Innholdsfortegnelse for AH 55 i Ancient History Magazine

Tyranny is not an easy concept to define, especially in the ancient world. For starters, unlike the term 'dictator', which is connected to political authoritarianism, at least in modern parlance, tyranny and tyrant can be used in a variety of circumstances. Obviously, such uses suggest some form of control, but the point where control becomes tyranny is often vague. In ancient Greece, on the other hand, where the concept of tyranny was born, a tyrant was defined by their position within the world of the polis. Aristotle, in his Politics, even gives a thorough examination of the position of a tyrant in the Greek world. Despite Aristotle's theorizing, there is still no clear definition of an ancient tyrant. Closely adhering to Aristotle's model can cause us to overlook the nuances…

Despite the idea that Troy was destroyed in fire at the end of the Trojan War – a notion from Virgil, not from a Greek source, based on the burning of Carthage in 146 BC – Troy did not disappear at the end of the Bronze Age. There was a population decrease and an economic decline, as in many other cities in the eastern Mediterranean, but people carried on living there without a break until around 950 BC. At that point they drifted away, peacefully, because of population decline. Two hundred years later, Greek colonists resettled the site. It became a well-known tourist destination. Troy was at its height in the Roman era. Emperor Constantine seriously considered choosing it as his capital for the eastern Roman empire. Troy declined again…

The notion that tyrants were political reformers and populists is based upon the statement of Aristotle's that “a tyrant is set up from among the people and the multitude to oppose the notables” (Politics 1310b; see also 1305a). The Aristotelian Constitution of the Athenians even claims that, in his struggle for the Athenian tyranny, Peisistratus led a ‘democratic’ party (13.4–5). However, Aristotle also notes how several early tyrants, such as Pittacus of Mytilene and Cleisthenes of Sicyon, made no changes to their cities' constitutions (Politics 1274b, 1315b), and Peisistratus was also said to rule according to the law (Herodotus, 1.59; Thucydides, 6.54). Ultimately, there is no strong evidence for these early tyrants being the populist revolutionaries Aristotle claims they were. According to contemporary sources, they were simply a product of…

We have very few records from the beginning of the Persian Empire, which was founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 BC. Unfortunately, much of what we know about the Persian monarchy comes from either cuneiform records or inscriptions that were produced during or after the reign of Darius I, the third king of Persia, who ruled from 522–486 BC. These inscriptions, however, offer troves of valuable insights into the inner workings of Persian politics and the nature of the Persian kingship. By and large, Near Eastern cuneiform sources present the Persian kings as legitimate and even just rulers rather than tyrants or despots who wielded absolute and unaccountable power. According to Near Eastern records, the Persian kings were considered legitimate for two reasons. First, the king of Persia was…

On 18 September AD 96, the emperor Domitian was assassinated in a palace coup. The senators rushed to the Senate House in a state of exuberant joy. “It was our delight to dash those proud faces to the ground, to smite them with the sword and savage them with the axe, as if blood and agony could follow from every blow,” Pliny the Younger recalled in a speech to the emperor Trajan a few years later (Panegyricus 52.4–5). Evidently, Titus Flavius Domitianus elicited strong emotions from the senatorial aristocracy. Since Roman literary sources overwhelmingly take a senatorial perspective, he has gone down in history as one of Rome's most notorious tyrants. Even a century after his death, senators used the phrase “more savage than Domitian, more foul than Nero” in…

The first tyrants had emerged in Greece by the mid-seventh century BC. While earlier tyranny did not yet any negative connotations, by the Classical period, they were harshly critiqued, despite their popularity among common citizens. Herodotus, for example, declared, “there is nothing known to man that is more unjust or bloodthirsty than tyranny” (5.92), and remarked how the Athenian tyrant, Peisistratus, gained many followers because Athenians “found the rule of a tyrant more pleasant than freedom” (1.62). Similarly, Xenophon wrote how, referring to Euphron of Sicyon, “it seems that the majority calls a man ‘good’ merely because he has benefited them” (Hellenica 7.3.12). Philosophers also had a very negative view of tyranny. Plato, in his Republic, argued that democracy gave way to tyranny (8.562a). The unwashed masses favoured tyrants for…

