Engang slave for den retfærdige gud, nu løskøbt

The discovery and publication of the Gospel of Judas from an unknown papyrus manuscript attracted a remarkable attention of public interest. This text is regarded as a very important contribution to our understanding, both of the figure of Judas Iscariot and of early Gnosticism. However, the same codex also contains other texts, among them one with the title Jakob (or: James). Despite the fact that this text has not reached the same degree of popularity as Judas, for future study in Gnosticism it is very likely Jakob and not the Gospel of Judas, which appears to be the most important text in Codex Tchacos. That is owing to the fact that this text together with the first Apocalypse of James from Nag Hammadi Codex V gives us a glimpse of the history and transmission of apocryphal texts in antiquity. This raises new perspectives with regard to the use in the early church of this kind of texts, especially concerning their authority and apparently non-canonical statu

Menstruation in Hellenistic art : a new reading of the Tazza Farnese

This thesis explores the relationship between the two engraved scenes on the Tazza Farnese, arguing that the iconography served as a protective device and displayed metaphorical symbols of menstruation, fertility, family, and rejuvenation for a parthenos of the Ptolemaic court. Of particular interest are the aspects least researched within the lengthy scholarship on the Tazza: the shape, material (sardonyx), and the Gorgoneion. Scholars have done an extraordinary job of interpreting and analyzing the iconography of the interior figures, the date, and the style of the Tazza, yet the shape, material, and the Gorgoneion have received little attention. Generally, these subjects are mentioned in passing or quickly referred to in a couple of sentences within the literature of the Tazza; however, my premise is that these elements were meaningful for contemporary viewers. This thesis seeks to extensively research and discuss these unpopular facets of the Tazza, especially with the aid of ancient literature on stones and the Gorgoneion, to propose a new reading of the Tazza Farnese. In reviewing these aspects of the artifact, I argue that the Tazza was a sumptuous apotropaic agent for menstruation, fertility, and reproduction in the form of the material, shape, allegories and mythical creatures. Chapter One focuses on the unique shape, the material and its sensory qualities, and an analysis of ancient literature concerning gems and their magical qualities. Chapter Two focuses on the Gorgoneion and its iconography, with an elucidating discussion of the Gorgon’s Hellenistic representation as an homage to her original beauty and function as a symbol of fertility and rejuvenation. Chapter Three connects the interior figures, representing an allegory of the Nile, to the Gorgoneion as they serve through the motifs of menstruation, fertility, family, and rejuvenation, to present to a young woman the metamorphosis of her body into a woman and her duties as a wife in Ptolemaic society. The implied references of flowing liquids (as seen in the blood of the Gorgoneion, the Nile, the breastmilk of Isis, and the veins of sardonyx) and cyclical occurrences (the inundation of the Nile and the ecdysis of snakes) have led to my argument that the Tazza Farnese was a celebratory gift intended for a female on the cusp of transitioning into a woman.Art Histor

Administration and Communication in Egypt between 3rd–2nd Centuries BC: Antigrapha and Archetypes in the Papyrological Documentation.

La necessità di comunicazione e di trasporto all'interno dell'Egitto, una terra in cui la differenziazione regionale era particolarmente significativa, era di estrema urgenza per il buon funzionamento della vita economica e sociale della sua popolazione. La documentazione papirologica rappresenta un vasto e ricco repertorio da sfruttare per ottenere una panoramica focalizzata sul sistema di trasferimento dei messaggi. La comunicazione tra gli uffici che regolavano e strutturavano il transito delle informazioni era essenziale per mantenere operativo il sistema. Lo scopo della mia indagine è quello di includere la serie di attestazioni di antigraphon nel senso di un documento che ci è stato preservato perché in origine racchiuso come "copia" in un altro, solitamente una comunicazione ufficiale tra due corrispondenti, destinata a raggiungere un terzo destinatario.The need of communication and of transport inside Egypt, a land where the regional differentiation was particularly significant, was of extreme urgency for the good functioning of the economic and social life of its population. The papyrological documentation represents a huge and rich repertoire to be exploited to achieve an overview focalized on the system of transferring messages. The communication between the offices that regulated and structured the transit of information was essential to maintain the system operative. The purpose of my investigation is to include the series of attestations of antigraphon in the sense of a document which has been preserved to us because it was originally enclosed as “copy” in another one, usually an official communication between two correspondents, destined to reach a third recipient

