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[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Byzantium Fortress, town and bishop's seat in the province of Pontus in the north-east of  Asia Minor, developed and extended during the reign of  Iustinian I and defended against the Arabs in AD 778 and 940; part of Turkey since 1071 (today Şebinkarahisar). The area around C. had economic importance because of the alum mining carried out there ( Alum) and was the centre of the  Paulician sect from the 7th to the 9th cents. Berger, Albrecht (Berlin) Bibliography A. Bryer, D. Winfield, The Byzantine Monuments and Topograp…

Berger, Albrecht (Berlin) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) Constantinople's (C.) development as a city reached its zenith in the time of Justinian I (AD 527-565), though building activity continued until about 600. The deep political crisis which began in the Byzantine Empire after that had incisive results for C.: because of the Persian occupation of Egypt, grain deliveries ended in 618 and the aqueducts were destroyed in 626 during the siege by the Avars . The number of inhabitants, which was at …

[German version] (Σκυλίτζης/ Skylítzēs). Byzantine historian (second half of the 11th century AD), high court official in Constantinople, probably identical to a Iohannes Thracesius mentioned there in 1092 [6]. His so-called Synopsis Historiarum (Σύνοψις ἱστοριῶν/ Sýnopsis historiôn) appeared after 1070. It extends from 811 until 1057 and is conceived as a continuation of the Chronicle of Theophanes, whom in the foreword he singles out for praise in comparison with other historians (e.g. Psellos). Among his sources are e.g. 'Theop…

[German version] (στρατηγικόν; stratēgikón). A military manual, also called Taktikón, with accounts of military tactics, training and leadership, and weapon and siege technology. From the Early Byzantine Period we have the Stratēgiká of Urbicius (c. AD 500), the Naumachíai of Syrianus Magister (6th cent., on naval warfare), an anonymous treatise, and, most importantly, the so-called Strategikon of Mauricius. Attribution of the latter text to the emperor Mauricius (582-602) is uncertain, although it must date from before the 630s, as the wars against t…

[German version] Author of a lost Greek report on the travels of a legation to the ruler of Kinda in central Arabia and then to Ethiopia and southern Arabia in the year AD 530/1, the existence of which is known only from the  ‘Library of Photius (cod. 3). Similar journeys had been undertaken by 502 by N.'s grandfather Euphrasius, and several in 524 and later by his father Abram. According to Photius, the report emphasised the courage of N. in hazardous situations and contained information on the r…

[German version] A. Name A country on the middle reaches of the Nile; more precisely, the area today settled by a Nubian-speaking population: Lower Nubia from the 1st to the 2nd Nile cataract (Aswān to Wadi Halfa, Republic of Egypt) and Upper Nubia from the 2nd to the 4th cataract (Wadi Halfa to Meroe, northern Sudan). In a culturally and historically understood sense, Nubia also includes the land as far as the 6th cataract and around Khartoum (central Sudan). Besides the general term t-stj for the country, recorded from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3000 BC), the Egyptian la…

[German version] [1] C. Mother of Avidius Cassius Wife of Avidius Heliodorus, mother of Avidius Cassius [1. 217]. Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [2] C. Marciana Wife of senator Wife of a senator, relative of Cassius Apronianus (I. Eph. 3, 710B; Raepsaet-Charlier no. 197). Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [3] C. Paterna Wife of Iulius [II 18] Asper Wife of Iulius Asper, cos. II AD 212 (PIR2 C 529). Eck, Werner (Cologne) Bibliography 1 Syme, SHA-Coll., 1987. [German version] [4] C. Byzantine poet and abbess, died c. AD 800/805 (also Cassiane and Eicasia). Byzantine poet a…

I. Political [German version] A. Definition In Late Antiquity, the term patrocinium referred to relationships of protection and dependence, especially in rural areas, in which the coloni or small farmers placed themselves under the protection of powerful office holders or the owners of large private landholdings. The patrocinium was primarily directed against the imperial administration, particularly against the tax collectors; the rural population sought to escape the obligation of paying taxes through the patrocinium. In modern scholarship, the patrocinium is frequently…

