[German version] I. Literary sources In Greece and Rome, deaths and accidents, financial and business losses and military defeats were occasions for mourning (πένθος/ pénthos; Lat. luctus). Aside from the characteristic mourning dress, women displayed their mourning by renouncing gold jewellery (Dion. Hal. Ant. 5,48,4; Liv. 34,7,10), by beating, and sometimes baring, their chests (Prop. 2,13,27; Petron. 111,2), by loosening and tearing their hair (Catull. 64,348-351; Tib. 1,1,67 f.; Liv. 1,26,2), by crying and wailing (P…

(Ἀργοναῦται; Argonaûtai). [German version] A. Participants Argonauts is the general descriptive term for the group of heroes (also called Minyae), mainly belonging to the pre-Trojan generation, who were sent by Pelias under Jason's leadership on the Argo to fetch the fleece of the ram on which Phrixus and Helle had once fled. Even the most ancient sources identify the Golden Fleece with the Argonauts myth, although originally the two groups of myths probably had nothing done with each other. Altogethe…

[German version] [1] Name of one or more Greek tribes (Αἰολεῖς; Aioleîs). Gschnitzer, Fritz (Heidelberg) [German version] A. Etymology A. (Sg. Aioleus), older form Aiwolēwes (Sg. Aiwoleus), is the name of one or several Greek tribes and its (their) members, of which the first mention is probably in a late Mycenean text found in Cnossus (Ws 1707) and then next in Hesiod (Op. 636; fr. 9 M.-W.). The name of the tribe and the mythological personal name   Aeolus are both derived from the adjective αἰ()όλος, which was already in use in Mycenean times (as the name of a bull a3-wo-ro/ Aiwolos/KN Ch 8…

Mannsperger, Dietrich [German version] A. Definition (CT) Ancient numismatics, i.e., the scientific study of Greek and Roman coins, is part of Classical Studies. Derived from the Greek word νόμισμα = legal tender, via the Latin numisma, synonymous in later usage with 'old or foreign coin', the French term numismatique came into general use in the 18th cent. In 1787, Goethe speaks of 'Numismatick' (to von Fritsch, 27 Oct.) and of 'Münzwissenschaft' ('the science of coins') (to Herder, 25/27 Jan.) as having the same meaning [14. 610, 612]. The …

[German version] (Ἀταρνεύς; Atarneús). Located in the region of the same name on the coast opposite to  Mytilene, north-east of the modern Dikili, A. was an Ionian polis in Aeolis (Aeoleis) (Plin. HN 37,156), according to Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἄταρνα ( Átarna) on the border between  Lydia and  Mysia. Like Assus, the town was centred around a hill of about 200 m in height, upon which the acropolis was situated (modern Kaléh Agili). The safety of the town was ensured by a triple walled circle, dating from the Hellenistic period, parts of whic…

[German version] (τέτραξ, tétrax). Plin. HN 10,56 distinguishes between a smaller black variety (i.e. the black grouse) and one living in the north and in the Alps, similar in colour to but much bigger than a vulture, which because of its weight could be caught on the ground [1. 234f.]. When kept in a cage, their meat supposedly lost its taste, and the birds stopped breathing and died. Whether the bird from Mysia in Ath. 9,398e-f refers to the capercaillie remains uncertain. Other mentions of its n…

(Τεισαμενός/ Teisamenós, Lat. Tisamenus). [German version] [1] Son of Thersander Son of Thersander, the king of Thebes and of Demonassa [1] (Paus. 9,5,15) and therefore a grandson of Polyneices (Hdt. 6,52). After the death of his father in Mysia, Peneleus at first led the Theban contingent to Troy in place of T. who was still too young (Hom. Il. 2,494). T. became king of Thebes only after Peneleus died. Under his rule, the curse on his lineage was supposedly dormant. His son Theras is said to have settled the island of Thera (Hdt. 4,147; Paus. 3,15,6 f.). Binder, Carsten (Kiel) …

[German version] (Βρισηίς; Brisēís). Prisoner of war and beloved of  Achilles who carried her off as booty in Lyrnessus (Mysia) after he had slain her husband and three brothers (Hom. Il. 2,688-693; 19,291-297). According to Il. 9,128-134; 270-276 (with schol. Il. 1,366), B. was one of seven girls whom Achilles had captured on Lesbos. In schol. Il. 1,392, B. is called Hippodamia. According to the Cypria, B. came from Pedasus in the Troad, another town that had been conquered by Achilles (schol. Il.…

(Δημήτριος; Dēmḗtrios). Well-known personalities: the Macedonian King D. [2] Poliorketes; the politician and writer D. [4] of Phalerum; the Jewish-Hellenistic chronographer D. [29]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] Officer under Alexander the Great Officer under Alexander [4], fought at Gaugamela as commander of a troop ( ile) of  Hetairoi and in India he commanded a hipparchy. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve 2, no. 256. [German version] [2] D. Poliorketes Son of  Antigonus [1], born 337/6 BC (Diod. Sic. 19,96,1). In 320 he m…

[German version] (Μέγιστος; Mégistos). Aside from the Rhyndacus and the Tarsius, the largest river in northern Mysia (cf. Str. 12,8,11; Plin. HN 5,142; Pol. 5,77,8), modern Simav Çayı that like the Tarsius flows into the Rhyndacus north of Miletupolis. Attalus [4] I was encamped on the M., north of the Pelecas Mountains with the Galatian Aegosages on his campaign against Achaeus [5], when he experienced a lunar eclipse on 1 January 218 BC. A relief of Apollo Mekastenos is probably also reminiscent of this river [1]. Schwertheim, Elmar (Münster) Bibliography 1 F. W. Hasluck, Unpublished …

