Brill’s New Pauly
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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)
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.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
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.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
Belorussia
(1,171 words)
Schevtschenko, Galina Ivanovna [German version] A. Introduction (CT) Belarussian culture evolved under the clear influence of Antiquity as a result of the interaction of two cultural traditions - Byzantine ( Byzantium) and Western European . By adopting the Greek version of Christianity, Belarussian lands became part of a world-wide historical process. The influence of Classical Antiquity became even stronger after the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Orientation towards ancient and Western Eu…
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Belsazar
(178 words)
[German version] Based on legendary tradition in the OT (Dan. 5), B. was the son of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. The historical Bel-šar-uṣur, however, was the firstborn son of Nabonid (556-539 BC), the last ruler of Babylon, who governed the empire during Nabonid's stay in Arabia ( Teima oasis; 553-543 BC). Despite this division of power, certain royal functions were reserved to Nabonid (the title of king and the recording of ruling years; the right to hold New Year's celebrations in…
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Belts
(719 words)
[German version] I. Celtic-Germanic There has generally been evidence of belts since the end of the Neolithic Age (3rd millennium BC) as part of archaeological discoveries in Central Europe (mostly burial objects). The belts themselves were made of organic materials (leather, etc.) and have not been preserved, but the (metal) fittings, such as clasps (belt hooks/ rings) or decorations (metal plates) have been. Belt hooks made of bone are known from the early phase (end of the 3rd millennium BC). Dur…
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Belvedere Apollo
(1,568 words)
Scharf, Friedhelm (Kassel RWG) [German version] A. Significance (CT) The Belvedere Apollo (BA) (223 cm, marble,
c. AD 130-140, Rome, MV) held the greatest fascination for artists and scholars until well into the 19th cent. and has been replicated in numerous works of world art. The Roman copy was probably made after a bronze sculpture by Leochares (
c. 320/330 BC), which Pausanias describes in the temple of Apollo Patroos in Athens [9. 150]. It has never been possible to verify details about the time and place of the discovery (near Anzio or near Grott…
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Brill’s New Pauly
Bematistai
(62 words)
[German version] (βηματισταί;
bēmatistaí, ‘step measurer’). Term for the geodesists in Alexander [4] the Great's army. Their tasks: calculating travel times and distances as well as the collection of regional data for the official journal (Str. 15,2,8).
Bematistai known by name are Baiton, Diognetus and Philonides (FGrH 119-121). Heucke, Clemens (Munich) Bibliography Berve 1, 44, 51f.; 2, no. 198, 271, 800.
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Bendis
(537 words)
[German version] (Βενδῖς;
Bendîs). The Thracian goddess B., still known to the Greeks in the 6th cent. (Hipponax fr. 127 W.) (see Hdn. 2, 761 L.; Liv. 38,41,1; only as antiquarian knowledge? [1. 114]), B. is understood in the
interpretatio graeca as an Artemis (Hdt. 4, 33; 5, 7; Palaephat. 31; Hsch.), as Hecate (Plut. De def. or. 13, 416e, owing to incorrect etymology; Hsch. s.v. Ἀδμήτου κόρη) or Persephone (Orph. Fr. 200 OF; cf. texts in PCG 4, p. 165; cf. 159). The iconography, too, aims at equating her with Artemis as a hunting …
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Benedict of Nursia
(925 words)
[German version] A. Life The most important facts about his life can be found in the ‘Dialogues (book II) by Gregory the Great, which can again be considered authentic after a series of inquiries (written around 593/4). B. was born around 480 in Nursia (Abruzzi) to a wealthy family, broke off his studies in Rome in order to join a group of ascetics in Affile, and then lived as a hermit for three years in Subiaco (
c. 75 km south-east of Rome). After his unsuccessful attempt to lead the neighbouring community of monks, he returned to Subiaco and was able to found 12 loos…
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Beneficiarii
(119 words)
[German version] were already mentioned in Caesar (B Civ. 1,75,2; 3,88,5); according to Vegetius (Mil. 2,7), they were soldiers who owed their promotion to the
beneficium of their superiors and were freed from the
munera . They were assigned to an officer, in whose service they performed legal and financial duties that required a certain competency.
