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A. Wissenschaftsgeschichte und Altertumswissenschaften – Zur Konzeption des Bandes In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten hat die Wissenschaftsgeschichte als Disziplin neben der Geschichte der Philosophie, der Literaturgeschichte und der Kunstgeschichte deutlich erkennbar an Bedeutung gewonnen, wobei die Aufgabe wissenschaftshistorischer (= wiss.histor.) Forschungen nicht allein in der Darstellung vergangener Erkenntnisfortschritte in den verschiedenen Wissenschaften bestand, sondern auch allgemein in der Analys…

Amerikan.-brit. Althistoriker. Geb. am 20. 5. 1912 in New York, gest. am 23. 6. 1986 in Cambridge. 1937–1939 Mitarbeiter am Institut für Sozialforschung in New York; 1948–1952 Lecturer und Assistant Prof. an der Rutgers Univ. in New Jersey; 1950 Prom. an der Columbia Univ. in New York. Ab 1954 in Cambridge (England); 1970–1979 Prof. of Ancient History an der Cambridge Univ. 1979 geadelt (Sir Moses). Biographie und Werdegang F. wurde 1912 in New York als Moses Israel Finkelstein geboren; er entstammte einer jüd. Familie, die bedeutende Rabbiner hervorgebracht…

Österr.-amerikan. Wirtschafts- und Sozialhistoriker. Geb. am 21. 10. 1886 in Wien, gest. am 23. 4. 1964 in Pickering (bei Toronto). Studium in Budapest; ab 1919 in Wien, ab 1933 (Emigration) in England polit. und journalistisch tätig. 1947–1953 Prof. für Wirtschaftsgeschichte an der Columbia Univ. in New York. Werdegang In Wien geboren, wuchs P. als Sohn eines jüd. Unternehmers in Budapest auf. Schon früh war er von sozialistischen Ideen und Theorien beeinflusst. 1919 ging er nach Wien, wo er ab 1924 Artikel für eine Wirtschaftszeitung ( Der Österr. Volkswirt) verfasste. 1933–…

Dt. Jurist, Soziologe und Nationalökonom. Geb. am 21. 4. 1864 in Erfurt, gest. am 14. 6. 1920 in München. Schulbesuch in Berlin; 1882–1886 Studium der Jurisprudenz; 1889 Prom., 1892 Habil. in Berlin. 1893 Prof. für Nationalökonomie in Freiburg. 1896–1903 Prof. für Nationalökonomie in Heidelberg; 1919–1920 Prof. in München. Biographie und Werdegang W.s Vater, der Jurist Max W., war ab 1869 besoldeter Stadtrat in Berlin und 1868–1897 nationalliberaler Abgeordneter im preuß. Abgeordnetenhaus sowie 1872–1884 im Dt. Reichstag. W. studierte 1882–1…

Engl. Althistoriker. Geb. am 8. 2. 1910 als Geoffrey Ernest Maurice (meist geführt als G. E. M.) De. Ste. C. in Macao, gest. am 5. 2. 2000 in Oxford. Juristische Ausbildung in Bristol; Tätigkeit als Rechtsanwalt, ab 1935 für die Arbeiterbewegung tätig; ab 1940 Kriegsdienst. Ab 1947 Studium der Alten Gesch. am University College London. Ab 1950 Lecturer in Ancient Economic History an der London School of Economics; ab 1953 Fellow am New College Oxford und dort Tutor bis 1977. Werdegang, Werk und Wirkung D. Ste. C., in China als Sohn eines engl. Zollbeamten geboren, entst…

Dt.-brit. Althistoriker. Geb. am 22. 11. 1891 in Altona, gest. am 25. 1. 1976 in London. 1911 Architekturstudium an der TH Stuttgart; 1912–1914 Studium der Alt.wiss. in Göttingen und Berlin, 1919–1920 in Tübingen; dort 1921 Prom. 1922 Habil. in Frankfurt; 1929 Prof. für Alte Gesch. an der dt. Univ. Prag. 1939 Emigration nach England. 1946 Lecturer, dann Prof. am Bedford College London. Biographie und Werdegang Victor E. war Sohn Otto E.s, der als Bankier eine leitende Position im Hamburger Bankhaus Warburg & Co. innehatte. 1902 ging die Familie nach Kasse…

Schott. Philosoph, Historiker und Ökonom. Geb. am 7. 5. 1711 in Edinburgh, gest. am 25. 8. 1776 ebda. 1726–1729 Jurastudium an der Univ. Edinburgh, danach private Philosophiestudien. 1735–1737 und 1763–1766 Aufenthalt in Frankreich; ab 1752 Bibliothekar in Edinburgh. Ab 1763 für die engl. Botschaft in Paris, 1767/68 im Außenministerium tätig; danach Privatgelehrter in Edinburgh. Werk und Wirkkung H. war zweiter Sohn des Anwalts und Grundbesitzers Joseph H. Er widmete sich ab 1735 als Privatgelehrter v. a. philos. Studien. 1752 wurde er Bibliotheka…

Russ.-amerikan. Althistoriker. Geb. am 10. 11. 1870 in Schitomir bei Kiew, gest. am 20. 10. 1952 in New Haven (Connecticut, USA). Schulbesuch in Kiew; Studium ebda. und in St. Petersburg; Lehrer am Gymnasium in Zarskoje Selo. Ab 1903 Prof. für Latein an der Univ. St. Petersburg; 1918 Emigration nach England; Lehrtätigkeit am Queens College, Oxford; 1920 Prof. in Madison (Wisconsin, USA); 1925–1944 Prof. für Alte Gesch. und Arch. an der Yale Univ. (New Haven, Connecticut). Biographie und Werdegang R. stammte aus einer russ. Familie, deren sozialer Aufstieg seit dem 18. …

Dt. Althistoriker. Geb. am 6. 9. 1828 in Berlin, gest. am 29. 1. 1922 ebda. 1848–1851 Studium der Philologie an der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Univ. Berlin, 1851 Prom. Danach Lehrer, 1875–1897 Direktor am Berliner Friedrich-Werderschen Gymnasium. Werdegang, Werk und Wirkung B., Sohn eines Lehrers, besuchte das Cöllnische Gymnasium in Berlin, studierte seit 1848 an der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Univ. Philologie und promovierte 1851 zu den Orphischen Hymnen. Innerhalb von nur zwei Jahren (1868–1869) veröffentlichte er drei Bücher: neben der Sch…

