Volume 6, Issue 1

This essay argues that the motifs of divine vengeance present in the Histories reflect a conscious, considered theory of divine action. This theory is defined by Herodotus’ empirical methodology and his lack of poetic revelation or other claimed insight into the nature and motivations of divinity. For Herodotus, divinity possesses a basically regulatory role in the cosmos, ensuring that history follows certain consistent patterns. One such pattern is vengeance, by which a large-scale balance of reciprocity is maintained in human events through human and divine acts of repayment. This theory underlies Herodotus’ historical project, reinforcing his general skepticism about human knowledge and power and making possible his universalizing approach to historical narrative.

Locri Epizephiri, a city-state on the Ionian Sea, established settlements on the Tyrrhenian coast and routes across the peninsula of Calabria. Although some scholars have questioned the importance of land routes over the peninsula, this study indicates these itineraries were vital, particularly during the Classical period when Locri came into conflict with Rhegium, master of the Straits of Messina. This study examines Locri’s struggles for supremacy of the Tyrrhenian coast and investigates the major routes in Locri’s territory between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Much evidence for the itineraries is from the authors’ explorations on the ground in Calabria.

Livy’s first pentad of Ab Urbe Condita begins and ends with the founding and refounding of the city. Both are achieved first through violence and then through the establishment and re-establishment of religious authority and the restoration of Rome’s relationship with its gods. This article examines the connection Livy makes between Numa and Camillus and the place of religion within the refoundation narratives. The religious topography of Rome is essential to Camillus’ argument for the Romans to remain in the city following the Gallic sack. By citing particular priesthoods, the flamen Dialis and the Vestal Virgins in particular, both of which were established or developed by Numa, Livy not only constructs Camillus as a new Numa but also promotes these priesthoods as monumenta . Camillus’ speech forges direct connections between Rome’s conditores, the topography of the city, the devotion to its gods, and the city’s continued glory.

The early Augustan Age witnessed an increase in building activities and overall interest in mainland Greece which has primarily been understood from the perspective of Roman appropriation of Greek culture, or from that of local Greek independence and “re-Hellenization.” Taking late Republican Athens as an extensive case study, this article shows that, when moving beyond either a top-down or bottom-up vision, developments in the late Republican and early Augustan Age can be properly contextualized as being part of a continuous strategy of Roman leaders and the Athenian elite to negotiate power and influence within a shared field of references.

This paper seeks to challenge the long-standing interpretation of the ius vitae necisque as a formal legal right of Roman fathers. It offers a review and critique of the evidence upon which the claim of ancient origin is founded and highlights the consequent problems in comprehending late Republican and Imperial references to the killing of sons by fathers. An alternative and more satisfactory understanding is to be found in sociological thinking and it is argued that the comprehension of the ius vitae necisque as a formal right is not only invalid but obscures the real significance of its promotion as a political phenomenon in the age of Augustus and the early emperors of Rome.

Scholars of Late Antiquity have explored rhetorical constructions of the Christian life from many different angles, yet they have not done so in the context of public bathing culture. This article explores the polyvalent ways in which baths and bathing culture were used in rhetorical constructions of the Christian life in Late Antiquity, and how, in turn, this discourse structured Christian communities ideologically and affected the attitudes and practices of the laity. Since bathing culture was intimately associated with the Roman body, self, and personal appearance, it was implicated in rigorist Christian discourse quite commonly. Ultimately, this article demonstrates that Late Antique Christians, especially rigorists, wrote about baths and bathing because it was an important element in constructing a framework for an idealized Christian life and maintaining meaningful divisions within the Christian oikoumene based on ascetic practices and spirituality. But these writings should not be taken as an accurate reflection of social practice or mentalities concerning bathing in Late Antiquity, although certain changes, which reflect the importance of the ideal among the laity, are notable. In the end, Late Antique Christians emerge here as quite Roman in the manner in which they cared for their bodies, personal appearance, and health. And public bathing culture allows us to glimpse the rich social mosaic of Late Antiquity vividly.