Beneficiarii can be found in all units, in the marines, in the
auxilia, in the legions and in Rome. Some of them also performed tasks in the civil sphere and were used in the
stationes for the protection of the long-distance roads. Le Bohec, Yan…
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Beneficium
(383 words)
[German version] is a favourable exception. Distinctive kinds of
beneficium, depending on the originator of the favour, are
beneficia principis (Caesaris) [3],
legis, senatus consulti, praetoris.
Beneficia are usually general in nature and application, but may also be granted to a particular person. The emperor above all granted
beneficia, for instance in the form of ownership of public land or immunity from taxation, to communities or individuals. Some cases of private legal privilege where the sources or theorists speak of
beneficia are as follows: in the area of the law …
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Beneventana
(568 words)
[German version] A distinctive script of the Middle Ages, which emerged in the middle of the 8th cent. in the Abbey of Montecassino and which spread through the entire dukedom of Benevento in the 9th cent. It was still in use in the second half of the 15th cent. at Montecassino and in the first half of the 16th cent. in Naples [1]. The writing also reached the Dalmatian coast, where the earliest records of Beneventan documents date back to the 10th cent. The oldest Beneventan MSS from this region …
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Beneventum
(273 words)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Social Wars | Theatre | | Coloniae | Coloniae | Regio, regiones | Rome City of the Hirpini in Samnium on the confluence of Calore and Sabato, where the
via Traiana branches off the
via Appia, 11 miles distant from Caudium. After the defeat of Pyrrhus in 275 BC, the original (Illyrian) name Mal(e)ventum (Liv. 9,27,14) was changed into B. As a colony under Latin law in 268 BC (Liv. 15,13,9; Vell. Pat. 1,14,7), the city was loyal to Rome in the 2nd Punic war (Liv. 22,13,1). There are records of
consules,
praetores,
censores,
interreges a…
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Beos
(50 words)
[German version] (Βέος;
Béos). Ancient settlement between Aprus and Resisto, today's Bunarli. The name B. often appears on products of Thracian Hellenistic toreutic: Rogozen, Vraza, Borovo and Agighiol. Probably identical with the
mutatio Bedizus (IH 570,1; 601,9). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography G. Mihailov, Rogozen Linguistique Balkanique 1, 1987, 5-19.
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Berber
(290 words)
[German version] Language of the original inhabitants of Northern Africa (west of the Nile) and of the Canary Islands, except for the Negroids documented in rock paintings, called Libyans by the Greeks,
rbw by the Egyptians, and Numidae (‘nomads’) by the Romans. Old-Berber (Libyan, Numidian) with its modern derivative languages (for example Tuareg, Cabylian) belongs to the Semitic-Hamitic (Afro-Asian) language group. More than a thousand inscriptions appear in three related alphabets, one eastern version (Massylic) and two wes…
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Berecyntes
(186 words)
[German version] Mythical tribe from the region inhabited by the Phryges in Greek and Roman times, including the area known as Galatia in Hellenistic times (
Berecyntos, ‘a
castellum in Phrygia on the Sangarius’: Serv. Aen. 6,784). Used as a synonym for ‘Phrygian’ by poets of classical (e.g. Aeschyl. Niobe), Hellenistic (Callim. H. 3, 246), and Roman times (e.g. Hor. Carm. 1,18; 3,19; Ov. Met. 11,106), and also by prose writers (from Stesimbrotus, Str. 10,3,20, to Aug. Civ. 2,5,7). However, Str. 12,8,21, maintains: ‘There …
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Berengarius
(87 words)
[German version] B.I, born in AD 850/53, margrave of Friaul, grandson of Louis the Pious. Following Charles III's deposition in Tribur by Arnulf of Carinthia, B.I was installed as King of Italy in January of 888 in Pavia, but struggled for years with rivals (Wido and Lambert of Spoleto; Louis of Provence). In 915, he was crowned emperor by the Pope in agreement with Byzantium; in 924 he was murdered in Verona. Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich) Bibliography LMA 1, 1933 R. Hiestand, Byzanz und das Regnum Italicum, 1964
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Berenice
(1,483 words)
(Βερενίκη;
Bereníkē). [German version] [1] B. Maternal great niece of Antipater Born
c. 340 BC as the daughter of Magas and Antigone, maternal great niece of Antipater [1]. Around 325, she married a certain Philippus, with whom she had two children: Antigone, later the wife of Pyrrhus, and Magas. Around 322, Antipater sent her (as a widow?) and his daughter Eurydice to Ptolemy I, who married Eurydice. B. quickly gained Ptolemy's respect, and bore him Arsinoe in 316, Ptolemy II in 308; other children of the …
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Berenicidae
(72 words)
[German version] (Βερενικίδαι;
Berenikídai). Attic deme of the Ptolemais phyle established in 224/23 BC and named after Berenice, wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes. Possibly located around Eleusis (cf. grave inscription IG II2 5868 from Mandra and IG II2 5888 from Eleusis). The announcer of the decree on demes (?) IG II2 1221 (found at Eleusis) came from the B. Lohmann, Hans (Bochum) Bibliography Traill, Attica, 29f., 109 (no. 25), table 13.