Diocletian's reputation, which may have inspired Constantine, rests on efforts to reform and reshape the Roman government in the later Empire as a response to decades of imperial instability and economic and social decline (the so-called ‘Crisis’ of the third century). In 293, he instituted a new form of government – the Tetrarchy – which prioritized talent over family connections as the principle of succession, although marriage alliances were harnessed to cement relationships between the imperial families. Structured hierarchically and split between the eastern and western halves of the empire, the Tetrarchy comprised two senior emperors (Augusti) and two junior emperors (Caesares), which in turn necessitated an increase in the size of the army. A central plank of Diocletian's reforms included reorganization of the empire's administrative structures. Under Diocletian, the…

Modern research has shown that a woman needed waist-length hair, two assistants, and around half-an hour to get the hairstyle done properly. Those incapable of growing their hair to that extent need not fear – there was a large and ever-growing arsenal of artifice to help where nature had fallen short. Style and status Hairstyles were a very important way for Roman women to show off their social status. Hair falling naturally about the shoulders or simply tied back with a leather band marked the wearer as a barbarian, a slave, a manual worker, or possibly all three. Only prepubescent girls could wear their hair loose. Moreover, sumptuary laws forbade ostentation in the form of clothing and personal decoration, while hairstyles had no such restrictions. By the time of the…

Hattusili The Hittite Prince Who Stole an Empire By Trevor Bryce ISBN: 978-1350341821 Bloomsbury Academic (2024) - £19.99 www.bloomsbury.com While they were a powerful state in the Late Bronze Age Near East, one of the four Great Kingdoms, the Hittite Empire – or Great Kingdom, as Bryce prefers – does not have quite the lasting cultural footprint of its contemporary political peers of Egypt, Assyria, or Babylon. Egypt, especially, has a wealth of popular books covering its military and society, as well as biographies of the pharaohs. The Hittites, by contrast, have a far smaller selection of books to choose from, usually general overviews of the Hittite world. Now, with Hattusili, Trevor Bryce has written a biography of one of the Hittites' most important rulers. Hattusili III is the most…

Iron Age communities living near the Hajar Mountains used cosmetics as part of daily life and burial rituals, according to new archaeological research in Oman. Marine shells containing greenish or blackish pigments are frequently found at pre-Islamic archaeological sites in Southeast Arabia. Six mollusc shells were excavated at Bronze and Iron Age sites in the Salūt and Bisya oases (Sultanate of Oman). The first archaeometric study has now revealed that its ancient inhabitants stored black and green pigments in them. The shells were discovered around domestic dwellings, suggesting that wearing makeup was part of daily routine. Some shells were also found in graves, further suggesting that makeup may have held symbolic or spiritual significance in the afterlife. “These items may have accompanied the dead just as pots and everyday objects…

Two detectorists have found a hoard of Dacian silver artefacts in Breaza commune in south central Romania. The find marks the first confirmed evidence of Dacian people in the area. The collection, weighing approximately 550 g, includes a circular silver bracelet decorated with vegetal motifs; a pair of undecorated fibulae with diamond-shaped plates; a smaller fibula with four terminals; a neck chain ending in a loop that holds three nail-shaped pendants; and a belt made of alternating oval plates and rings, including a rectangular plaque decorated with sun motifs. Because of the refined craftsmanship and symbolic designs, experts believe the items likely belong to a high-status individual in Dacian society. The exceptional find is expected to prompt further archaeological investigations in the area to locate the associated settlement or fortification.…

While supposed references to Bronze Age Mycenaean Greek material culture, such as ‘tower shields’ and the boar tusk helmet, are simply elaborate descriptions and archaisms, there are genuine Bronze Age elements to the Iliad; however, they are from the Near East, not Mycenaean Greece. After the Late Bronze Age Collapse, Anatolian rulers appear to have continued to use Bronze Age names in an effort to promote dynastic continuity with the past, the most obvious examples being the Neo-Hittites, but also the appearance of Myrsilus, a name derived from Mursili, in western Anatolia, as in Alcaeus' poetry. As such, it is possible that the name Alexander reflects a memory of a dynastic name in Troy, as attested in the Alak- sandu Treaty. Wilusa itself was already named in the song the Festival…

