bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Arts Integration to Foster Effective Reading Comprehension Skills at the High School Level
Authors: Javeria Siraj  , Lubna Farhan Ali  , Dr. Sarwat Nauman
Published: February 2025

This study investigates the effectiveness of arts integration in improving reading comprehension among high school students in Pakistan, particularly in English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) contexts. It employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative needs analysis with qualitative feedback from three intervention cycles. These cycles utilized various arts integration strategies, such as narrative essay illustration, expository essay doodling and semantic mapping, and novel-based arts activities. Data collection included pre-and post-intervention questionnaires, diagnostic assessments, and reflective sessions. Findings reveal significant improvements in students' reading comprehension, memory retention, and motivation. Students reported better understanding, recall, and enjoyment of learning through arts-integrated activities. The study contributes to the literature on arts integration in language education and offers recommendations for curriculum design, teacher training, assessment practices, and community engagement to support and expand arts integration in education.
Family Dynamics and Disordered Eating: Development and Validation of a Clinical Evaluation Scale
Authors: Wajeeha Kamran  , Muneeba Shakil
Published: February 2025

This study presents the validation and development of a clinical evaluation scale to explore the connection between family dynamics or patterns of disordered eating behaviors. A sample of 400 individuals (200 men, 200 women) aged 16 to 25 years suffering from different disordered eating patterns selected for this study using purposive sampling. The development process of scale involved five stages: Stage 1: Domain Identification and Item Generation, where interviews conducted with 12 individuals (6 men, 6 women) with disordered eating from Lahore, Pakistan. Stage 2: Content Expert Validation, where five clinical psychologists evaluated the developed therapeutic assessment tool in terms of the items' clarity. Stage 3: Pilot Testing in which scale administered to 50 individuals (25 men, 25 women) to ensure that all the items in the scale are culturally appropriate, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha of .80. Stage 4: Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was administered to a sample of 400 (200 men and 200 women) individuals, confirming a KMO value of 0.69. EFA resulted in a 19-item scale divided into three factors: “Parental Authority and Emotional Distance”, “Body Image Concerns and Eating Habits” and “Negative Feedback and Disordered Eating”. Stage 5: Reliability and Validity Assessment where scale demonstrated test-retest reliability (0.967**). Convergent validity of the scale was assessed with the three-factor eating questionnaire (0.746**). Discriminant validity of the scale was assessed with the Multidimensional scale of Perceived Social Support (0.031). The scale demonstrated robust psychometric properties, providing a reliable tool for clinical and research applications.
Trauma, Identity, and Isolation: Exploring the Psychological Effect of Patriarchy on Evie Porter in First Lie Wins by Ashley Eston
Authors: Ayesha Amjad  , Fatima Butt  , Fakhra  , Samra Maqbool
Published: February 2025

This study examines the psychological and emotional impact of patriarchal structures on women, focusing on the character Evie Porter in Ashley Eston’s First Lie Wins. The research explores the relationship between gender, trauma, and identity crisis, investigating how societal dominance and gender-based mistreatment contribute to mental disturbance and isolation in women. Through a textual analysis, the study highlights the emotional and psychological consequences of living in a male-dominated society, particularly the effects of societal expectations and gendered treatment on women’s well-being. Cathy Caruth's trauma theory frames the research, offering a lens to comprehend the psychological scars left by oppression. This descriptive qualitative study emphasizes how identity transformation, driven by patriarchal pressures, exacerbates Evie’s trauma, leading her trauma by adopting the role of a con artist—societally condemned yet shaped by her experiences. The findings underline the detrimental effects of gender inequality on women’s mental health, shedding light on the complexities of self-perception and identity within a patriarchal context. In conclusion, the study suggests that patriarchal systems significantly shape Evie’s psychological health and identity, with far-reaching consequences for her sense of self. This research offers insight into the long-lasting impact of societal gender norms on women’s mental and emotional well-being.
Unlocking Project Success: The Synergistic Effects of Project Management Maturity Matrix, Governance, and Top Management Support
Authors: Waseem Haider  , Naseebullah  , Dr. Noor Ahmed  , Salman Ali Khan
Published: February 2025

This study looks at the impact of organizational project management maturity on project success, using project governance as a mediator and top management support as a moderator. The research focuses on project-based enterprises that have formed project management offices. A standardized questionnaire was used to gather data from 250 to 275 participants, which included project managers and PMO workers. Using correlation and regression analysis, the findings show a substantial positive association between project management maturity and project success, with project governance serving as a critical mediating factor. While top management support has a less moderating effect, it nevertheless improves the link between maturity and success. The research is constrained by its geographic concentration on Islamabad, Pakistan, which may introduce location-based bias. According to the results, firms should emphasize improving their project management maturity and assuring strong top management support to optimize project success. Additionally, project managers should strive to build governance structures with each project to increase organizational maturity. This study provides new insights into the joint impacts of project management maturity, governance, and leadership support on project results.
Prevalance of HIV in Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition Admitted in Children Hospital PIMS
Authors: Tehmina Zahid  , Nighat Haider  , Tujza Tahir  , Rashiqa Saadat  , Awais Tahir  , Alia Halim
Published: February 2025