Dt. Wirtschaftshistoriker und Ökonom. Geb. am 12. 8. 1805 in Greifswald als Johann Karl R., gest. am 6. 12. 1875 in Jagetzow (Pommern). 1823–1827 Studium der Rechtswiss. in Göttingen und Berlin; 1828–1830 im preuß. Staatsdienst. Ab 1835 als Besitzer des Rittergutes Jagetzow wiss. und polit. Publizist. Werdegang, Werk und Wirkung R., Sohn eines Prof. für Röm. Recht, beschäftigte sich nach dem Studium in Göttingen und Berlin sowie nach dem Rückzug aus dem Staatsdienst v. a. mit sozialpolit. Fragen; zur Lösung der sozialen Probleme seiner Zeit…

German jurist, sociologist and economist. Born Erfurt 21. 4. 1864, died Munich 14. 6. 1920. School in Berlin; 1882–1886 studied law; 1889 doctorate, 1892 habil. in Berlin. 1893 prof. of economics at Freiburg. 1896–1903 prof. of economics at Heidelberg; 1919–1920 prof. in Munich. Biography and career W.’s father, the jurist Max W., was a paid city councillor in Berlin from 1869, and between 1868 and 1897 he was a National Liberal member of the Prussian Abgeordnetenhaus, and from 1872 to 1884 of the German Reichstag. W. studied law at Heidelberg, Berlin and Göttingen from 1882 to…

Scottish philosopher, historian and economist. Born Edinburgh 7. 5. 1711, died there 25. 8. 1776. 1726–1729 studied law at Univ. of Edinburgh, thereafter private study of philosophy. 1735–1737 and 1763–1766 in France. From 1752, librarian at Edinburgh. Worked from 1763 for the British Embassy in Paris, then 1767/68 at the Foreign Office. Thereafter private scholar in Edinburgh. Works and influence H. was the second son of the advocate and landowner Joseph H. From 1735, he worked as a private scholar, devoting himself mostly to the study of philosophy. In…

Austrian-American economic and social historian. Born Vienna 21. 10. 1886, died Pickering (near Toronto) 23. 4. 1964. Studied at Budapest; in Vienna from 1919, then politically and journalistically active in Britain from (emigration in) 1933. 1947–1953 prof. of economic history at Columbia Univ. in New York. Career Born in Vienna, P. grew up in Budapest, the son of a Jewish businessman. He imbibed socialist ideas and theories from a young age. In ¶ 1919, he went to Vienna, where he wrote articles for a financial newspaper ( Der Österreichische Volkswirt) from 1924. Between 1933 and …

German-British ancient historian. Born Altona (Hamburg) 22. 11. 1891, died London 25. 1. 1976. Studied architecture at TH Stuttgart 1911; 1912–1914 studied classics at Göttingen and Berlin, 1919–1920 atTübingen. Doctorate Tübingen 1921. 1922 habil. in Frankfurt; 1929 prof. of ancient history at the German Univ. of Prague. Emigrated to Britain 1939. 1946 lecturer, then prof. at Bedford College, London. Biography and career Victor E. was the son of Otto E., a leading banker at the Hamburg banking house of Warburg & Co. In 1902, the family moved to Kassel, wh…

Also Mikhail Rostovtsev/Rostovtseff. Russian-American ancient historian. Born Mikhail Ivano-vich Rostevtsev, Zhitomir (Kiev), 10. 11. 1870, died New Haven, Connecticut, 20. 10. 1952. School in Kiev. Studied there and St. Petersburg. Taught at the Gymnasium in Tsarskoye Selo. Prof. of Latin at Univ. of St. Petersburg from 1903; 1918 emigration to Britain. Taught at Queen’s College, Oxford; 1920 prof. at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. 1925–1944 prof. of ancient history and archaeology at Yale Univ., New Haven, Connecticut. Biography and career The social rise since the …

German economic historian and economist. Born Johann Karl R., Greifswald 12. 8. 1805, died Jagetzow (Pomerania) 6. 12. 1875. 1823–1827 studied law at Göttingen and Berlin; 1828–1830 worked for Prussian civil service. From 1835, as owner of the manor of Jagetzow, working as scholarly and political writer. Career, works and influence R., the son of a prof. of Roman law, concerned himself mainly with issues of social policy, both after his studies at Göttingen and Berlin and following his resignation from the civil service. Seeking solutions to the…

German ancient historian. Born Berlin 6. 9. 1828, died there 29. 1. 1922. 1848–1851 studied philology at Friedrich-Wilhelms-Univ. Berlin, doctorate 1851. Thereafter teacher, then 1875–1897 Director of Friedrich-Werderschen Gymnasium, Berlin. Background, work and influence B., the son of a teacher, attended the Cöllnisches Gymnasium in Berlin, studied philology at Friedrich-Wilhelms-Univ. from 1848 and obtained his doctorate in 1851 with a dissertation on the Orphic Hymns. He published three books in a period of just two years (1868–1869)…

American-British ancient historian. Born 20. 5. 1912 in New York, died Cambridge 23. 6. 1986. 1937–1939, worked at Institute for Social Research in New York; 1948–1952 lecturer and assistant prof. at Rutgers Univ. in New Jersey; 1950 doctorate at Columbia Univ., New York. At Cambridge (England) from 1954; 1970–1979 prof. of ancient history at Cambridge Univ. Knighted 1979. Biography and career F. was born Moses Israel Finkelstein in 1912 in New York. He came from a Jewish family that had produced leading rabbis, and he received a Jewish education himself …

British ancient historian. Born Geoffrey Ernest Maurice (usually G. E. M.) De Ste. C. in Macao 8. 2. 1910, died Oxford 5. 2. 2000. Legal training at Bristol; worked as a lawyer, then active in the Labour movement from 1935; war service from 1940. Studied ancient history at Univ. College London from 1947. Lecturer in ancient economic history from 1950 at the London School of Economics; fellow of New College, Oxford from 1953 and tutor there until 1977. Career, works and influence D. Ste. C., born in China, the son of a British customs official, came from a Huguenot family that…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Legal Aspects – III. Economics – IV. Non-Christian Antiquity – V. Bible – VI. Christianity – VII. Judaism – VIII. Islam I. Concept Interest is payment in exchange for a right of use or exploitation, typically on a temporary basis and always agreed for a fixed period of time. Money later gained increasing importance as an object of lending and now occupies a dominant position, although other items or rights remain possible as objects of lending, as for example rent. In economics (see III below), this mutual commitment between the conferral…

[German Version] I. The Concept – II. Economic Systems and their Theories – III. Economy and Religion I. The Concept The term economy encompasses the totality of all individual actions and social interactions that serve to produce goods (commodities or services [Service sector]) for the purpose of satisfying human needs (Consumption). As a rule, the “production” of commodities means that human labor and …

