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[German version] (Ὑπερίων; Hyperíōn; on the etymology [1]). In the tradition of Hesiod one of the  Titans, who with his sister Theia fathers the gods of light Helios ( Sol),  Selene and  Eos (Hes. Theog. 134; 371-374; Apollod. 1,2,8). Opinions are divided on his participation in the  titanomachy (schol. Hom. Il. 14,274 Dindorf contra Serv. Aen. 6,580). In Homer, however, H. is an epithet (Hom. Od. 1,8) as well as an independent term for Helios (Hom. Il. 19,398, but especially in Roman poetry: e.g. …

(Πιερίδες/ Pierídes; Lat. Pierides or Pieriae). [German version] [1] Epithet of the Muses Name for the Muses after the place of their residence (Hes. Theog. 53). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] The nine daughters of Pierus The nine daughters of Pierus (Paus. 9,29,4) and Antiope, they challenged the Muses to an artistic competition, were defeated and turned into magpies (Ov. Met. 5,671ff.)  (Ov. Met. 5,294ff.; Antoninus Liberalis 9,1ff.). According to Antoninus Liberalis l.c. their names were Acalanthis, Colymbas, Iynx…

[German version] Latin rhetor and advocate in the early Imperial Period. His intelligence and gift for oratory allowed him to work his way up from modest circumstances to being a welcome guest at the court of Tiberius [II 1] (Quint. Inst. 6,3,100; Tac. Ann. 1,74). In the quaestor Caepio [1] Crispinus' treason case against the praetor Granius [II 3] Marcellus he appeared as a joint plaintiff. Seneca [1] the Elder's numerous mentions of him express admiration for his extraordinary command of the lan…

[German version] In ancient rhetoric, the terms εικών/ eikṓn (literally ‘image’, ‘illustration’: often for short comparisons), παραβολή/ parabolḗ (especially for similes) as well as Latin simile, similitudo cover diverse phenomena dominating a word, sentence or even a text that create a relationship between two facts or spheres of the imagination. The primary function of emphasis placed the comparison close to the  topos (Quint. Inst. 4,1,70), and the exemplum (5,11,22; but cf. Cic. Inv. 1,49), the figurae sententiarum (Cic. De or. 3,201 = Quint. Inst. 9,1,31;  figures). A theory…

(Κύκνος; Kýknos, Latin Cygnus; ‘swan’). Name of several heroes whose common element is their relationship with swans. Among these the most important are: [German version] [1] Son of Ares and Pelopea Son of  Ares and of Pelopea (Apollod. 2,5,11: the Pyrene), king of Amphanae, husband of Themistonoe. In the grove of Apollo in Thessalonian Pagasae, C. robs pilgrims travelling to Delphi and invites them to participate in chariot races which he always wins (detailed narration [Hes.] scut. 57ff.). He kills the losers and decorates …

(Νύξ/ Nýx; Lat. Nox, night). In antiquity, the night as a sphere of the eerie and the hidden was regarded not simply as a natural, daily phenomenon that shaped people's lives but as a goddess and personification. It is difficult to draw clear boundaries between these realms. [German version] A. Genealogies In variously accentuated genealogies of gods [1], N. is a cosmogonic power. In Hesiod, N. belongs to the first generation of gods along with other appearances of light (Hes. Theog. 123ff.; 211; 744ff.; cf. her authority in Hom. Il. 14,259). Sh…

[German version] (Μνημοσύνη/ Mnēmosýnē, Latin Moneta; Liv. Andronicus, Odusia fr. 21 Morel-Büchner-Blänsdorf). Goddess of memory (cf. Mneme). As a daughter of Uranus and Gaia M. belongs to the oldest generation of Titans (Hes. Theog. 135), who represent cosmic and social concepts. After spending nine nights with Zeus, she became the mother of the nine Muses who bring human beings joy and temporary light-heartedness (Hes. Theog. 54 ff.; Pind. Nem. 7,15; Pind. Isthm. 6,75). Parallels to Zeus’s other lo…

(Greek Μοῦσαι/ Moûsai, Latin Musae; Camenae: see below; etymology contentious [3. 7f.]; ancient attempts at a solution, e.g. Pl. Crat. 406a; Diod. Sic. 4,7,3-4; Etym. M. 589,40; further details [3. 5f.]). [German version] A. General The M. are a specific of the religion and of the cultural self-conception of the Greeks. Far from being mere personifications of the arts, they are rather the expression of the capacity, granted to man alone, for self-reflection and taking a place in history. As goddesses of memoria (memory and the means of remembering, the…

(Καῦνος; Kaûnos). [German version] [1] Eponym of the Carian town C. [2] Eponym of the Carian town C. [2], who gains contours chiefly in connection with his twin sister  Byblis. The myths depict various constellations of their incestuous relationship (Parthenius 11). Walde, Christine (Basle) Bibliography S. Jackson, Apollonius of Rhodes: the Cleite and Byblis Suicides, in: SIFC 14, 1997, 48-54. [German version] [2] Coastal town in the border areas between Caria and Lycia This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Lycii, Lycia | Pergamum | Pe…

[German version] I. Terminology Generic term: Greek τέχνη ῥητορική/ téchnē rhētorikḗ; from Plato onwards, the technical term is ῥητορική/ rhētorikḗ [43]; Latin: ars oratoria, ars dicendi (rhetoric as an acquired skill), or eloquentia (as an ability). Performers: Greek ῥήτωρ/ rhḗtōr (Homeric ῥήτηρ/ rhḗtēr); Latin orator (initially referring to any orator; later used in the specific context of rhetoric), rhetor (technical term for a teacher of rhetoric). Activity: Greek είρειν/ eírein (‘say’ in formal language) or more generally λέγειν/ légein (‘speak’); the Latin equivalen…