Background: Malnutrition contributes to about half of the mortality in children. HIV infection in children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a major health concern, especially in areas where both illnesses are prevalent. HIV and malnutrition have a synergistic effect on the immune system and general health, increasing risk of death and major complications. Our study focuses on finding prevalence of HIV infection in children admitted with severe acute malnutrition in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Methodology: After taking informed consent from parents/guardians 140 children aged 6month to 5 years admitted with SAM were enrolled. After counselling of parents regarding HIV testing and written consent patients were tested for HIV via rapid HIV antibody test. If a child was found to be positive for HIV their parents were tested for HIV and the child registered in HIV center for management. The demographic data, HIV test results and anthropometric measurements of patients were entered in a preformed performa and data analyzed using SPSS 27. Results: In our study, 6 patients (4.3%) out of the 140 children admitted with severe acute malnutrition, had HIV. All SAM patients with HIV had a vertical HIV transmission pathway. Compared to the overall HIV incidence in Pakistan, the prevalence of HIV among children with SAM is significantly higher. Conclusion: Children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition are far more likely to be HIV-positive, this necessitates routine HIV screening.
MIS SANOATI SHLAKLARINI QAYTA ISHLASHDA ZAMONAVIY TADQIQOTLAR SHARHI (TAHLIL)
Authors: Turdiyeva Aziza Yoqubqizi , Norxudjayev Fayzulla Ramazonovich
Published: February 2025

Based on the requirements of today's industrialized world, many metallurgical plants have established the processing of secondary raw materials. This can be attributed to low ore reserves and the environmental disaster caused by waste from metallurgical enterprises. The most effective way to rationally use and conserve underground reserves is to intensify the use of mining and metallurgical industry waste. JSC “Almalyk MMC” is one of the largest industrial enterprises of the Republic of Uzbekistan, where a total of 500 thousand tons of copper slags are formed annually from industrial processes. Usually, copper slags contain approximately 32-37% iron and 0.5-1.5% copper, which indicates that it is a valuable secondary source for processing. Thus, due to the rational use of copper slags and growing environmental concern, the development of appropriate technology for the comprehensive use of copper slags, characterized as hazardous materials, is very relevant today.
Some Observations on the Structure of Euripides’ Troades
Authors: Meridor Ra'anana
Published: February 2025

Euripides’ Troades has been criticized for its piecemeal structure since all three episodes arise from the play’s opening and develop independently. This article demonstrates the unity that nonetheless underlies the various sections of the play. There is a consistent progression in the characters and the order of their appearance in relation to Hecuba, who is continually on stage. Astyanax’s burial towards the end of the play which comes in the wake of earlier allusions is another unifying factor, while visual tableaux found at the opening of each major section of the play repeatedly portray the disruption of civilized life. Although the Trojans are responsible for their plight, Euripides presents the Trojan women as deserving the utmost pity.
Euenus of Ascalon
Authors: Geiger Joseph
Published: February 2025

GP contains eleven epigrams attributed to a poet or poets named Euenus; nine of these were preserved in AP, two additional ones in API only. They are all in distichs and amount altogether to forty-six lines. One of the poems is assigned to Euenus of Ascalon, one to Euenus of Sicily, one to Euenus of Athens and one to Euenus the grammaticus, in the rest the name appears without further qualifi­cation. It is the purpose of the present paper to investigate which poems and what characteristics are attributable to Euenus of Ascalon. Euenus is one of the thirteen named poets in the Proem of Philip. This in itself should create a very strong presumption in favour of the view that most, or all, of the epigrams ascribed to Euenus are the work of one poet. A discussion of some of the features of the poems will strengthen this presumption and suggest that in all probability this poet was Euenus of Ascalon. Like other poets in the Anthology, Euenus may well have written with varying success in a very wide range of styles. On the present evidence it seems not implausible that most, and perhaps all, the epigrams of Euenus in the Anthology were written by a poet from Ascalon, perhaps a grammaticus who possibly also emigrated to Athens and some of whose poetic antecedents and linguistic pe­culiarities are still recognizable.
Calendaric Implications of a Fourth-Century Jewish Inscription from Sicily
Authors: Wasserstein Abraham
Published: February 2025

This article discusses a problem arising from the date apparently inscribed on a fourth-century tombstone from Catania erected by a local Jew. This problem has implications for the history of the Jewish calendar.
On Josephus’ Use of Nicolaus of Damascus: A Stylometric Analysis of BJ 1.225-273 and AJ 14.280-369
Authors: Williams David S.
Published: February 2025

In 1989/90 in this journal (SCI 10: 120-129), D. R. Schwartz offered a theory concerning Josephus’ use of Nicolaus of Damascus as a source for the parallel narratives, BJ 1.225-273 and AJ 14.280-369. Schwartz maintained that in the former passage Jose­phus deviates from Nicolaus but in the latter more or less faithfully reproduces Nicolaus. The present paper evaluates Schwartz’s theory, using stylometry—the numerical study of literary style. The stylometric evidence examined in this paper—analysis of marker words that characterize the differing styles of Josephus and Nicolaus--offers general support for Schwartz’s position: AJ 14.280-369 seems to stand closer to Nicolaus' style than does BJ1.225-273. There is no stylometric evidence, however, that AJ 14.280-369  was copied more or less directly from Nicolaus. Rather, given the evidence of the marker groups, extensive rewriting apparently took place to the level of skeletal sentence structure. This result coheres with previous evidence that Josephus’ practice was to rewrite or rework his sources, not to simply copy them.
Εἷς θεóς in Palestinian Inscriptions
Authors: Di Segni Leah
Published: February 2025

