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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Waccho

(72 words)

Author(s): Lütkenhaus, Werner (Marl)
[German version] (also Wacho, Waccho, Vaces). King of the  Langobardi; he killed his uncle Tato, expelled his cousin Ildichis and sought by marriage policies to make alliances with the Thuringi, the Gepidae and the Heruli. Allied with Byzantium, he refused in 539 AD to support  Witigis. V. died shortly afterwards. (Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum 1,21;  Procop. Goth. 2,22,11-12). Lütkenhaus, Werner (Marl) Bibliography J. Jarnut, Geschichte der Langobarden, 1982, 20-22  PLRE 3, 1350.

Wages

(1,443 words)

Author(s): Neumann, Hans (Berlin) | Andreau, Jean (Paris) | Kuchenbuch, Ludolf (Hagen)
[German version] I. Ancient Near East There is evidence of wages as recompense for work done by labourers hired for limited periods in Mesopotamia from the mid 3rd millennium BC to the late Babylonian period (2nd half of 1st millennium BC), in Hittite Anatolia (2nd half of 2nd millennium BC) and in Egypt (from the Old Kingdom on). In Mesopotamia, the institutional households (Palace; Temple) of the Ur III period in particular (21st cent. BC) supplemented their own labour force (which received rations …

Wagnerism

(2,607 words)

Author(s): Hartwich, Wolf-Daniel
Hartwich, Wolf-Daniel [German version] A. The Image of Antiquity in Wagner's Works and Its Reception in European Wagnerism (CT) The movement known as Wagnerism has been an international phenomenon since the middle of the 19th cent. In addition to the influence that Richard Wagner’s operas have had on the development of music and the reflection of their themes in the visual arts, Wagnerism manifests itself principally in the literary reception of the composer’s theoretical-ideological writings. This reception also …

Wagon, Chariot

(556 words)

Author(s): Hausleiter, Arnulf (Berlin)
[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt As a single- or double-axled vehicle, wagons were used in the Ancient Orient as a means of transporting people, gods and objects whose weight or size excluded their being carried by people or animals. Wagons were used in battle, in cult and ritual, and for display, travel, transporting goods, and pleasure (e.g. some forms of Hunting). Signs in early writing (archaic texts from Uruk, end of the 4th millennium BC; Cuneiform script) show the first drawn vehicle…

Walagash, Walash

(5 words)

see Vologaeses

Waldalgesheim

(145 words)

Author(s): Pingel, Volker (Bochum)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Celts The tomb of a Celtic 'princess' from the second half of the 4th century BC was discovered in 1869 at W. (in the district of Mainz-Bingen); originally, it was probably covered by a large tumulus which has not survived. Of the rich surviving furnishing, ornate gold neck, arm and leg jewellery, parts of ornate belts, a Celtic bronze jug, a bronze bucket from Campania and parts of a two-wheeled war chariot are remarkable. The Celtic ornamentat…

Walid

(164 words)

Author(s): Toral-Niehoff, Isabel (Freiburg)
[German version] [1] W. I Sixth Umayyad caliph (born AD 668, reigned 705-715; Umayyads A.), continued his father Abd-al-Malik's policy of Islamization. He had the church of Saint John standing on the site of the Temple of Hadad/Jupiter in Damascus (C.) converted into a mosque (Umayyad mosque; see Arabic-Islamic cultural sphere I. A.) and had the al-Aqṣā Mosque built in Jerusalem and the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina (Yaṯrib). Under his rule the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (in 711) and of Cho…

Wall construction

(7 words)

see Masonry; Town planning

Wall Paintings

(21 words)

See Classical Archaeology III. Contextual Archaeology C. Pompeii as a Case in Point; AWI, vol. 12/2 s. v.