e me l’ovrare appaga

The volume brings together contributions by many scholars, from Italy and abroad, in honour of Gabriella Messeri, who for many years was full professor of Papyrology at the “Federico II” University of Naples. The first part contains the editio princeps of 23 literary papyri (by well-known and anonymous authors) and 27 documentary papyri (administrative accounts, contracts, private letters, etc.); the second part consists of 12 essays on historical, philological and literary subjects

Der Kaiser und Konstantinopel

How did a Late Roman emperor stay on the throne? His position was always precarious, and in contrast to a modern hereditary monarch he could always lose power or even his life to a usurper. The Eastern emperors resided in Constantinople from 395 to 624 without a break. This book shows how they sought the support of the army, the populace, the clergy and the capital`s elite, how they gained it, and how they sometimes lost it. The result is a new picture of the socio-political system of Constantinople and of the Late Roman Empire in general

The Last Pagans and Their Position in the Christianized Roman Empire.

Práce sleduje jeden z aspektů procesu zániku nekřesťanských náboženských kultů - tradičně označovaných jako "pohanské" - v christianisovaném římském imperiu, totiž nakolik se na tomto zániku podílelo případné pronásledování ze strany christianisovaného státu, případně násilí ze strany státem podporované církve nebo nábožensky exponovaných jedinců. V odborné literatuře se totiž lze setkat s názorem, že christianisace římského imperia vedla k zániku pohanství jen zcela přirozenému, rychlému a nenásilnému, zatímco známé excesy jsou pouze jakýmisi výjimkami. Nejedná se však o závěry systematického bádání, ale spíše o pouhé předpoklady, které samy slouží jako indicie v bádání nad otázkami jinými. V této práci je shromážděno značné množství zpráv o situaci tzv. posledních pohanů v christianisovaném římském imperiu a násilí vůči nim. Právě s ním, a to za účelem co nejrychlejší eliminace pohanství, každopádně počítala imperiální legislativa, přesto však svědčí množství zpráv o tom, že toto násilí nebylo vždy uplatňováno, a jsou-li tyto zprávy posuzovány isolovaně, mohou budit dojem tolerantnosti christianisovaného římského státu vůči pohanům zdánlivě oprávněně. Srovnatelné množství zpráv o násilí na pohanech páchaném, vztažené k představě ideálního stavu, která plyne z imperiální legislativy, však činí jejich...In this thesis the process of demise of non-Christian cults - conventionally referred to as "pagan" - in the Christianized Roman Empire is pursued, especially the question, to what degree this termination involved any persecution on part of the Christianized state, or violence on part of a state-supported church or religiously vigorous individuals. One opinion that can be found in scholarly literature holds the demise of the paganism due to the Christianization of the Roman Empire to have been only natural, swift and spontaneous, with the notorious excesses to be viewed as exception of sorts. However, this opinion stands as no conclusion of any systematic enquiry, but rather serves as mere premise to another enquiry. This thesis rounds up a great deal of accounts of the conditions faced by the so called last pagans in the Christianized Roman Empire and the violence against them. It is violence, intended for the quickest possible extirpation of paganism, which the imperial legislation had in any case allowed for; yet plenty of accounts bear evidence of this violence not always having been exercised and when considered on their own, these accounts may create the impression of a Christianized Roman Empire tolerant of pagans in their own right. Nevertheless, a comparable body of accounts regarding acts of...Ústav řeckých a latinských studiíInstitute for Greek and Latin StudiesFilozofická fakultaFaculty of Art