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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Myrmecium

(235 words)

Author(s): von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Patricius (Μυρμήκιον; Myrmḗkion). Harbour town on the European shore of the Bosporus [2] on Cape M. (Μ. ἄκρον; M. ákron), founded in the second quarter of the 6th cent. BC. It is uncertain whether M. had been an autonomous Ionian colony or a foundation by Panticapaeum (Ps.-Scyl. 68; Str. 7,4,5).  It is located close to the modern Karantinnaya. Quite early on, M. joined the  Bosporan League, led by Panticapaeum. M. experienced its greatest prosperity in the Hellen…

Myrmex

(177 words)

Author(s): Scherf, Johannes (Tübingen)
(Μύρμηξ; Mýrmēx). [German version] [1] Father of the eponymous heroine of the Attican deme of Melite According to Philochorus FGrH 328 F 27 and Hes. fr. 225 M.-W. (= Harpocr. 202,7 Dindorf) he was the father of the eponymous heroine of the Attican deme of Melite. The legend of the Athenians' futile war against the máchimoi mýrmēkes (‘embattled ants’; Eubulus, Glaucus PCG V fr. 20) who guarded the gold dust on Mt. Hymettus, is likewise set in Attica and probably related to this myth. It became proverbial (Pl. Plt. 450b; Harpocr. 308,6 Dindorf). Scherf, Johannes (Tübingen) [German version] [2]…

Myrmidon

(122 words)

Author(s): Frey, Alexandra (Basle) | Ameling, Walter (Jena)
(Μυρμιδών/ Myrmidṓn, ‘ant’). [German version] [1] Progenitor of the Myrmidones Eponymous progenitor of the Homeric people of the Myrmidones (Hellanikos FHG 1 F 17); son of Eurymedusa, fathered by Zeus in the guise of an ant (Eratosth. In Serv. Aen. 2,7; Clem. Al. Protreptikos 34). With his wife Pisidice, daughter of Aeolus, M. fathered Antiphus and Actor (Apollod. 1,52) as well as the gluttonous Erysichthon (Hellanikos l.c.). Frey, Alexandra (Basle) [German version] [2] Military official under Ptolemy I, 315 BC Athenian, sent in 315 BC by Ptolemy I along with 10,000 soldier…

Myrmidones

(153 words)

Author(s): Kramolisch, Herwig (Eppelheim)
[German version] (Μυρμιδόνες/ Myrmidónes). People who lived in the old Thessalian region of Phthia (the future Achaea Phthiotis). According to Homer they were the subjects of king Peleus (Hom. Il. 21,188f.), and then of king Neoptolemos (Hom. Od. 3,188); as followers of Achilles [1] they took part in the Trojan War with 50 ships (Hom. Il. 2, 683ff.). Their neighbours were the  Hellenes of Hellas (Hom. Il. 9,382; Hom. Od. 11,496). A doubt has recently been raised whether their capital city (on the s…

Myron

(1,023 words)

Author(s): Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin)
(Μύρων; Mýrōn). [German version] [1] Name of several persons from Sicyon Several persons from Sicyon named M. are mentioned in literature: a) Hdt. 6,126,1: Sicyonian nobleman (7th century BC), son of Andreas, father of Aristonymus, grandfather of the ‘tyrant’ Cleisthenes [1]. b) Paus. 6,19,1f.: the ‘tyrant’ M., victor in the chariot race at Olympia (648 BC), founder of the Sicyonian treasure house (thesauros) at Olympia. c) Nicolas of Damascus, FGrH 90 F 61: one of the three tyrant brothers descended from Orthagoras (evil M., good Isodemus, cunning Cleisthenes) from the ‘ Orthagorides…

Myronides

(300 words)

Author(s): Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne)
(Μυρωνίδης; Myrōnídēs). [German version] [1] Athenian strategos, 479/478 BC Athenian, member of the legation that went to Sparta in 480/479 BC to demand the immediate departure of the Peloponnesian army. In 479/478 M., as one of the strategoi led the contingent at  Plataeae (Plut. Aristeides 10,10; 20,1). Nothing is known about the lineage of M. However, the fact that he was part of the legation of 480/479 and that eleven ostraka with his name were found at the Kerameikos would indicate that he had already enjoyed great personal prestige and political influence earlier on. Persian Wars Ste…