Wall paintings

(3,970 words)

Author(s): A.NU. | Hiesel, Gerhard (Freiburg) | Prayon, Friedhelm (Tübingen) | Hoesch, Nicola (Munich)
[German version] I. Ancient Orient Numerous Ancient Oriental temples, palaces and private residences were painted inside, but due to the a secco-technique, only traces of the paintings still remain. Each colour has its own symbolism. Red, the colour of life and strength, was used as early as the 10th millennium BC for painting the walls and floors of houses (e.g. Ain Mallaha, Israel). Clay or lime plaster served as the base [1; 2]. The oldest and best-preserved figural wall paintings (WP) are found in the houses of…

Walnut

(4 words)

see Iuglans

Waluburg

(180 words)

Author(s): Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum)
[German version] (Βαλουβουργ; Baloubourg). Semnonian seer ('Sibyl'), mentioned on an AD 2nd-century óstrakon from Elephantine (in Egypt): Βαλουβουργ Σήνονι σιβύλλᾳ (SB III 6221). The inscription contains a list of people on the staff of the praefectus Aegypti ; W. was therefore in Roman service and may have been responsible for interpreting omens and soothsaying. Her name may trace back to Gothic *walus (pilgrim's/traveller's staff or magic wand). Other Germanic women seers probably also had political roles beyond their tribes, e.g. Ganna, a successor to Veled…

Wanax

(601 words)

Author(s): M.M.-B.
[German version] Mycenaean Greek term (cf. e.g. nom. sg. wa-na-ka = wanaks, dat. sg. wa-na-ka-te = wanaktei and adjective wa-na-ka-te-ro = wanakteros) for the 'king' (ruler, sovereign, highest dignitary) in Mycenaean petty kingdoms at the end of the 13th cent. BC, on Crete (Knossos), in the Argolid (Mycenae), in Messenia (Pylos [2] II) and in Boeotia (Thebes [2] II A). The Greeks (describing themselves as Ἕλληνες, 'Hellenes') presumably were one of the causes of the change from Early Helladic II to Early Helladic III c. 2500 BC by migrating into what was later named Greece aft…

War

(2,961 words)

Author(s): Loreto, Luigi (Würzburg RWG)
Loreto, Luigi (Würzburg RWG) [German version] A. The Phenomenon of War and Scholarship (CT) Scholarly involvement with the concept of war can already be found in ancient historiography. For Tacitus (Hist. 4,74), there was an indissoluble link between war and the fate of peoples. Already before him, Thucydides and Polybius insistently sought the causes of particular wars and the grounds for success in war, although, for Polybius, the essential explanation for Rome’s conquest of the world lay in the peculiariti…

War

(16 words)

see War, law of; War guilt, problem of; International law; Fortifications; Armies; Naval warfare

War, art of

(9 words)

see Military technology and engineering

War booty

(1,607 words)

Author(s): Renger, Johannes (Berlin) | Burckhardt, Leonhard (Basle) | Le Bohec, Yann (Lyon)
[German version] I. Ancient Near East In the ancient Near East, the procurement of WB was directed towards obtaining important raw materials (e.g. metals - Egypt: gold from Nubia, silver from Cilicia, copper from Cyprus (Middle Kingdom); Assyria: iron from Iran, silver from Cilicia; Cilices, Cilicia) and items required for further warfare (e.g. horses, chariots in Assyria, 1st millennium BC) or served to supply the royal court with luxury goods for purposes of prestige. WB must be distinguished from '…

Warburg Institute

(4,570 words)

Author(s): Bredekamp, Horst
Bredekamp, Horst [German version] A. Introduction (CT) The Kulturwissenschaftliche Bibliothek Warburg (Warburg Cultural Institute and Library, KBW) in Hamburg and its successor, the Warburg Institute in London (WIL), share as a policy their dedication to research into the ongoing influence of the Classical world. In contradistinction to attempts to use Classicism and the ancient world as models for education and intellectual development and, above all, to bind art securely to the canon of Classical fo…

War chariot

(855 words)

Author(s): Hausleiter, Arnulf (Berlin) | Le Bohec, Yann (Lyon) | Pingel, Volker (Bochum)
[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt In both the Ancient Orient and Egypt the WC was a single-axle open chariot with spoked wheels pulled by horses. WCs were predominantly made of wood and in some cases clad in metal. The first evidence of WCs is on 2nd millennium BC seal rolls in Anatolia, and then in Syria (Seals). Their origin is disputed. In particular Hittite texts record the military significance of WCs (battle of Qadesh in 1275 BC between Muwatalli II and Ramses [2] II). There is also ev…

War, consequences of

(1,115 words)

