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This volume assembles approaches to rituals in several cultures of the Ancient Mediterranean (Egyptian, Punic, Greek, Italian, Roman) from the second millennium BCE to Late Antiquity. Ritual dynamics is the common theme of the fourteen chapters. Rituals are understood as complex socio-cultural constructs that are connected with tensions: tensions within the cult community; tensions between norm and performance, expectation and reality, traditional significance and re-interpretation, stereotype and variability. Exploiting a variety of sources (literary sources, inscriptions, iconography), the authors approach the questions of how such tensions influence the performance and impact of rituals, how they generate change, how ritual agency is connected with gender and social standing, how rituals trigger particular emotions and create emotional communities, and how the literary and visual representations of rituals reflect their cultural relevance.

20ths century research in St. Paul is widely impacted by Adolf Deissmanns prominent view on the apostle as a "homo novus" (1911). But where does this concept originate from, and what does it imply? This collection of articles does not only re-evaluate Deissmanns concept by tracing it back to its historical and socio-political origins in Cicero and exploring how authors from (early) Imperial Time perceive and transform the homo novus paradigm by diverse modes and strategies of literary self-fashioning. Scholars ranging the fields of New Testament Studies, Greek and Latin Philology, Ancient History, Patristics, and Comparative Literature also examine how the Ciceronian paradigm was early on transformed, disseminated, and applied as a literary concept and an authorial topos of self-molding. One of the leading questions throughout the volume thus is: How do authors like Cicero, Horace, Paul, Tacitus, Seneca, Athanasius, and Augustine fashion themselves in accordance to or in difference from the idea of being a "new man"? It is argued that by means of literary self-configuration, indeed, some of these writers such as Paul and Augustine want to appear as "new men" by either altering traditional social, moral, religious, or political roles, or by creating new patterns of social behavior and religious self-understanding.

The bawdy comedies of Aristophanes gradually began to attract more attention among learned circles in the later 16th century. This trend culminated in 1586, when Nicodemus Frischlin produced new and strikingly original Latin versions of five plays by Aristophanes. With this work Frischlin completely recast the place of Aristophanes in the Republic of Letters, forcing readers to approach him as a dramatist of tremendous contemporary relevance. Frischlin was able to rehabilitate Aristophanes by calling attention both to the practical advice his plays could give on the administration of a res publica, and to the light they could shed on serious problems concerning rhetorical education and political discourse within the troubled Holy Roman Empire under Rudolf II. This work aims to restore Frischlins translations to their rightful place of honor within the broader reception tradition of Aristophanes and Old Comedy, while analyzing them within the context of Frischlins own longstandingcampaigns for educational and political reform.

Cultural and intellectual dynamism often stand in close relationship to the expression of viewpoints and positions that are in tension or even conflict with one another. This phenomenon has a particular relevance for Early Modern Europe, which was heavily marked by polemical discourse. The dimensions and manifestations of this Streitkultur are being explored by an International Network funded by the Leverhulme Trust (United Kingdom). The present volume contains the proceedings of the Networks first colloquium, which focused on the forms of Renaissance conflict and rivalries, from the perspectives of history, language and literature.

Since the end of World War II, Nazi medical atrocities have been a topic of ambivalent reactions and debates, both in Germany and internationally: An early period of silence was followed by attempts of victims and representatives of medical organisations to describe what happened. Varying narratives developed, some of which had a stabilizing function for the identity of the profession, whereas others had a critical and de-stabilizing function. In todays international debates in the field of medical ethics, there are frequent references to Nazi medical atrocities, in particular in the context of discussions about research on human subjects, and on euthanasia. The volume analyses the narratives on Nazi medical atrocities, their historicity in different stages of post-war medicine, as well as in the international discourse on biomedical ethics.

The well-respected historian Manfried Rauchensteiner analyses the outbreak of World War I, Emperor Franz Josephs role in the conflict, and how the various nationalities of the Habsburg Monarchy reacted to the disintegration of this 640-yearold empire in 1918. After Archduke Franz Ferdinand"s assassination in Sarajevo in 1914, war was inevitable. Emperor Franz Joseph intended it, and everyone in Vienna expected it. How the war began and how Austria-Hungary managed to avoid capitulation only weeks later with the help of German troops reads like a thriller. Manfried Rauchensteiner"s book is based on decades of research and is a fascinating read to the very end, even though the final outcome, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, is already known. Originally published in German in 2013 by Bohlau, this standard work is now available in English.