[German version] [1] Poisoner Roman family name. Name of a preparer of poison in Hor. Sat. 2,1,48, probably not identical with the one named in 2,2,67. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [2] T., follower of Epicurus (end of 2nd cent. BC) T., follower of Epicurus, became involved in a fight with the praetor Q.  Mucius Scaevola because of his Hellenophilia in 120 BC. A. charged him unsuccessfully in 119 and was mocked for this reason by  Lucilius in the 2nd book of his Satires. Praetor and propraetor in 105-104 (107-106?) in …

[German version] I. Ancient Orient Dreams and their interpretation were a popular topic in the written tradition of the Ancient Orient and Egypt since the 22nd cent. BC. Both spontaneously experienced dreams as well as dream incubation are attested. Preserved dreams relate divine messages (in the form of theophanies). Though usually contained in literary texts [3; 5. 746; 6], they also occur in letters [1]. Dreams also contained ethical maxims and wisdom for life reflecting personal experience and st…

(Κάπυς; Kápys; Lat. Capys). [German version] [1] Vater des Anchises Trojan, descendant of Dardanus ( Dardanidae), father of  Anchises (Hom. Il. 20.239). According to some myths, his grandson Aeneas [1] founded the Arcadian Kap(h)yae (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1.49.1; Steph. Byz. s.v. Καφύαι), his great-grandson Rhomus founded Capua (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1.73.3) and named it after him. Stoevesandt, Magdalene (Basle) [German version] [2] Founder of Capua In Virgil and others (Verg. Aen. 10.145 with Servius ad loc.), a Trojan of the same name from the generation of Ae…

[German version] I. Ancient East and Egypt A range of archaeological and textual sources from varied walks of life bear eloquent testimony to the intensity of the attempts of coming to term with death in ancient eastern cultures ( Burial and mourning rituals and the related cult of the  dead), as displayed in forms of  funerary architecture, burial objects and the extensive  funerary literature. As is evident from textual sources, this struggle occupied a large part of everyday human existence [5]. On …

(Greek εἰρωνεία, eirōneía, orig. ‘dissimulation’, Lat. simulatio, dissimulatio, illusio). [German version] I. Rhetoric Like e.g. metaphor ( Comparison), irony is classed in the rhetorical system among the tropes ( Figures) (Rhet. Her. 4,46 assigns it to allegory). While metaphor works through the similarity between what is said and what is meant, irony is characterized by a relationship of contrast ( contrarium) (Anaximen. Ars Rhetorica = [Arist.] Rh. Al. 21,1,1434a, 17f.; Quint. Inst. 8,6,54-56; Aquila Rhetor 7 p. 24,21f. H). Irony is context dependen…

[German version] [1] C., Ti. Teacher of Latin rhetoric and orator, 2nd cent. AD Teacher of Latin rhetoric and orator of high-flown speeches at the time of Antonines who was even listened to by  Gellius (13,22); befriended by  Fronto (ep. ad am. 2,2), highly regarded by  Hadrianus because of his fine education and moral attitudes. C. favoured the reading of Republican authors (Sallust, Metellus Numidicus, C. Gracchus: Gell. NA 2,27; 1,6; 11,13) is linked with the revival of old Roman virtues: Stylistic and moral judgment go hand in hand in the spirit of Cato's vir bonus, peritus dicendi; C. …

[German version] [1] A Muse (Greek Καλλιόπη, Καλλιόπεια; Kalliópē, Kalliópeia; Lat. Calliopa; on the etymology Diod. Sic. 4.3). Of the nine  Muses (Hes. Theog. 79), C. is mentioned most often and is particularly depicted on an individual level. She was originally the Muse of epic poetry honouring warfare, but later, in a paradoxical turnaround, of the ‘peaceful’ Roman love elegy (Prop. 3.3) or of lofty poetry in general (Ov. Tr. 2, 568). C. is considered the patroness of poetry and, among others, is appe…

(etymologically reconstructed from Lat. opi-ficium, 'doing work'; pl. officia). [German version] [1] Duty in general Generally a range of duties with a corresponding sense of duty or subordination (Sen. Ben. 3,18,1; Dig. 37,6,6; Cic. Tusc. 4,61); see Duty. Gizewski, Christian (Berlin) [German version] [2] Duties as identified in the philosophy of ethics Since Cicero, especially the duties as identified in the philosophy of ethics (as the 'Roman interpretation' of the Stoic concept of tò kathêkon, Cic. Off. 1,2,5-1,3,7); see Duty; Ethics. Gizewski, Christian (Berlin) …

(Greek Κένταυρος, pl. Κένταυροι; Ἱπποκένταυροι; Κενταυρίδες; Kéntauros, pl. Kéntauroi; Hippokéntauroi; Kentaurídes). I. Mythology [German version] A. Definition Centaurs are four-legged  monsters consisting of man and horse, their homeland was seen as the Greek mainland, generally speaking the forested mountains of Thessaly, especially the Pholoe Range and Cape Malea. They often appear as an aggressive group of evil-doers, who cause offence especially by raping women. They challenge not only heroes (such as Hera…

[German version] In the macchia shrubland of Mediterranean countries the genus Arbutus L. of the Ericaceae family is represented by two of its total of 20 evergreen species, namely a) the ST Arbutus unedo L. (κόμαρος; kómaros) with its strawberry-like sour-tasting drupes ( arbuta Verg.  G. 3,301 and 4,181), which ripen in a year, and b) the andrachle, Arbutus andrachle L. (ἀνδράχνη; andráchn ē), spread from Greece to the east as far as the coast of the Black Sea, with small orange-yellow inedible fruits. The fruits of the arbutus, which grows as far west as the Atlantic coast of Ir…