[German Version] Ever since C.-L. de Montesquieu and E. Gibbon, Roman history of the 4th and 5th centuries has been viewed primarily as a history of decadence and decline. The centuries preceding the fall of the Roman Empire in the West were interpreted consistently as a period of deterioration that affected architecture, art, and literature as well. In 1764 Johann J. Joachim Winckelmann spoke of a deterioration of sculpture and painting in the period after Commodus, and J. Burckhardt was referring explicitly to architecture, art, and literature when he used such terms as aging, senilit…

[German Version] I. General – II. History and Sociology I. General Since 1861 (the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy), Italy has been the name of the first unified nation on the Italian peninsula since the Lombard invasion in 568. Following a referendum in 1946, Italy became a republic (Repubblica Italiana) with a bicameral parliament. The president is the representative chief of state; the government is headed by the prime minister. Since 1870, with the dissolution of the Papal States, the capital has been Rome (population 2.7 million in 2000). Italy has an area of 187,179 km2, with…

[German version] The idea that in a woman's life she should be married to only one man was considered a traditional ideal of Roman society; correspondingly only women who had been married just once were admitted to the cult of Pudicitia (Val. Max. 2,1,3; Liv. 10,23,3-10). Although in the late Republic and the early Principate the number of divorces increased and remarriages of divorced women and widows was normal, this ideal retained its validity (Catull. 111,1 f.). Propertius emphasizes in his el…

The overcoming of distances by people and goods, using means of transport on transport routes. [German version] I. The Ancient Orient The oldest means of transport are people, beasts of burden and boats. They were used for short- and long-distance traffic alike, for individual items and for bulk transport. It was not only in the nomadic context (Nomads) that donkeys and later camels were employed unharnessed for their stamina as beasts of burden, and their ability to travel long distances with little food. In Egypt,…

[German version] From the late 1st cent. onwards, rather than entire legions (Legio) being sent to reinforce Roman troops in a theatre of war, smaller units were usually dispatched to the scene; these were formed for the specific occasion, and their members drawn from individual legions or auxiliary units (Auxilia). Thus, for the siege of Jerusalem during the Jewish War, the legions stationed in Egypt provided 2,000 soldiers and the frontier troops on the Euphrates 3,000 (Jos. BI 5,43 f.). Such units, called vexillationes, normally comprised 1,000 (ILS 2726) or 2,000 men. They…

[German version] ( castratio) was a frequent procedure in ancient agriculture, designed to adapt the characteristics of male animals to the requirements of human beings. In horses and cattle, the castration served the purpose of altering the temperament of the animal without impairing its viability (Xen. Cyr. 7,5,62). Aristotle describes the effects of castration in his zoological writings, drawing attention to how the mutilation of a small part of the body affects an ani- mal's entire appearance. …

[German version] I. Near East and Egypt The Near East is part of the original range of the wild pig ( Sus scrofa L.), which was evidently used in various places for breeding the domestic pig; the earliest examples date from the 7th millennium BC [6. 73]. The pig (Sumerian šaḫ(a); Akkadian šaḫû [3]) was of some significance during most periods and in most regions of the Near East, probably esp. as a provider of meat. The few pictorial representations usually depict wild pigs. Pigs are mentioned from the beginning of written records in Mesopotamia…

[German version] In the time of the late Republic the word fiscus on the one hand referred to a container for storing money, on the other hand it already referred to public funds that were placed at the disposal of a promagistrate in the province (Cic. Verr. 2,3,197). Furthermore fiscus also meant the private assets of a Roman citizen. In the Principate period the fis cus was the cashier's office of the princeps; as he alone could dispose of the fiscus, he could also exercise considerable influence over politics by using these finances. This already applies to Augustus who …

[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…

[German version] I. Geography Compared with Europe as a whole and other continents, the mainlands and islands of the Mediterranean are poor in valuable mineral resources; furthermore, deposits of precious metals and marble are limited to only a few regions. Many of the deposits were exploited in antiquity or during the Middle Ages, especially wherever they were easily accessible along the coasts. The Phoenicians traveled to obtain tin ore from Iberia as early as the Bronze Age, and the Greeks transp…

[German version] I. Ancient Near East Social structure in the ancient Orient was determined by who controlled the fundamental means of production in an agrarian society, the arable land. The usual form of government in such societies was a patrimonial monarchy. Palaces and temples were the institutional centres dominating the economic and social structures and developments, especially in Egypt and Mesopotamia; all parts of society were directly or indirectly incorporated into this system. The existenc…

[German version] ( inundatio: ILS 207; 5797a; Tac. Hist. 1,86,2; diluvia: Plin. Ep. 8,17,1; aquae ingentes: Liv. 35,9,2; 38;28,4; aquarum magnitudo: Liv. 30,26,5; 30,38,10; proluvies: Cic. Ad Q. Fr. 3,5,8). Only exceptionally were natural catastrophes taken as historiographical subjects in Antiquity, and then for instance when earthquakes hit famous cities and substantial emergency measures were undertaken to help the populace. This is true in the case of flooding and flood disasters, too, on which subject we have info…

(Ονάσανδρος; Onásandros). [German version] [1] Physician on Cos, c. 250 BC Public physician of Cos in c. 250 BC. As a resident of Cos without citizens' rights, he apprenticed with a public physician ( archiatrós ) in Halasarna, became his assistant and followed him to Cos when he was chosen public doctor there. There he opened his own practice but continued to treat his old patients from Halasarna, at times for nothing. The inscription documenting his career is one of the most informative ones about physicians to survive from antiquity. Nutton, Vivian (London) Bibliography  R. Herzog, Dec…

[German version] ( figlina). Building bricks and roof tiles were produced in brickyards close to clay deposits and then transported to the building sites. Because of their great weight, every effort was generally made to avoid long transport distances; for that reason, brick production was not concentrated in certain centres, but spread across all of Italy. Nonetheless, brickyards close to the coast, whose bricks could be transported by ship, supplied entire coastal regions; bricks of the figlina of Vibius Pansa near Ariminum can be found across the entire northern Adri…

[German version] (πορφύρα/ porphýra, Lat. purpur) was a dye (Dyeing) used in Antiquity for the manufacture of costly materials and garments. It was obtained from various species of sea-snails (Snails and slugs) living in the Mediterranean; Aristotle devoted lengthy disquisitions to the purple-snail (Aristot. Hist. an. 546b-547b), but the most important ancient description of the creature and the manufacture of the dye is found in Pliny (Plin. HN 9,124-138). It is likely that the technique of obtaining dye from sea-snails was first developed by the Phoenicians. In…