Hatra is the richest archaeological site in the Parthian Empire known to date and has great potential for a better understanding of this enigmatic empire and its relationship with Rome. After an introduction to this little known site, seventeen contributions written by leading experts in the field provide the reader with the latest insights into this important late-Parthian settlement. They touch upon three themes. The first section, "Between Parthia and Rome" contains three articles that discuss the relationship between Parthia and Rome on the one hand, and Parthia and its vassal states on the other. The seven contributions in "The City and its Remains" take the rich archaeological evidence from Hatra as a starting point and use this to reconstruct the citys history. The third and final section "Culture and Religion on the Crossroads" contains seven articles that are related to Hatras position between the two great empires. Although most scholars agree that politically this city belonged to the east, this by no means holds true for all aspects of its culture and religion.

The old humanistic model, aiming at universalism, ecumenism, and the globalization of various Western systems of values and beliefs, is no longer adequate even if it pleads for an ever-wider inclusion of other cultural perspectives and for intercultural dialogue.In contrast, it would be wise to retain a number of its assumptions and practices which it incidentally shares with humanistic models outside the Western world. We must now reconsider and remap it in terms of a larger, global reference frame. This anthology does just that, thus contributing to a new field of study and practice that could be called intercultural humanism.

This book is not about witches. First of all, because it focuses on the Middle Ages. And, despite common misconceptions among the general public, the figure of the witch as a woman who seals a pact with the Devil is not a "medieval" invention. Becoming a Witch explores the feminization of what civil and religious authorities defined as "magic" in medieval times. It looks into the complex connections between women, the natural, the supernatural, and the tragedy of existence. The chapters in this book span from the far north of Europe to the Mediterranean area, and investigate topics such as divination, erotic "magic", flying and dancing bodies, cannibalism, milk-stealing witchcraft, the circulation of "superstitious" knowledge among women, Otherness, agency, and, last but not least, contemporary representations of the witch in books, TV series, and cinema productions. From whom did women learn their beliefs and remedies? Were they really in contact with demons? Were they a social threat? And, most importantly, should men fear and stop them?

The work of the other comic poets of classical Athens, those who competed with, and in some cases defeated, their (eventually) better-known fellow comedian, Aristophanes, has almost eluded the historical record. The poetry of Cratinus, Phrynichos, Eupolis and the rest has survived only in tantalising, often tiny, fragments and citations. Modern studies in this field have themselves often been difficult of access. Here an exceptional cast of scholars, including most of the leading international authorities, provides a set of 28 interpretative essays to cover every one of these other poets of Athenian Old Comedy for whom significant evidence survives. The work includes a comprehensive bibliography, and is a landmark in the study of Old Comedy.

Obwohl die Wiederverwendung antiker Sarkophage während des Mittelalters auf der Iberischen Halbinsel bedeutsam ist, gab es bisher dazu keine eigene Untersuchung. Nachdem Serafín Moralejo 1984 einen A

It is almost exactly 2500 years ago that the decisive clashes of the Persian Wars at Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataia took place. These battles were attributed world-historical significance in antiquity and, even more so, in the centuries that followed. Yet, the details of what happened, as well as their military-political and cultural impact and detailed evaluation, have been the subject of much controversial research, not least because of the difficult nature of the sources. The present volume is the outcome of a conference held in Budapest which celebrated the anniversary of Xerxes expedition against Hellas by discussing old and new questions related to the war and the history of its reception. It was jointly organised by the editors of the volume and attracted speakers from around the globe. The volume brings together scholars of all branches of classical studies and related disciplines and is organised in two sections: (i) Graeco-Persian Wars, Diplomacy and Acculturation, (ii) Commemorating and remembering the war from antiquity to the present. 19 contributors from 10 different countries provide a good overview of ongoing studies in the field.

Winner of the 2025 Frank Watson Book Prize Why did Scots in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries know so little about their past and even less about those who controlled their history? Is the historical narrative the only legitimate medium through which the past can be made known? Are novelists and historians as far apart as convention has it? In an age when history grounds any claims to national status, these are important questions and they have implications for how Scottish history has evolved, and how Scottish identity has been understood up to the present day. Scottish history is not simply the distillation of Scotlands past: authors shape what we know and how we judge our forebears. This book investigates who decided which Scottish voices of the past would be heard in historys pages and which would ultimately be silenced. It sketches a picture of a narrow and privileged cultural elite that responded belatedly to a more democratic age and only slowly embraced women writers and the interests of average Scots. Integrating historical fiction and popular histories in its appreciation of the Scottish historical imaginary, it most importantly tells the story of why, despite the interests of politicians and others, a truly British history has never emerged. A brilliant, scholarly yet highly readable work which enlarges our understanding of what Scottish history is, and reinforces why it really matters - James Robertson

The largest kingdom to emerge from the conquests of Alexander the Great was founded by Seleukos I Nikator (the Conqueror). His successors strove to defend the territories ranging from western Asia Minor to Arachosia in the east. The Syrian core transformed into a new Macedon, hosting myriads of veterans whose offspring became the next generations phalangites. Babylonia added wealth and soldiers, Media provided cavalry. At the height of the kingdoms might, Antiochos III Megas was repelled from Greece by the Romans and lost Asia Minor at the Battle of Magnesia (190 BCE). The realm recovered and Antiochos IV nearly conquered Egypt before withdrawing at the behest of the Romans. His undiminished army was ostentatiously paraded at Daphne by Antioch on the Orontes (166 BCE).The narratives around key events are the prime sources for systematic inquiries into the sophisticated war machinery of the Seleukids, complemented by Greek and Akkadian inscriptions that attest to garrisons and settled veterans. The authors engage diverse sources and the latest scholarship to explain the tactics, manpower, and strategy of Seleukid warfare.