Myrrh

(265 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (μύρρα/ mýrrha, σμύρνα/ smýrna or σμύρνη/ smýrnē as a loan word from the Semitic; Latin murra, murrha, myrrha). The aromatic resin of the true myrrh tree Commiphora abyssinica Engl., which grows to an altitude of 300 to 2000 metres, is imported from Southern Arabia, Eritrea and Northern Abyssinia and obtained by tapping young branches. When heated, it gives off a pleasant aroma that has been prized since time immemorial by the peoples of the Southeastern Mediterranean region (cf. for example Prov. 7,17; HL 1,12 et passim; Mt 2,11). Theophr. H. plant. 9,4,2-9 provi…

Myrrha

(212 words)

Author(s): Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich)
[German version] (Μύρρα; Mýrrha). Daughter of the Cyprian king Cinyras and Cenchreis or of the Assyrian king Theias. The gods' anger causes her to fall in love with her father. She is able to have sexual intercourse with him without being recognized, and becomes pregnant. When he recognizes her he tries to kill her; Zeus or Aphrodite takes pity on her and transforms her into a tree; her tears are the resin of the myrrh tree. Later Adonis is born from that tree (Apollod. 3,183f. = Panyassis fr. 27 B…

Myrrhine

(81 words)

Author(s): Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough)
[German version] (Μυρρίνη/ Murrhínē). Athenian noblewoman, daughter of Callias [2], mother of five children by Hippias [1] (Thuc. 6,55,1). Born probably no later than 570 BC; year of death and other information unknown; object of ridicule in Aristophanes (Equ. 449). Added by Jacoby to the text of Cleidemus (FGrH 323 F 15) as the daughter of Charmus, the polemarch of c. 557/6 (regarding this and other entanglements [1. 450]). Myrtle; Peisistratus; Peisistratids Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) Bibliography 1 Davies 2 PA 10485 3 Traill, PAA, 662355.

Myrrhinus

(176 words)

Author(s): Lohmann, Hans (Bochum)
[German version] (Μυρρινοῦς/ Murrhinoûs). Attic paralia deme of the phyle of Pandionis, six (eight) bouleutaí, near modern Merenda. Significant archaeological finds [1; 2; 4]; an incomplete ancient fortification on the Merenda [3]. Two decrees on demes from Myrrhinus (IG II2 1182, 1183) are significant for research on the internal organization of dḗmoi. Apart from a theatre (IG II2 1182, Z. 2-4), they attest to cults of Zeus (IG II2 1183, Z. 32-36), Artemis Colaenis (IG II2 1182 ,Z. 19-21; Paus. 1,31,4; schol. Aristoph. Av. 873) and rural Dionysia (IG II2 1183, l. 36-37). Aristion [2] Loh…

Myrrhinutta

(76 words)

Author(s): Lohmann, Hans (Bochum)
[German version] (Μυρρινοῦττα/ Murrhinoûtta). Small Attic (paralia?) deme of the phyle of Aigeis, one bouleutḗs; tentatively located at Nea Makri [1] or Vourva [2. 24ff.]. Strab. 9.1.22 should be read as M., and not Myrrhinús [1]. Lohmann, Hans (Bochum) Bibliography 1 J.S. Traill, Demos and Trittys, 1986, 128, 146f. 2 E. Vanderpool, The Location of the Attic Deme Erchia, in: BCH 89, 1965, 21-26. Traill, Attica, 16f., 41, 69, 111 nr. 90, table 2  Whitehead, 23, 73, 84, 370.

Myrrine

(4 words)

see Myrtle

Myrsilus

(356 words)

Author(s): Cobet, Justus (Essen) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin)
(Μύρσιλος; Mýrsilos). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Mytilene, c. end of the 7th cent. BC Pilloried as the ‘tyrant of Mytilene in the fragments of the lyric poet Alcaeus [4] (oldest documentary evidence for the word monarchía ), M. is therefore ranked by Strabo alongside Melanchrus and Pittacus (Str. 13,2,3). His name points to Lydia (Hdt. 1,7 and he was possibly part of the Cleanactid family (schol. to Alcaeus 112,23 Lobel-Page = Voigt). After Melanchrus' overthrow he became a tyrant and survived a conspiracy…

Myrsinus

(78 words)

Author(s): Lafond, Yves (Bochum)
[German version] (Μύρσινος; Mýrsinos). Town of the Epeii tribe in Elis (Hom. Il. 2,616). According to Str. 8,3,10, Myrtoúntion it was 70 stades to the north of the town of Elis on the coast (cf. Steph. Byz. s.v. Μ.). There is a debate surrounding its identification with a fortress on Cape Araxus in the northwest of the Peloponnese [1. 17-19]. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) Bibliography 1 B. Sergent, Sur les frontières de l'Élide aux hautes époques, in: REA 80, 1978, 16-35.

