Agrippa, Marcellus and the Ring of Augustus. Some comments on the Fragment of Roman History of Cassius Dio

In the article I am making an attempt to interpret one of the extracts of The Roman History by Cassius Dio in which the author gives us a relation of a meeting of Augustus with the most important magistrates, senators and knights at the time of princeps’ serious disease, which he started to suffer from in 23 BC. What I am basically trying to do is to set up how we should understand handing over Augustus’ personal ring to Agrippa. I do not agree with existing interpretations which assume that giving the ring to Agrippa was related to his appointing to be a political successor or a private heir to the princeps. In my opinion Augustus wanted his long standing friend and associate just to tidy his private matters in case of death, at the same time appointing him to execute his final will. Another problem that appears in the context of the analysis of the upper extract is a question of planned succession of Marcellus, princeps nephew and son-in-law. Relying mainly on the testimony of numismatic and iconographic sources I challenge a picture of Marcellus as a planned successor to Augustus, which has become established in ancient literature. Moreover, Augustus` actions show that we do not have any significant tips to think that princeps was creating his son-in-law to become his political successor. The last question I discuss is a problem of alleged rivalry between Agrippa and Marcellus, which was mentioned by a few ancient historians. The conflict was believed to finally lead to Agrippa leaving Rome for the East. However, accepting such a version arouses serious doubts. Most of our authors suggesting the existence of an open conflict between Agrippa and Marcellus were the most probably inspired by the later rivalry of Tiberius with young Caesars, which was finally to make Augustus’ stepson remove from political life and go away to Rhodes in 6 BC. From that perspective they also perceived Agrippa`s earlier going to the East. Relying on Josephus Flavius`s words we might however assume that Agrippa`s journey to the East was mainly aimed at ordering a few things in the region (a Parthian question, Rome`s relation with the rulers of vassal kingdoms, control of the administration system in provinces).In the article I make an interpretation of one of the fragments of The Roman History by Cassius Dio, refering to Augustus` illness in 23. I am trying to answer a question how the fact of handing over a personal ring to Agrippa by Augustus should be understood and, more than that, whether we can perceive Marcellus, emperor`s nephew and son-in-law as his planned successor. I am also touching the problem of the alleged rivalry between Agrippa and Marcellus, which was mentioned by ancient authors.Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latina

Tradycyjne wierzenia tajwańskie

"Powojenny Tajwan od przeszło półwiecza jest depozytariuszem tradycyjnej kultury chińskiej. Złożyło się na to wiele przyczyn. Przede wszystkim, spodziewając się okupacji japońskiej w latach 30. XX w., ówczesne władze chińskie zorganizowały ewakuację zabytków chińskich, z najcenniejszymi zgromadzonymi w Muzeum Pałacowym w Pekinie. Najpierw wywieziono je do Nankinu, a gdy Nankin również został zagrożony przez inwazję armii japońskiej, do Chongqingu. Wkrótce po wojnie doszło do kolejnego konfliktu zbrojnego między dwiema najsilniejszymi partiami politycznymi: Kuomintangiem i partią komunistyczną, w, wyniku którego Kuomintang poniósł klęskę na kontynencie chińskim. Exodus dwóch milionów ludzi na Tajwan był powiązany z wywiezieniem na wyspę najcenniejszych zabytków kultury chińskiej, które znalazły miejsce w nowo zbudowanym Muzeum Pałacowym na Tajwanie. Przeniesiono także utworzoną w 1929 r. Akademię Nauk, popularnie zwaną Academia Sinica. Elita inteligencji chińskiej z lat 50. również znalazła się na Tajwanie i walnie przyczyniła się do budowy szkolnictwa, na bardzo zresztą wysokim poziomie. Ówczesna migracja inteligencji chińskiej niewątpliwie przyczyniła się także do kontynuacji tradycyjnej na tej wyspie kultury. Przejawem tego zjawiska stało się zarówno pielęgnowanie języka chińskiego, jak i zachowanie tradycyjnych hieroglifów, które na kontynencie uproszczono."(...

Wybór Klaudiusza na cesarza

The article offers a critical analysis of the source accounts which present the circumstances surrounding the election of Claudius for princeps. Among other things, I attempt to answer the question whether his appointment to the imperial throne resulted from a sheer concatenation of circumstances or was perhaps due to planned action of a substantial group of soldiers of the praetorian guard.The article offers a critical analysis of the source accounts which present the circumstances surrounding the election of Claudius for princeps. Among other things, I attempt to answer the question whether his appointment to the imperial throne resulted from a sheer concatenation of circumstances or was perhaps due to planned action of a substantial group of soldiers of the praetorian guard

Imperium i provinciae Agryppy w latach 23-12 p.n.e.

W artykule podejmuję szeroko dyskutowany w nauce problem zakresu i charakteru imperium Marka Agryppy, na podstawie którego działał on jako specjalny wysłannik cesarski na terenie różnych prowincji Imperium Romanum. W moim tekście spróbuję m.in. ustalić: kiedy Agryppa uzyskał specjalne imperium w prowincjach? jaki był jego zakres terytorialny? oraz czy było ono maius czy też aequum wobec władzy innych namiestników prowincji? Kluczowa w kontekście odpowiedzi na te pytania będzie analiza – obok przekazów autorów antycznych - tzw. papirusu kolońskiego, który dostarcza nam w tej materii niezwykle ważnych informacji.