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Berezan
(193 words)
[German version] Island (still a peninsula in antiquity) located in front of the mouth of the Borysthenes and on which the oldest traces of settlement by Milesian colonists on the northern coast of the Black Sea have been found: Rhodian-Ionic ceramics from the end of the 7th cent. BC; the locality B. arose in the 2nd half of the 7th cent. (numerous graffiti; flourished at the end of the 6th to the beginning of the 5th cent.). Cult of Apollo Ietros and of Apatouria (Aphrodite). Olbia was possibly …
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Bergaeus
(83 words)
[German version] Thracian dynast at the end of the 5th/beginning of the 4th cent. BC. Known only through his bronze and silver minting with the markings ΒΕΡΓΑΙΟΥ and ΒΕΡΓ (also interpreted as the name of a city or an official). Parallels with Thasian coin designs suggest a location in the south-west of Thrace by the lower course of the Nestus. Peter, Ulrike (Berlin) Bibliography HN 283 J. Jurukova, M. Domaradski, Nov centǎr na trakijskata kultura - s. Vetren, Pazardžiško, in: Numizmatika 3, 1990, 3-19.
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Bergistani, Bargusii
(68 words)
[German version] Iberian tribe in Hispania Tarraconensis (now Cataluña); the place name Berga (province of Barcelona) commemorates it. On his march to Italy Hannibal passed through the tribe's territory (Pol. 3,35; Liv. 21,19; 23). In the first phase of the Roman conquest of Spain the B. put up resistance, but were subdued by Cato in 195 BC (Liv. 34,16ff.). Barceló, Pedro (Potsdam) Bibliography Tovar 3, 39f.
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Bergomum
(134 words)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Raeti, Raetia Centre of the Golasecca culture (6th/5th cent. BC) between the foothills of the Orobian-Raetian Alps (on the location of Parra Oromobiorum: Cato Orig. 40) and the Cenomani of the Celtic Padana (Ptol. 3,1,31) [1. 61f.], modern Bergamo.
Municipium [2. 51] from the end of the Roman Republic [1. 181f.],
tribus Voturia, in
regio IX (from the 4th cent. AD in
regio X). Captured by Attila in AD 452 and laid in ruins (Historiae miscellaneae 15,7). Military base on the
via Padana at the time of the Goths (Procop. Goth.…
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Bergule
(75 words)
[German version] (Βεργούλη;
Bergoúlē). Lüle-Burgas on the Erghene, Thracian settlement and important
statio of the province of Thracia (Ptol. 3,11,7), called Arcadiopolis from the beginning of the 5th cent. AD. In AD 441, it was threatened by the Huns, and in AD 473, captured by the Goths under Theoderic. In the Middle Ages, it was a strong fortress. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. Zlatarski, Istorija na bălgarskata dăržava prez srednite vekove 1,1, 21994,
pass.
