Carawan, Edwin, Solon’s Remedy against Hybris and Lawlessness, 128-146
Recent work suggests that Solon’s graphē procedure was introduced with the graphē hybreōs. This paper argues in support of that thesis with a new interpretation of the second description of the crime,“any act paranomon,” attested by Aeschines 1.15, and in Demosthenes 21.47. The authenticity and meaning of that clause are much disputed, but the prevailing sense of nomos in archaic material suggests a particular value for the paranomon clause as an instrument of the Solonian agenda, and surviving speeches seem to preserve that sense of paranomon as an offense against “all the laws” or the rule of law itself.
Iacoviello, Antonio, What if the Sword Kills the Pen: Philochorus’ Antiquarianism Reconsidered, 147-177
This article reconsiders the Atthis by Philochorus as a product of the historical context in which it was produced, i. e. early third-century BC Athens. That is, neither as a purely antiquarian (and apolitical) specimen of history-writing (Harding) nor as a kind of historiography which is political in that it reflects the stances of given parties ( Jacoby). Conversely, Philochorus’ Atthis has to be understood as a literary manifestation of the politics-of-memory strategies pervading the public discourse of early Hellenistic Athens, much like other contemporary textual vehicles (e.g, inscribed decrees). The article also examines the mechanisms through which the Atthis was appropriated in the later literary tradition that, in various degrees, progressively deprived it of its political tenet.
Funes, Javier, Ptolemaic laarchai and Egyptian Priests, 178–191
The administrative duties of the mostly obscure Ptolemaic laarches have been difficult to ascertain due to a lack of primary sources. Most efforts have instead gone into examining their position within the army hierarchy. This article will review the papyri related to the best-documented laarchai, and will show how the evolution of the type of documentation that they handled speaks to some of their administrative duties. Furthermore, this evolution will be linked with the deepening relationship between priests and the military hierarchy, which helped further develop the asylum-granting process in the last century of Ptolemaic Egypt.
Quaglia, Alessio, Nobis adeo propria sunt auspicial. Patres, Patricians, Plebeians: A History of Power and Auspices, 192–218
The literary sources flaunt the absolute monopoly exercised by the patriciate on magistracies and auspicia, an image that the doctrine tends, dogmatically and often uncritically, to accept. The paper recontextualizes, following its diachronic development (from ‘Romulus’ to the 4th century BC), the relationship between auspices, power and ordines, and proposes, reaffirming the reliability of the Fasti Capitolini, that the picture offered by the literary sources is mostly the crystallized expression of the radicalization, in the central years of the fifth century BC, of the struggle of the orders.
Shaw, Brent D., Annos undeviginti natus: Augustus’ Assumption of Power, 219-228
This essay argues that the statement by Augustus at the head of the Res Gestae about his age at the inception of his power has been mistakenly translated to make him nineteen years old. By considering other cases where known ages can be checked against the use of the formula annos natus, it can be shown that the standard Roman mode of computing age by counting inclusively applies in this instance as it does in all others. In his Res Gestae, Augustus deliberately presented himself as assuming power directly upon the decease of his adoptive father when he initiated his actions as a privatus to save the res publica.
Prchlík, Ivan, Eunapius of Sardis and a Latin Source. Can it Be Excluded that in his Histories he Drew upon One?, 229-254
The paper attempts to prove that Eunapius of Sardis may in his Histories have drawn upon a Latin source. Evidence to this effect consists of traces left by difficulties in rendering original Latin, remnants of influence of western concepts, and intrusion of Latin terminology. Further observations are based on occurrence of Westerners and allusions to the motifs known from Roman literature. Special attention is paid to the ‘antimonarchical excursus’ in Zos. 1.5.2–4 and the opening sentence of the Epitome de Caesaribus. Finally, Alan Cameron’s rebuttal of the very possibility that any influence of a western source could be perceived in the Eunapian tradition is refuted.