The acclamation εἷς θεός in inscriptions, alone or in composition with μάνος, ὁ βοηθῶν or other formulas, is commonly viewed as evidence of the Christian identity of the writer, even in the absence of any support and sometimes even in the face of contrary indications. While this is true in the case of late antique inscriptions in Egypt and in most cases also in Syria, where the acclamation is often accompanied by crosses, an examination of the examples in Palestinian inscriptions shows that the early use of this acclamation belongs in pagan monotheism, and in Late Antiquity most of the finds (many of them unfortunately still unpublished) come from Samaritan holy places or from a Samaritan milieu. An analytical table of the evidence is attached.
Greek Inscription Mentioning ΣΥΚΑΜΙΜΩΝ Discovered off the Carmel Coast
Authors: Ullmann Lisa , Galili Ehud
Published: February 2025

In the winter of 1985-6, underwater survey was carried out in the north bay of Atlit. A hoard of metal artefacts, stuck together was discovered at a depth of 2.5 m, close to the coastline. It contains several items including a set of four wooden tools; a bronze figurine of a woman within a metal frame; a bronze chain and an unidentified bronze artefact bearing an inscription on both sides. This last object is 40 cm long, 15 cm wide and 1 cm thick, with a rectangular base that is wider and thicker. In the centre of the base is a hole probably intended for attaching or mounting the object. The object bears an inscription which reads, on one side [ïn]EPCOOTEPIAÇ (= ὺπὲρ σωτηρἰας), preceded by a lulav, shofar and menorah; and on the other side CYKAMIN(jO[N] (= Συκαμινων), followed by a lulav. According to the archaeological context, the artefacts in the hoard were probably taken from Shiqmona (located some 10 km to the north) after the destruction of the town in the seventh century CE and put on board ship to be used as scrap-metal, but the ship sunk while anchoring in the North Bay of Atlit.
Length of the Siege of Masada
Authors: Roth Jonathan
Published: February 2025

The siege of Masada is generally thought to have been long and arduous.  The logistical difficulties, however, would have impelled the Romans to capture the fortress as quickly as possible, and the small number of Jewish defenders could not have slowed them down significantly. Thus, the siege lasted only as long as it took to build the siege ramp, which was built over a natural spur.  Reference to historical and experimental construction rates suggest it would have taken between four and seven weeks.  This fits in with a siege beginning around March 1st and ending in the middle of April.
How Many Husbands Has Helen in the Troadesl A Note on Ε. Tro. 959-960
Authors: Meridor Ra'anana
Published: February 2025

This note rejects the authenticity of lines 959-960 in Euripides’ Troades, where Helen refers to her marriage to Deiphobus, the younger brother of Paris, after the latter has been killed. While Euripides includes in the Troades many of the events recorded in in the lost epic Iliu Persis, he rejects the tale there of Menelaus recovering Helen after killing Deiphobus and announces in his prologue that the Greek army has taken hold of Helen. This innovation - and the omission of Deiphobus - is needed in order to create suspense during the play’s agon where Helen must defend herself in front of Menelaus.
Ovid und die Musik
Authors: Von Albrecht Michael
Published: February 2025

Based on the Metamorphoses and the Art of Love, references to various genres of music and musical instruments are discussed. Further themes are the psychological, magic and pedagogical effects of music, its relevance to the domain of intellect (e.g. philosophy) and its relationship to poetry.
Origins and Objectives of Onias’ Temple
Authors: Gruen Erich S.
Published: February 2025

The temple of Onias in Leontopolis in Egypt was founded in the mid 2nd century BCE. On the usual interpretation, as presented by Josephus, it represents a schismatic foundation, a challenge to the priestly establishment in Jerusalem, and a refuge for Palestinian Jews who fled from the authority of the Hasmoneans. This article takes sharp issue with that analysis. It exposes the chronological confusions and conflicting accounts in Josephus’ works, thus questioning the reliability of his narrative. And it offers an alternative reconstruction that sees mutual support rather than competition between the temples in Jerusalem and Leontopolis.
Phaedo's Rejection of the Meno's Theory of Recollection
Authors: Weiss Roslyn
Published: February 2025

It is argued that the Phaedo’s discussion of recollection consciously draws itself away from the Meno’s, making reference to the Meno for the express and sole purpose of severing all connection to it. The Phaedo is interested in recollection only insofar as recollection and Forms provide mutual support for one another and, together, help make the case for the immortality of the soul. Yet, Socrates is not wedded to recollection in either dialogue.
Reading Platonic and Neoplatonic Notions of Mimesis with and against Martin Heidegger
Authors: Proimos Constantinos V.
Published: February 2025