Pogrzeby i formy pośmiertnego uhonorowania członków rodziny cesarskiej w okresie pryncypatu Augusta i Tyberiusza

During the principate of Augustus and Tiberius, the unexpected death of members of the ruling house, the planned successors in particular, repeatedly disrupted the dynastic concepts of these emperors. The situation provided a good opportunity for the senate and the inhabitants of the provinces to assert their loyalty and attachment to the imperial family through appropriate honours paid to its departed members.  Among numerous posthumous honours granted to the deceased, particular attention is due to the honorific arches and statue groups which were erected in major locations in Romeand in the provinces. The regulations of the Senate and the local authorities also concerned apposite commemoration of the anniversary of their death. As the epigraphic sources inform, on that day Roman citizens were subject to a number of prohibitions, while in front of the Mausoleum of Augustus ceremonial offerings (inferiae) were to be made to their Manes. The kinds of posthumous honours voted in honour of the deceased members of the domus Augusta  attest to a high rank of these persons. After all, a similar kind of posthumous honours were bestowed only on the princeps. The analysis of the course and the nature of funeral ceremony of the members of Augustus’ and Tiberius’ house demonstrates that a certain model emerged, which since the funus of Marcellus was later imitated, with certain modifications, during funerals of successive representatives of the ruling dynasty. Among the shared elements which featured at those ceremonies one should list the public presentation of the body of the deceased at the Forum Romanum, funeral speeches (laudationes) delivered by the closest male members of the family and the display of the masks of the ancestors (imagines). There is no doubt that the funeral ceremonies of persons from the imperial family were a source of substantial inspiration in the arrangements for the funeral of Augustus himself, and later for the subsequent principes of the Julio-Claudian dynasty as well. 

Immunohistochemical and hybridocytochemical study on ghrelin signalling in the rat seminiferous epithelium.

The results of presented study demonstrate expression of ghrelin, its functional receptor GHSR-1a and their genes in spermatogenic cells of rat testis suggesting their functioning within seminiferous epithelium. The immunohistochemical and hybrydocytochemical expression, of proteins and transcripts, was estimated taking into account the cycle of seminiferous epithelium and phases of spermatogenesis. Both transcripts and ghrelin was found to show nuclear expression and scarcely cytoplasmic. Expression of genes for ghrelin and GHSR-1a was shown in early spermatocytes and round spermatids representing transcriptional phases of meiosis and spermiogenesis. Ghrelin was evidenced to show nuclear expression in two stage-specific windows, in late spermatogonia, in spermatocytes up to early pachytenes, and again in spermatids of acrosome and early maturation phase of spermiogenesis. In late pachytenes, secondary spermatocytes, round spermatids, maturing spermatids and spermatozoa the reaction is lacking. With two types of antibodies against the GHSR-1a used the two different patterns of immunostaining was evidenced suggesting two isoforms of GHSR-1a. The first evidenced GHSR-1a in cytoplasm of spermatocytes, cell membrane and acrosomes of spermatids, Sertoli cell processes and heads of spermatozoa. With second type of antibodies the immunostaining marks all steps of evolution of acrosome in spermatids. It is believed that site of ghrelin expression in seminiferous epithelium may indicate its role in local regulations, not excepting the intracellular signalling. Immunostaining pattern for GHSR-1a seems to suggest both its participation in the cross-talk among the cells and also process of furnishing gametes with GHSR-1a for its response to ghrelin in seminal plasma or female reproductive tract

Hodgkin lymphoma transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: cases report and discussion

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) is the most common form of leukemia affecting adults in Europe and North America. Large B-cell lymphoma known as Richter’s syndrome (RS) may develop approximately in 3–15 % patients. Furthermore, other hematological malignancies may also occur as RS variants, among them—Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). CLL/SLL transformation into HL is observed in about 0.5 % of patients, and till now, fewer than 100 cases have been reported in the medical literature. We present two cases of HL transformation of CLL/SLL and review the previously published literature

Are Estimates of Wind Characteristics Based on Measurements with Pitot Tubes and GNSS Receivers Mounted on Consumer-grade Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Applicable in Meteorological Studies?

The objective of this paper is to empirically show that estimates of wind speed and wind direction based on measurements carried out using the Pitot tubes and GNSS receivers, mounted on consumer-grade unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), may accurately approximate true wind parameters. The motivation for the study is that a growing number of commercial and scientific UAV operations may soon become a new source of data on wind speed and wind direction, with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. The feasibility study was carried out within an isolated mountain meadow of Polana Izerska located in the Izera Mountains (SW Poland) during an experiment which aimed to compare wind characteristics measured by several instruments: three UAVs (swinglet CAM, eBee, Maja) equipped with the Pitot tubes and GNSS receivers, wind speed and direction meters mounted at 2.5 m and 10 m (mast), conventional weather station and vertical sodar. The three UAVs performed seven missions along spiral-like trajectories, most reaching 130 m above take-off location. The estimates of wind speed and wind direction were found to agree between UAVs. The time series of wind speed measured at 10 m were extrapolated to flight altitudes recorded at a given time so that a comparison was made feasible. It was found that the wind speed estimates provided by the UAVs on a basis of the Pitot tube/GNSS data are in agreement with measurements carried out using dedicated meteorological instruments. The discrepancies were recorded in the first and last phases of UAV flights

Łuki triumfalne i honoryfi kacyjne jako forma uczczenia członków rodziny cesarskiej w okresie pryncypatu Augusta i Tyberiusza

The paper analyses the evidence concerning arches erected in honour of the emperors’ closest relatives during the reign of the two first principes

Mit szkoły życia – artykuł recenzyjny na podstawie książki „The myth of achievement test: the GED and the role of character in American life”

Artykuł recenzyjny na podstawie książki “The myth of achievement tests: the GED and the role of character in American life”, red. James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries i Tim Kautz. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2014, s. 452 + xvi nlb