Author(s): Burckhardt, Leonhard (Basle) | Le Bohec, Yann (Lyon)
[German version] I. Greece The consequences of a war in Ancient Greece for individuals, cities or kingdoms depended on its duration and size, and a systematic or general assessment is thus not unproblematic. Several authors describe the terrible sight of a battlefield (Xen. Hell. 4,4,12; Xen. Ages. 2,14f.; Plut. Pelopidas 18,5; cf. Thuc. 7,84f.). During a hoplite battle in the classical period, on average 5% of the victors and 14% of the vanquished would fall [4]; in addition there would be the woun…

War guilt, problem of

(489 words)

Author(s): Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum)
[German version] Indications of public indignation at peace-breakers in Homer (Hom. Od. 24,424-437) and the emergence of the Roman fetiales rite as the opening of a bellum iustum (International law) show that even in the Archaic period wars were not regarded as a normal state of affairs and that WG was discussed [1. 127]. WG acquired greater political significance in the course of expansionist aspirations. The actions and causes which triggered battles between the Greeks and 'Barbarians' form a leitmotiv in the work of He…

War, law of

(436 words)

Author(s): Schiemann, Gottfried (Tübingen)
[German version] The origin of the ancient law of war, like that of international law, cannot be attributed to a particular event or treaty. Already before the Greek and Roman periods there were concepts and customs that may retrospectively be understood as part of a law of war. Thus, in ancient Mesopotamia and Homeric Greece, taking spoils was considered legitimate, and a particularly important part of the spoils was the enslavement of prisoners of war and subjugated peoples ( War booty). The OT …

Warpalawas

(177 words)

Author(s): Högemann, Peter (Tübingen)
[German version] ('he who is superior in knowledge', Hittite Warballawa, Assyrian Urballa). Luwian ruler of Tuwana (Greek Tyana), formerly Assyrian Tabal (in Cappadocia). Son of Muwaharanis (İVRIZ 2, [1. 327 f.]). W. was a contemporary of Tiglatpileser [2] III and Sargon [3] II of Assyria (second half of the 8th cent. BC). In the BOR inscription (Bor Stela, [1. 291, 294]) he describes himself as hantawati-, 'king' (Lycian xñtawati = βασιλεύς/ basileús ). W. was a worshipper of the weather god Tarhunza, and planted a vineyard and set up a stela…

Warships

(4 words)

see Navies

Washing Painter

(160 words)

Author(s): Lezzi-Hafter, Adrienne (Kilchberg)
[German version] Athenian Red Figure vase painter, working c. 435-410 BC. In ever decreasing scale and in various workshops, he painted lebetes, loutrophoroi, hydriai and pelikai (Pottery, shapes and types of) of which many examples survive; in the end he remained unique. In his paintings, he disclosed the world of women: brides, deep in wistful playing of the harp or occupied with self-adornment, who would later go “cheìr epì karpôi” ["hand upon the wrist"] heading for their new homes (Gestures [III F]). In addition, he portrays hetaerae practicing dances, spen…

Wasit

(138 words)

Author(s): JE.KR.
[German version] ( al-Wāsiṭ). City southeast of al-Kūt (southern Irak), founded in AD 703 by the Umayyad governor Ḥaǧǧāǧ ibn Yūsuf as the centre of military administration to replace the garrison cities al-Baṣra and al-Kūfa. In the Umayyad Period (Umayyads), W. functioned as the capital. Across from W. was Kaskar, the former Sassanid centre of administration. Excavations in the centre of the city area yielded remnants of the earliest mosque (with a length of 100 m), featuring a prayer hall with sev…

Wasps

(359 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (ὁ σφήξ/ sphḗx, Latin vespa). Wasps occur in the Mediterranean region in several families of Hymenoptera. In  ancient sources it is almost always the eusocial (Aristot. Hist. an. 1,1,488a 10; 5,23,554b 22-29; 8(9),41,627b 23-628b 31; Aristot. Gen. an. 3,9,758b 18-759a 3) paper wasp that is meant. Aristotle [6] (Hist. an. 8(9),41, 627b 23 ff.) distinguishes between wild and tame wasps; of these the former are rarer and larger, and live on rocks, perhaps of the genus Polistes. Since tra…

Water clock

(5 words)

see Clocks

Water lifting devices

(1,820 words)

Author(s): Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel)
[German version] I. General points Water was needed for various purposes in ancient civilizations: in the household as drinking water, for preparing food, and for hygiene (Hygiene, personal); in crafts (Crafts, Trade) for metalwork (Metallurgy) and for fulling (Fulling, Fuller); in public life for bathhouses and thermae; and finally in agriculture for the irrigation of gardens and fields. However, in the Mediterranean region, it was not available in sufficient quantity and quality in the form of surf…