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Bericus
(91 words)
[German version] The Briton whose appeal for help gave Emperor Claudius the pretext for invading the island in AD 43 (Cass. Dio 60,19,1). B. might be identical with Verica, who appears on his coins (south of the Thames in the region of the Atrebates; Calleva/Silchester is the place of minting) as
rex and son of Commius. By virtue of their place of discovery and their motifs (i.a., a vine leaf) Verica is represented as having had a Rome-friendly, anti-Catuvellauni policy. Cunobellinus; Catuvellauni Kunst, Christiane (Potsdam) Bibliography S. Frere, Britannia, 31987, 27-47.
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Berisades
(92 words)
[German version] (Βηρισάδης;
Bērisádēs). Thracian dynast who, together with Amadocus, forced Cersobleptes to divide up the Odrysian kingdom in 359-357 BC after the death of Cotys I. He received the western part bordering Macedonia. His brother-in-law, the Athenian mercenary commander Athenodorus, assisted him (IG II/III2 126; Dem. Or. 23,8; 10; 170; 173-174; Str. 7, fr. 47; StV 303). In 358/7 Philip II occupied Crenides, which lay in B.'s territory. B.'s sons succeeded him in power in 357/6. Peter, Ulrike (Berlin) Bibliography E. Badian, Philip II and Thrace, in: Pulpudeva…
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Berlin
(5,861 words)
Kreikenbom, Detlev (Mainz RWG) [German version] I. Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Collection of Antiquities (CT) Kreikenbom, Detlev (Mainz RWG) [German version] A. Early History (CT) The origin of the Berlin Collection of Antiquities goes back to the 16th cent. It was probably the elector Joachim II of Brandenburg who laid the foundations of the holdings of the Curiosity Cabinet in the Schloss in Berlin, during his reign (1535-1571) and also had antiquities purchased. This first stock was almost completely …
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Berlin Painter
(486 words)
[German version] Very productive painter of Attic red-figured vases who got his name from a magnificent type A amphora in Berlin (SM, Inv. no. F 2160). Primarily a pot painter, he decorated a wide range of shapes, including several rare ones. Slim, elegant figures whose harmonious contours blend in with the shape of the vase, characterize his drawing style, as does also the balance of details, effected by relief, black, and golden dilute glaze lines. The Berlin Painter (BP) preferred the represent…
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Bermium
(51 words)
[German version] (Βέρμιον;
Bérmion). Mountain in the south of Macedonia, west of Emathia (now Doxa) and east of Beroea [1]. From here the Macedonians penetrated Lower Macedonia (Hdt. 8,138). B. is said to have been the home of the Thracian Bryges (Str. 7 fr. 25). Errington, Robert Malcolm (Marburg/Lahn)
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Beroea
(1,229 words)
(Βέροια;
Béroia). [German version] [1] In Macedonia This item can be found on the following maps: Christianity | Macedonia, Macedones | Macedonia, Macedones | Education / Culture In Macedonia. Errington, Robert Malcolm (Marburg/Lahn) [German version] A. Hellenistic and Roman periods City in Macedonian Bottice, east of the Bermium; now Verria. First mentioned in the 5th cent. BC (Thuc. 1,61,4), B. had its development, like many Macedonian cities, principally in the Hellenistic period; the Antigonids seem to have particularly favoured…
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Berones
(41 words)
[German version] Celtic tribe on the middle Iberus in La Rioja. Their most important towns were Tricio, Oliba and Vareia (Liv. fr. 91:
validissima urbs). Sertorius occupied the tribe's territory in 76 BC. Barceló, Pedro (Potsdam) Bibliography Tovar 3, 77-78.
