Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons^™

Ceaselessly Testing The Good Of Death, Danielle A. Layne

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The hope Socrates invokes during his defence becomes a statement to be tested and corroborated, and thus a catalyst for discovery rather than a valueless rejection of all arguments, beliefs or in Socratic terms “hopes.” In his prison cell Socrates tests the propositions in the Apology that death may be a good and in the Phaedo these arguments affirm Socrates’ hope, making it the more valuable belief. Thus since no man willing chooses evil, a valueless not knowing, over the good, the value-laden hope regardless of not-knowing, Socrates commits himself to the “great perhaps” of the immortality of the soul. …

A Religious Revolution? How Socrates' Theology Undermined The Practice Of Sacrifice, Anna Lannstrom

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Mark McPherran and Gregory Vlastos argue that Socrates’ theology threatened Athenian sacrificial practices because it rejected the do ut des principle (aka the principle of reciprocity). I argue that their arguments are flawed because they assume that the Athenians understood sacrifice as something like a commercial transaction. Drawing upon scholarship in anthropology and religious studies, I argue that we need to revise that understanding of sacrifice and that, once we do, McPherran’s and Vlastos’ arguments no longer show that Socrates would have been a significant threat to the practice of sacrifice. Finally, I argue that McPherran’s Socrates does undermine sacrifice, …

Sagp Newsletter 2010/11.1 East Philol, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Ottoman Cyprus: New Studies In An Obscure Field, Kyriakos N. Demetriou

Kyriakos N. Demetriou

This article examines, from a philosophical and political perpective, a number of approaches to the history of Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire, and exposes the major difficulties and unsolved interpretative issues in such attempts.

Sagp/Ssips 2010 Program, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Metallurgy In The Roman Forts Of Scotland: An Archaeological Analysis, Scott S. Stetkiewicz

Honors Projects

Investigates the presence of metalworking in thirty-seven Roman forts in Scotland during the Flavian, Antonine, and Severan occupations largely through analysis of published documentation concerning relevant archaeological excavations.

The Creation And Transmission Of Justinian's Novels, Timothy G. Kearley

Timothy G. Kearley

Sexual Healing: Gender, Sexuality, And The Balance Of The Masculine And Feminine Creative Principles In The Healing Cult Of Asclepius, Aislinn Lowry, Nancy Sultan, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Aristotle On Learning In De Anima Ii.5, John F. Bowin

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Just as the coming to be of a substance may be described as either an extended process or the completion of an extended process depending on whether it is described as the coming to be of the composite or of the individual form, so the process of learning may be described as either an extended process or the completion of an extended process depending on whether it is described as the oscillation between states of truth and error or as the ‘settling down’ or cessation of this oscillation at the stage where knowledge has become a stable disposition (hexis). And …

Intelligible Matter In Aristotle, John Thorp

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The oxymoronic phrase ‘intelligible matter’ occurs three times in Aristotle. In two passages it has the same meaning; in the third the meaning seems radically different. This gives the impression that the Aristotelian language of metaphysics is distressingly slack. This paper argues, against the nearly unanimous voice of two millennia of commentaries, that ‘intelligible matter’ has the same meaning in all three loci. In doing so it develops a capital distinction that tightens up the apparatus of Aristotelian metaphysics.

Causation, Agency, And Law In Antiphon: On Some Subtleties In The Second Tetralogy, Joel Mann

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

That no one can or should be convicted in a law court on pollution charges is, I suggest, the implicit message of Antiphon’s second Tetralogy. More than a mere rhetorical exercise, Antiphon offers us a rational and compelling critique of religious law and of legal responsibility generally. In so doing, he anticipates modern puzzles in the philosophy of law as well as some of their more sophisticated solutions. A work not only of ingenious skepticism but also of considerable subtlety, the second Tetralogy should be considered the product of a philosopher who made perhaps the most substantial extant contribution to …

Review Of John Richardson, The Language Of Empire: Rome And The Idea Of Empire From The Third Century Bc To The Second Century Ad, Fred Drogula

Fred K. Drogula

Sagp Newsletter 2009/10.4 Pac, Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

