Courtly Love, Stars, and Power: The Queens in Third Century Royal Couples, through Poetry and Epigraphic Texts

peer reviewedI discuss the role of women and erōs in court poetry, by focusing on the ruling pair, i.e. the couple par excellence, and arguing that a gentle, reciprocal love within the bonds of marriage is presented as a crucial value, ensuring wealth and social order as well as the continuity of the dynasty itself. Because court life is a fashionable source of models for the elite, the poetic motif of requited love also influences the ideal depiction of love outside the ruling pair. After focusing on how internal patterns of relationship between characters shape the role of the queen in Alexandrian court poetry, I turn to non-literary, epigraphic evidence, in order to show how poetic representations of royal love integrate into a wider ideological program. Although my study mainly concerns Ptolemaic ruling pairs, I discuss some epigraphic parallels from the Seleucid dynasty as well, so that some general observations can be made on early Hellenistic queenship

SigNet: A Digital Platform for Hellenistic Sealings and Archives

peer reviewedThe paper provides an overview of the SigNet Project with special attention to the implementation of a digital agenda fitting the dual purpose of promoting scientific research in the specialized disciplines of sigillography and numismatics and of bridging their gap with the broader field of cultural heritage. Focus is in particular on the role of interdisciplinary, open linked databases of big data and on the promotion of citizen science

Shaping the elite of Attalid Pergamon : a reappraisal of the epigraphic dossiers concerning priesthoods

The history of Hellenistic Pergamon is deeply affected by the dual status of a polis that also functioned as a dynastic residence. This overlap between civic and royal institutions significantly impacted the political life of the city. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about honorific habits and the consolidation of the civic elite of Pergamon by focusing on the triangular interactions between the Attalids, their court, and the polis’ institutions in the period from Eumenes I to Attalos III. To do so, several dossiers concerning the priesthoods and religious liturgies of Attalid Pergamon will be reassessed by paying attention to their tenure, appointment, privileges, and the social groups that held these charges

Egyptian Gods in the Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean: Image and Reality Between Local and Global

Le troisième Supplément de Mythos a été animé par le groupe de recherche international sur les « études isiaques » et apporte une contribution variée à la discipline, à travers cinq cas d’étude ciblés et une mise au point transversale de l’état de l’art, offrant une panoramique dense des quinze ans d’activité de ce groupe international et des priorités dans la définition des perspectives d’avenir. Les éditeurs ont décidé d’assortir les quatre articles qui constituent le cœur de la publication..

Francesca Prescendi, Youri Volokhine (éds), Dans le laboratoire de l’historien des religions. Mélanges offerts à Philippe Borgeaud

Au premier regard à la table des matières, on constate que ce volume publié en l’honneur de Philippe Borgeaud se place difficilement dans une catégorie éditoriale précise : davantage que de nombreux autres mélanges offerts à un grand maître, la richesse des sujets traités aussi bien que l’importance des participants lui donnent l’aspect d’une mise au point internationale concernant le comparatisme en histoire des religions et plus précisément (mais pas exclusivement) des religions anciennes. ..

La vie religieuse à Paphos à travers les sources épigraphiques : acteurs, espaces, nouvelles perspectives

Cet article critique analyse le volume que Jean-Baptiste Cayla a récemment consacré aux inscriptions grecques alphabétiques de Paphos, aux périodes hellénistique et impériale. Le livre constitue la publication, longtemps attendue, de la thèse de doctorat soutenue par l’auteur en 2003 sur le dossier des inscriptions alphabétiques grecques et latines de la région de Paphos (sanctuaire de Palaipaphos, ville de Nea Paphos et chōra, y compris l’îlot de Géronisos). Dans l’avant-propos, l’A. expliqu..