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Berosus
(375 words)
[German version] of Babylon. Priest of Bēl/Marduk, contemporary of Alexander [4] the Great's (FGrH 680 T 1), author of a Chaldean history in three volumes for Antiochus [2] I, transmitted with the titles
Babylōniaká (F1 [1], F 2) or
Chaldaiká (T 8a, 7a, 11). Vol. 1: Geography of Babylon (modelled on Hellenistic ethnography); fish-man (
apkallu synonym for sage) Oannes as the bearer of culture; cosmogony; anthropogony. Vol. 2: 10 antediluvian kings; account of the flood; list of post-diluvian dynasties with their sages (
apkall) up to Nabû-nsir (8th cent. BC), on the lines of t…
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Bersabe
(240 words)
[German version] (Βηρσαβεέ;
Bērsabeé). In the northern Negev, identified either with
bir as-saba (now Beer Ševa) or with
tall as-sab (5 km east). In the biblical tradition, B. appears as an open-air sanctuary of Yahwe with the name of El-Olam and is associated with the three arch fathers. However, it has some grounding only in the Isaac tradition, if that. Its meaning in popular etymology is ‘well of the oath’ (Gen. 21,22-27, 31b; 26,25-33), or ‘seven wells’ (Gen. 21,28-31a). In the set phrase ‘from Dan to Be…
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Berytus
(536 words)
This item can be found on the following maps: Syria | | Coloniae | Commerce | Hasmonaeans | Colonization | Phoenicians, Poeni | Pompeius | Aegean Koine (Βηρυτός;
Bērytós). [German version] A. Phoenician period B., modern Beirut, is mentioned as
Beruta in the Amarna letters and in documents from Ugarit (14th and 13th cent. BC respectively), and as
Birû in the annals of Asarhaddon (7th cent. BC) [1. 48]. Its identification with the
Baurad of the Ebla documents is disputed [2. 68]. Sources document that the Canaanite B. of the 2nd millennium BC was controlled by By…
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Bes
(330 words)
[German version] [1] Roman coinage In the Roman system of weights and measures the
bes (
binae partes assis) represents 2/3 (8/12) of the
as and, on the basis of the Roman pound (327.45 g), weighs 218.30 g [1. 72]. In Roman minting the
bes was stamped with
S as its symbol of value; only issued by C. Cassius in 126 BC in bronze (with the head of Liber/
prora) [2. 290]. As; Small coin, shortage of; Libra Mlasowsky, Alexander (Hannover) Bibliography
1 Schrötter, s.v. Bes
2 M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, 21987. [German version] [2] Dwarfish Egyptian god with hideous face (Egyptia…
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Besa
(173 words)
[German version] (Βῆσ(σ)α;
Bês(s)a). Attic
paralia-deme of the phyle Antiochis, later Hadrianis. Two
bouleutai. Significant mining district in Laurion, for which 24 mining leases are attested. Probably located near today's Hagios Konstantinos (formerly Kamareza), as Xen. Vect. 4,43 recommends the construction of a fortification on the highest point of B. (= Vigla Rimbari?) halfway between Anaphlystus and Thoricus. In the south, therefore, B. adjoined Amphitrope; in the north, Thoricus; in the east and south-east, Sunium, to which it was linked by the
astikè hodós. Road conne…
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Besantinus
(135 words)
[German version] (Βησαντῖνος;
Bēsantînos). Writer in Hadrian's era, possibly from Rhodes (according to the heading in Anth. Pal. 15,27, a poem that in any case belongs not to him but to Simias of Rhodes; also wrongly attributed to him: 9,118 = Thgn. 527f., cf. Stob. 4,50,44). MSS
F and
Y of the Bucolics attribute a βωμός (
bōmós) to him, a pattern poem in the shape of an altar: 26 verses in different metres forming the eulogizing acrostic Ὀλύμπιε πολλοῖς ἔτεσι θυσείας, that is certainly addressed to Hadrian (cf. ThGL 5,1924A). It is also transmitted a…
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Bessapara
(91 words)
[German version] Roman settlement on the road from Serdica to Philippopolis (It. Ant. 136; Procop. Aed. 4,11 Βεσούπαρον;
Besoúparon), modern Sinitovo/Pazardžik, southern Bulgaria. Flourished in the imperial age. Thanks to its location, it retained its supraregional importance throughout late antique and the early Byzantine period. Its fortifications date from the time of Justinian I. Greek inscriptions and votive reliefs. Burian, Jan (Prague) Bibliography V. Velkov, Gradât v Trakija i Dakija prez kâsnata antičnost, 1959, 109 (Bulgarian with German resumé: …
