I Magi e l’educazione del principe

The Oriental Magi and Chaldaeans were tutors of the crown princes in Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian traditions. That fact explains the dedication of Berossos' work to Antiochus of Syria, for he was a Chaldaean and Antiochus the appointed successor of Seleucus I. The special education of Oriental crown princes could enable us to focus the passage of Mt. 2.1-12 about the visit of Oriental Magi to Jesus

Danaus and Augustus

Four bronze cows by Myron, the Athenian sculptor, stood in front of Apollo’s temple on the Palatine hill, which Octavian dedicated in 28 BCE. They were placed close to the altar and the statue of this god, in the courtyard of the temple, whose portico was decorated with statues of the 50 daughters of Danaus. The meaning of those statues is clarified by a passage from Pausanias, who tells the story of Danaus coming to Argos and claiming kingship for himself, even if in competition with Gelanor. Suddendly a herd of cows appeared in front of the city, led by a bull. A wolf challenged him, fought, won, and became the leader of the herd. This omen pointed at Danaus as the chosen one for kingship, and he had thus a temple to Apollo built as a thanksgiving to the author of the prodigy. This was an evident comparison to the story of Octavian himself, who won the competition for political leadership in Rome thanks to Apollo

Philostratus, the cup of Tantalus and the bowl of Buddha

the encounter of Apollonius of Tyana with the ascetic Indians depends on Buddhist traditions. The case of the Vimalakirti Sutra provides us with precise comparisons. The magical bowl of Tantalus recurs in some magical gems and a late antique cup of Tantalus has been found in Vinkovci

The material culture as source for the investigation about the religious practices and conceptions in Antiquity

Discussion on contemporary approaches to ancient magic. Interaction between archaeology, philology and ancient histor

Una Tercera Gema-Horóscopo, Gemela de la “Gema Seyrig” Parisina

This article draws scholarly attention to a magnificent gem that came to light in Italy in 2002. It explores the hitherto overlooked, very close relationship between this gem and a better known Parisian gem from the 3rd c. CE, taking into account other gems, too, as well as coins, especially those of the Alexandrian zodiac series of 144/5 CE. While the Parisian gem is certainly ancient, and probably inspired by the Alexandrian coin series, its Italian twin turns out to be a modern imitation. The close comparison between both gems sheds much new light on the authentic Parisian horoscope-gem which had in the past, despite its being a unique piece of ancient art, received little scholarly attention. Este artículo centra la atención investigadora en una magnífica gema que salió a la luz en Italia en el 2002. Estudia lo que hasta ahora se ha pasado por alto: la estrecha relación entre esta gema y una gema parisina mejor conocida procedente del s. III d.C., teniendo en cuenta también otras gemas, así como monedas, especialmente las de la serie zodiacal alejandrina del 144/5 d.C. Mientras que la gema de París es efectivamente antigua y probablemente está inspirada en la serie de monedas de Alejandría, su gemela italiana parece ser una imitación moderna. La minuciosa comparación entre ambas gemas arroja nueva luz sobre la auténtica gema-horóscopo parisina que en el pasado, a pesar de ser una pieza única del arte antiguo, ha recibido poca atención por parte de los estudiosos.&nbsp

Indagini archeologiche nell’area della “Domus del Mitreo” di Tarquinia: campagne di scavo 2016-18 con documentazione tridimensionale

The University of Verona has been excavating the “Domus del Mitreo” since 2016. It falls within the area of the Civita di Tarquinia. Three years of excavation revealed forty rooms of a large building. They spread over five natural terraces sloping eastward. The stratigraphic sequence runs from the 6 th century BCE to the early 7 th century CE. The preliminary analysis of the stratigraphy has identified six periods of construction and occupation. In Periods I and II (6th to 5 th century BCE and 4 th to 3 rd century BCE) there are traces of the earliest frequentation of the site and the construction of the first masonry buildings. In Period III (end of the 3 rd to mid 1 st century BCE) new masonry walls are built, mainly in a “chessboard” pattern. This period defines spaces, rooms, and courtyards. A major building programme takes place between the second half of the 2 nd and mid 1 st century BCE. New rooms are built and paved with decorated floors. This continues into Period IV (late 1 st century BCE to 1 st century CE). During Period V many of the previous rooms are divided into smaller rooms (2nd to 3 rd century CE). There are traces of workshop activity. From Period VI (mid 4 th to early 7 th century CE) the domus changes its appearance. This probably occurred following an earthquake. This leads to a gradual abandonment of the site during the early 7 th century CE

Les formations géométriques de mots dans la magie ancienne

Dans beaucoup de textes magiques (papyri, gemmes ou lamelles), on retrouve des triangles, des carrés et des cercles créés par des mots magiques arrangés selon ces for­mes. Une série de gemmes et de papyri avait recours à des héros de la mythologie grecque pour la guérison de certaines maladies. On s’adressait à Tantale, Lycurgue ou Persée pour contrôler des organes du corps humain, et les formules qui les nommaient étaient écrites en forme de triangles. On a l’habitude d’expliquer ces formations triangulaires de mots comme une soustraction progressive de lettres qui faisait décroître la maladie et les autres maux. Cette explication est valable dans certains cas, mais non dans d’autres. Souvent des triangles du même type ajoutent chaque partie du mot au mot lui-même, comme dans le cas de noms de divinités, dont la force était multipliée par cette opération graphique. La Tetraktys pythagoricienne (un triangle qui représentait l’addition 1+2+3+4) est le cas le plus ancien de ce type d’additions. Les formations carrées de mots multipliaient un mot par lui-même et représentaient d’autres formes d’exaltation d’un nom divin ou d’une formule magique. Ces spéculations se fondaient sur la pensée mathématique et géométrique des pythagoriciens. Les mots magiques palindromiques étaient souvent écrits sous forme circulaire, laquelle pouvait entourer et contrôler le nom d’une personne ou des symboles du mal.Geometric formations of words in the ancient magic arts. In many magical texts (papyri, gems or lamellae) triangles, squares and circles often occur, which are created by magical words arranged in these forms. A series of gems and papyri look to the heroes of Greek mythology for the treatment of specific diseases. In fact, it is known that spells invoking Tantalos, Lycourgos or Perseus were created in order to control the organs of the human body and that triangular word formations were used to write these spells. The usual explanation of triangular word formations maintains that the progressive elimination of letters compels sickness and other evil to diminish. This is true, but this explanation cannot be applied to every triangle or wing formation. Similar triangles often add each part of the word to the others, as in the case of divine names, whose force is magnified by such a graphic operation. The pythagoric Tetraktys (a triangle which represented the sum 1+2+3 +4) is the most ancient example of such sums. The square formations multiplied one word by itself and represented other ways of extolling a divine name or the might of a magical spell. These speculations were based on the mathematics and geometry of the Pythagoric tradition. Palindromic magical words were often written in circular formations, which could cluster round and control the name of a person or symbols of something evil

Nouvelles recherches sur les mystères de Mithra

Programme de l’année 2006-2007 : I. Les mystères des Romains — II. Mithra et l’orphisme. Mithra et les dieux hypercosmique

Elementi mitici orientali nel ‘Prometheus vinctus’ di Eschilo

In Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound we may perceive an influence of two Oriental myths: the myth of the swallowing of a god, in relationship with the morning star and the eastern pillar of the sky, and the myth of two Titans chained up at the pillars of the vault of heaven. Io’s wanderings in the world of the dead are also to be connected with Mesopotamian and Phoenician traditions