Martin Heidegger’s criticism of aesthetics relies on his reading of Nietzsche and Plato. Central to this criticism is the notion of truth as representation of ideal supersensuous forms attributed to Plato’s doctrine of truth. Along with Nietzsche, Heidegger wishes to criticize positivism, the notion that all there is lies in front of our senses. Twisting free of Platonism runs the risk of falling prey to the most hard core positivism. Thus Heidegger’s twisting free of Platonism means a strong reinterpretation of Plato and an explanation of representation as imitation, namely subordinate production or unhiddeness. Heidegger proceeds to interpret truth as aletheia or unhiddeness, translating literally from ancient Greek and establishing a non representational notion of truth against the traditional concept of truth as representation. Truth as unhiddeness is a productive and useful notion that escapes the Platonic condemnation of art on behalf of truth and allows art direct access to ideal forms. This direct access of art to ideal forms has been heralded by Plotinus and it is via Plotinus rather than Plato himself, that Heidegger reinterprets Platonism.
Drama and History in Josephus’ Bellum Judaicum
Authors: Ullmann Lisa , Price Jonathan J.
Published: February 2025

The authors examine the  dramatic technique,  language  and structure of Josephus’ narrative of the fatal intrigues in Herod’s court in the Bellum Judaicum, particularly in one episode  involving the  foreigner Eurycles  which  functions  as  a kind  of self-contained  act within  the  larger  drama.  It is suggested  that  Josephus’  use  of  the  words ὑποκρίνεσθαι/  ὑποκριτὴς/  ὑπόκρισις in the whole Herodian drama, but particularly in the Eurycles episode, to mean ‘act’ as well as ‘deceive’, reflects recent developments in those  words  arising  from  changes  in  theatrical  tastes  and  histrionic  techniques  of the time. The dramatic structure and language of the Herodian domestic  narrative  involved  creative  choices  so  far-reaching  that  they  could  only  have been the product of Josephus’  own artistic decisions and control over the material; his notorious ‘assistants’ are thus pushed to the periphery.
Justus, Josephus, Agrippa II and his Coins
Authors: Kokkinos Nikos
Published: February 2025

An appendix to my book on the Herods dealt with the complex subject of the date of Agrippa II’s death. A double critique of my view by Christopher Jones and Alla Kushnir-Stein has appeared in this journal. Jones claims to be making a contribution by means of ‘Greek philology and Roman imperial prosopography’, tools presumably ‘insufficiently exploited’, and declares that while the revised edition of Schürer is out of date, my discussion is ‘questionable on many points’. So it is necessary to restate my case here. Had the numismatic model proposed by Kushnir-Stein been right, it would simply have made one aspect of my previous discussion, like that of Schürer (and of all numismatists involved), out of date — nothing more. But the model is not right as it stands, and in any case it does not affect my chronology.
provincia di Iudaea in un inedito cursus senatorio di Roma
Authors: Gregori Gian Luca
Published: February 2025

An unpublished fragment of an inscription from Rome, stored in the church of St. Saba on the Aventine, preserves the remains of the onomastic and the career of a senator who served as governor of Judaea. By comparing the little information that can be derived from our fragment  (the man was a pontifex and in all likelihood reached the consulate) with that of senators known to have served as governors of Judaea, the Author suggest identifying the honorand  with the senator from Pergamon Caius Iulius Quadratus Bassus, whose career unfolded under Trajan, and who distinguished himself during the second Dacian War, for which he received the ornamenta triumphalia in 107. Another fragment, reused in the pavement of the same church of S. Saba (CIL VI 31781, today lost) and containing the last part of a dedication to an unknown senator who likewise attained the ornamenta triumphalia, may well be part of the same inscription to which our fragment belonged. Finally, although the exact provenance of our fragment, like that of CIL VI 31781, is unknown, we can suppose that the home of the senator was located on the Aventine.
Classics in a Hot Climate
Authors: Meridor Ra'anana
Published: February 2025

A personal memoir telling of the author’s first steps in studying and then teaching Classics in Jerusalem in the 1940’s.
New Aramaic Dedicatory Inscription from Israel
Authors: Yardeni Ada , Price Jonathan J.
Published: February 2025

The authors publish a fragmentary Aramaic dedicatory inscription, probably from the region of Jericho, notable for the unusual title, resh ẓibbura, “leader of the community”. All aspects of the inscription are analyzed, including syntax and palaeography. The text can be translated as follows: ‘… which Zyyg, the son of Mari, the Head of the Community of … (Jericho? Ariach? Diran? ‘our dwelling’?), had built, and [i.e., together with] Shalti and Rabbi and his wife.’
Plato, Apology 28d6-29al and the Ephebic Oath
Authors: Finkelberg Margalit
Published: February 2025

Socrates’ words in Ap. 28d6-10 “wherever a man posts himself in the ranks, thinking that best, or is posted by a commander, there he ought, as it seems to me, to stand his ground in the face of danger, taking no account either of death or of anything else rather than of disgrace” belong to a digression that has long been recognized as the central part of Socrates’ first speech and the Apology as a whole: it is here that Socrates explains in detail the divine mission to which his entire life has been dedicated. I will argue that the words are a paraphrase of what will later become firmly attested as the ephebic oath and that the essentials of the latter are also deliberately evoked throughout the broader context of the passage. I will also argue that Plato’s association of Socrates’ obedience to his god with the behaviour of the hoplite soldier should be seen as a sophisticated rhetorical strategy meant to reach the central core of the Athenian consensus.
Patterns of Death in the Aeneid
Authors: Fulkerson Laurel
Published: February 2025

