Brill’s New Pauly

Get access Subject: Classical Studies
Edited by: Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider (Antiquity) and Manfred Landfester (Classical Tradition).
English translation edited by Christine F. Salazar (Antiquity) and Francis G. Gentry (Classical Tradition)

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Brill´s New Pauly is the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, published by Verlag J.B. Metzler since 1996. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. The section on Antiquity of Brill´s New Pauly are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity and cover more than two thousand years of history, ranging from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe. Special emphasis is given to the interaction between Greco-Roman culture on the one hand, and Semitic, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavonic culture, and ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on the other hand. The section on the Classical Tradition is uniquely concerned with the long and influential aftermath of antiquity and the process of continuous reinterpretation and revaluation of the ancient heritage, including the history of classical scholarship. Brill´s New Pauly presents the current state of traditional and new areas of research and brings together specialist knowledge from leading scholars from all over the world. Many entries are elucidated with maps and illustrations and the English edition will include updated bibliographic references.

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Jabne

(183 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück)
[German version] (Ἰάμνια; Iámnia). City, situated south of modern Tel Aviv. After the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in AD 70, it became the new centre in which Judaism reconstituted itself as rabbinic Judaism, initially under Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai and later under Gamaliel [2] II. A first formulation of the material which was later to be incorporated into the Mišna was undertaken here, whereby the aspect of an ordering of the religious life without temple cult and priests, as well as th…

Jackal

(290 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] This wild dog ( Canis aureus), principally found in Africa, still occurs today in Eurasia from the Balkans eastwards. It hunts at night, often in packs, preying mainly on small mammals and birds, but it also eats carrion. An earlier theory that it, together with the wolf, was a progenitor of the domestic dog ([1]; cf. [2. 70-72]), has now been abandoned. The θώς/ thṓs, as distinct from the  wolf, was well known to Aristotle (Hist. an. 2,17,507b 17: internal organs resemble those of the wolf; 6,35,580a 26-31: gives birth to two to four blind w…

Jackdaw

(306 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] The smallest species of crow. Pliny (HN 10,77) mentions this flocking bird of upper Italy, with its characteristic proverbial predilection for shiny objects like gold and coins, calling it monedula ( Coloeus monedula, probably identical to κολοιός/ koloiós, attested since Hom. Il. 16,583 and 17,755; atypical statements about the bird in Aristotle (Hist. an. 2,12,504a 19; 2,17,509a 1; 9(8),9,614b 5 and 9(8),24,b 16); common in Aristophanes ([1. 155; 2. 2. 109ff.]). In addition, Pliny knows the graculus, probably the Alpine chough ( Pyrrhocorax alpinus, κορακία…

Jacob

(978 words)

Author(s): Domhardt, Yvonne (Zürich) | Brock, Sebastian P. (Oxford)
[German version] [1] Son of Isaac and Rebecca According to Gn 25:26 a person ‘who holds the heel (of Esau)’; otherwise the etymology of the word is unsolved. The son of Isaac and Rebecca, third and most outstanding patriarch apart from  Abraham [1] and  Isaac, as well as the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, is named after his battle with the angel Israel (‘he who wrestles with god’). From the regal period onwards, J. also served as a metaphor for the people of Israel. J., who - according to the traditional view - embodies virtuousness, truth and fear of God on one hand, but…

Jaffa

(4 words)

see  Ioppe

Japan

(547 words)

Author(s): Dettmer, Hans A. (Bochum RWG)
[English version] Christian proselytization began soon after the Portuguese 'discovered' Japan (J.) (1542/43); its best-known representatives are Francis Xavier and Luís Fróis. The success of the Latin instruction required for the training of new Japanese priests is evident, for example, in the Oratio habita a Fara D. Martino Iaponio of Martino Hara, who was a member of the embassy from southern Japanese potentates to Rome (1582-1590; received by the Pope in 1585). This mission – in the course of which Constantino Dourado, another participant…

Jargon

(5 words)

see  Technical terminology

Jariri

(128 words)

Author(s): Högemann, Peter (Tübingen)
[German version] Prince regent of Karchemish, at the beginning of the 8th cent. BC, tutor of Kamani, the son of Astiruwa. Pictorial representation of J. with Kamani: CARCAMIS bk. 7. In his inscription in Luwian hieroglyphs (CARCAMIS A 6,2-3) ( Hieroglyphic scripts (Asia Minor)), he boasts of being well known in foreign countries: in Egypt, Urartu, among the Lydians, Phrygians and Phoenicians, countries in which J. probably travelled. For in his second inscription (CARCAMIS A 15b, 4), in which he maintains that he can write four scripts ( SCRIBA-lalija): hieroglyphic Luvian, Phoeni…

Jastorf Culture

(87 words)