This item can be found on the following maps: Writing | Theatre | Byzantium | Christianity | | Dark Ages | Ionic | Natural catastrophes | Oracles | Pergamum | Athletes | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture | Mineral Resources ( Zmyrna; Σμύρνα/ Smýrna, Σμύρνη/ Smýrnē, Ζμύρνα/ Zmýrna, Ζμύρνη/ Zmýrnē). City in Aeolis, modern İzmir. [German version] I. Early times to Hellenistic Period On a hill near Bayraklı north of the Gulf of İzmir, settled since the 3rd millennium, the Aioleis settled late in the 11th cent. BC (mud brick houses). In c. 700 BC (?) the Iones from Colophon took…

This item can be found on the following maps: Caesar | | Etrusci, Etruria | Commerce | Italy, languages | Regio, regiones | Rome | Rome | Batavian Revolt Harbour city in the territory of the Boii on the Ionios Kolpos (Adriatic). [German version] I. Foundation and Roman Period According to myth, R. was founded by Thessalians (Zos. 5,27); however, it was actually founded by Umbri in the 6th-5th cents. BC (Str. 5,1,2; 5,1,11; 5,2,1: Ῥάυεννα/ Rháuenna). The character of R.'s topography includes its proximity to the sea and protection by the natural geographic conditions - s…

(Νικηφόρος; Nikēphóros). [German version] [1] Patriarch of Constantinople, died 828 Patriarch. N. was born around AD 750 or 758 in Constantinople; he embarked on a magistrate's career at the imperial court which he represented in 787 at the Council of Nicaea. Around 797 he became a monk and ran a poorhouse in Constantinople. In 806 he was appointed patriarch of Constantinople and failed to end the so-called ‘Moechian controversy’ between Theodoros Studites and the government. In 815 he had to resign at th…

[German version] [1] Byz. general under Justin I Son of a sister of Justin I, cousin of Justinian I, Byzantine general, as magister militum per Thracias under Justin I he conquered the people of the Anti who had invaded the Empire from the lower Danube. As patricius and primus magister militum praesentalis, he successfully combated the military revolt of Stotzas in North Africa in 536-537, on the orders of Justinian I. In a deployment in 540 against the first assault by Chosroes [5] I after the ‘eternal peace’ of 532, a shortage of troops preven…

(Κίλικες, Κιλικία; Kílikes, Kilikía). [German version] I. Cilices a) Tribe mentioned in Homer (Hom. Il. 6,397; 415; cf. Str. 13,1,7; 60), who settled in the southern Troad. b) The inhabitants of the region of Cilicia. The relationship between the two is not clear. Täuber, Hans (Vienna) [German version] II. Cilicia The name first appears around 858 BC in Assyrian sources as H̬ilakku; however, in these it only refers to the mountainous part of the region, where the Greeks first visited. An eponymous hero named Cilix appears in the mythological literature (e…

(Θεοφύλακτος; Theophýlaktos). [German version] [1] T. Simocatta Byzantine historian, 7th cent. (Θ. Σιμοκάτης; Th. Simokátēs). Byzantine historian, born in Egypt, jurist and high official in Constantinople under the emperor Heraclius [7] (610-641). The family name Simokates is not recorded prior to the Suda, the spelling with -tt- is modern. Author of a 'General History' (οἰκουμενικὴ ἱστορία/ oikoumenikḕ historía, 8 bks), designed as a continuation of Menander [13] Protector, on the reign of the emperor Mauricius (582-602) with a look back to the time …

(Συμεών; Symeṓn). [German version] [1] Monk and priest, 4th cent. AD Macarius the Egyptian (Μακάριος/ Makários). Born around the year AD 300, Macarius lived from c. AD 330 - c. 390 as a monk and priest in the Scetic desert (Egypt). The accounts of his life (Rufinus, Historia monachorum 21; Pall. Laus. 17) describe his immaculate ascetism and his miracles. The later hagiographic tradition has developed this into a vita. Except for a number of oral sayings ( Apophthegmata patrum) none of Macarius' pronouncements have been handed down; a letter attributed to him may well be a…