[German version] (Τρῳάς/ Trō(i)ás, gen. -ádos, fem. adj. 'Trojan', sc. gê 'land'), territory in the northwest of Asia Minor. It covered the region of the present-day Biga Peninsula (Biga Yarımadası). Its boundaries and nomenclature fluctuated in antiquity. The confused ancient testimonies on its frontiers are well summarized in [1. 526-531]. In general, reliance is mostly placed on Strabo (12,4,6; 13,1,1-4), who essentially refers to Homer (Homerus [1]): the T. was bounded to the north, west and south by …

[German version] (Αἰγοσάγες/ Aigoságes). Celtic tribe recruited by Attalus [4] I in 218 BC for the battle against Achaeus [5] in Thracia and taken to Asia Minor (Pol. 5,77 f.; 5,111,1-7; [1. 233, 243]). In Aeolia (Aeolians [2]) and Mysia, Attalus I operated successfully with the A. who, however, started a mutiny at the Macestus due to a lunar eclipse. Attalus kept his word to the A. and settled them at the Hellespontus where they proceeded to plunder the surrounding cities and finally occupied Iliu…

[German version] (Προποντίς; Propontís). A sea between the Pontos Euxeinos (Black Sea) in the northeast (Bosporus [1]) and the Aigaion Pelagos (Aegean) in the southwest (Hellespontus), between Thrace in the north and Mysia in the south, greatest length (from Callipolis to Nicomedia) 252 km, greatest breadth 74 km, modern Sea of Marmara. The P. was brought into existence by an early quaternary rift. The largest part of the area of the sea ( c. 11,500 km2) is formed by an area of land lowered 200 m, on which the islands perch (cf. the list of the islands in Plin. HN 5…

[German version] (Τεύθρας; Teúthras). Possibly a son of Midius and Arge (IG XI 4,1207); he rules as eponymous king over Teuthrania (Apollod. 2,147) or Mysia (Plut. De fluviis 21,4). The figure of T. is most prominent in connexion with Auge [2] and Telephus [1] (Paus. 8,4,9 with a reference to Hecataeus). Ancient sources (additionally: Apollod. 3,103 f.; Diod.  Sic. 4,33) agree that T. marries Auge, who has been exposed, and raises her son (otherwise: Hyg. Fab. 100; Plut. ibid.  21,4). Plutarch tell…

[German version] A. Definition and origin The term era describes a regular, continuous series of years beginning from a generally recognized starting point (epoch). Unlike dating based on  eponyms and the counting of the years of a reign (see below), as required for lists of officials or of rulers, knowledge of the year as counted within an epoch makes the conversion of year-numbers possible. The etymology of the word era is disputed (perhaps from the pl. of aes with change of declension). In Spanish inscriptions aera or era (ἔρα; éra) appears as a synonym for anno accompanying numbers of…

[German version] I. Geographic location, borders Luwian-speaking (Luwian) state in Northwestern Asia Minor documented in Hittite transmission in the 15th-13th cents. BC. Its core area comprised the valleys of the Hermus [2] and the Caecus [1] (merging near the coast), and its name is derived from one of these two rivers. The Hittite designation is Sēḫas utnē (in Akkadian orthography KUR ÍD ŠE-E-ḪA) 'the land of S.,' while the name 'river land of S.', often found in secondary literature, is based on the inappropriate translation of the determinative ÍD 'river.' In the north, S. borde…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Byzantium | | Asia Minor | Colonization | Peloponnesian War | Pergamum | Persian Wars | Rome | Delian League | Education / Culture (Κύζικος; Kýzikos). City in Mysia on the south coast of the  Propontis on the isthmus of the Arktonnesos (Kapıdağ) peninsula; the modern Balkız, to the east of Erdek. C. owed its prosperity to its double harbour and large territory (cf. the description with the city's location at Str. 12,8,11). From the beginning of coinage down to …

Relates to the systems of weights upon which ancient coinage was based. [German version] A. Greece In the Greek coinage system ( Money;  Minting), there were various standards; however, the designations of the nominal values and  weights were uniform and usually had the following ratios: 1  talent = 60 minai, 1  mina = 50 staters, 1  stater = 2 drachmas, 1  drachma = 6  oboloi [1. 159]. The determination of ancient standards of coinage is based on the average weight of the largest possible number of well-preser…

(Ξάνθος/ Xánthos). [German version] [1] Name of several figures in Greek mythology Name of several male figures in Greek mythology: 1) Son of Phaenops [2], who was killed by Diomedes [1] at the gates of Troy (Hom. Il. 5,152-158). 2) Son of Triopas and Oreasis. X. received a part of Lycia; from there, he settled the deserted island of Lesbos (Diod. Sic. 5,81,2; Hyg. Fab. 145). 3) One of the sons of Aegyptus, who is killed by Arcadia, daughter of Danaus (Hyg. Fab. 170). 4) A son of Niobe (Pherecydes FGrH 3 F …

(Γύγης; Gýgēs). [German version] [1] Lyd. king, 7th cent BC Lydian king ( c. 680-644 BC) and founder of the Mermnade Dynasty, is said, according to Herodotus (1,12), to have married the wife of his predecessor  Candaules, murdered by him, and (in this way) to have won rule in Sardis. It is uncertain from where the Lydian-speaking Mermnades came (from Maionia/Mysia?). In any case they were probably not in Sardis until the 1st millennium. Their relationship with the Luvian-speaking ([1. 384,10]  Luvian,  Lydia…