What Aristotle Should Have Said About Megalopsychia, May Sim

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Megalopsychia (the greatness of soul) also translated as pride, or magnanimity, is a virtue Aristotle attributes to the good person regarding his claim to be worthy of great things, namely, honor. Despite this definition, commentators like C. Rowe, H. Curzer, R. Polansky and J. Stover, all chose to de-emphasize the centrality of honor in Aristotle’s definition of megalopsychia. Aristotle’s assertion that honor is the greatest external good also seems to be in tension with megalopsychia as a virtue that is to be pursued for its own sake, not to mention its tension with his remark that friendship is the greatest …

Against Hedonist Interpretations Of Plato's Protagoras, J. Clerk Shaw

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

In this paper, I adapt one of the pro-hedonist strategies to anti-hedonist ends. Just as some prohedonists insist that Plato’s arguments against hedonism elsewhere do not touch the actual theory found in the Protagoras (again, PH), I argue that the most natural reading of PH is inconsistent with views found in purportedly earlier dialogues (especially the Apology and Crito) as well as in purportedly later dialogues (such as the Gorgias, Phaedo, and Republic). In section 1, I argue that PH focuses entirely on bodily goods and bads.11 Then, in section 2, I argue that this makes the relationship between virtue …

Sagp Newsletter 2009/10.3 (Central Division), Anthony Preus

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Empirical And Dialogical Proofs Of God's Existence In Laws 10, Lewis Trelawny-Cassity

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

Book 10 of the Laws is intended to prove that the gods exist, care for us, and are not persuaded by bribes (885b7-9). The arguments put forward concerning the gods in Book 10 are described as “our noblest and best prelude (kalliston te kai ariston prooimion) on behalf of the laws” (887c1). In this paper I want to investigate how Plato establishes the fact that nous, “god, in the correct sense, for the gods” (897b2), exists. Some scholars have noted the “empirical” character of Plato’s arguments for the existence of god in Laws 10. While empirical facts do provide an …

Τρυφη And Υβρισ In The Περι Βιων Of Clearchus, Vanessa B. Gorman, Robert J. Gorman

Department of History: Faculty Publications

Recent discussions of the fragments of the Περι Βίων have seen the concept of pernicious luxury as a key to understanding aspects of this work of Clearchus. In particular, it is thought that Clearchus reflects a moralizing historiographical schema according to which wealth leads to an effeminate luxury (τρυφή), eventually producing satiety (κόρος), which in turn provokes the afflicted to violence (υβρις), ultimately bringing the subject’s destruction. We maintain, in contrast, that it is anachronistic to attribute this pattern of thought to Clearchus, and further, that the state of the evidence does not permit …

Roman Law And The Legal World Of The Romans, James G. Keenan

Classical Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A review of Andrew. M Riggsby's book, Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans.

The Gift Outright: Land Use And Resource Acquisition At Late Bronze Age Mycenae, Lynne. Kvapil

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Abstract of paper presentation from: Annual Meeting of CAMWS, Oklahoma City, OK, March 2010.

A Philology Of Liberation: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As A Reader Of The Classics, Thomas E. Strunk

Faculty Scholarship

This paper explores the intellectual relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the classics, particularly the works of Plato, Sophocles, and Aeschylus. Recognizing Dr. King as a reader of the classics is significant for two reasons: the classics played a formative role in Dr. King's development into a political activist and an intellectual of the first order; moreover, Dr. King shows us the way to read the classics. Dr. King did not read the classics in a pedantic or even academic manner, but for the purpose of liberation. Dr. King's legacy, thus, is not merely his political accomplishments but …

The Nature Of Command In The Macedonian Sarissa Phalanx, Graham Wrightson

School of American and Global Studies Faculty Publications with a Focus on History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion

In his essay, ―Hellenistic military leadership,‖ P. Beston reviews the successes of Hellenistic kings and generals who commanded their armies from the front, inspiring by example.1 In all but one of his examples the individual in question commanded a cavalry squadron. This is hardly surprising. Horses by nature follow each other and so to direct an attack to where it is required the commander would be better served by leading from the front. The relative lack of structure in a cavalry squadron compared with an infantry battalion requires that the commander fight in the front rank. The speed of a …

Remarks On David Daube’S Lectures On Sale, With Special Attention To The Liber Homo And Res Extra Commercium, Ernest Metzger

