The Philosopher’s Diet in Porphyry’s De Abstinentia: Characterizing a Historical Legacy of Minimalism in Food Consumption

Historical legacy, as an important constituent for the evaluation of the extent to which the past influences the present, sheds much light on some of the broader issues of the relation between the past and the present. One of the components of historical legacy is human food consumption habits. The domain of food consumption habits, in traditional Greek and Roman culture, contains a fairly noticeable diversity as it fluctuates between what seems to be two wide poles of dietary practices such as a simple diet, with the focus on minimalism and health and a luxury diet, with the focus on excess and extravagance. These poles, upon close analysis, have determined the dietary customs of antiquity while also formed a gastronomic identity. The impact of this historical legacy seems to have not only flavored Porphyry’s discussion of the nature of the philosopher’s diet in On Abstinence from Killing Animals but has also served in characterizing an advanced stage of minimalism in Greek and Roman food consumption habits.

Lexicography and the history of culture (The case of Teodor Corbea’s Romanian–Latin Dictionary)

This study aims at pointing to the cultural dimensions of lexicography, both by revealing the cultural content of lexicographic works and the authors’ cultural horizons and by searching for a precise cultural motivation for compiling dictionaries. One such particular exercise is applied to Teodor Corbea’s Latin–Romanian Dictionary, elaborated between 1691–1702. Our study focuses on the encyclopædic character of this work and its relations with the Greco-Roman culture. It also analyses the Latin–Romanian similarities and the way the Romance character of the Romanian language is reflected.

Image and Authority

This chapter investigates the role of authorities in the production of images in Roman culture. It focuses on imperial art of the Julio-Claudian period by analyzing significant visual and literary evidence in order to reconstruct social interactions and power relations among agents such as the emperor, the Senate and People of Rome, provincial elites, artists, and soldiers. The first part of the chapter addresses the question of how the images of public monuments erected within the city of Rome reflect the interests of the parties involved. This leads to some general considerations about authority and auctoritas in Roman society. The following section discusses the intentions of the local elites who initiated the construction of imperial monuments in provincial cities, interpreting the specific visual language of the decoration of these monuments. Finally, the impact of imperial motifs and themes on images in the military and private realm is discussed.

COMPETITION, MEANING, AND MONUMENTALIZATION IN GALLIA COMATA

Perhaps the most striking, and archaeologically speaking the most evident, change that occurred in Gallia Comata from the 1st century BCE to the end of the 2nd century CE was the incorporation of massive, monumental, Roman-style architecture. Many of these monuments still stand to this day, providing an obvious, visual argument for the impact that Roman culture had on Gallic society. Overall, the incorporation of Roman architecture and monuments, paid for and dedicated by members of the local elite, seems to indicate a clear cultural shift in Gallic society and the adoption of Roman conceptions of urbanism and the role of the urban aristocracy in providing munera for the populace. This paper will examine the remains of monumental structures in the Gallic civitas-capitals, examining the initial stages of monumentalization. While early structures advertised the connection between the community as a whole with the Imperial power structure, the construction of amphitheaters in particular emerged rapidly throughout the Three Gauls and, as this paper will argue, was tied to the glorification and memorialization of the dedicator and his family. The edification of urban space thus became a new ground for the Gallic aristocracy to play out its internal rivalries, rather than a public expression of acceptance or obedience under Rome, and through the use of amphitheaters, urban edification allowed the Gallic aristocracy to retain their ties to the concept of competitive status and martial prowess.

