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La "malattia sacra" di Cambise: una diagnosi erodotea?
No full textThe author analyses Herodotus' choice of his sources in order to strike a balance between two recent publications which define Herodotus' text as almost exclusively 'religious' or 'scientific'. The case study is the description of the figure of Cambyses in the third book of the 'Histories'. There are historical grounds for the narrative of Cambyses' infamous deeds in Egypt. The traditional thesis of the deprivation of economic privileges for the Egyptian temples by Cambyses as the only cause of his negative fame in ancient historiography should be rejected. It is likely that at least the first part of Cambyses' reign in Egypt was marked by violent and dramatic changes – which anyway do not include Cambyses' alleged murder of the bull-god Apis. The influence of Hippocratic medicine on Herodotus' depiction of Cambyses' madness should not be overestimated. Although Herodotus is familiar with some ideas and notions shared by contemporary physicians, his narrative of Cambyses' actions is not strongly conditioned by them, and certainly has no connection with the main thesis of the author of the Hippocratic work named 'On the sacred disease'. The sources and opinions collected by Herodotus do not aim at a 'scientific' narrative of a madman's deeds, but rather at a moral vision of the Persian monarchic power
Riflessioni sull’imperialismo romano: Rodi, Roma e la "Cronaca di Lindo"
Full text linkThe author discusses the relations between Rome and Rhodes in the time span between the Third Macedonian War and the First Mithridatic War, in order to analyze the thesis of a recent book by C. Higbie about the Lindian Chronicle. It is problematic to read this Rhodian document as evidence for a local reaction against Roman expansion. Some aspects of Rhodian historiography are indeed influenced by local pride. Anyway, although a Roman political party deliberately caused damages to Rhodian economy immediately after the Third Macedonian War, very good relations followed soon. Moreover, the re-creation of their past by the Greeks does not happen, as usual, and especially in epigraphic documents, as a reaction to foreign powers such as the Romans. On the contrary, the recollection of past myths and ancient history in inscriptions, the collecting of relics and the rewriting of ancient text are, generally speaking, a long tradition attested also for previous and less difficult times
Felix Dahn e il mito tedesco dell'Italia gotica
No full textFelix Dahn's historical works and fiction are concerned with the age of "Völkerwanderung" and explore similar historical issues. His novel "Ein Kampf um Rom" is addressed to German-speaking readers. It was read and valued by the German middle class and by some intellectuals. In the novel, Dahn emphasizes German virtues, especially loyalty ("Treue"), the importance of which in contemporary culture is also attested to by monuments built in his age. Dahn shows that ancient Germanic peoples, as well as modern Germans, are loyal to both family and "Reich". The novel is one of the first expressions of the German interest in the history of the Goths which emerged in the final decades of the nineteenth century. The question of the identity of the German Volk is also present in other novels by Dahn, such as Attila and Stilicho. The author was influenced by the contemporary debate on the "Kleindeutsch-Großdeutsch" problem. Dahn offers a negative vision of the Roman Empire. In some cases he shows admiration for Italians, despite generally accepting the stereotype of Italian deceitfulness
Giuliano e i 'possessores' renani. Aspetti della proprietà fondiaria in una zona di frontiera
Full text linkThe aim of this article is to propose a unitary vision of the Roman provinces of Germania inferior, Germania superior and Gallia Belgica. The author searches for evidence relative to large and smaller agrarian properties in imperial age, chiefly in late antiquity. Archaeological documentation shows that there were large villas in the area near the Rhine and the Moselle in the 4th century, despite some discontinuities; Ammianus Marcellinus is aware of their existence. The paper then takes into consideration the evidence for emperor Julian’s economic activity in the Rhineland, in particular some passages from Ammianus concerning his policy towards local landowners. An overlooked excerpt documents a case of appeasement between defeated Germans and 'possessores' based in Germania secunda. Although the literary evidence of Julian’s relationship with the Salian Franks is conflicting, a coexistence of 'possessores' and ‘barbarians’ on the same bank of the Rhine is probable. It is possible that Julian’s attempts to achieve peace and agricultural welfare in an apparently dangerous borderland influenced some ideas of the author of emperor Probus’ biography in the Historia Augusta
Pagan Memories, National Myth. Felix Dahn’s "Julian der Abtrünnige" and "Erinnerungen"
Full text linkIl romanzo di Felix Dahn intitolato Julian der Abtrünnige (“Giuliano l’Apostata”), pubblicato nel 1893, rappresenta il punto di vista dell’autore sulla religione e manifesta il suo atteggiamento ascetico nei confronti della vita. Queste prospettive sono presenti anche nelle Erinnerungen (“Memorie”) di Dahn, pubblicate tra 1890 e 1895. Evidenziando le somiglianze tra queste due opere, si dimostrerà che il romanzo sull’imperatore Giuliano è una summa del pensiero nazionalista di Dahn, e propone il modello ideale di un artista nazionale attraverso l’immagine di Giuliano. In questo modo, si osserverà in quale misura la letteratura di consumo tedesca del tardo Ottocento abbia usato immagini tratte dal mondo tardoantico per illustrare idee nazionaliste.Felix Dahn’s novel "Julian der Abtrünnige" (“Julian the Apostate”), published in 1893, is a representation of the author’s view of religion and of his ascetic outlook on life, which are also recorded in Dahn’s "Erinnerungen" (“Memoirs”), published in 1890-1895. By highlighting the similarities between these two works, I will demonstrate that the novel on the Emperor Julian is a "summa" of Dahn’s nationalist thought, and proposes the model of an ideal national artist through the image of Julian. Thus, I will show to what extent the popular German narrative of the late 19th century used images from the late ancient world to illustrate nationalist ideas
La prefettura di Antemio e l’Oriente romano
Full text linkLa vita e la carriera di Antemio, prefetto d’Oriente tra 405 e 414, si collocano in un periodo decisivo per le sorti dell’impero romano. Egli fu capace di sfruttare con abilità e competenza il vuoto di potere che si creò quando l’augusto Arcadio, morendo, lasciò un fanciullo, Teodosio II, sul trono della parte orientale dell’impero. Questa monografia intende ridefinire l’azione politica del grande dignitario, inserendola nell’ambito dei più generali cambiamenti che caratterizzarono l’età teodosiana. L’analisi della documentazione su Antemio e sull’Oriente romano negli anni della sua prefettura rivela aspetti scarsamente indagati dei poteri e delle istituzioni di una "pars Orientis" che gradualmente superò i problemi politici, militari e sociali cui la "pars Occidentis", invece, si avviò a soccombere
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
Ernst Stein e la scrittura della storia tardoromana
Full text linkVita dello storico Ernst Stein e storia della composizione della sua "Histoire du Bas-Empire"
Inviting the Barbarians: Some Episodes of Treason
Full text linkThis paper analyses a specific accusation made against men and women of power that appears in several late antique sources. The accusation is that they secretly incited barbarian enemies to invade the Roman empire. This kind of treason is usually attributed to historical figures who sought revenge against domestic enemies, to defeat a usurper, or eliminate a legitimate emperor. The individuals accused of such treacherous 'invitations' are emperors (Constantius II), women of the court or Augustae (Serena, Honoria, Licinia Eudoxia), eunuchs (Hyacinthus, Narses), and public enemies (Rufinus, Stilicho, Bonifatius). These episodes should not, however, be regarded as a literary invention. In fact, they manifest the recurring desire among contemporaries to identify and punish scapegoats. These stories show, above all in the Theodosian age, how diplomatic relations with the barbarians were a delicate matter. These accusations of complicity with the barbarians were a means to demonise internal enemies
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