(Καππαδοκία; Kappadokía). Region and kingdom in Asia Minor [German version] A. Geography and population C. (Str. 12,1f.) extends from the Taurus to the Black Sea coast; its western border to Paphlagonia and Phrygia, later also to Galatia, is at the Halys (and Lake Tatta); in the south-west, it borders on Lycaonia, in the east on Colchis, Lesser Armenia, and the upper reaches of the Euphrates, in the south on Cilicia and Commagene. The entire region is seen as an ethnic-linguistic entity, part of the Luwian-sp…

[German version] I. Greek The modern term 'panegyric' derives from πανηγυρικός ( panēgyrikós sc. λόγος/ lógos), a Greek term denoting a speech delivered during a πανήγυρις ( panḗgyris), a real or fictive 'festival', e.g. the Olympic Games. In the fictive sense →Isocrates was the first to call his fourth speech (389 BC) a Panēgyrikós (Isoc. Or. 59 and 84, 12,172; Letter 3,6; cf. Aristot. Rh. 1408b 15-17). In the broadest sense of the word, the forms of the epideictic genre ('display speech', epídeixis; → genera causarum) belong to panegyric oratory; in the rhetorical treatises of…

(Ζεύξιππος/ Zeúxippos). [German version] [1] Father of Cyclops Father of Cyclops and ancestor of the Attic hero Myrmex [1]. Börm, Henning (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Apollo and the Nymph Syllis Another Z., son of Apollo and the Nymph Syllis, successor to the emigré king Phaestus [1] of Sicyon (Paus. 7,6,7). Börm, Henning (Kiel) [German version] [3] Legendary king and founder of Byzantium Legendary king, of indeterminable period, who has been presented since the time of Iohannes Lydus [3] ( c. AD 500) as the founder of Byzantium [1. 261] and who also appears in apocalyp…

(Ἰώσηπ(π)ος; Iṓsēp(p)os, Ιώσηφ(ος); Iṓsēph(os)). From Hebrew yosep yosipyah ‘may God add (further children)’, a prevalent Jewish name in memory of the biblical patriarch Joseph (Gen. 35; 37-50), e.g. in the Herodian family. [German version] [1] Uncle and brother-in-law of Herod [1] the Gr. Uncle and brother-in-law of  Herod [1]  the Great (Jos. Ant. Iud. 15,65; 81). He acted as his deputy for the duration of Herod's journey to M.  Antonius [I 9] in 34 BC. He became involved in the intrigues surrounding Queen  Mariamme, his wife Salome pr…

(Καλλίν(ε)ικος; Kallín(e)ikos: ‘The noble victor’). [German version] [1] Epithet of Heracles Epithet of  Heracles (Eur. Herc. 582; Aristid. Or. 40.15; OGIS 53; Iscrizioni di Cos ED 180,28ff.; SEG 28.616), according to Archil. fr. 324 IEG in a hymn used as a victory song in Olympia (Pind. Ol. 9,1ff. with schol.; according to schol. Aristoph. Av. 1764 composed in Paros: cf. IG XII5, 234); probably first used for Heracles as a victorious warrior (cf. the aetiologic myth in Apollod. 2.135), later often in an apotropaic epigram (Preger, Inscr. Graecae metricae 213; EpGr 1138). Willi, Andrea…

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Caesar | Christianity | Xenophon | | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Oracles | Pergamum | Persian Wars | Athletes | Education / Culture (Πέργαμον, ἡ Πέργαμος; Pérgamon, hē Pérgamos). [German version] I. Location City in Mysia, modern Bergama (at the foot of the ancient acropolis, partially on the remains of P.), in western Turkey, 110 km north of İzmir, c. 30 km from the coast at the edge of the plain of the Caïcus [1], modern Bakır Cayı. The ancient settlement was located on a 300-m high mountain ridge, surro…

