Journal Phasis - Greek and Roman Studies
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König Vaxtang Gorgasali zwischen Legende und Geschichte: King Vakhtang Gorgasali between Legend and History
No full textKing Vakhtang Gorgasali is a central figure in the historical tradition of Georgia, as we encounter him in particular in the chronicle of Kʽartʽlis Cʽxovreba. In this, his profile unites opposites that are difficult to harmonize: Vakhtang Gorgasali is a great fighter, but ultimately succumbs to the Persians. He is a powerful ruler, but equally functions as a vassal of the Sasanian Great King. He was a zealous follower of Christianity but maintained ambivalent relations with the Byzantine emperor and strove for ecclesiastical autocephaly.Researchers have long noticed that Vakhtang Gorgasali, as prominent as he appears in the Old Georgian tradition, is not mentioned at all in the Greco-Roman sources (unless one wants to identify the Gurgenes mentioned in Procopius’s Bella with him) and in the Old Armenian historiography only by one author (namely Ghazar Parpetsi). The paper is not so much about substantiating the historicity of the famous king and elaborating on its details, but rather about describing his contradictory profile in the Old Georgian tradition and fathoming the origin of the individual aspects that compose it. In the process, it will be shown, among other things, that Old Georgian historical thought of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages owes at least as much to the principles of Iranian historical tradition as it does to classical ancient and Old Armenian historiography and to Christian church historiography in the tradition of Eusebius of Caesarea
Die Amazonen am Kaukasus: Eine mythographische Spurensuche: The Amazons in the Caucasus: A Mythographical Quest
No full textThe Amazons are among the most captivating figures in Greek mythology, as the idea of warrior women equal to men both fascinated and intimidated the ancient Greeks. Accordingly, the stories of encounters between Panhellenic heroes and Amazons are as numerous as the reports regarding the geographical location of the Amazons, ranging from Libya to Thrace, Scythia, and Asia Minor. Some Greek sources also mention Amazons in the Caucasus, and although the idea of Caucasian Amazons is relatively weakly attested, the existing evidence is nonetheless highly revealing. This is particularly true of Strabo’s account (11.5.1-4), who, drawing on earlier historians, describes how the Amazons originally migrated to the northern Caucasus together with the Gargarians, later separating from them but still meeting annually for the purpose of reproduction. Strabo links his ethnographic remarks to a fundamental reflection on the relationship between myth and history, engaging in a close dialogue with Thucydides and the latter’s claims regarding truth and credibility, as outlined in his famous methodology chapter. This article demonstrates how Strabo’s account is connected to the Greek idea of the Caucasus region as a peripheral region between the ‘civilized’ Greek world and the ‘barbaric’ world outside. From a Greek perspective, both the Caucasus and the Amazons epitomize the periphery, implying both partial belonging and partial non-belonging. Consequently, Strabo’s report on the Caucasian Amazons serves as a means to engage in some fundamental reflections on the relationship between history and myth and thus, ultimately, between truth and fiction
How Did All These Barbarians Get Here? The (Im)Permeable Gates of the Caucasus in Late Antiquity in Jerome’s Letter 77 and Claudian’s Against Rufinus
Full text linkThe main pass through the central Caucasus Mountains, the present-day Dariali Gorge, had various names in ancient Greco-Latin sources: the Gates of the Caucasus, the Caspian Gates, Gates of Alexander, Sarmatian Gates. These Gates represented the frontier between the known and unknown worlds and were understood as an impermeable barrier to the barbarian groups from the Eurasian Steppe. This paper demonstrates the intersection between rhetoric and historicity and explains how these tropes about the Gates of the Caucasus were recycled in Late Antiquity and given new meaning in the context of the Hunnic invasion of the Near East in A.D. 395-398. This paper argues that Jerome’s Letter 77 and Claudian’s Against Rufinus used the perception of this gate as an impermeable barrier to further their literary agendas. Jerome used this perception to highlight the gravity of the Hunnic incursion to justify why Fabiola, a close friend and a devout Christian, had left Jerome’s side and returned to Rome before completing her pilgrimage. The literary associations of the Gates of the Caucasus also supported Jerome’s interpretation of the Hunnic incursion as divine punishment and an invitation for repentance. Claudian employed this same perception for a very different purpose: to slander a political opponent
Caucasus in Greek and Latin Epigraphy from the Greco-Roman World
Full text linkSixteen inscriptions from the Mediterranean world and the Cimmerian Bosporus, dating from the 4th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., are discussed in this article which offers an anthology of mentions relating to the Caucasus in ancient Greek and Latin epigraphy. Mount Caucasus and individuals, human or divine beings, who bore the name or epithet of “Caucasian,” appear in various contexts linked to the funerary domain, civic and local cults, mythology, military expeditions, gladiatorial fights, or even to political propaganda. The main clichés about the Caucasus included the Promethean legend, as well as the massive nature of these remote mountains, located on the border of the oikoumene. All these various documents testify to a relative diffusion of knowledge and beliefs concerning the Caucasus throughout the Graeco-Roman world and ensure the special place occupied by this mountain and its inhabitants in the common imagination
