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[English version] As an ancient high culture, China possesses not a few of its own ‘classical’ models in the plastic arts, literature and philosophy. Classical Antiquity of the West, a thousand-years younger, is of restricted interest in China only because of its standing overseas. There were indeed occasional contacts in Antiquity between the Roman Empire and China; in particular, the Silk Road provided opportunities for commercial and cultural exchange, so that in Xian, e.g., Nestorian Christianity is attested epigraphically. But these …

[German version] A. Term and Concept Even though utopian ideas were certainly current in Classical Antiquity, it was not until the Humanist era (Humanism) that the concept actually received its current name, namely as the title of the book that today is the most famous of all books written in Neo-Latin, the Utopia of Thomas More (1516). The word 'Utopia' has a threefold meaning today: a) the work by More; b) a genre of novel that sprang from More's original work; c) an experimental figure of thought contained in such novels that counteracts and t…

[German version] A distinction must be made between the two types of literature of exile: texts describing the fate of exiles or refugees and those written by exiles themselves, which detail their experiences and feelings. Examples of the first category are  Odysseus,  Aeneas, and  Oedipus and the second  Cicero,  Ovidius, and  Seneca. In Homer's epics, the subject is addressed (Hom. Il. 9,648) and reflected on (Od. 15,343-5), as it is in early Greek lyric poetry (i.a. Tyrtaeus fr. 6 D = Hor. Carm. 3,2,13; Alc. 24 D; Thgn. 1197-1202 = Verg. Ecl. 1,70 f.). The locus classicus is Eur. Pho…

[English version] Zu unterscheiden sind zwei Arten der E.: Texte, die Verbannten- oder Flüchtlingsschicksale beschreiben, und solche, die von Exilierten selbst verf. sind und ihre Erfahrungen und Empfindungen deutlich werden lassen. Im ersten Falle sind bes. Odysseus, Aineias, Oidipus anzuführen, im zweiten Cicero, Ovid, Seneca. Schon in Homers Epen wird das Thema angesprochen (Hom. Il. 9,648) und darüber reflektiert (Od. 15,343-5), ebenso in der frühgriech. Lyrik (u.a. Tyrtaios fr. 6 D = Hor. carm. 3,2,13; Alk. 24 D; Thgn. 1197-1202 = Verg. ecl. 1,70 f.). Als locus classicus g…

Name einer schon im 5. Jh. v.Chr. erloschenen patrizischen gens. Spätere Träger des Namens verdanken ihn der Provenienz aus der nach dieser gens benannten Tribus. [English version] [1] Horatii Gensmitglieder der Horatier (Königszeit). Der Sage nach (Liv. 1,24-26; Dion. Hal. ant. 3,13,4-22,10) entschied unter König Tullus Hostilius [I 4] ein Kampf der Drillinge der Horatier gegen die Drillinge der Curiatier statt einer Schlacht den Streit zwischen Rom und Alba Longa. Nachdem zwei Brüder gefallen waren, überwand der letzte H. s…

Name of a patrician gens which had already died out in the 5th cent. BC. Later bearers of the name owe it to the provenance from the eponymous tribus. [German version] [1] Horatii Member of the Horatius gens (Royal period). According to legend (Liv. 1,24-26; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 3,13,4-22,10), under King Tullus  Hostilius [I 4], the conflict between Rome and  Alba Longa was decided by a fight between the Horatii triplets and the Curiatii triplets rather than a battle. After two brothers had fallen, the last H. overcame his opponent…