[German version] Derived from  pigmentum ('pigment'; cf. Plin. HN 33,111; 33,115; 33,158; 35,29; 37,81), the Latin word pigmentarius is the term for producers of and traders in pigments, ointments and perfumes ( unguenta). Representatives of this group are mentioned in Cicero and in inscriptions (Cic. Fam. 15,17,2; ILS 7604; 7605; CIL VI 9795). The workshop and store of a pigmentarius may be depicted in the house of the Vettii in Pompeii  [2. pl. XV 1]. The selling of poisons or love potions by a pigmentarius was punishable (Dig. 48,8,3,3; cf. Pharmakeía ). Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) Bi…

[German version] The great slave revolts in Roman Antiquity occurred within a comparatively narrow time span, in the 2nd and early 1st cents. BC; geographically, they centred around Sicily and southern Italy. The extent of these great revolts remains unique; bands formed by fugitive slaves never reached the same level either before or later, nor were they comparable with these revolts (Chios: Ath. 6,265d-266e; Bulla Felix in Italy: Cass. Dio. 77,10). Even though these rebellious movements of the u…

[German version] I. Terminology, properties, identification Geologically speaking, marble is a metamorphic rock of crystalline structure (average crystal size 0.3 to 1.0 mm) and variable translucency, derived by mediumor high-level metamorphosis from limestone and dolomite [21. 17-20]. The ancient terms μάρμαρον/ mármaron (originally masc. μάρμαρος/ mármaros = ‘gleaming stone’; later attested in all three genders) and Latin marmor, however, mean all white and coloured rocks capable of being polished, including hard rocks such as granite, greywacke and…

[German version] I. Ancient Near East The creation of stores, esp. of less perishable foodstuffs (esp. grain), is essential to the existence of societies whose agriculture is strongly exposed to environmental and political risks. The paradigm for such experiences is found in the OT story, referring to ancient Egypt, of the seven 'fat' and seven 'lean' years (Gn 41:25-36). The economy (I.) of Mesopotamia, centralized from the 4th millennium BC, also had a central SE, but it is known only from texts. In…

I. Near East and Egypt [German version] A. Introduction In the Near Orient (particularly the southern Levant and Syria) and Egypt, a fundamental change in the history of mankind occurred 12,000 years ago: the transition from the hunter-gatherer life of paleolithic times to neolithic agrarian society. In the so-called ‘fertile crescent’ and in Egypt, agriculture almost always included livestock farming. Agriculture also encompassed the planting of fruit trees, viticulture and horticulture. The methods of food production led to increasing freedom from dependency on e…

[German version] Modern term for alloys of iron with a carbon content of up to two per cent. In the blast-furnace process, however, the iron extracted has a much higher carbon content, which has to be reduced by means of a technical procedure (refining). In Antiquity there was an entirely different technical problem: Crude iron, the product of the smelting process, had only an extremely limited carbon content and was therefore relatively soft. The iron was therefore tempered by further forging in …

[German version] The Latin term opera was used to describe the output of work demanded of a worker in one day. This says nothing about that worker's legal status; he could be a freeman, freedman or a slave (Cic. Off. 1,41; cf. also the definition in Paulus, Dig. 38,1,1: “operae sunt diurnum officium”). The Roman agrarian writers use opera to determine precisely at what time certain work had to be done; in this way, it was possible to specify the speed of the work above and beyond the working hours and to calculate the number of slaves needed for a rural…

[German version] In modern industrial societies, the function of SP is to set up systems to prevent the occurrence of cases of hardship, and to protect individual citizens and groups of citizens from defined risks. A vital instrument of SP is social insurance, of the kind created in the German Empire between 1883 and 1889 (health insurance, accident insurance, old-age insurance); unemployment insurance followed during the Weimar Republic. Since that time, the actual concern in SP has been, on the …

(τριήρης/ triḗrēs; Lat. trieris, triremis;from tri- 'three' and Gr. eretmón, Lat. remus 'oar'). [German version] I. History of the Trireme From the battle off Salamis [1] (480 BC) to the Hellenistic age, the trireme of the Classical period was the most battle-worthy warship of the eastern Mediterranean region. It was developed from the elongated boats of the archaic period, which possessed one or two banks of oars on both sides and were used in Naval warfare. The tactical goal in naval battles was to sink enemy shi…

[German version] The technique used by the Greeks, of binding the individual blocks in quarried-stone walls by means of variously formed metal clamps, was adopted by the Romans for their monumental architecture. Besides that, they early on used mortar made of lime and sand as a bounding agent in house building. Thus, lime, which in Greece had been used primarily for the roughcast of buildings, acquired greater importance as a building material in the Roman period. Lime is obtained from limestone by burning at temperatures of some 1000° C; the calcium carbonate (CO3Ca) turns into calciu…

(Latin veterani). [German version] I. Republic The Roman army in the Republican Period was a militia; all citizens with means exceeding the defined level (cf. Census) were obliged to provide combat service in the military; the term of service depended on military requirements, and was not precisely defined. It was the custom for soldiers released from the army after military service to return to their farms, and to be available again for recruitment upon the outbreak of another war (Pol. 6,19-26; Liv.…

[German version] (Bíτων; Bítōn). Author of a short work on catapults and siege equipment; named in Athenaeus (14,634); the work is dedicated to a King Attalus and was therefore composed between about 230 BC (when Attalus I assumed the title of king) and 133 BC (death of Attalus III). As B. mentions older types of catapults but not the torsion catapult that was otherwise well attested from the end of the 4th cent. BC, the work probably belongs to the early years of the reign of Attalus I. B. describes two catapults that could hurl stones weighing from c. 2 kg to 18 kg, a mobile siege tower ( helépol…

Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) The genre of portraiture, which developed in Antiquity, and especially that which developed in Rome from the 1st cent. BC under the influence of the Greek, diverged into a multiplicity of types (portrait statues,  equestrian statues, portrait busts, apotheoses in relief form, imago clipeata on sarcophagi etc.). According to their respective functions and historical (re-)applications (e.g. as portraits of rulers or poets), these types cons…

[German version] From the Archaic Period on, Greek trading ships were no longer propelled by oarsmen but had a large sail attached to a yard (ἐπίκριον/ epíkrion; Lat. antemna/ antenna), allowing them to use wind power. Even the long warships had a mast with a yardsail; as these ships, however, had to be used regardless of wind conditions and in naval battles required great manoeuvrability, oarsmen could not be dispensed with; they used the sail on longer journeys in favourable wind. Greek warships in the 5th-4th cents. BC not only had the big sails (μεγάλα ἱστία/ megála histía; Xen. Hell. 1…