I. The Greek hymnos [German version] A. Cult hymns Although Greek hýmnos (ὕμνος) in the early stage generally means ‘song’, with an epic song or Pindaric  epinikion being equally called ‘hymn’, the specification of the term as ‘song for a god’ is found at the latest in the 5th/4th cents. BC (Pl. Resp. 10,607a: ὕμνους θεοῖς καὶ ἐγκώμια τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς: ‘Hymns for gods and praise for outstanding people’; Pl. Leg. 700b 1-2: εὐχαὶ πρὸς θεούς, ὄνομα δὲ ὕμνοι ἐπεκαλοῦντο) [1]. Hymnos becomes the general term for ‘religious song’, to which belong forms of song allocated to individual…

(Προκόπιος/ Prokópios). [German version] [1] Usurper, AD 365-366 Usurper, AD 365-366 Usurper in AD 365-366. He was born in 326 in Corycus (Them. Or. 7,86c; cf. Amm. Marc. 26,9,11) and was a relative of the emperor Iulianus [11] (Amm. Marc. 23,3,2). In 358 he was a delegate to Persia with the rank of a tribunus (Amm. Marc. 17,14,3), later he held a high position at the schola notariorum (Amm. Marc. 26,6,1). During Julian’s Persian campaign, he commanded a division as a comes (Amm. Marc. 23,3,5). After Julian's death (363) he retired to private life (Zos.…

(Θεσσαλονίκη/ Thessaloníkē). [German version] [1] City in Thessalia This item can be found on the following maps: Thraci, Thracia | Caesar | Christianity | | Coloniae | Diadochi and Epigoni | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Limes | Macedonia, Macedones | Macedonia, Macedones | Pilgrimage | Pompeius | Punic Wars | Rome | Rome (Latin Thessalonica, -nice; today also T.) Errington, Robert Malcolm (Marburg/Lahn) [German version] I. Location, Classical Period City on the Thermaic Gulf (Thermaios Kolpos) with a favourable natural harbour and best connections with the hin…

[German version] [1] Bishop of Laodicea Bishop of  Laodicea (died c. AD 360). The Alexandrine presbyter G., dismissed by his local bishop Alexander in c. 320 because of his radical  Arianism, became bishop of Syrian Laodicea c. 330 following his stay in Antioch. In persistent animosity to  Athanasius, he and Basilius of Ancyra gathered the Trinitarian Church Party of the Homoeousians (slogan: ‘The father resembles the son in essence’ ὅμοιος κατ' οὐσίαν) in 358/9. Also, he played a role in drafting the 4th Sirman Creed (22 May 359)…

(Θεοφάνης/ Theophánēs). [German version] [1] T. of Mytilene Close confidant and historiographer of Pompey (Pompeius [I 3]). As a recently-discovered inscription [1. 377-383] shows, T., the son of Hieroitas, was already active as prytanis at Mytilene (FGrH 188 T 1) before making the acquaintance of Pompey, whom he accompanied on the campaign against Mithridates [6] in 67 BC (T 2). He received Roman citizenship from Pompey in 62 BC (cf. Cic. Arch. 24 = T 3a) at an army gathering, and he therefore appears in IG XII 2, 150 as Cn. Po…

(* Mlk =‘ king; Greek Μάλκος, Málkos; Latin Malchus, Maleus, Mazeus). [German version] [1] Carthaginian, father of Carthalo Carthaginian, father of Carthalo [1]. Historicity and interpretation of the only source text concerning M. as first historically tangible personality of Carthage in Iustin (18,7; cf. Oros. 4,6,6-9) are frequently and vehemently contested to the present day, beginning with the titular character of his name and his place in the chronology of the (early?) 6th cent. BC. M. is supposed to have fo…