In its early history, Athens went through periods of political turbulence. Elite families or their factions made power grabs, even taking control of the city, leading to brutal fighting as other elites opposed them. In the seventh century BC, likely in the 630s–620s BC, the Olympic victor Cylon attempted to seize power, but the ruling archons contained the revolt, with many of Cylon's supporters being killed (Herodotus, 5.71; Thucydides, 1.126). Later, in the 590s BC, the lawgiver Solon reformed the Athenian constitution in an attempt to mitigate conflict between both the rich and poor and the regional factions. His new constitution failed to eliminate citizen rivalries completely, and factionalism continued. In 561 BC, Peisistratus feigned injury from his opponents, and was granted a bodyguard, who then helped him to seize…

Located in the southwest corner of Anatolia, Caria was never at the heart of events in antiquity. Of course, the region was involved in many major events, such as the Ionian Revolt in the early fifth century BC, but it was never in a driving capacity. This may, in part, be due to the Carians' fractious nature. In Aristophanes' Birds, the character Epops tells the audience that the Carians “cling to the crests of their mountains for greater safety” (vv. 292–3). Similarly, Xenophon implies that, prior to the Achaemenids' incorporation of the region into their empire, the Carians regularly fought one another (Education of Cyrus 7.4.1). Even if Xenophon's passage is anachronistic, Aristophanes' references to the Carians' hilltop fortresses certainly suggests there was a state of consistent mutual distrust, if…

While Domitian is remembered as a tyrant, his brother, Titus, his predecessor, is usually considered, if not a good emperor, certainly better than him. However, the surviving sources suggest that there was great apprehension at the prospect of Titus' accession as emperor – people thought he would be “a second Nero” (Titus 7.1) – due to his violent, cruel, and lewd behaviour. On paper, Titus was the ideal candidate to succeed his father as emperor. He had defeated the Jewish revolt in Judea, albeit with the help of Tiberius Julius Alexander, and he had helped his father, Vespasian, govern Rome. However, during his father's reign, Titus “incurred the hatred of the people” and was “universally disliked”, largely through his violent suppression of any dissidence to his father's reign (Suetonius, Titus…

The Romans' hatred of kingship is often attributed to their memory of the legendary kings of Rome, especially Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. However, given the positive image of Rome's early kings – Livy claims that, had Brutus ousted any other besides Tarquinius Superbus, he would have done so to the detriment of Rome (2.1.2–3), and even Tarquinius Superbus benefitted Rome – it is possible, even likely, that Hellenistic kings, regardless of how they presented themselves and what trappings of legitimacy they had gathered over the course of the Hellenistic period, provided a template for Roman notions of tyranny and fostered a hatred of kingship. Sources that describe Rome's early interactions with Hellenistic kings are generally positive. According to Polybius, Flaminius sent Amynander, king of the Athamanes, to…

The life of Cosntantine's mother, Helena, was a series of dramatic rises and falls. According to the Origo Constantini, she was born to a “very common” family, possibly even a slave. Constantius Chlorus, Constantine's father, may have freed her, and possibly took her as a kind of concubine, as most sources are either silent on the status of their relationship or deem it different from a legal marriage. After Chlorus married Theodora, Helena disappeared from the historical record for 30 years. During Constantine's early reign, it appears that both Helena and Fausta, Constantine's second wife, held important places in the imperial hierarchy, with the mint in Thessalonica issuing two coins in 318 or 319 bearing their profiles and describing them as “noblest of women”. However, in 326, after the execution…

Aristocratic women's hairstyles reached their architectural peak of complexity during the Antonine period (AD 96–192). These elaborate and highly contrived styles reflected both status and fashion trends of the time. The nearer a woman wore her hair to a natural style, the closer she was considered to being impoverished or a barbarian. This period blended Roman traditional styles with influences from Syrian cultures -something seen also in other contemporary fashion trends. Wealthy women of the time often adorned their hair with accessories like jewelled pins and hairnets, which also served as scaffolding for their elaborate creations while also emphasizing sophistication and the skills of their (demonstrably expensive) hairdressers. Over time these styles evolved, with mid-second century trends favouring more natural waves and crimped textures. Faustina the Younger, wife of Emperor…