Roman and Christian Just War: A Re-Analysis

There is no denying that the early Catholic Church grew up in a climate predominated by a rich and broad religious pantheon. Emerging at first as a perceived outgrowth of Judaism, Christianity was exposed to, among other things, Roman culture. Roman religious practice, which was typically very open to adopting foreign cults, felt threatened by Christianity, resulting in periods of persecution. As a result, the early Christian community had a very complicated relationship with Imperial Rome. The Church stressed non-collaboration, but evidence points that there was a divide between teachings and practice on the topic of military service. The patristic writings of the Early Church fathers are noticeably sparse until Ambrose and Augustine, who present what can generally be called a theory of just war. They also waver between support and condemnation, reflecting the needs of their congregations. Despite this relative absence of discussion, the prevailing attitude in the historical scholarship of the Early Church was that the pre-Constantine Church pushed for non-collaboration with Roman society, i.e. not serving in public office or the army. After Constantine, that same scholarship points towards an about-face in Church teachings, and a co-opting of the burgeoning Christian community. What this paper seeks to address is that Roman iustum bellum, and Christian just war, were developments specific to their contemporary societies and, while there is definitely a link, the two form distinct systems of thought. One might even say that iustum bellum was more concerned with justifying war, than the moral quandaries of Christian just war.

Cultural identity in the Roman Near East: An historiographical exercise

<p>The central premise of this thesis is that the concepts of hellenisation and romanisation are no longer useful as interpretive models of the Graeco-Roman Near East. Through most of the twentieth century they did good service generating research questions and providing innovative explanations of both existing and new data. On the one hand the notion of hellenisation focused attention on the historical importance of cultural change in the Hellenistic period, while the concept of romanisation focused scholarly attention on life in the provinces rather than on the court life of the imperial city and highlighted the importance of epigraphy and archaeology as against the philological study of literary texts. But the underlying assumptions of both concepts — the superiority of Graeco-Roman culture, the 'civilising' role of the intrusive powers, the passivity of the indigenous peoples of the region, the notion that Greek, Roman and Semitic cultures are bounded entities — are now dated. In the first part of the thesis I deconstruct the concepts of hellenisation and romanisation in detail and then develop an alternative framework which is avowedly postmodern and interdisciplinary, eschews eurocentrism, and uses postcolonial concepts as well as insights from modern social theory. In the second part of the thesis I use the alternative framework to review the evidence relating to the provincial city of Gerasa in the Roman province of Arabia. Looked at through this alternative prism it has been possible to offer some different readings of the evidence not apparent in earlier interpretations. In particular, in using the concepts of resistant strategy and cultural imperialism to discuss the emergence of the Antonine period city plan, I challenge the traditional view of Hadrian's urbanisation policy.</p>

Cultural identity in the Roman Near East: An historiographical exercise

<p>The central premise of this thesis is that the concepts of hellenisation and romanisation are no longer useful as interpretive models of the Graeco-Roman Near East. Through most of the twentieth century they did good service generating research questions and providing innovative explanations of both existing and new data. On the one hand the notion of hellenisation focused attention on the historical importance of cultural change in the Hellenistic period, while the concept of romanisation focused scholarly attention on life in the provinces rather than on the court life of the imperial city and highlighted the importance of epigraphy and archaeology as against the philological study of literary texts. But the underlying assumptions of both concepts — the superiority of Graeco-Roman culture, the 'civilising' role of the intrusive powers, the passivity of the indigenous peoples of the region, the notion that Greek, Roman and Semitic cultures are bounded entities — are now dated. In the first part of the thesis I deconstruct the concepts of hellenisation and romanisation in detail and then develop an alternative framework which is avowedly postmodern and interdisciplinary, eschews eurocentrism, and uses postcolonial concepts as well as insights from modern social theory. In the second part of the thesis I use the alternative framework to review the evidence relating to the provincial city of Gerasa in the Roman province of Arabia. Looked at through this alternative prism it has been possible to offer some different readings of the evidence not apparent in earlier interpretations. In particular, in using the concepts of resistant strategy and cultural imperialism to discuss the emergence of the Antonine period city plan, I challenge the traditional view of Hadrian's urbanisation policy.</p>

