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Hirundo VI 2007-2008 HIRUNDO THE MCGILL JOURNAL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES VOLUME SIX MCGILL UNIVERSITY MONTRÉAL , Q UÉBEC , C ANADA 2007-2008 Hirundo is the Latin word for martlet, a mythical bird without legs, always shown in flight, unceasing in its quest for knowledge. The McGill coat-of-arms has three martlets. HIRUNDO THE MCGILL JOURNAL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES Founded 2001 Published once a year by the Classics Students' Association of McGill University Amanda Lazarus EDITOR -IN -C HIEF Charles Bartlett, Samantha Briffett, Eric Brousseau, Margherita Devine, Michelle Dumberry, Katharine Heus, Brahm Kleinman, Sarah Limoges, Michèle Smith, Andrew Swidzinski EDITORIAL BOARD Richard Tseng, Amber Irwin LAYOUT EDITORS Professor Michael P. Fronda ACADEMIC ADVISOR Cover inset pictures are 'martlets' from the 'Spring Fresco,' Thera, Greece: reproduced by kind permis - sion of Nanno Marinatos from Art and Religion in Thera , Athens: Mathioulakis, 1984: 90-91, 93. The 'Spring Fresco' is now located at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. The journal is com - puter typeset in Times New Roman. Hirundo accepts essay contributions, from students of McGill University, between 1,000 and 8,000 words in length, which relate to ancient Europe and the Mediterranean world, including the Near East and Egypt, from prehistoric to late antique times. An abstract of not more than 75 words should ac - company a submission. Since Hirundo has a policy of "blind review," information identifying the au - thor should appear separate from the essay text. Students wishing to write a book review should contact the Editor-in-Chief. It is journal policy that the copyright to the contents of each issue belongs to Hirundo . Essays in either English or French are welcome and may be sent to: Editor-in-Chief, Hirundo Department of History and Classics Program Stephen Leacock Building, Room 625 855 Sherbrooke Street West Montréal, Québec, H3A 2T7 No portion of this journal may be reproduced without the formal consent of the editorial board . II HIRUNDO THE MCGILL JOURNAL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES MONTRÉAL , Q UÉBEC , C ANADA 2007-2008: V OLUME SIX CONTENTS FOREWORD . V ARTICLES FREEDMAN , Elie Fortune in Polybius: Tyche’s Constantly Inconsistent Rationale . 1-6 GALATAS , Connie Snow White’s Apple and Claudius’ Mushrooms: A Look at the Use of Poison in the Early Roman Empire . 7-17 HARKNESS , Jillian Sappho’s Spangled Memory . .18-24 KLEIN , Solomon The Indigenous Role in the Romanization of Hispania Following the Augustan Conquests . .25-31 LIMOGES , Sarah The Portrayal of Germanicus in Tacitus’ Annales and the Historicity of the Germanicus-Tiberius Conflict . 32-40 MAZUREK , Carl Agricola 21 and the Flavian Romanization of Britain . .41-47 SWIDZINSKI , Andrew Tiberius Gracchus: A Study . 48-68 VĂDAN , Paul Patterns of Continuity in Geto-Dacian Foreign Policy Under Burebista . 69-86 VETTESE , Troy War in the Amphitheatre . 87-96 BACK MATTER. 97-104 IV HIRUNDO 2008 ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE THE ARTS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ’S SOCIETY THE STUDENTS ’ S OCIETY OF MCGILL UNIVERSITY THE DEAN OF ARTS DEVELOPMENT FUND V FOREWORD It is with great honour and joy that I introduce the sixth edition of Hirundo . As Classical Studies continues to grow at McGill, the opportunities to pursue new areas of in - quiry, by faculty and students alike , have expanded. The articles included in this year’s publication highlight this evolution. In this edition, Elie Freedman investigates the role of Fortune ( Tyche ) in the Pragmatik ē Histori ē and the difficulties the modern mind encounters when attempting to rationalize its use by Polybius. Next, McGill alumna Connie Galatas charms readers with her discussion of poison - ing as a reality in the historical narrative and poisoning as a metaphor depicting the degeneration of Roman values in the Early Empire. Jillian Harkness delights with her essay on personal speech in Sap - pho and the poignant affect of Sapphic fragments. Thereafter, Solomon Klein explores the role of the indigenous Hispanic aristocratic class in the area’s Romanization following the Augustan conquests. Sarah Limoges provides a thrilling analysis of the primary sources for the Germanicus/Tiberius conflict in order to determine the credibility of Tacitus’ account of the incident. Next, McGill alumnus Carl Mazurek tackles the Flavian Romanization of Britain and investigates the scholarly debate surrounding Agricola 21. Andrew Swidzinski presents readers with an in-depth analysis of Tiberius Gracchus and then Paul Vădan grapples with the limited extant sources for Geto-Dacia and establishes a convincing case for continuity in foreign policy practices under Burebista. Finally, Troy Vettese’s exciting analy - sis of the role of battle reenactments in gladiatorial games reinterprets the practice as a crucial instru - ment in connecting the Roman people to the martial victories that took place in distant