: Lucius Iunius author of a collection of recipes, heard. The title Attic Nights refers Moderatus Columella (wrote c.AD de Re Coquinaria (On the Art of to Attica, the district in Greece 60–65) was born at Gades (modern Cooking). Marcus Gavius Apicius around Athens, where Gellius was Cadiz) in Spain and served in the was a gourmet who lived in the living when he wrote the book. Roman army in Syria. He wrote a early first centuryAD and wrote Cassius Dio (also Dio Cassius): treatise on farming, de Re Rustica about sauces. Seneca says that he Cassius Dio Cocceianus (c.AD (On Farming). claimed to have created a scientia 150–235) was born in Bithynia. He popīnae (snack bar cuisine). Diodorus Siculus: Diodorus had a political career as a consul (wrote c.60–30 BC) was a Greek Appian: Appianos (late first in Rome and governor of the from Sicily who wrote a history of century AD–AD 160s) was born in provinces of Africa and Dalmatia. the world centered on Rome, from Alexandria, in Egypt, and practiced His history of Rome, written in legendary beginnings to 54 BC. as a lawyer in Rome. -
The World's Measure: Caesar's Geographies of Gallia and Britannia in Their Contexts and As Evidence of His World Map
The World's Measure: Caesar's Geographies of Gallia and Britannia in their Contexts and as Evidence of his World Map Christopher B. Krebs American Journal of Philology, Volume 139, Number 1 (Whole Number 553), Spring 2018, pp. 93-122 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ajp.2018.0003 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/687618 Access provided at 25 Oct 2019 22:25 GMT from Stanford Libraries THE WORLD’S MEASURE: CAESAR’S GEOGRAPHIES OF GALLIA AND BRITANNIA IN THEIR CONTEXTS AND AS EVIDENCE OF HIS WORLD MAP CHRISTOPHER B. KREBS u Abstract: Caesar’s geographies of Gallia and Britannia as set out in the Bellum Gallicum differ in kind, the former being “descriptive” and much indebted to the techniques of Roman land surveying, the latter being “scientific” and informed by the methods of Greek geographers. This difference results from their different contexts: here imperialist, there “cartographic.” The geography of Britannia is ultimately part of Caesar’s (only passingly and late) attested great cartographic endeavor to measure “the world,” the beginning of which coincided with his second British expedition. To Tony Woodman, on the occasion of his retirement as Basil L. Gildersleeve Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia, in gratitude. IN ALEXANDRIA AT DINNER with Cleopatra, Caesar felt the sting of curiosity. He inquired of “the linen-wearing Acoreus” (linigerum . Acorea, Luc. 10.175), a learned priest of Isis, whether he would illuminate him on the lands and peoples, gods and customs of Egypt. Surely, Lucan has him add, there had never been “a visitor more capable of the world” than he (mundique capacior hospes, 10.183). -
Missional Apologetics Draft
Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity Missional Apologetics: An Examination of Essential Elements in the Apologetic Approaches of Early Christian Era Apologists in Light of the Mission of Christ to a Pluralistic World. A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by George B. Bannister, Sr. Lynchburg, Virginia December 2018 Copyright © 2018 by George Benjamin Bannister, Sr. All rights reserved Approval Sheet MISSIONAL APOLOGETICS: AN EXAMINATION OF ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN THE APOLOGETIC APPROACHES OF EARLY CHRISTIAN ERA APOLOGISTS IN LIGHT OF THE MISSION OF CHRIST TO A PLURALISTIC WORLD. George Benjamin Bannister, Sr. Read and approved by: Chairperson: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________________ To the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, whose grace never ceases to amaze me. To Lisa, my bride, best friend, and holder of my heart; who has loved and supported me for many years and has been the best wife and partner and ministry co-laborer any man could wish for. Without you, I would not have achieved this milestone. To my sons and their brides who have encouraged me to stay the course and pursue the goal of completing this task. Thank you, Ben and Cindy, Dan and Liliana, and Bob and Deborah. I am a man who has been blessed beyond measure and far more than I could ever deserve! Contents Figures .........................................................................................................................................