In the attempt to consider the end of the Aeneid from a different perspective, this article explores a number of its paired death-scenes: those of Lausus and Pallas, and of Mezentius and Turnus in particular, within the context of the epic as a whole.  The majority of the warriors who die young prompt some reflection, on the part of a character or the narrator, about the unfortunate nature of war.   But the death of Turnus does not, and nor does the death of Mezentius.  Other patterns, however, prevent the easy equation of the two men; Mezentius is impious, but perhaps redeemed, but the moral state of Turnus is left unclear.  So too, the death of Turnus bears similarities to that of Camilla, to Lausus and Pallas, and to Dido, insofar as he is young and the poem always finds the death of young people regrettable.  The end of the poem, therefore, is deliberately ambiguous, illustrating some of the regrettable necessities of war.
The Burial of the Missing Victims of Maritime Disasters: Fact and Fiction in Euripides’ Helen
Authors: Haussker Fayah
Published: February 2025

This paper explores the distinctive sea burial ceremony portrayed in Euripides' Helen for a shipwrecked individual, a nauagos, whose body was never recovered. The research aims to determine whether Euripides' fictional dramatic account accurately reflects the burial practices of the period and whether it corresponds to the rites performed for missing nauagoi in Athens during the late fifth century BCE.
Through a comprehensive analysis of written and archaeological evidence, this study concludes that the maritime burial ceremony portrayed in Helen lacks historical accuracy due to insufficient additional evidence both synchronically and diachronically. However, the paper argues that Euripides' portrayal of the ceremony serves a larger thematic purpose, highlighting the absurdity and irony of the human experience following Athenian defeat in Sicily in 413 BCE. In doing so, Euripides transforms the terrestrial burial rites into a maritime arena, which was not originally intended for funerary purposes but rather was an integral part of maritime ritualistic undertakings.
Herodotus 1.53.1-2: What were Croesus’ Instructions?
Authors: Kovacs David
Published: February 2025

This paper discusses Croesus’s unusual consultation of Delphi (asking a question to which he knows the answer) and his follow-up question. Because of grammatical irregularities in the latter, it is proposed to emend transmitted εἴ τινα στρατὸν ἀνδρῶν προσθέοιτο φίλον to [εἴ] τίνα <ἂν> στρατὸν ἀνδρῶν προσθέοιτο φίλον. This means that Croesus assumes (his first question) that he is to wage war against the Persians and also that he is to make an alliance. The first consultation had been crafty, the second by contrast was hasty and careless. It should be noted that Nigel Wilson’s OCT prints my conjecture in the text.
Observing the Sabbath in the Roman Empire: a Case Study
Authors: Clarysse Willy , Remijsen Sophie , Depauw Mark
Published: February 2025

This study of the tax receipts of a small Jewish community in the Egyptian town Edfu shows that it was not always possible to observe the Sabbath strictly when confronted with the governmental power of the Roman Empire, despite the indications of tolerance found in Philo or Josephus. By calculating the weekdays for all the tax receipts of this community, we show that the Jews from Edfu did pay taxes on the Sabbath, to tax collectors from outside their community. When they could collect the taxes themselves, however, which they did in case of the Jewish tax, they took care to observe their own religious practices.
Disintegration of the Athenian Empire in Asia Minor (412-405 B.C.E.)
Authors: Amit Moshe
Published: February 2025

The Disintegration of the Athenian Empire in Asia Minor (412-405 B.C.E.)
Origin and Development of Mosaics to the Time of Augustus
Authors: Ovadiah Asher
Published: February 2025

The Origin and Development of Mosaics to the Time of Augustus
Diplom für die Truppen Judäas aus dem Jahr 87 und die Frage nach der Gleichförmigkeit römischer Militäradministration
Authors: Eck Werner , Pangerl Andreas
Published: February 2025

Für die Provinz Judäa sind in domitianischer Zeit recht viele Militärdiplome bekannt, die auf verschiedene Konstitutionen zurückgehen, gleiches gilt auch für die benachbarte Provinz Syria. Manche der Einheiten in Judäa, aus denen die Diplomempfänger stammen, standen wohl bis zum Jahr 70 in Syrien, als Judäa unabhängige Provinz wurde. In den Diplomen lässt sich beobachten, dass die Militäradministration bei der Frage, wann die Soldaten das römische Bürgerrecht erhielten, unterschiedlich handelten. Während in Syrien die Formel 25 Jahre Militärdienst oder mehr (quinis et vicenis pluribusve stipendis emeritis) verwendet wurde, steht in den Diplomen Judäas nur 25 Jahre Militärdienst (quinis et vicenis stipendis emeritis). In Syrien dienten also Soldaten oft mehr als die nötigen 25 Jahre, in Judäa aber nur exakt 25 Jahre. Der Grund für diese unterschiedliche Regelung ist nicht erkennbar, doch ist es bemerkenswert, dass in der Militäradministration solche Unterschiede möglich waren.
 