Author(s): Pingel, Volker (Bochum)
[German version] Term for culture groups of the pre-Roman Iron Age in North Germany ( Germanic archaeology, with map), derived from the urnfields of Jastorf, in the district of Ülzen (Lower Saxony). The burial complexes and furnishings with jewellery, pottery, and occasionally also weapons and equipment, are typical of the Germanic Jastorf culture. It is the first iron-working culture in the nordic area.  Iron;  Jevenstedt Pingel, Volker (Bochum) Bibliography H-J. Häßler (ed.), Ur-und Frühgesch. in Niedersachsen, 1991, 380 G. Schwantes, Die Urnenfriedhöfe in Niedersachs…

Javelin throwing

(167 words)

Author(s): Decker, Wolfgang (Cologne)
[German version] Outside the Graeco-Roman world, sporting use of the javelin (ἀκόντιον; akóntion, δόρυ; dóry, Lat. iaculum) is attested only for Etruria [1. 306-314]. In Homer (Hom. Il. 23,618-623; 629-637; 884-897: uncontested victory for Agamemnon; Hom. Od. 4,625-627; 8,229), javelin-throwing is still a separate discipline. Later on, it is almost only conducted as the third discipline in the framework of the  pentathlon. The sling-strap fastened onto the javelin (ἀγκύλη; ankýlē, Lat. amentum) increased the distance of the throw, the distance determining the winn…

Jay

(213 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (κίσσα/ kíssa or κίττα/ kítta, Garrulus glandarius). It was often confused in Greek with the  Magpie [1. 146] and, as garrulus, in the Middle Ages (among others in Isid. Orig. 12,7,45) with either the graculus, the Alpine chough ( Jackdaw), or the rook (e.g. in Thomas of Cantimpré 5,62; [2. 209]). The colourful crow shows characteristic coloration and behaviour. Plin. HN 10,119 already admires the talkativeness of the related magpies and of the acorn eaters ( earum quae glande vescantur). Aristot. Hist. an. 9(8),13,615b 19-23 describes the changeability o…

Jehuda ha-Nasi

(292 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück)
[German version] Most often simply called ‘rabbi’ or ‘our holy rabbi’, c. AD 175-217; son and successor of Simeon ben Gamaliel [2] II, the most important of the Jewish Patriarchs, under whose rule the office was at its most powerful. He was officially acknowledged by the Romans as the representative of Judaism and in addition acted as the head of the Sanhedrin ( Bēt Dīn;  Synhedrion), being the highest authority in questions of teachings ( Ḥakham). J. had at his disposal a solid financial basis, and maintained extensive trading relations and contacts with the  Diaspora…

Jellyfish

(274 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (zoological: Medusa). The swimming reproductive form of polyp from the seanettle subspecies ( Cnidaria) of zoophytes. Aristot. Hist. an. 4,6,531a 32-b 17 describes very well their stinging tentacles, the ἀκαλήφη/ akalḗphē sc. θαλασσία/ thalassía ‘stinging nettle’ (nettle-jellyfish) or, synonymously, κνίδη/ knídē (ibid. 5,16,548a 22-27) (The comic passages quoted by Ath. 3,90a-b mean by akalḗphē not the jellyfish, but the stinging nettle). In Latin the urtica marina corresponds to the knide (Plin. HN 32,146). Aristotle classes jellyfish as molluscs …

Jeremiah

(268 words)

Author(s): Domhardt, Yvonne (Zürich)
[German version] (Hebrew Jirm jāhū). Personal name and title of the book of the Bible written by the author of the same name. In several Haggadic sources ( Haggadah), the name of the second of the great prophets is linked with the destruction of  Jerusalem which took place during his lifetime. The possible meaning ‘may God exalt’ is uncertain. J. was probably born around 650 BC during the reign of king Jošija. J., in his capacity as a prophet, led a turbulent life between being held in high esteem …

Jericho

(519 words)

Author(s): Bieberstein, Klaus (Fribourg)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Dead Sea (textual finds) | Hasmonaeans (Hebrew Yriḥō; Greek Ἱεριχώ, Ἱερικοῦς, Ἱεριχοῦς; Latin Hierichô, Hierikoûs, Hierichoûs; Arabian ar-Rīḥā; from western Semitic yrḥ, ‘moon’?). Oasis with a wealth of palms, famous for dates and balsam (Str. 16,2,41; Pomp. Trog. 3,2-3; Plin. HN 13,44; Jos. BI 1,138; 4,452-475; Jos. Ant. Iud. 14,54; 15,96), 8 km west of the Jordan, 10 km north of the Dead Sea, 250 m below sea level, watered by the spring ʿAin as-Sulṭān on the nor…

Jerusalem

(8,241 words)