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Bessas
(101 words)
[German version] Goth of Thracian origin (born around AD 480), whose family did not accompany Theoderic to Italy in AD 488. He served as an officer in Justinian's army against the Persians, under Belisarius in the reconquest of Italy, as also against the Goths and in his old age in Syrian territory. He achieved high rank (
dux Mesopotamiae 531;
mag. mil. vacans in Italy 535-546;
mag. mil. per Armeniam 550-554), was even
patricius, but was finally banished for having a too nonchalant attitude towards his duty as a consequence of excessive financial dealings. PLRE 2, 226-229. Eder, Walter (B…
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Bessi, Bessoi
(240 words)
[German version] (Βεσσοί;
Bessoí). Term given to various Thracian tribal groupings, first mentioned by Hdt. 7,111 as part of the Satrae in the western Rhodope mountains, but thereafter not again until the 2nd cent. BC (Pol. 23,8,4; Syll.3 710 A). The B. gained political significance because of their opposition to the Romans: defeated by Lucullus in 72 BC, by C. Octavius (ILS 47) in 59 BC, and brought to battle
c. 15 years later by Brutus (Liv. Per. 77); in 29 BC M. Licinius Crassus attacked them, took away from them the Dionysus sanctuary in the Rhodope and trans…
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Bessus
(72 words)
[German version] Satrap of Bactria, Darius III's general at the battle of Gaugamela. Shortly afterwards he killed Darius, assumed the name Artaxerxes and tried to hold the eastern part of the Persian Empire against Alexander [4] the Great. Spitamenes i.a. betrayed him; he was condemned to death in Ecbatana for high treason (Arr. Anab., Curt.
passim). Kuhrt, Amélie (London) Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Helen (Utrecht) Bibliography F. Holt, Alexander the Great and Bactria, 1989.
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Beta-gamma style
(187 words)
[German version] Stylistic trend in Greek everyday minuscules in the early Palaeologan period, so called because of the overly large shapes of the letters beta and gamma; fundamentally the beta-gamma style (BGS) falls into the category of the Fettaugen style, as is clearly evident from a few specimens (including from the Laurentianus Conventi Soppressi 627 and the Vaticanus graecus 1899). The term BGS, not really officially sanctioned but highly convenient, is still in general use; moreover, many…
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Bethania
(273 words)
[German version] [1] Village on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem (Βηθανία;
Bēthanía;
Anānyā, Neh 11,32, or
Bēt
Aniyyā, ‘house of the poor’). Village on the south-eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, 15 stades (John 11,18) or two miles (Eus. On. 58) from Jerusalem (ruins of settlement 5th cent. BC -- 14th cent. AD). Place where Jesus was anointed by the sinner (Mark 14,3; Matt. 26,6; John 12,1), home of Mary and Martha, and place where Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11,1), hence in late antiquity
Lazarion, today
al-āzarı̄ya, ‘Lazarus(village)’. A chamber tomb in a cliff s…
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Bethel
(813 words)
(Hebrew
bēt-ēl ‘House of El’). [German version] [1] Place in the Ephraim range of mountains This item can be found on the following maps: Hasmonaeans Place in the Ephraim range of mountains, original name Lūz (Gen. 28,19; 35,6; 48,3; Jos. 18,3; Judg. 1,23) and identified with today's bētīn; 17 km north of Jerusalem (cf. Eus. On. 40,20f.) at the intersection of the roads from Hebron to Sichem and from Jericho to the Mediterranean; linked with an important sanctuary that, to distinguish it from the city with the earlier …
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Bethlehem
(429 words)
This item can be found on the following maps: Pilgrimage [German version] A. Early history (Arab
bait-laḥm; Βητλέεμ (
Bētléem; NT); Βαιτλεεμ (
Baitleem; LXX); Βητλέμα, Βηθλεέμη (Bētléma,
Bēthleémē; Ios.); Hebrew
bēt-leẹm ‘House of Bread’); located about 8 km south of Jerusalem on the important communication route between Jerusalem and Hebron on fertile land at the edge of the desert. The interpretation of the place name as a derivation from a goddess named Lachama is improbable [1]. Archaeologically attested from the Iron Ag…