[German version] I. Definition The term ‘novels’ and ‘romance’ are not ancient, but the latter dates from the Middle Ages, when it denoted a work written in the Romance vernacular. There was no specific term for the genre in Antiquity ( drâma was common in Greek [1], fabula, in Latin, Apul. Met. 1.1, or argumentum, Macrob. Sat. In Somn. 1,2,8). Fusillo, Massimo (L'Aquila) II. Greek [German version] A. Overview and development of the genre In Greek literature, ‘novel’ denotes a series of texts of fiction, in prose, linked through two basic thematic features (love and a…

[German version] Cyprus [3] The island was incorporated into Roman possessions in 58 BC and remained part of the province of Cilicia until 48/47 BC. It was returned to the Ptolemaic kingdom by Caesar and Antony, and came permanently into Roman possession from 30 BC. As a province in its own rights, it was initially administered by a legatus, then from 22 BC by the Senate through an annually appointed procurator; following Diocletian's reorganization of the provinces, it was placed under the administration of the consularis of the dioecesis Oriens in Antioch [1] . After the initial f…

Lammel, Hans-Uwe I. The Concept of Nature (physis/natura) (CT) [German version] A. Antiquity (CT) By assuming the early Greek definition of essential being as 'being-that-has-become' [41; 19; 33; 55; 52], Aristotle had given precise expression to Greek physis, which he conceived of as the becoming and essence of all existing matter that contains the origin of its motion within itself (Metaph. Δ 4). In addition to the material substrate, from which becoming was perceived as proceeding, the notions of shape and form ( morphḗ and eídos) appeared as the goal ( télos) of natural becoming,…

[German version] I Greek (Θεοδόσιος/ Theodósios). [German version] [I 1] Greek mathematician and astronomer, 2nd/1st cent. BC Greek mathematician and astronomer. Folkerts, Menso (Munich) [German version] I. Life and works According to Str. 12,4,9, T. was one of the most important men in Bithynia; the birthplace Tripoli given in the Suda (s. v. Θ.) may relate to another T. As Strabo also names T.’ sons as important mathematicians, T. must belong in the 2nd half of the 2nd cent. BC, or, at the latest, the 1st half of the 1st. …

(Μιχαήλ/ Michaḗl; Mîkāēl). [German version] [1] Archangel Archangel, [1] One of the most prominent angels (cf. the description archistratēgós, ‘supreme commander’ of the heavenly host, Joseph of Aseneth 14,8, cf. Slavonic Hen 22,5; 33,10), one of the seven (Ethiopic Hen 20,5) or four (Ethiopic Hen 9,1; 10,11) archangels (cf. [1]). The name means ‘who is like God’ or ‘who is victorious like God’. M., who was first mentioned in the ‘Book of Watchers (Ethiopic Hen 1-36, end of the 4th/beginning of the 2nd cent. BC)…

Name of an old patrician family. The tribus Sergia was named after it. The family is attested to have attained consulship in the 5th cent. BC (S. [I 5]) but did not achieve lasting importance in the historical period. The attempt of its best-known member, L.S. Catilina, to attain the consulship once more failed with the Catilinarian Conspiracy. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] S., M. The brother of L.S. Catilina (?) According to Plutarch (Sulla 32,3; Cicero 10,3), the brother of L.S. Catilina, killed by him in 81 and posthumously put on the proscriptions…

(Νίκαια; Níkaia). [German version] [1] Naiad Naiad, daughter of the Phrygian river god Sangarius and the goddess Cybele. As a huntress, N. spurns love and remains a virgin. In Memnon of Heracleia, she does not yield to Dionysus and so he resorts to a ruse and turns into wine the spring from which N. is accustomed to drinking. She becomes drunk and falls asleep. Dionysus overpowers her in her sleep and fathers with her 'satyrs and others' (Memnon FGrH 434 F 41, 8f.). In Nonnus, Dion. 15,169-16,405, the…