Quite a few military diplomas are known for the province of Judea in the Domitian period, originating from various constitutions; the same is true for the neighboring province of Syria. Some of the units in Judea from which the diploma recipients originated were probably in Syria until the year 70, when Judea became an independent province. It can be observed in the diplomas that the military administration acted differently on the question of when soldiers received Roman citizenship. While in Syria the formula 25 years of military service or more (quinis et vicenis pluribusve stipendis emeritis) was used, the Judean diplomas state only 25 years of military service (quinis et vicenis stipendis emeritis). Thus, in Syria soldiers often served more than the required 25 years, but in Judea they served only exactly 25 years. The reason for these different regulations is not apparent, but it is remarkable that such differences were possible in the military administration.
Herodotos the Pathographer: Persian and Hellenic Grief Displays
Authors: Lateiner Donald
Published: February 2025

Herodotos records individual and group displays of emotions, especially grief, Greek and Persian, and those of other ethnic groups. These passages describe pathos originating in specific events in ways comparable to Aiskhylos’ earlier account of the aftermath of the battle of Salamis, an “historical” Attic tragedy, The Persians. Herodotos’ “ethnographic” accounts of mourning, private emotional displays of misery and public ritualized lamentation, typically and proto-typically feature oddity from standard Greek norms (e.g., Skythians, Thrakians, Spartans). They also offer opportunities for the author to debunk Hellenic prejudices (e.g., proper treatment of corpses) and mis-readings of various imperialists, especially King Xerxes exulting and grieving. Herodotos describes gestures, leakage (tears, especially), postures, and wordless vocalics that structure silent and verbally articulated affective experiences, emotions, and funerary practices. Such descriptions apply to persons (e.g., Kroisos, Harpagos, Psammenitos, Masistes’ troops) and peoples (e.g., Egyptians, Thrakians, Sybarites, Milesians, Athenians). Loss—suffering, pity, sympathy (subjects not seen in Achaimenid art)--contribute significant depth to Herodotos’ revelation and revaluation of remarkable deeds and other γενόμενα worthy of Hellenic recollection.
Madness into Memory: Mania and Mnēmē in Greek Culture
Authors: Ustinova Yulia
Published: February 2025

The faculty of memory, comprising memorization and remembrance, is often viewed as entirely rational. This paper focuses on three phenomena, poetry, mystery initiations, and Plato’s philosophy, in order to demonstrate that in some spheres, mania and mnêmê intertwined. The poet’s memory is only partially his own: he recalls and commemorates in the grip of divine inspiration, when he is out of his mind. Creation of the eternal memory of the life-changing ecstatic experience was the aim of mystery rites, whereas the mnêmê of the ceremony was enhanced by means of mania. Finally, in Plato, the philosopher’s recollection of his soul’s true knowledge is pictured as a seizure of mania. Magic memory and inspired knowledge are present in all these phenomena. The ancient mingling of thinking, alteration of consciousness and remembering, expressed by means of the words deriving from the Indo-European root men-, denoting ‘active mental force,’ did not disappear in Greece.
The Tyrian Annals and Ancient Greek Chronography
Authors: Kokkinos Nikos
Published: February 2025

The value of the ‘Tyrian Annals’, the fragments of which are preserved primarily in Josephus, has often been doubted. However, an examination of literary evidence from Thales of Miletus to Timaeus of Tauromenium shows that the Greeks were well aware of Phoenician ancient records. One Hieronymus, in the 3rd century BC, followed by Menander of Ephesus, in the 2nd century BC, officially translated the ‘Tyrian Annals’ into Greek. The core of the original archive was a king-list (stating names, ages and reign lengths), covering the 10th to 6th centuries BC, annotated with brief historical notices relating the major acts performed by the kings. The list will have been composed working from local archives in the early Persian period. Surviving fragments concern three ‘floating’ segments which can be pegged in time and augmented by Assyrian and Babylonian synchronisms. The first begins with Hiram I, from 955/4 BC, with the third ending with Hiram III in 533/2 BC. The use of the ‘Tyrian Annals’ by Timaeus explains his extraordinary knowledge in providing a late 9th century date for the founding of Carthage (against the then current opinion placing it centuries earlier), close to the historical date of 808/7 BC that can now be calculated from the Annals. Timaeus’ bold move changed the entire perspective of ancient Greek chronography, radically shifting the focus from a vague heroic past into a decidedly realistic historical context.  His move took the foundation of Rome along, with serious repercussions for the way the origins of this city had previously been perceived.  The ‘Tyrian Annals’ also had included the date for the fall of Troy, firmly placed in the 10th century BC. Many Greek chronographers found this difficult to swallow in their political desire to claim a higher antiquity for their own cultural past.
Alexander's Friends in the Alexander Romance
Authors: Jouanno Corinne
Published: February 2025