locations. I would like to thank our generous patrons: the AUS, the Faculty of Religious Studies, the Dean’s Improvement Fund, SSMU, the Classics Programme, the Department of History, and Jane Levin and Dr. Richard Levin. Without your funding, this year’s edition of Hirundo would not have been pos - sible. To the Classics and Ancient History faculty members who have inspired the papers found in this publication, I must add that your unfailing support and guidance has led to the fruition of this year’s project, and for that we are truly grateful. Special thanks go to Professor Fronda, Hirundo ’s faculty ad - visor, for his kind patience, steadfast commitment, and many words of wisdom which never failed to hit the mark. Finally, my editorial board has my deepest gratitude for their diligence, enthusiasm and friend - ship throughout this project. Your dedication and good spirits have made this sixth edition truly won - derful. AMANDA LAZARUS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Elie Freedmen Fortune in Polybius 1 Fortune in Polybius: Tyche’s Constantly Inconsistent Rationale Elie Freedman Polybius’ Pragmatik ē Histori ē, which deals with the rise of the Roman Empire in a mere fifty-three years, is a work that involves a major contradiction. Polybius furthers the purpose of the His - tories as a pragmatic historical account which looks to rationally explain events by introducing three dis - tinct levels of causality: cause, pretext, and beginning. However, it also features Tyche , or Fortune as a central force. There can be no question as to the importance of this conundrum and it seems intrinsically wrong to the modern mind to emphasize the role of Fortune in a pragmatic history. We might instead expect to find it in the histories of Polybius’ predecessors, such as Herodotus, with no reasonable place in Pragmatik ē Histori ē. Nevertheless, the difficulty exists. Polybius in a number of passages explains both its purpose and its proper use, considering it to be a necessary element of his work. Why then, we may ask, is this issue worth investigating? As numerous scholars have pointed out, Polybius is incon - sistent in his conceptualization of Fortune and of the purpose it serves. The question of why Polybius uses Fortune as crucial element in the Histories may be more appropriately answered by asking how he uses it. In this sense, this paper does not seek just to analyze systematically instances of Tyche in its dif - ferent forms, but to push beyond these analyses, suggesting that Fortune in the Pragmatik ē Histori ē, de - spite its inconsistency, serves a reasonable, explanatory role in Polybius’ rational and pragmatic work. The role of Tyche in the Histories has sparked significant debate among historians. No seri - ous academic discussion of Polybius can ignore the research of historian Frank W. Walbank. Walbank wrote extensively on the subject of Tyche, arguing that a rational, universal history which includes a prominent role for Fortune is not a contradictory one in the case of the Histories .1 Though the weight of Walbank’s scholarship is overwhelming, this paper will attempt to credibly expand on his assertions about Fortune in the Histories . It shall be suggested that Polybius’ introduction, his discussion of Reg - ulus, book thirty-six, and the underlying themes of his work include attempts to enlist Tyche as a ra - tionalizing force. An essential and difficult distinction must be made before moving forward. Fortune, or Tyche as a concept, despite being as inconsistent in its presence in the Histories as it is in Polybius’ explanations for its proper use, however, is still being placed in a rational world. Fortune’s actions may be inconsistent, but they are not unexpected. As Polybius writes in the opening passages of his work, “the soundest education and training for a life of active politics is the study of History and that surest and indeed the only method of learn - ing how to bear bravely the vicissitudes of Fortune is to recall the calamities of others.” 2 Thus the only 1 Frank W. Walbank, Commentary on Polybius , vol.1. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957) , 16. 2 Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire , ed. Frank W. Walbank, trans. Ian Scott Kilvert (New York: Penguin Classics, 1979),1.1. Emphasis mine. 2 HIRUNDO 2008 way to bear the inevitable vicissitudes of Fortune is to remember and understands the mis fortunes of oth - ers. Hence for Polybius, Fortune is not incalculable; in fact it is wholly expected. Recalling the calami - ties of others at the hands of Fortune can provide insight into what his audience can expect, and for what they must prepare themselves. Walbank writes that, “Polybius regards the study of the past as es - sentially a way to attain practical ends by learning lessons…in human affairs a good deal is calculable even if a residuum is not.” 3 What is tangible about Fortune is not necessarily its actions, but rather the reactions of historical figures to its vicissitudes, which can form a rational, and moral process of be - haviour.
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