Author(s): Kaplony, Andreas (Zürich RWG)
Kaplony, Andreas (Zürich RWG) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) A characteristic feature of the reception history of Jerusalem (J.) is its multidimensionality. Christian, Jewish and, since the 7th cent., Muslim discourses have been running parallel and developed the concept of J. as the site of the Jewish Temple; in the 19th cent., they began to take on additional, nationalistic layers. This article will trace the chronological development of these shared perceptions. Throughout the centuries, Christ…

Jerusalem

(2,389 words)

Author(s): Bieberstein, Klaus (Fribourg) | Wandrey, Irina (Berlin)
This item can be found on the following maps: Syria | Dead Sea (textual finds) | Caesar | Christianity | Zenobia | Coloniae | Alexander | Commerce | Hasmonaeans | Legio | Limes | Mesopotamia | Natural catastrophes | Phoenicians, Poeni | Pilgrimage | Pompeius | Aegean Koine [German version] I. Name Hebrew Y rūšālēm, presumably ‘foundation of the (god) Šalēm’, in the Masoretic texts ( Masorah) always vocalized in the dual form Y rūšālayim; Greek Ἱερουσαλήμ, Ἰεροσόλυμα; Latin Ierusalem, [ H] ierosolyma), archaizing Šālēm (Gn 14:18; Ps 76:3) or Y bōs (Judg 19:10-11; 1 Chr 11:4-5), und…

Jesters

(4 words)

see  Entertainers

Jesuit schools

(989 words)

Author(s): Klein SJ, Ralf (Berlin RWG)
Klein SJ, Ralf (Berlin RWG) [German version] A. General Comments (CT)     The Society of Jesus (Societas Jesu, SJ), authorized by Pope Paul III in 1541, was founded oriented on the ideal of the itinerant apostles and was not conceived of as an order devoted to establishing schools. Nevertheless, it developed a broad network of schools in the course of its history. The school organization was governed from 1599 by the Ratio studiorum (RS), remained essentially unchanged until the suppression of the order in 1773 and was mandatory for all schools. A revised version of…

Jesus

(5,239 words)

Author(s): Stegemann, Ekkehard (Basle)
During the course of the historicist Enlightenment, the early Christian tradition of J. became the subject of an in-depth study of the sources. Next to the dogmatic unity of the divine and human nature of J. Christ, there appeared the question of the historical Jesus, which seeks the authentic historical figure of J. within the context of contemporary Judaism. At the same time however, the history of the research into the life of Jesus shows that reconstructing a historical J. depends not only o…

Jeu

(5 words)

see  Nag Hammadi

Jevenstedt

(76 words)

Author(s): Pingel, Volker (Bochum)
[German version] in the county of Rendsburg (Schleswig-Holstein). Burial ground of the Germanic pre-Roman Iron Age (6th-4th cents. BC) furnished with painted pottery vessels and iron slag, which indicates a privileged position within the  Jastorf culture and points to early iron production through contacts with the  Hallstatt culture. The presence of iron ore and slag mounds in the area is known, but cannot definitely be assigned.  Germanic archaeology;  Iron Pingel, Volker (Bochum) Bibliography H. Hingst, Jevenstedt, 1974.

Jewellery

(2,921 words)

Author(s): Rehm, Ellen (Frankfurt/Main) | Niemeyer, Hans Georg (Hamburg) | Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg)
Material and motifs indicate that jewellery in antiquity could be thought of as warding off evil or bringing luck. Not only men, women and children, but also idols wore jewellery. Jewellery was also often used as grave goods. [German version] I. Near East Beads made of shell and bone (later also wood) are again and again found in graves from the 7th/6th millennia BC. Gold and silver jewellery is known from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC from the Near East, sometimes with inlaid semiprecious stones, and in a great variety of forms (p…

Jewish-Hellenistic Literature

(5 words)

see  Literature

Jewish Wars

(920 words)

Author(s): Gerber, Jörg (Bochum)
Term for a series of violent conflicts between Jews and non-Jews in the eastern Mediterranean between the 2nd cent. BC and the 2nd cent. AD, beginning with the Maccabean revolt against the  Seleucids ( Maccabees;  Judas [1] Maccabaeus). In the narrower sense, the three major Jewish revolts against Roman rule in the 1st and 2nd cents. AD. [German version] I. The ‘Jewish War’ The best-known - thanks to the completely preserved works of the Jewish historian and contemporary  Iosephus [4] Flavius - conflict (AD 66-70) began in the spring/summer of 66 as a p…

Jezira, Sefer ha-

(259 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück)
[German version] (Hebrew ‘Book of creation’). Attempt at a systematic description of the fundamental principles of the world order. This Hebrew text, comprising only a few pages and extant in three different recensions, was probably written between the 3rd and 6th cent. and thus is one of the oldest texts of Jewish esoteric writing. In the first part, the ten original numbers, and in the second part the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are presented as elements of creation through whose c…
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