[German version] [1] Type of building Latin term for buildings, both urban and rural, used for storage, craft production, selling goods, offering drinks, meals and lodging, and also as living space. Storage economy; Workshop; Inn Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) [German version] [2] T. Frigida Road station in Etruria on the Via Aemilia Scauri between Pisae and Luna at the crossing over the Frigidus (modern Frigido), modern San Leonardo in Frigido. Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence) Bibliography L. Banti, Luni, 1937, 71  G. De Santis Alvisi, Questioni lunensi, in: Centro Studi Lunensi. …

[German version] A. Etymology and development of the word's meaning The term liberalitas (= li.) denotes, on an abstract level, an attribute (cf. Sen. Dial. 7,24,3: ... quia a libero animo proficiscitur, ita nominata est), in a particular case an act of generosity. The term largitio (= la.) belongs to the area of gifts, as does li.; derived from the adjective largus (in the original sense of a freely flowing spring, Cic. Off. 2,52) la. usually signifies the distribution of gifts. In the political vocabulary of the late Republic la., seen as a gift by means of which a particular purp…

[German version] Pre-Platonic thinkers, such as the Pythagoreans (Pythagorean School) or Anaxagoras [2] had a concept of an empty “space” (τὸ κενόν/ tò kenón). The examination of this view led Aristotle (Aristoteles [6]) to the conclusion that no such 'void' could exist. His argument reveals that Anaxagoras had undertaken experiments to study phenomena of air. For Aristotle, Anaxagoras' demonstrations show that air is a form of matter (ὅτι ἔστι τι ὁ ἀήρ/ hóti ésti ti ho aḗr: Aristot. Ph. 213a-214b). In the 3rd cent. BC, Ctesibius [1] constructed apparatuses which made use o…

[German version] I. Greece Tactics are understood as the planning and execution of military operations, such as marching and battles. Before the emergence of the phalanx , no tactical organization of the army is discernible. The battle formation of the phalanx, however, required the army to be divided into subunits, with a marching order, an ordered array in file and a clear system of orders. Ancient historians and military writers document various marching orders and possible transitions (often probably rather remote from reality) fr…

[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…

[German version] (ἐλέφας/ eléphas, Latin ebur) was obtained from the tusks of African and Indian elephants, and like silk, amber, incense and pepper is one of those precious goods that had to be imported from areas outside the Roman empire; according to Pliny, ivory was the most valuable material supplied by land animals (Plin. HN 37,204). The price for ivory was extraordinarily high in the 1st cent. AD; nevertheless there was a shortage of ivory so that people began also to process the ordinary bone…

I. Ancient Near East [German version] A. Metal extraction Metals are extracted from ores (smelting). Precious metals: gold, silver, elektron; base metals: copper, tin, lead, iron. The beginnings of metallurgy can be found in mineralogically favourable regions, particularly near the (copper-)ore deposits of Anatolia. Elements of pyrotechnology have been identified in aceramic neolithic settlements of the early 7th millennium BC, in particular products of metallurgy based on the smelting of copper ore. The…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient For Mesopotamia, as for the Near East in general, we are poorly informed by both written and archaeological sources about military organization, techniques, and engineering. The isolated case of the ‘Vulture Stele’ (about 2500 BC, from Tello, southern Babylonia; [1. pl. 91]) points to differences between heavily and lightly armed soldiers. The war chariots depicted there and on the ‘Ur Standard’ (somewhat older, from Ur; [1. pl. VIII]) were probably static symbols, …

[German version] I. Definition of technology Technology describes the ensemble of tools, devices and procedures used for the acquisition and transformation of materials, the production and transportation of foodstuffs and consumables, the erection of structures, the provision of infrastructure, and the storage of information. The devices and procedures employed in different areas of technology are not independent of one another; rather, they constitute a technological complex with many interdependenci…

(Σίμων/ Símōn). [German version] [1] Sculptor in bronze from Aegina, c. 480-460 BC Sculptor in bronze from Aegina. S. participated with a horse and a charioteer in the votive offerings dedicated by Phormis at Olympia; accordingly, his period of artistic activity is around 480-460 BC. The base which belonged to it has been identified. A dog and an archer by S. (Plin. HN 34,90) probably formed a further group. Neudecker, Richard (Rome) Bibliography Overbeck, nos. 402, 437  M. Zuppa, s.v. S. 2, EAA 7, 1966, 315  F. Eckstein, Anathemata, 1969, 43-49  E. Walter-Karydi, Die äginetische Bi…

Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) [German version] A. The Enlightenment's Assessment of Ancient Society (CT) Although ancient society played a prominent role in Enlightenment discourse, clarification of historical fact was not always the primary consideration in the treatment of any particular theme; rather, Greek or Roman society was described and cited in various theoretical contexts as a model or classified historically to justify or refute particular philosophical, political or economic positions. Influenced b…

I. General [German version] A. Gold and gold deposits Gold is a soft precious metal that can be shaped well mechanically and so can be worked easily into sheets and wires, but it has a relatively high melting point at 1063°C that makes casting difficult. It is relatively rare in nature where it is present in the form of gold aggregates in solid rock from which it is extracted through mining methods, or it is present in the form of gold particles or grains in sandy deposits of weathered primary rock, from…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient Archaeological finds attest to battues with traps in the Middle East from the 7th millennium BC onwards. On the other hand, there is only a little cuneiform evidence of the occupation of the hunter, e.g. in the  Gilgamesh Epic (TUAT 3. 676, I iii 9ff.). Wild cattle, wild goats, wild donkeys, gazelles, lions,  elephants and many other animals were hunted. As hunting weapons, people used traps, nets and snares as well as bows and arrows, throwing-sticks, lances, sword…

[German version] The concept of materialism does not appear until the first half of the eighteenth century, and is first used polemically in the context of the criticism of materialist thought in Enlightenment philosophy, as antithesis of idealism or spiritualism (Kant). Here, only those teachings will be designated as materialism which (a) represent a monism which holds that all being can be reduced to one or more material principles, while (b) that which appears to be non-material is either an e…

[German version] The meagre productivity of ancient agriculture rendered the effective use and cultivation of any suitable land imperative for growing grain, viticulture, and planting olive trees. Hills and mountain slopes in Greece were prepared for cultivation through terracing, and drainage measures were used to gain virgin land or to protect land from flooding after the winter rains. The requirements were different in Greece and Italy: in the Greek interior, there are fairly large plains in which lakes are formed by surface inflow; run-off is often subsurface ( katavothra) and …

[German version] I. General With respect to human history, nutrition, generally defined as the intake of substances for the sustenance, procreation and growth of living organisms, should not in any way be understood or investigated only as a physiological process, but must be seen in the context of a multiplicity of economic, social, cultural and religious factors. The choice of foodstuffs in a society is made not only with regard to their nutritional value, but also based on social and religious va…