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Bethsaida
(189 words)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Pompeius (Aramaic
bēt ṣaydā, ‘house of the catch’ or ‘of the booty’). Place in Gaulanitis ( Batanaea) on Lake Genezareth (in today's plain
el-ibṭeḥa) east of the confluence with the Jordan; established as a city in 3 BC by the tetrarch Herodes Philippus and named
Iulias after Augustus' daughter (Jos. Ant. 18,2,1; Bell. 2,9,1; probably today's
et-tell), only 2 kms further inland), but in all four gospels mentioned with an Aramaic name (probably just the fishing settlement on the lake, today's
ḫirbet el-araǧ). B./Iulias was…
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Beth Shearim
(159 words)
[German version] Place in Lower Galilee. With the relocation of the patriarch Jehuda ha-Nasi (from
c. AD 175-217) B., as seat of the Sanhedrin and the rabbinic school, became for a short while the centre of Palestinian Judaism but gradually declined in importance after the transfer to Tiberias of the patriarchate and its institutions around the middle of the 3rd cent. In the succession to Rabbi Jehuda B. developed into the most important burial site in Palestine in the 3rd and 4th cents., as attested by the sp…
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Beth Shemesh
(149 words)
[German version] The Hebrew (Sam. 1 6; Kgs 2 14,11) term (‘house of the sun’) probably refers to veneration of the sun god (Jos. 19,41). The name is preserved in the Arab village
Ain Šams (‘source of the sun’) that earlier lay east of
Tall ar-Rumaila (‘the sandy ground’), with which the ancient Beth Shemesh (BS) is to be identified. 20 km west of Jerusalem, BS had a geographically advantageous and trade-oriented location. After settlement in the middle of the Bronze Age, the place enjoyed an initial intercultural upsurge in the late Bronz…
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Betriacum
(111 words)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Batavian Revolt
Vicus (‘Village settlement’; Tac. Hist. 2,23:
Bedriacum; Iuv. 2,106:
Bebriacum) in the Transpadana, somewhat west of Ollius, where it is joined further up by the Clasis, on the
via Postumia (between Cremona and Mantua), near Calvatone (province of Cremona). Two battles took place here in AD 69, between Otho and Vitellius and between Vitellius and Antonius Primus (Vespasianus). Archaeological finds: coins, terra sigillata, other ceramics, amphorae. Susini, Giancarlo (Bologna) Bibliography G. M. Facch…
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Betting
(669 words)
[German version] A. Greece For Greece, documentary evidence of betting (περίδοσις,
perídosis) is very rare; modern research does not concern itself with betting within the Greek sphere. Mostly, the evidence consists of forms of affirmation with the aim of emphasizing the truthfulness of a statement, e.g. Hom. Od. 23,78: ‘I pledge my life on this’ (περιδιδόναι/
perididónai), ‘I'll wager my life’; similar in Aristoph. Ach. 772; 1115; Aristoph. Equ. 791; Aristoph. Nub. 644. There is only a single piece of evidence of a sporting bet (Hom. Il. 23,485: ‘I'll wager (
perididónai) you a tripo…
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Beverages
(495 words)
[German version] In antiquity there were countless types of drinks depending on the time and region and they were drunk undiluted, mixed together or mixed with additives (fat, spices, sweet substances), hot or cold. They can be divided into three groups according to their basic components: 1. Beverages made of water. Water (Plin. HN 31,31-72) was an indispensable nutritional substance (Pind. Ol. 1,1; Vitr. De arch. 8,1,1; Plin. HN 31,31-72) and also an essential component of two important drinks c…
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Bezereos
(91 words)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Limes
Castellum at the
limes Tripolitanus, east of the Chott el-Djerid, modern Sidi Mohammed ben Aïssa (near Bir Rhezen; it was occupied at the latest since Commodus (AD 180-192) (Inscr. latines d'Afrique 26), and, in AD 201, accommodated a
vexillatio of the
legio III Augusta (Inscr. latines d' Afrique 27). Epigraphical evidence: Inscr. latines d'Afrique 26-32; Inscr. latines de la Tunisie 56-59; It. Ant. 74,5; Not. Dign. occ. 31,5; 31,20. Huß, Werner (Bamberg) Bibliography P. Trousset, s.v. B., EB, 1487f.
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