Watermark

(5 words)

see Codicology; Paper

Water nut

(152 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] The only representative of the Trapaceae (formerly Hydrocaryaceae) family is called, from the shape of the nut, ὁ τρίβολος/ tríbolos sc. ἔνυδρος/ énhydros ('tricorn'), βουκέφαλος/ boképhalos ('ox's head'), ταυροκέρας/ taurokéras ('bull's horn') in Greek, and tribulus sc. aquaticus in Latin. The plant grows primarily in marshy places in soft-water rivers in the climatically favourable zones of Europe and Asia, with all but the leather-like serrated floating leaves under water (good description in  Theophr. Hist. pl. 4…

Water pipes

(64 words)

Author(s): Höcker, Christoph (Kissing)
[German version] were an essential element of the water supply and the infrastructure of ancient cities. They brought fresh water over or under ground into the city from springs outside (Roman aqueducts of up to 130 km in length). As an underground network they formed the prerequisite for distributing water within the city. Water supply I C, II C, and E Höcker, Christoph (Kissing)

Water supply

(4,233 words)

Author(s): A.M.B. | Höcker, Christoph (Kissing)
I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. General Points Despite its central importance to the origin and development of settlements, the supply of water for drinking and other uses in the cities of the ancient Orient has to date not been systematically studied. The analysis of the numerous archaeological discoveries is made difficult by the fact that in most cases they have not been adequately recorded, in others not at all. Individual exceptions are the water installations in the cities and fortresses of ancient Israel, which have been accurately recorded and studied in depth [5]. A.M.B. …

Waterworks

(318 words)

Author(s): Höcker, Christoph (Kissing)
[German version] In Classical Antiquity, the playful and wasteful use of water – already known occasionally from the Near East – became a factor within the context of a secured water supply, an unrestrictedly enjoyed, at least in part positively defined, public and/or private luxury and especially in the framework of a specifically Roman understanding of nature (Environment II.); it was also reflected in the architecture relevant for them. Waterworks were uncommon in the Greek polis world. Waterworks are first recorded in connection with opulently designed gardens. Parti…

Wax

(290 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (κηρός/ kērós, Lat. cera ). On melting (Plin. HN 21,83), the honeycombs of bees yielded cheap (Colum. 9,16,1) wax, which was bleached by boiling in sea water, adding bicarbonate of soda and then drying in the air (Plin. HN 21,84; cf. Dioscurides 2,83 Wellmann = 2,105 Berendes). In medicine it was used to make salves, patches (Plin. HN 22,117 and 30,70) and suppositories (Pharmacology). Small moulded items (κηροπλαστική/ kēroplastikḗ: Poll. 7,165) as toys for children (Aristoph. Nub. 878), toy figures (Plin. HN 8,215; Children's games, Dolls), household gods ( Lares: J…

Wax tablet

(7 words)

see Cera; Writing tablets

Wealth

(1,575 words)

Author(s): Mratschek, Sigrid (Ludwigshafen)
[German version] I. Definition In Antiquity, wealth was valued positively predominantly because it bestowed a high social prestige and was the prerequisite for a life without the need for physical labour. A person's position within the political community depended largely on property; many cities required proof of assets for joining the council or for assuming an office. A political career in Rome came with high expenses for campaigns, contributions and games ( M unus, munera ). Through gifts, by bearing the costs for public buildings or by distri…

Wealth, distribution of

(1,635 words)

Author(s): Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel)
[German version] I. General The study of the distribution of wealth in a society should offer information about the various types of wealth and their economic significance in a national economy and about the share of individuals or social groups in the overall national wealth. Because quantitative information on the economy and private wealth is only available in an extremely limited scope for Antiquity, the statistical methods of modern economics cannot be applied in the field of ancient economic h…

Weapons

(2,508 words)