[German version] I. Life and Work a) A philologist and polymath of the Augustan era from Spain or Alexandria; a freedman of Augustus who served as the prefect of the Palatine library after 28 BC while simultaneously engaging in extensive teaching activities (for biography, cf. Suet. Gram. 20). Nevertheless, he had to be supported his whole life by Clodius [II 6] Licinus and died in poverty. Ov. Tr. 3,14 is addressed to him. His substantial œuvre includes works of philology (comm. to the Propempticon Pollionis of  Helvius [I 3] Cinna; discussion of selected passages of  Vergili…

[German version] I. Ancient Near East In the Ancient Near Eastern oikos or palace economy, the majority or (large) parts of the population were integrated into the institutional households of temples and/or palaces as direct dependents (the extent varied according to region and period). They were provided with the rations of natural produce (grain, oil, wool) guaranteeing them the level of subsistence necessary for their reproduction. In Mesopotamia, these rations of produce were in part supplemented, and in certain periods replaced, by the allocation of areas of land ( c. 6 ha.) as…

[German version] Metal of low hardness, high specific weight (11.34) and low melting point (327°C); the most important lead-ore to be found in nature is galena (galenite; PbS), due to its silver content of up to 1% of greater economic significance in antiquity, mainly for the extraction of silver. The silver of Laurium, for instance, was extracted by mining and smelting galena. Important deposits outside of Attica were located mainly in Spain, Sardinia and Britain. In antiquity, lead and tin were considered two types of one metal; in Latin, lead was called plumbum nigrum, tin plumbum cand…

Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) [German version] A. The Technology of Classical Antiquity as a Research Area (CT) Classical scholarship did not recognize ancient technology as the subject of a special discipline in its own right until late. Up to about 1980, investigations into problems of ancient technology by Classical historians, archaeologists and linguists were relatively rare, and only a few essays and monographs were generally devoted to the field; there were no general treatments of a scholarly standard, no…

[German version] (ὀρνιθευτική/ ornitheutikḗ, ἰξευτικά/ ixeutiká; Latin aucupium). As is shown by the large number of casual references, fowling was probably very widespread in Antiquity, and in rural regions was esp. common. In literary texts, fowling regularly appears in connection with hunting and fishing, as in Sophocles [1], who introduces fowling to illustrate the supremacy of humans over animals (Soph. Ant. 342-347). Plato [1] deals with fowling among the regulations for hunting, but rejects it a…

Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) [German version] Artes liberales (CT) The Artes Liberales (AL) describe a group of usually seven of study, ‘worthy of a free man’ (Seneca epist. 88; i.e.: grammar, logic/dialectics, rhetoric and arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy). They originate from the Greek educational programme of the enkyklios paideia, which were passed on to the Latin Middle Ages through the encyclopaedias of Martianus Capella, Cassiodorus, and Isidor of Seville. They are usually divided up into groups of three and four; since Boethius the group of four is ( De arithmetica …

Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) The debate that went on between 1893 and 1902 over the basic features of the economy in Classical Antiquity is referred to in more recent scholarly historical literature, both in Ancient History as well as the history of the discipline, as the Bücher-Meyer Controversy (BMC). The origin of this discussion was the publication in 1893 of a book entitled Die Entstehung der Volkswirtschaft  (‘Industrial Evolution, 1907) by the economist Karl Bücher promulgating the view that a dominance of a home economy…

[German version] While in the Mediterranean, liquids such as wine and oil were generally stored in large clay jars (ίθος, dolium) and transported in animal skins or amphorae, we find the increasing use of wooden barrels for the storing and transporting of wine in the western provinces and northern Italy from the early Principate onwards (Upper Italy: Str. 5,1,8; 5,1,12; Alps: Plin. HN 14,132). Numerous reliefs and funerary sculptures show wine barrels being transported on heavy, horse-drawn wagons (funerary reliefs in Langres and Augsburg), or oar-driven shi…

[German version] (γυναικοκρατία; gynaikokratía). The term gynaecocracy (‘Rule of women’, from Greek γυνή/ gynḗ, ‘woman’ and κρατεῖν/ krateín, ‘to rule’; cf. gynaikokrateísthai, ‘to be ruled by women’) is first attested in philosophical texts from the 4th cent. BC. The use is almost always polemical. In Aristotle the gynaecocracy becomes a theme in the context of criticism of the politeía (constitution) of the Spartans and was considered as the prerequisite for greed and an extremely unequal distribution of land (Aristot. Pol. 1269b 12-1270a 31; cf. als…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt In the Ancient Orient and Egypt, oil was not only part of human nutrition (e.g. the daily rations for the population dependent on central institutions), but was also used as body oil, for making scent, for embalming (in Egypt), for medicinal purposes, in craft production, as lamp oil and in the cultic and ritual sphere (e.g. unction for rulers in Israel: 1 Sam 10,1; 16,3; not in Mesopotamia). Depending on the regionally varying agronomic and climatic conditions, oil was obtained from a number of plants: whereas numerous olei…

[German version] The screw appears among the five simple mechanical instruments listed in the Mechanics of Hero I of Alexandria (1st cent. AD), next to the rotating axle, lever, pulley and wedge (Hero, Mēchaniká 2,5). It is not mentioned either in the description of surgical instruments in Hippocrates (Hippoc. Perì agmôn 31) or in Aristotelian mechanics. Since there is no indication of the use of the screw before Archimedes [1], it can be considered one of the most significant technical inventions of the Hellenistic period. It appears that the principle of the screw was first us…

[German version] Ever since large temples were built of stone in Greece (early 6th cent. BC), architects have been faced with the problem of lifting heavy blocks of stone, for the walls or the architrave, and column drums as far as the building plan demanded. In doing so, loads of significant weight often had to be dealt with, because stone, after all, weighs approximately 2.25 t/m3, and marble c. 2.75 t/m3. In the Archaic age, blocks for the architrave weighed between 10 and 40 t. At first, the stones were put into place via a ramp, as is recorded for the constru…

[English version] I. Allgemein Die Unt. der V. in einer Ges. soll Aufschluß über die verschiedenen Vermögensarten und ihre ökonomische Bed. in einer Volkswirtschaft sowie über den Anteil einzelner Personen oder sozialer Gruppen am gesamten Volksvermögen gewähren. Da für die Ant. quantitative Angaben zur Wirtschaft und zu privaten Vermögen nur in äußerst begrenztem Umfang zur Verfügung stehen, sind die statistischen Methoden der modernen Wirtschaftswissenschaften im Bereich der ant. Wirtschaftsgeschi…