In most of the Greco-Roman historical writings about Alexander an important place is given to the question of Alexander’s friends, either to enhance his generosity, confidence, fidelity towards them, or to denounce his cruelty against his closest companions. Several reasons contribute to the interest of ancient writers to such a question : an institutional one (role of the hetairoi in the Macedonian monarchy) ; a mythical one (influence of the epic motif of heroic friendship, and of the exemplary pair formed by Achilles and Patroclus) ; a social reason (high rank occupied by friendship in the moral values of Antiquity, and particularly in ancient political thought, with special emphasis put upon the distinction between friends and flatterers, and upon the aptitude for friendship as a dividing line between king and tyrant). The aim of the present paper is to explore the use of this friendship motif in the Alexander Romance, a largely fictional biography of the Macedonian conqueror, of a rather encomiastic kind. The dealing of the motif is studied in the successive rewritings of the Romance, especially in the original alpha recension (3rd c. AD ?) and in the christianized epsilon recension (8th-9th c.). In the alpha recension, the investigation focuses upon the choices made by the redactor among the material inherited from the historical tradition (censorship of inconvenient elements, amplification of positive ones). In the very innovative epsilon recension, the treatment of the friendship motif has been profoundly transformed, and much amplified. The many friends who surrounded Alexander in the former recensions and were sometimes very elusive figures have been replaced by a reduced team of four close friends, avatars of the four successors of Alexander alluded to in the Book of Daniel. The influence of the Bible may also explain the invention of Charmides, a new fictional character, whose friendship with Alexander is reminiscent of that of Jonathan with David. Such a similitude between the protagonist of the Romance and the Biblical king, mythical model of all the Byzantine emperors, was well fit to favour the transformation of Alexander’s story into a mirror of princes.
Herakles' virtus Between Etruscans and Romans
Authors: Gersht Rivka
Published: February 2025

The legend of Herakles’ arrival at the Tiber, his cult and his deeds on Italian soil preceded even the legend of Rome’ foundation. He was recognized as a god in Italy, and the Palatine dwellers were the first to dedicate a tithe of their goods to him to ensure a happy and prosperous life. In the late sixth century, the Greek myth of Herakles’ apotheosis was adopted for Etruscan temple ornamentation; but the theme extended beyond the public realm into the private, where it acquired a different significance. The first part of my study investigates the contribution of Herakles’ apotheosis in the private domain through an analysis of several Etruscan mirrors. The reexamination of the mirrors raises various theoretical issues such as how far did Etruscan artists go in depicting and reworking specific Greek myths of Herakles the hero, and in personifying abstract qualities associated with his virtus. The second part of the study traces the growth of the Roman Herakles, from a newcomer informal guest to an emblem of the emperor’s virtus and divine power. Finally, I juxtapose the Etruscan and Roman interpretations of Herakles’ virtus by presenting the question about the ways Rome accepted or rejected Etruscan methods of visualizing myths and ideologies.
“Praesentia Caesaris” in der Provinz Judäa/Syria Palästina
Authors: Eck Werner
Published: February 2025

Von zahlreichen Quellen wird betont, wie wichtig die Präsenz des Kaisers für die Provinzen war. Diese konnte auf vielfältige Weise realisiert werden, entweder – gelegentlich – durch unmittelbare Anwesenheit, durch kaiserliche Korrespondenz mit Bewohnern der Provinz, durch die Aufstellung der Statuen der Kaiser in der Öffentlichkeit und vor allem durch die vermittelnde Stellung der Statthalter. Alle diese Möglichkeiten sind auch für die Provinz Iudaea/Syria Palaestina bezeugt, die in dem Artikel dargestellt und diskutiert werden, insbesondere kaiserliche Schreiben, die meist in griechischer Sprache überliefert sind, in lateinischer Sprache erst in der Spätantike.
Numerous sources emphasize how important the presence of the Roman emperor was for the provinces. The imperial presence could be realized in many ways, either - occasionally - by direct presence of an emperor, by imperial correspondence with inhabitants of the province, through the display of the statues of the emperors in public and especially by the mediating position of the governors. All these possibilities are also attested for the province of Iudaea/Syria Palaestina, which are discussed in the article, especially imperial letters, which mostly survive in Greek, in Latin only in late antiquity.
GLAJJ: Addenda et Corrigenda
Authors: Geiger Joseph
Published: February 2025

Menahem Sternʼs Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism (three volumes, Jerusalem 1974-1984) has justly been praised by all its reviewers. So far as I could see only a few significant additions have been made to his assemblage of texts. However, for the Roman Empire, the material is vast and forbidding: an editor can hardly fail to miss some names and facts, even within restricted categories, whatever his sagacity and industry. The following notes are but the gleanings and corners of the field  and the forgotten sheaf from the rich harvest of a great scholar. In what follows I shall start with texts that doubtlessly, by Sternʼs own criteria, should have been included in the collection, and I shall then proceed to a number of less clear cases. To the best of my knowledge only the first of these texts has been discussed in the present context. The article refers to: Diogenes of Oenoanda III, l. 7 – IV, l. 2; Plut. frg. 187 Sandbach (John of Antioch, Archaeologia I, frg. 19); Vita Aesopi 141;  Diosc. 1.95 (Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei, De materia medica, ed. Max Wellmann, Berlin 1907; Eunapius, Vitae Philosophorum p. 459; Porphyry, History of Philosophy III (Steph. Byz. Γ 12 = FGrH 260 F 12) ; Schol. Pers. 5.176-184 (Commentum Cornuti in Persium, edd. W.V. Clausen, J.E.G. Zetzel, Monachii et Lipsiae 2004); Damasc. Vita Isidori frg. 70 (Phot. Bibl. 242 = FGrH 675 T 3); Varro, Men. frg. 583B ; Plut. Cic. 36.2; GLAJJ II, no. 464n.
Nero in the Sibylline Oracles
Authors: Gruem Erich S.
Published: February 2025