Myrsus

(175 words)

Author(s): Högemann, Peter (Tübingen)
(Μύρσος; Mýrsos). [German version] [1] King from the dynasty of Heraclidae of Sardis King from the dynasty of Heraclidae of Sardis ; who is only of genealogical significance. However his name is of linguistic interest. Like that of his son and heir Myrsilus (Maeonian, i.e. Lydian: Candaules), it can probably be traced back to a Hattian *Mursil, cf. Mursili, the name of the Hittite king (Hdt. 1,7, but also Nicolaus FGrH 90 F 46f.). Högemann, Peter (Tübingen) [German version] [2] Envoy of the Persian satrap, Oroetes, in Magnesia, c. 525 BC Lydian at the court of the Persian satrap Oroet…

Myrtilus

(452 words)

Author(s): Heinze, Theodor (Geneva) | Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen)
(Μυρτίλος; Myrtílos). [German version] [1] Son of Hermes and Phaethusa Son of Hermes and Phaethusa, Clymene, Myrto (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 1,752) or Theobule (Hyg. Fab. 224,5) or of Zeus and Clymene (schol. Eur. Or. 998); charioteer to Oenomaus [1] (possibly already mentioned in the Alkmaiōnís , cf. fr. 6 PEG I, and depicted as a figure on the east pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia). Before the chariot race to win the hand of Hippodameia [1] M. removes a lynch pin from  Oenomaus' chariot (Pherecydes FGrH 3 F 37; Ps.-Apollod. Epit. 2,4…

Myrtle

(549 words)

Author(s): Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg)
[German version] (ὁ μύρτος/ mýrtos, ἡ μυρσίνη/ myrsínē, μυρρίνη/ myrrhínē and ὁ μύρρινος/ ho mýrrhinos, the berry τὸ μύρτον/ mýrton or ἡ μυρτίς/ myrtís, probably of Semitic origin, but unlikely to be related to μύρρα/ mýrrha (Myrrh); Latin murtus, myrtus, myrta, murta (all feminine), the berry murtum) is the thermophile evergreen tree with white blossoms that is common throughout the Mediterranean region, particularly in the maquis as well as in the Middle East. It was cultivated in gardens from the Hellenistic period. The plant itself …

Myrto

(158 words)

Author(s): Antoni, Silke (Kiel) | Döring, Klaus (Bamberg)
(Μυρτώ/ Myrt ). [German version] [1] Daughter of Menoetius Daughter of Menoetius [1] from Opus in Locria; sister of Patroclus, mother by Heracles [1] of  Euclea (Plut. Aristides 331e). Antoni, Silke (Kiel) [German version] [2] Supposed wife of Socrates Real or putative daughter, granddaughter or great-granddaughter (the sources disagree) of Aristides [1] the Just. A tradition deriving from Aristotle's ‘On Noble Birth (Περὶ εὐγενείας fragment 3 Ross, fragments 71,1-2 Gigon; SSR I B 7) implies that Socrates had M. as a wife before, af…

Myrtoon pelagos

(143 words)

Author(s): Külzer, Andreas (Vienna)
[German version] (Μυρτῷον πέλαγος; Myrtȏion pélagos, Latin mare Myrtoum). Part of the Aegean between the Peloponnese and the Cyclades; accounts of its size vary from one author to another, generally it includes the Saronic Gulf (Saronikos Kolpos); the term came into use at the end of the Roman Republic (cf. Hor. Carm. 1,1,14; Ov. Epist. 16,208). Its etymology is uncertain; most likely it was derived from the island of Myrto south of Euboea (Plin. HN 4,51) and referred initially only to the sea in that v…

Mys

(177 words)

Author(s): Beck, Hans (Cologne) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome)
(Μῦς; Mỹs). [German version] [1] Karian from Euromos, around 480 BC Carian from Euromus, who visited several oracle shrines in Boeotia and Phocis in 480/479 BC on behalf of Mardonius [1]. In the Ptoion mountains the oracle replied to him in the Carian language (Hdt. 8,133-135; Paus. 9,23,6; cf. Plut. Mor. 412b). Beck, Hans (Cologne) [German version] [2] Toreutic sculptor and and fellow artist of Phidias Toreutic sculptor in metal and fellow artist of Phidias. M. executed the shield reliefs on Phidias’s ‘Athena Promachos with a representation of the fight betwe…
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