[English version] A. Etymologie und Entwicklung der Wortbedeutung Der Begriff liberalitas (=  li.) bezeichnet auf der abstrakten Ebene eine Eigenschaft (vgl. Sen. dial. 7,24,3: ... quia a libero animo proficiscitur, ita nominata est), im bes. Fall einen Akt der Freigebigkeit. Der Terminus largitio (=  la.) gehört ebenso wie li. zum Bereich der Gabe; abgeleitet von dem Adj. largus (urspr. Bed. von einer Quelle, die reichlich fließt, Cic. off. 2,52) bedeutet la. gewöhnlich die Austeilung von Geschenken. Im polit. Vokabular der späten Republik wird la., aufgefaßt als ein Geschen…

(lat. veterani). [English version] I. Republik Das röm. Heeresaufgebot war in der Zeit der Republik ein Milizheer; alle Bürger mit Besitz, der die festgesetzte Vermögensgrenze überschritt (vgl. census ), waren verpflichtet, als Bewaffnete Militärdienst zu leisten, wobei die Dienstzeit sich nach den mil. Erfordernissen richtete und nicht genau geregelt war. Es war üblich, daß die nach dem Militärdienst aus dem Heer entlassenen Soldaten auf ihre Höfe zurückkehrten und nach Ausbruch eines neuen Krieges w…

[English version] I. Definition von Technik Unter T. wird allg. das Ensemble der Werkzeuge, Geräte und Verfahren verstanden, die zur Gewinnung und Umwandlung von Stoffen, bei der Produktion sowie dem Transport von Nahrungsmitteln und Gebrauchsgütern, bei der Errichtung von Gebäuden sowie dem Bau von Anlagen der Infrastruktur und schließlich zur Speicherung von Informationen eingesetzt werden. Die auf verschiedenen Feldern der T. verwendeten Geräte oder Verfahren sind keineswegs voneinander unabhängig,…

[English version] Angesichts der geringen Produktivität der ant. Landwirtschaft war es notwendig, das für den Getreideanbau, Weinbau und die Anpflanzung von Ölbäumen geeignete Land tatsächlich zu nutzen und zu kultivieren. Durch Terrassierung wurden Hügel und Gebirgshänge in Griechenland für den Anbau erschlossen, und Maßnahmen zur E. hatten die Funktion, Neuland zu gewinnen oder Land nach den winterlichen Regenfällen vor Überschwemmungen zu schützen. Die Voraussetzungen sind dabei in Griechenland…

[English version] Abgeleitet von pigmentum (“Farbstoff”; vgl. Plin. nat. 33,111; 33,115; 33,158; 35,29; 37,81), bezeichnet das lat. Wort p. den Hersteller und Händler von Farben, Salben und Parfums ( unguenta). Vertreter dieser Berufsgruppe sind bei Cicero und auf Inschr. erwähnt (Cic. fam. 15,17,2; ILS 7604; 7605; CIL VI 9795). Werkstatt und Laden eines p. sind vielleicht im Haus der Vettii in Pompeii abgebildet [2. Taf. XV 1]. Der Verkauf von Giften oder Liebeszauber durch die p. stand unter Strafe (Dig. 48,8,3,3; vgl. pharmakeía ). Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel) Bibliography 1 E. …

[English version] In der Zeit der späten Republik bezeichnete das Wort f. einerseits ein Behältnis für die Aufbewahrung von Geld, andererseits bereits öffentliche Gelder, die einem Promagistrat in der Prov. zur Verfügung gestellt wurden (Cic. Verr. 2,3,197). Ferner verstand man unter f. auch das Privatvermögen eines röm. Bürgers. In der Prinzipatszeit war der f. die Kasse des princeps; da dieser über den f. allein verfügen konnte, besaß er die Möglichkeit, auch mit diesen finanziellen Mitteln einen erheblichen Einfluß auf die Politik zu nehmen. Dies gilt s…

[English version] Zur Verstärkung röm. Truppen auf einem Kriegsschauplatz wurden seit dem späten 1. Jh. n. Chr. nicht ganze Legionen ( legio ), sondern meist kleinere, zu diesem Zweck gebildete Einheiten, deren Soldaten aus einzelnen Legionen oder Auxiliareinheiten ( auxilia ) abgezogen worden waren, in das Kriegsgebiet verlegt. So stellten während des Jüdischen Krieges die in Äg. stationierten Legionen 2000 und die Grenztruppen am Euphrates 3000 Soldaten für die Belagerung Jerusalems (Ios. bell. Iud. 5,43 f.). Solche als v. bezeichnete Einheiten hatten normalerweise e…

Schneider, Helmuth [English version] A. Die Technik der Antike als Forschungsgebiet (RWG) Die Technik der Ant. wurde von den Klass. Altertumswiss. erst spät als Gegenstand einer eigenständigen Spezialdisziplin anerkannt; bis etwa 1980 haben Althistoriker, Archäologen und Klass. Philologen vergleichsweise selten Probleme der ant. T. untersucht und diesem Themenbereich insgesamt nur wenige Aufsätze oder Monographien gewidmet; es existierten weder wiss. Standards genügende Gesamtdarstellungen der ant. Technik…

[English version] Mit dem lat. Begriff o. wurde die Arbeitsleistung bezeichnet, die von einem arbeitenden Menschen - über dessen Rechtsstatus damit keine Aussage gemacht wird (er konnte Freier, Freigelassener oder Sklave sein) - an einem Tag zu erbringen war (Cic. off. 1,41; vgl. auch die Definition bei Paulus, Dig. 38,1,1: operae sunt diurnum officium). Die röm. Agrarschriftsteller verwenden o., um genau festzulegen, in welcher Zeit bestimmte Arbeiten zu verrichten waren; auf diese Weise war es möglich, über die Arbeitszeit hinaus die Arbeitsgeschwind…

[English version] Die großen S. der röm. Ant. ereigneten sich in einem relativ begrenzten Zeitraum, im 2. und frühen 1. Jh. v. Chr., und hatten ihr Zentrum auf Sizilien und in Süd-It. Die Bandenbildung flüchtiger Sklaven (=Sk.) in früherer und späterer Zeit hat das Ausmaß dieser großen S. nie erreicht und ist mit diesen nicht vergleichbar (Chios: Athen. 6,265d-266e; Bulla Felix in It.: Cass. Dio. 77,10). Obgleich die Aufstandsbewegungen der Unfreien als Reaktion auf ihre Ausbeutung in der Landwirt…

[English version] (γυναικοκρατία). Der Begriff G. (“Frauenherrschaft”, von griech. γυνή/ gynḗ, “Frau” und κρατεῖν/ krateín, “herrschen”; vgl. gynaikokrateísthai, “von Frauen beherrscht werden”) ist zuerst in philos. Texten des 4. Jh.v.Chr. belegt. Die Verwendung erfolgt fast immer polemisch. Bei Aristoteles wird die G. im Kontext der Kritik an der politeía (Verfassung) der Spartaner thematisiert und als Voraussetzung von Habgier und einer extrem ungleichen Verteilung des Bodens gesehen (Aristot. pol. 1269b 12-1270a 31; vgl. auch Plut. Lykurg…