Feudalism in Ancient Caucasia? On the Iberian Service Nobility in the 5th to 7th Centuries
Full text linkThe paper examines the applicability of the concept of feudalism to the South Caucasus region, focusing specifically on the Iberian nobility during the 5th to 7th centuries. It discusses the challenges of transferring the Western European concept of feudalism to the Caucasian and Iranian world, noting that while there are similarities, the term may not be entirely appropriate for the region. The study identifies two main forms of rule in the Caucasus: horizontal, where kings were seen as first among equals and dependent on the support of the nobility, and vertical, where powerful aristocrats maintained considerable autonomy within their clans. The paper argues that both structures were present in Iberia and Armenia, making comprehensive royal authority difficult. The main focus of the study is the impact of Sāsānian reforms, particularly under rulers such as Kavādh I and Ḫosrau I, in the South Caucasus. Here and there, they aimed to weaken the power of the dynastic nobility and introduce a service nobility loyal to the crown. The paper suggests that these reforms influenced the development of feudal structures in Iberia, although implementation varied from region to region and was often retrospectively attributed to specific kings, such as King Vaxtang I. In conclusion, the paper argues that while feudal elements did emerge in the Caucasus, they were closely linked to broader socio-political developments within the Sāsānian Commonwealth, of which the South Caucasian countries were a part, rather than being indigenous or entirely comparable to Western European feudalism
Das Königreich Iberien während der römisch-persischen Auseinandersetzungen des vierten nachchristlichen Jahrhunderts
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Die Bedeutung von Basilius’ Schrift "ad adolescentes" für die Erhaltung der heidnisch-griechischen Literatur
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The Cities of the Greek East after the First Mithridatic War. Aspects of Sulla’s Financial Policy
Full text linkThe military results of Sulla’s war against Mithridates were inconclusive. Appian overlooked this fact, probably because his narrative of this war very much relied on the memoirs of Sulla himself or on a source that emphasized Sulla’s point of view. For the same reason, Appian did not really stress the harsh effects of the fines that Sulla imposed on many cities of the Greek East after the war. On the other hand, the end of the First Mithridatic War did contribute to the establishment of good relations among the Romans and notables from the Greek East, as has recently been claimed. By analyzing these facts, this paper reconstructs the aftermath of the First Mithridatic War and thus contributes to the reflections on the interaction between Rome and the Greek East
Doctrinal Traditions and Cultural Heritage in the Newly Discovered Homilies of Origen on the Psalms
Full text linkThe 29 Homilies of Origen on the Psalms discovered in 2012 by Marina Molin Pradel in a Munich Codex (Cod. Graec. 314) constitute an unexpected and very important source for retracing the doctrinal traditions and the cultural heritage that support the Alexandrian’s biblical interpretation. The article first investigates the presence of Philo, much more discernible than the doctrinal influence of other Alexandrian predecessors such as Clement. Origen occasionally pays homage to Philo and reuses independently his exegeses. Further, as far as the Hellenistic culture of Alexandria is concerned, the Homilies reveal its influence under several aspects, especially with regard to music and astronomy. Scholarly notions concur to elaborate a vision of the cosmos which is now considered by Origen more fundamentally as a source for attaining the knowledge of God next to the witness of the Scriptures. Since the homilies are to be dated in the final period of Origen’s activity, we are allowed to see in them a new emphasis, probably dictated by the preacher’s concerns regarding the Marcionite criticism of the Old Testament
Pyrrhus’ Miraculous Toe
Full text link Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, was an extremely charismatic figure who was always striving to match the prestige of Achilles and of Alexander the Great. He thus established a cult of himself, and was also reputed to exercise thaumaturgical powers. In particular, there was a belief that Pyrrhus’ right big toe could cure diseases of the spleen. According to Plutarch, Pyrrhus exercised this power during his lifetime, and the big toe was preserved even after his death because of the miraculous powers attributed to it. The cult of Pyrrhus’ big toe was linked to the world of myth, in which healing heroes, such as Pyrrhus’ presumed ancestor Achilles, also appear. Although this striking aspect of the cult of Pyrrhus is perhaps the only case of a thaumaturgic kingship in Antiquity, it never led to a systematic royal ideology centred on the figure of Pyrrhus. This failure to develop Pyrrhus’ kingship into a programmatic “Hellenistic” kingship is, of course, due to the failure of Pyrrhus’ military plans in the Balkans, and to his abrupt death. Moreover, Pyrrhus never exploited Alexander’s legacy to legitimize his own existence as a charismatic king and as a living institution. Instead he focused on the legacy of the warring Alexander, since he wanted to appear unstoppable in his conquests, as Alexander had been