[German version] I. General Literary communication is communication by means of texts - stabilized, coherent and substantial statements. These may be written or eventually put down in writing, but they may also remain oral ( Literacy). Since for earlier societies as a rule only written texts can be studied, the term ‘literature’ focusses on such sedimented media of literary communication. Nevertheless, particularly for ancient societies the mainly oral character of literary communication must be emp…

(Στέφανος; Stéphanos). [German version] [1] Athenian politician, 4th cent. BC Athenian, son of Antidorides from the deme Eroiadai (Syll.3 205 = IG II/III2 213 = Tod 168: request to renew friendship and alliance with Mytilene in the spring of 346 BC), as prosecutor and politician aligned with Callistratus [2]. The allegation by Apollodorus [1] that S. had attempted to pass off the children of (his children by?) his common-law spouse, Neaera [6], a former hetaera from Corinth, as his own children from a legitimate marr…

(Μένανδρος; Ménandros). [German version] [1] Joint strategos with Nicias, 414 BC The Athenians M. and Euthydemus [1], who were already in Sicily, were chosen as joint strategoi of Nicias towards the end of 414 BC, during the Sicilian Expedition, to support him until the relief expedition of Demosthenes [1] arrived (413) (Thucyd. 7,16,1; Plut. Nicias 20,2); re-elected 413/12 (Plut. Nicias 20,6-8; Thucyd. 7,69,4; Diod. 13, 13,2). Possibly identical with the M. who fought in Abydus in 409 (Xen. Hell. 1,2,16). He was stratēgós with Tydeus (405/4) in the defeat at Aigos potamoi (X…

(Λέων; Léōn). Cf. also Leo. Byzantine emperor Leo [4-9]. Sicilian place name L. [13]. [German version] [1] Spartan king, 6th cent. BC Spartan king, Agiad ( Agiads), grandfather of Cleomenes [3] I (Hdt. 5,39); is said to have been successful in war together with his fellow king Agasicles in the early 6th cent. BC, but to have been defeated by Tegea (Hdt. 1,65). Sparta is said to have already achieved eunomía (‘good order’) before his time [1. 45ff.]. Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum) Bibliography 1 M. Meier, Aristokraten und Damoden, 1998. [German version] [2] Tyrant of Phlius, 6th cent. BC Tyran…

see Iulius [IV 15] (poet); see Iulius [IV 16] (jurist) [German version] I Greek (Παῦλος; Paûlos). [German version] [I 1] Bishop of Antioch [1], died after 272 Bishop of Antiochia [1] († after AD 272). P., who was probably born in Samosata and grew up in modest circumstances, succeeded Demetrianus in 260/1 and quickly antagonized influential parts of the Antioch community with his teachings and conduct of his office. According to Eusebius [7] (account of P.: Eus. HE 7,27-30), the presbyter Malchion, head of a school of r…

(Ἰωάννης; Iōánnēs). Well-known persons i.a.: I. [1] the Evangelist, I. [4] Chrysostomos, bishop of Constantinople and Homilet, I. [18] Malalas, author of the world chronicle, I. [25] of Gaza, rhetor and poet, I. [33] of Damascus, the theologian, I. [39] Baptistes. [1] I. the Evangelist [German version] A. Tradition and criticism According to the inscriptions, the author of a  Gospel (Jo), of three letters and the Apocalypse in the NT is called I. (= J.; the name appears only in Apc. 1:1; 1:4; 1:9; 22:8). Since the end of the 2nd cent. (Iren. adv…

[German version] I Greek (Θεόδωρος; Theódōros). [German version] [I 1] Of Samos, Greek architect, bronze sculptor and inventor, Archaic period Multitalented Greek inventor, architect, bronze sculptor and metal worker ( toreutḗs; Toreutics) of the Archaic period from Samos (for the occupational image cf. architect). His father was Telecles (Hdt. 3,41; Paus. 8,14,8; 10,38,6) or according to other sources (Diog. Laert. 2,103; Diod. Sic. 1,98) Rhoecus [3]; his name is so frequently mentioned in conjunction with the latter that …