The Tetrarchy, the modern name assigned to the period of Roman history that started with the emperor Diocletian and ended with Constantine I, has been a much-studied and much-debated field of the Roman Empire. Debate, however, has focused primarily on whether it was a true system of government, or rather a collection of ad-hoc measures undertaken to stabilise the empire after the troubled period of the 3rd century CE. The papers collected here aim to go beyond this question and to present an innovative approach to a fascinating period of Roman history by understanding the Tetrarchy not as a system of government, but primarily as a political language. Their focus thus lies on the language and ideology of the imperial college and court, on the performance of power in imperial ceremonies, the representation of the emperors and their enemies in the provinces of the Roman world, as well as on the afterlife of Tetrarchic power in the Constantinian period.

While the Ottoman conquest of the Mamluk realm in 1516-17 doubtlessly changed the balance of political power in Egypt and Greater Syria, the changes must be seen as a wide-ranging transition process. The present collection of essays provides several case studies on the changing situation during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and explains how the reconfiguration of political power affected both Egypt and Greater Syria. With reference to the first volume (2017), this second volume continues the debate on key issues of the transition period with contributions by scholars from both Mamluk and Ottoman studies. By combining these perspectives, the authors provide a more comprehensive and nuanced picture of the process of transformation from Mamluk to Ottoman rule.

The recently discovered Arabic translation of an anonymous ancient treatise describing advanced methods for constructing magic squares has improved our knowledge of Greek mathematics considerably. The early tenth-century translator reports that he found two manuscripts of this treatise, for the greater part damaged by termites. However, since the preserved parts of one made up for the destroyed parts of the other, he could manage to complete his work. This translation was then the starting point for studies on magic squares in Arabic. It appears thus that there existed Greek studies on the subject of magic squares, and at a remarkable stage of advancement. But this being the only text preserved, we are left in ignorance of the earlier history.

In 621/0 B.C., the Athenians appointed Draco as their first lawgiver. His homicide laws, which alone survived the general recension of Athenian law by Solon (594/3 B.C.), remained in force down through the Classical period. This book traces the development of Athenian legal and social responses to homicide from the legislation of Draco to the time of the orator Demosthenes (d. 322 B.C.), with particular attention to the Athenian institution of private enmity (echthra), the circumstances and aims of Dracos legislation, familial and religious issues surrounding homicide, and the regime of the Thirty Tyrants and its aftermath.

After his victory over Mithradates VI the Roman general Pompey founded a number of cities in order to shape the newly founded Roman province in the inland of the conquered former Pontic kingdom, in the southern Black Sea region. This sparked the beginning of an intense process of urban and rural development peaking in the 2nd century AD and continuing until the Byzantine period, a level of intensity never accomplished in northern Anatolia until today. The reorganization of space through the development of new urban centers affected the whole region and transformed the territory. This volume reviews current knowledge regarding these new founded Roman cities in relation to their territories, necropoleis and sanctuaries. It consists of 18 articles, which explore dynamics in settlement patterns, architecture, urban and mortuary spaces, monetary circulation and epigraphic habit. Some articles present the results of recent field research, others review little known material ripe for new interpretations, while new archaeological data is provided by the reports of rescue excavations carried out by local museums.

While previous research has focused on the public discourse of wealth, little attention has thus far been paid to the perception of poverty and attitudes toward it in classical Athens. This e-book argues that a public discourse of poverty in Athens can be reconstructed from sources dating from the 430s to the 330s BC. Athenian democracy promoted ideas about poverty that could substantially contribute to the stability of the political system, while simultaneously differentiating between destitution and "good poverty" the latter being a legitimate condition for a citizen and beneficial to the polis. After a preliminary discussion of the debate over the definition of poverty in the social sciences, Lucia Cecchet explores the web of beliefs and the collective imaginary of poverty that emerge from classical Athenian sources addressed to large audiences: drama and oratory. The frequency with which images and ideas about "the poor" occur in these sources testifies to an ongoing discussion of the causes and effects of poverty and even possible solutions to this social problem. These sources allow us to investigate how these topics were used in drama, in the Assembly and in the jury courts to arouse emotions and influence public decisions.