This article investigates the puzzlingly conflicting and contradictory images of the emperor Nero that appear in the texts of the Sibylline Oracles, composed in large part by Jewish authors of the Roman Empire. The diverse representations depict him both as a cruel tyrant, murderer, and hybristic aspirer to divinity on the one hand, and an effective champion of the east who exacted a just vengeance against the plunders and oppression perpetrated by the Roman Empire on the other. The author seeks to set these clashing images in the context of tales that emerged in the east after Nero’s death and the distorted memories of Nero’s responsibility for the fall of Jerusalem, and also proposes a link with the great fire in Rome under Nero.
Barbarian in Greek and Latin Literature
Authors: Isaac Benjamin
Published: February 2025

It is the argument of the present paper that it is worth reconsidering carefully wat the word ‘barbarian’ says about Greek and Roman attitudes towards other peoples over time. This will be based on literary sources of all kinds, including poetry and tragedy from the eighth century BC until the fourth century AD. The essence of what is seen as barabrism shifts over time as a consequence of changes in self-perception. In Greek literature the word almost always refers to foreigners, hardly ever to Greeks. Determining factors could be language, geographic origin, descent, religion and citizenship. Some of these could be changed. Towards the end of the fifth century there is a clear and strong shift towards negative judgement and moral disapproval. In Latin literature it is easier to distinguish clear-cut patterns. Since there was no argument about what it was to be a Roman it was obvious who was not a Roman, i.e. a barbarian. There was never any doubt that it was possible for a barbarian to become a Roman.
Cleopatra's Tongues
Authors: Wasserstein David J.
Published: February 2025

Cleopatra is said by Plutarch to have known numerous languages, able to converse with envoys of “the Ethiopians, the Trog(l)odytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, Parthians and many others” in their own languages. Plutarch makes no mention of Greek or Latin or Macedonian or Egyptian, all of them languages that should figure in such a list. A ruler would be unlikely to speak to envoys in any but the locally relevant language of power. I argue that Plutarch’s report is a fine story but with little or no relation to truth.
Transplanted Communities in Iudaea/Palaestina: The Epigraphic Evidence
Authors: Price Jonathan J.
Published: February 2025

There is some hard evidence, if meager, of Jewish communities transplanting themselves to Iudaea/Palaestina during the Roman period. A community from Italy settling in Jerusalem before 70 CE – the Theodotus synagogue – is a striking instance. Rabbinic sources and early Christian literature mention synagogue communities in cities, but more reliable information is to be sought in inscriptions. The only relatively certain instance after 70 CE is of the Cappadocians in Jaffa. Naturally, the hard evidence of structures and inscriptions suffers from two faults, first, the destruction wrought by successive waves of invaders and earthquakes, and second, the invisibility of probable synagogue communities, including groups with a common topographical or ethnic origin, who met in private houses without public advertisement in monumental structures or expensive inscriptions. Thus the nature of religious communities as well as the low survival rate of inscriptions suggest that the phenomenon was rather more widespread than the scattered evidence suggests. But on this matter, as often in ancient history, we are forced to admit that we may never know.
Directions in the Study of Athenian Democracy
Authors: Rhodes P.J.
Published: February 2025

Research into Athenian democracy in the past few decades has raised new issues and thrown new light on old ones. The mechanics of the democracy, the involvement of the citizens (and the distinction between them and non-citizens), the identification and distribution of demes and trittyes, have all been clarified more precisely than they had been; the extent to which the elites could control or were controlled by the masses, the nature and the prevalence of demagoguery and sycophanty, and in particular the stages by which the democracy developed and the extent to which its nature had changed after the Peloponnesian War remain controversial but subject to further refinement and clarification; epigraphy and archaeology have thrown new light on many points. Among the directions in which new research promises to throw some light are the distribution of wealth and the developing relationship between the city and its religious institutions.
An Incident of Magic in Heroides 20 and 21
Authors: Anagnostou-Laoutides Eva
Published: February 2025

This paper examines the love-affair of Acontius and Cydippe narrated by Callimachus (Aet. frs.75-6) and Ovid (Her. 20-21) as a literary example of ancient magic which reflects the increasing flow of knowledge about Near Eastern magic during Augustan Rome. The tale has been often interpreted as a metaphor for the lover’s wish to exercise control over his mistress. However, alongside this established reading, the tale is rife with motifs found in contemporary magical spells performed to secure erotic favour. Here I argue that Ovid, unconcerned with modern categorisations of ancient magic according to which violent, black magic spells are differentiated from prayers calling for justice, fused the language of binding spells and judicial prayers to heighten the magical efficacy of his poems, which function as spells. Ovid’s use of magic corresponds to the development of magical traditions in ancient Mesopotamia where incantation prayers are increasingly incorporated in the so-called love lyrics, erotic literature which became especially popular in the first millennium BCE. A comparison of Ovid’s Heroides with one of our surviving love lyrics reveals Mesopotamian magic as an important, albeit neglected, source of influence for Roman elegy.