ANCIENT TYRANNY By Sian Lewis (ed.) Edinburgh University Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-0748621255 Ancient Tyranny is a collection of essays by leading academics exploring tyranny from a variety of perspectives and periods, from Archaic Greece to Late Republican Rome. In addition to more famous tyrants of ancient history, such as the Sicilian tyrants, Ancient Tyranny discusses lesser-known tyrants, such as Alexander of Pherae and the oligarchies of Athens. FAME, MONEY, AND POWER: THE RISE OF PEISISTRATOS AND “DEMOCRATIC” TYRANNY AT ATHENS By Brian M. Lavelle University of Michigan Press, 2005 ISBN: 9780472114245 Peisistratus of Athens is one of the best-attested tyrants of Archaic Greece, but the nature of his tyranny is a matter of debate. In Fame, Money, and Power, Lavelle explores the traditions surrounding Peisistratus and argues that his tyranny…

The year AD 161 brought unprecedented change to the Roman Empire. For the first time in Roman history, two men were appointed to rule the empire as co-emperors. The older of Rome's new emperors, Marcus Aurelius, had been groomed by his predecessor to rule according to stoic ideals of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. With Marcus reigned his younger adoptive brother, Lucius Verus – a man eager to lead Roman armies against Rome's longtime eastern nemesis, the Parthian Empire. Lucius' upcoming campaign seemed well-timed. After enjoying nearly two centuries of uninterrupted dominance, Rome had never been stronger – an efflorescent age historians call the Pax Romana. Roman law, coinage, soldiers, and many other aspects of the Roman administration reached into much of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. An impressive…

Based on the descriptions of material culture in the Iliad and Odyssey and the nature of oral poetry, which tends to create an epic society that reflects the society of the poet's audience, it is largely accepted that the Homeric epics were composed in the Greek archaic period. However, it is unknown precisely when in the archaic period the epics were composed, with authors favouring either the eighth or the seventh century BC. One facet of the various arguments for either an eighth- or seventh-century BC date for the composition of the Homeric epics is the appearance of supposed references to the Homeric epics. A famous example of such ‘references’ is the Cup of Nestor, an eight-century-BC drinking cup from Pithecusae on Ischia, so called because it bears an inscription…

One of the most damning ancient sources for Domitian is Pliny's Panegyricus, a massive speech given to the emperor Trajan upon Pliny's assumption of the office of suffect consul in AD 100. Such speeches were not a new practice in Trajan's reign. Rather, it appears that each year the new consuls gave such a speech. Pliny tells us that one Virginius Rufus had prepared to give such a speech in recognition of his own consulship (Letters 2.1) and how listening to such speeches had the audience “bored to death after the first moment” (Letter 3.18). Where Pliny's Panegyricus differs from these other speeches is its length. Pliny, himself, tells us that his original speech was given “befitting the place and the occasion” but he decided to write an expanded version…

Constantine had died en route to the empire's eastern frontier, perhaps with a final show-down in mind against his rival monarch Shapur II, on the 22 May 337 from a short but serious illness. His mortal remains were moved to Constantinople, where the first of his children in attendance was Constantius, who oversaw the funeral. The Life of Constantine, composed by Eusebius, describes how Constantine enjoyed a noble death, one whereby he had time to pay his respects to his Christian God, receive baptism, and set his worldly affairs in order, granting his sons control of the Roman world as a father might divide his estate among his children. Yet this account is pure fiction, likely concocted by Constantius himself, to conceal the brutal reality of the redivision of the…

Demosthenes was not alone in underestimating the Aitolians. Thoukydides was no doubt reflecting common opinion about a poor and poorly known region when he claimed some Aitolians spoke barely intelligible Greek and ate raw meat (3.94). Their reputation did not improve over time. For the Hellenistic historian Polybios, the Aitolians were untrustworthy and impious raiders and robbers (2.45). The Aitolians were an old community, briefly mentioned in Homer (Iliad 2.638), but their land was marginal and often out of sync with developments elsewhere. Aitolia occupied the western end of the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth. In this mountainous region, flat, productive land was limited to a small coastal plain, the east bank of the Achelous River, and around Lake Trichonida. The urban culture of the polis had made…