Egypt in the Roman and Late Antique World

Following a short section summarizing the interpretative contributions of the book as a whole, this chapter takes a wider perspective, drawing on the material studied in the preceding chapters to first compare Egypt to the wider Roman world, and, second, examine the transition from the Roman to late antique period and beyond in Egypt. First, the overall contribution of the book is emphasized: a new interpretation which takes a social archaeology approach to everyday life. The point is also made that the work is grounded in a careful re-evaluation of object dating, and informed by neglected archive information. In addition to providing a secure foundation for the book, this fundamental research provides an important resource for future studies. Next, evidence for both similarities and differences to wider Roman culture is presented, and the multiple ways in which Roman-style material culture may have functioned within the social context of Egypt are examined. Finally, the relationship between the objects studied and wider social changes is investigated; the transition from the Roman to the late antique period, and beyond. This includes a consideration of the impact of Christianity, and wider evidence, through dress objects, of shared culture across the Byzantine Christian world, as well as evidence of economic change at the end of the Byzantine period in Egypt. Some aspects of continuity and change into the early Islamic period, as reflected through the material studied, are also briefly considered.

THE LATE ANTIQUE AFTERLIFE OF ROMAN EXEMPLARITY: THE CASE OF SCIPIO NASICA IN LIVY, AB VRBE CONDITA BOOK 29 AND AUGUSTINE, DE CIVITATE DEI 1.30–2.5

This article calls for a new understanding of the relationship between classicizing and Christian discourses of exemplarity through a close reading of the figure of Scipio Nasica in Livy, Ab urbe condita Book 29 and Augustine, De ciuitate Dei Books 1–2. Nasica, whose selection as a uir optimus by the Senate in 204 b.c.e. has puzzled modern scholars, was a source of historiographical difficulty for Livy that prompted him to reflect upon exemplarity, mythmaking and the tenuous relationship between past and present. For Augustine, on the other hand, Nasica was a pagan, and thus imperfect, realization of Christian pietas and restraint from luxurious behaviour. Although differing in their interpretations of the Republican exemplum, both Livy and Augustine point to the complexities inherent in invocations of paradigmatic Roman maiores. The close study of Scipio Nasica thus reveals the classicizing precedent lingering behind the supposedly ‘Christian’ rejections of pre-Christian Roman culture in the De ciuitate Dei.

The Pauline methodology of communicating the Word to a gentile audience

The article describes and reconnoitres how the Apostle Paul, a Hebrew who was a welllearned man and a brilliant scholar and studentunder Gamaliel, went about conveying the Word to the Gentiles. The aim of this brief study is thus to describe the methodology used by the Apostle Paul to communicate the Word. He was raised to leadership and mentorship and gave guidance to the body of Christ and used every form of communication at his disposal to share the gospel with the surrounding Gentile world. Though he was called to preach the word of God to the Gentiles, he also preached to the Jews and defended the gospel against various kinds of obstinate and pagan rulers. The New Testament (Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη) has a compilation of the letters written by the Apostle Paul. It should also be noted that although he was a prolific writer and teacher of the word, Paul encountered many barriers when it came to sharing the gospel. He was nonetheless very able to connect with people in the Graeco-Roman world outside of his culture and could easily communicate with the intellectual élites he encountered in the Empire. He was an eloquent speaker and also engaged effectively with the non-believers in the promulgation of the gospel message. Paul allowed both give-and-take, he was always eager to answer acute questions on faith issues, and he exerted himself in aiding people to acknowledge the truth of Jesus Christ. At times Paul spent a short period of time in a city, presenting the gospel and opening new churches. However, in Acts 18:11, it is evident that Paul stayed at one place for up to a year and time was spent in instructing the locals and also in evangelizing. This was clearly a sound strategy designed to meet his objective. In the Graeco-Roman culture, Paul personified a strong voice present in his oral and written works. The theoretical framework used in this study was the Shannon and Weaver Communication Model. This paper was based on a desktop research approach and literature from various sources was used including holy scriptures, academic articles, books, and various online sources.