Author(s): Hausleiter, Arnulf (Berlin) | Hiesel, Gerhard (Freiburg) | Niemeyer, Hans Georg (Hamburg) | Blech, Michael (Madrid) | Kohler, Christoph (Bad Krozingen) | Et al.
[German version] I. Ancient Near East and Egypt Weapons were among the earliest artefacts fashioned by humans and their ancestors. Stone arrowheads and blades were the first recognizable weapons in the ancient Near East into the Neolithic Period ( c. 10000 BC). From the 4th millennium BC, weapons were depicted on roll seals and stelae in scenes of warfare or hunting. Of maces suitable for close combat, generally only the heads (of stone or metal) survive. One exception is the deposit at the Chalcolithic find site of Naḥal Mišmār in P…

Weasel

(403 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (γαλῆ/ galê, also γαλέα/ galéa; Latin mustela, the 'mouse-hunter', in Isid. Orig. 12,3,3 interpreted with a false etymology as a 'long mouse'; usually the weasel ( Mustela nivalis L.), but also other members of the Mustelidae = marten-like family). The galê is sometimes identified with the ἰκτίς/ iktís (schol. Nic. Ther. 196; Plin. HN 29,60; cf. Polecat, Marten); Aristot. Hist. an. 2,1,500b 24 and 8(9),6,612b 10 contradicts this, however. Weasels hunt mice, moles (Pall. Agric. 4,8,4), snakes, lizards and birds. People caught them with live-catch traps (γαλεάγρα/ gal…

Weather

(4 words)

see Meteorology

Weather gods

(744 words)

Author(s): Schwemer, Daniel (Würzburg)
[German version] The cult of the Sumerian god Iškur can be documented for Babylonia from the early 3rd. millennium BC. He was the head of the pantheon of the Middle Babylonian city of Karkar, but remained less significant beyond this area. Iškur was attributed with the threatening power of storms, but also with the rains beneficial for vegetation. Just as Ninurta, he was regarded as a fighter against the power of chaos, and vice versa, Ninurta displayed traits of a storm god in this context. As ea…

Weather portents and signs

(634 words)

Author(s): Hübner, Wolfgang (Münster)
[German version] (ἐπισημασίαι/ episēmasíai, διοσημεῖαι/ diosēmeîai, also σημεῖα/ sēmeîa; Latin signa). The term is used in two ways: to designate a portent of a particular weather phenomenon to be expected, or to refer to a sign expressed by the current weather. The oldest weather forecasts were assembled by the Babylonians on the basis of precise observations (Assurbanipal; Divination; Meteorology), and were often linked with astrological prophecies [6; 7] (Astrology), sometimes compiled in menologies (prophecies by the phase of the moon; cf. calendar [B 2]). The systematic st…

Weaving

(6 words)

see Textiles, production of

Wedding

(4 words)

see Marriage

Wedding customs and rituals

(2,114 words)

Author(s): Oswald, Renate (Graz) | Haase, Mareile (Toronto)
[German version] I. General comments The purpose of ancient wedding customs and rituals was to achieve the cultic purification of the wedding couple, seal their union by offering sacrifices, enhance fertility and strengthen the couple, as well as to protect the bride from calamity and evil spirits on her way to the bridegroom's house and guide her in assuming her new position as wife and mother. The rituals lasted for several days, beginning in the bride's house, where they signaled her departure fro…

Week

(1,094 words)

Author(s): Rüpke, Jörg (Erfurt)
Chronological periodicity, typically 4-10 days, linked with particular public activities (religious, political, commercial), often in the form of market days ( nundinae ) [1]. [German version] I. Types Two different forms of 'week' were known in antiquity. (1) The type corresponding to the modern week, of fixed length and ignoring the monthly calendar, only took hold gradually, at first in the form of the seven-day week ( h ebdomas), based on the Sabbath and probably regular from the time of the Jewish exile (587-539 BC), and the eight-day week ( o gdoas) of the Romans ( nundinum), also d…

Weighing of the soul

(10 words)

see Soul, weighing of the

Weights

(2,896 words)

Author(s): Sallaberger, Walther (Leipzig) | Felber, Heinz (Leipzig) | Hitzl, Konrad (Tübingen)
[German version] I. Ancient Orient In Mesopotamia and its neighbouring regions, weights were made of stone (primarily haematite [Haematite], or else limestone and others) or metal (bronze, copper), often in the form of a barleycorn or a loaf, or figuratively as a duck (3rd to 1st millennia), and in Assyria from the 1st millennium also as a lion. Weights could be inscribed with a numerical value with or without indicating the unit, as well as with an inscription of a ruler, an institution, or an offic…

Weights

(5 words)

see Metrology
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