Ernest Metzger

This article discusses a collection of lecture notes on the Roman law of sale prepared by David Daube for an advanced course conducted at the University of Aberdeen from 1954 to 1955. The article considers in detail Daube’s lecture on the sale of the liber homo and res extra commercium in Roman law. An excerpt from that lecture is attached as an Appendix. His treatment of the subject is unfinished (and unpublished), though it is possible to see how his views might have developed. The final section offers an opinion on Daube’s approach to interpreting texts and its value to …

Civil Procedure In Classical Rome: Having An Audience With The Magistrate, Ernest Metzger

Ernest Metzger

During the classical period of Roman law, civil lawsuits were divided into two proceedings: a brief proceeding before the magistrate, who decided certain preliminary matters, and a longer proceeding before a judge, who tried the case. The first proceeding is said to take place “in iure,” which roughly means “in the magistrate’s court.” Unfortunately the figure “in court” has been understood too strictly to refer to the whole of the first phase, and this has given rise to the misunderstanding that the whole of the first phase took place in the magistrate’s presence. The better view is that the first …

Baciccio's Beata Ludovica Albertoni Distributing Alms, Karen J. Lloyd

Art Faculty Articles and Research

This article focuses on the artistic relationship between Baciccio and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

John Chrysostom, Maruthas And Christian Evangelism In Sasanian Iran, Walter Stevenson

Classical Studies Faculty Publications

Neither John Chrysostom’s efforts to evangelize in Sasanid Persia nor the conflict fought between Rome and Persia in 421 have drawn a great deal of attention.¹ So this paper will attempt to navigate the 20 years from John’s initial efforts up to the outbreak of the war without much modern support. Beginning from a series of clues in ancient sources I will try to gather apparently unrelated narratives into a story of how John inadvertently contributed to the even that Kenneth Holum called ‘Pulcheria’s Crusade’. Not that this war earned any of the historical significance of the later crusades. …

Summary Report For The 2010 Season, Mark Schuler

Excavation Reports

In 2010, excavation work concentrated on the area east of the domus of the North-East Church between Cardo 3 North and Cardo 4 North. This area may be the remains of a palatial home of a prominent citizen of the city. If our hypothesis holds true, the house would be some 375 m2 plus a garden to the north.1 In addition to the architecture revealed in 2010, small finds raise interesting questions about the use of the area and about the religious life of the community in the Byzantine period. This report will detail work done in three areas and …

A Problem For The Political Reading Of Plato's Republic, Mason Marshall

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

On one of the most common readings of the Republic, Plato means for us to agree with Socrates and his interlocutors that their aristocratic city is the just polis. For convenience, I call this the political reading. It is no wonder, of course, that this interpretation is as common as it is, since it might be one of the most natural interpretations of the Republic. I argue, though, that it faces a serious problem: Socrates and his interlocutors’ argument for the justice of the aristocratic city has certain deficits, and—more important—there is considerable evidence that Plato was aware of at …

Representing The Rhinoceros: The Royal Society Between Art And Science In The Eighteenth Century, Craig A, Hanson

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Discrepancies between the empirical evidence of single-horned rhinoceroses witnessed by Europeans and references from antiquity regarding double-horned rhinos puzzled members of the Royal Society for decades, particularly the circle of physicians around Drs Richard Mead and Hans Sloane. Three articles published in the Philosophical Transactions proposing solutions to the two-horned dilemma and the kinds of evidence onwhich they depended raised crucial issues for the Royal Society during the period - antiquarian concerns tied to philology, numismatics, textual emendation and collecting as well as the conceptual overlap between medical theory and the knowledge of the ancient world generally.

Turning The Cup: Thematic Balance In The Greek Symposium, Matthew Naglak

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The concept of “nothing in excess” was an important one in ancient Greek life. The guiding principle of moderation and/or balance appears in poetry from the 7th to the 5th centuries BCE and has been extensively explored by scholars. My research project adds to this scholarly work by considering for the first time the relationship between moderation and the visual. That is, I explore whether and how this key Greek notion was expressed in the images that appear on pottery of the time period. More specifically, I focus on pottery used in thesymposium, a politically-charged aristocratic male drinking party, and …