[English version] I. Geographie Die Festländer und Inseln des Mittelmeerraumes sind im Vergleich zu Gesamteuropa und zu anderen Kontinenten arm an wertvollen B.; außerdem sind die Lagerstätten von Edelmetallen oder von Marmor auf wenige Regionen begrenzt. Viele Lagerstätten sind schon während der Ant. und im Mittelalter ausgebeutet worden, vor allem dort, wo sie nahe der Küsten leicht erreichbar waren. So kam es schon in der Bronzezeit zu den Fahrten der Phönizier, um Zinnerz aus Iberien zu beschaff…

I. Alter Orient [English version] A. Metallgewinnung Metalle (= Met.) werden aus Erzen gewonnen (Verhüttung); Edel-Met.: Gold, Silber, Elektron; Grund-Met.: Kupfer, Zinn, Blei, Eisen. Der Anfang der M. dürfte in mineralogisch günstigen Regionen, vornehmlich in der Nähe der (Kupfer-)Erzlagerstätten Anatoliens zu suchen sein. Elemente der Pyrotechnologie sind schon aus akeramisch-neolithischen Siedlungen des frühen 7. Jt.v.Chr. nachweisbar, insbes. Produkte eines aus Kupfererz erschmolzenen Met. Durch Sc…

[English version] ( castratio) war in der ant. Landwirtschaft ein häufig praktiziertes Verfahren, um die Eigenschaften von männlichen Nutztieren den Interessen der Menschen anzupassen. Bei Pferden und Stieren hatte die K. den Zweck, das Temperament der Tiere zu verändern, ohne ihre Lebensfähigkeit zu beeinträchtigen (Xen. Kyr. 7,5,62). Aristoteles beschreibt in seinen zoologischen Schriften die Wirkungen der K. und betont, daß die Verstümmlung eines kleinen Körperteils das ganze Erscheinungsbild ei…

[English version] (πορφύρα/ porphýra; lat. purpur) war ein in der Ant. für die Herstellung kostbarer Stoffe und Gewänder verwendeter Farbstoff (Färberei), der aus verschiedenen, im Mittelmeer lebenden Schneckenarten (Schnecke) gewonnen wurde; Aristoteles hat der P.-Schnecke lange Ausführungen gewidmet (Aristot. hist. an. 546b-547b); die wichtigste ant. Beschreibung der P.-Schnecken und der Herstellung des Farbstoffes findet sich bei Plinius (Plin. nat. 9,124-138). Wahrscheinlich ist das Verfahren, aus den Meeresschnecken Farbstoff zu gewinnen, zuerst von…

[English version] Mod. S. hat in den Industrie-Ges. die Aufgabe, durch Schaffung von Sicherungssystemen die Entstehung von Notlagen zu verhindern und die einzelnen Bürger oder auch soziale Gruppen vor bestimmten Risiken zu schützen. Wesentliches Instrument der S. stellt die Sozialversicherung dar, wie sie im Deutschen Reich zw. 1883 und 1889 geschaffen wurde (Krankenversicherung, Unfallversicherung, Altersversicherung); die Arbeitslosenversicherung folgte während der Weimarer Republik. Seitdem ist…

(τριήρης; lat. trieris, triremis). [English version] I. Die Geschichte der Triere Die T. der klass. Zeit war von der Schlacht bei Salamis [1] (480 v. Chr.) bis zur hell. Epoche das kampfstärkste Kriegsschiff im östl. Mittelmeerraum; sie stellte eine Fortentwicklung der langgestreckten Boote der archa. Zeit dar, die ein oder zwei Ruderreihen an jeder Bordseite besaßen und im Seekrieg eingesetzt wurden. Ziel der Taktik in der Seeschlacht war es, feindliche Schiffe durch Rammen mit dem Rammsporn zu versenken …

[English version] I. Allgemein Die E., die allgemein als Aufnahme von Stoffen für die Erhaltung, die Fortpflanzung und das Wachstum von Lebewesen definiert wird, ist im Bereich der menschlichen Geschichte keineswegs nur als physiologischer Vorgang zu begreifen und zu untersuchen, sondern muß in Zusammenhang mit einer Vielzahl von wirtschaftlichen, sozialen, kulturellen und rel. Faktoren gesehen werden. Die Wahl der Nahrungsmittel erfolgt in einer Ges. nicht allein unter Berücksichtigung ihres Nährwe…

[English version] (ἐλέφας, lat. ebur) wurde aus den Stoßzähnen afrikan. und indischer Elefanten gewonnen und gehört wie Seide, Bernstein, Weihrauch und Pfeffer zu jenen kostbaren Gütern, die aus Gebieten außerhalb des Imperium Romanum importiert werden mußten; nach Plinius war E. das wertvollste Material, das Landtiere lieferten (Plin. nat. 37,204). Der Preis für E. war im 1.Jh. n.Chr. außerordentlich hoch; dennoch bestand ein Mangel an E., so daß man begann, auch die gewöhnlichen Knochen des Elef…

II. Klassische Antike A. Olivenöl [English version] 1. Allgemein Olivenöl (ἔλαιον/ élaion; lat. oleum) gehörte in der Ant. neben Getreide und Wein zu den Grundnahrungsmitteln, zu jener Trias, die für die Ernährung im Mittelmeerraum charakteristisch war; darüber hinaus diente es aber auch der Körperpflege und als Brennstoff für Lampen. Oliven wurden als Zukost gegessen (Plat. rep. 372c); das Öl wurde aus den Früchten des veredelten Ölbaums (ἐλάα/ eláa; olea europaea) gewonnen, den Columella als prima omnium arborum (‘als ersten unter allen Bäumen’) bezeichnet (Colum. 5,8,1). Der…

[English version] I. Alter Orient Arch. Funde belegen Treib-J. mit Fallen in Vorderasien seit dem 7. Jt. v.Chr. Andererseits finden sich nur wenige keilschriftl. Hinweise auf den Beruf des Jägers, wie z.B. im Gilgamesch-Epos (TUAT 3. 676, I iii 9ff.). Gejagt wurden Wildrinder, Wildziegen, Wildesel, Gazellen, Löwen, Elefanten u.v.m. Als J.-Waffen verwendete man neben Fallen, Netzen und Schlingen auch Pfeil und Bogen, Wurfhölzer, Lanzen, Schwerter und Dolche, als J.-Hunde Doggen und Windhunde. Bildlich…