Classics

Agathias of Myrina’s passion for literature is no secret: a lawyer by necessity, during his life he also wrote and edited poetry and embarked on the major task of writing history. In these circumstances, the scarcity of allusions to his own literary taste in the five books composing the Histories may take the reader by surprise. Interestingly enough, this relative lack of literary criticism is counterbalanced by some remarkable passages of literary self-criticism, where Agathias feels the need to explain his choices and justify his flaws as an historian, especially when he compares himself with his predecessor Procopius of Caesarea. Adding to this picture the evidence provided by other sixth-century historians, as Evagrius Scholasticus and Menander the Protector, I argue in this chapter that Agathias’ penchant for self-deprecation should be explained in light of his awe of the imposing shadow cast by the celebrated champion of classicising historiography – Procopius.

This paper offers a case study of some of the Cycladic Islands examining connectivity and insularity between 1000-500 BCE. In the Cyclades, evidence of interaction with areas outside of the archipelago and of intraisland connectivity is observable on many of the islands. It will be argued that environmental factors, predominantly low rainfall, may be at least part of the explanation for the adoption of a strategy of reaching out beyond an island's shores. Cycladic islanders plausibly sought to develop strong networks of affiliation with trading partners from other regions perhaps to serve as buffer zones to rely on during periods of poor food productivity. Compared to Cycladic material, the archaeological evidence of Cretan items found outside Crete is not as robust. This paper speculatively suggests that Cretans, living in a more fertile environment, did not feel the same need as Cycladic islanders to establish networks of affiliation for purposes of food security.

This paper offers a case study of some of the Cycladic Islands examining connectivity and insularity between 1000-500 BCE. In the Cyclades, evidence of interaction with areas outside of the archipelago and of intraisland connectivity is observable on many of the islands. It will be argued that environmental factors, predominantly low rainfall, may be at least part of the explanation for the adoption of a strategy of reaching out beyond an island's shores. Cycladic islanders plausibly sought to develop strong networks of affiliation with trading partners from other regions perhaps to serve as buffer zones to rely on during periods of poor food productivity. Compared to Cycladic material, the archaeological evidence of Cretan items found outside Crete is not as robust. This paper speculatively suggests that Cretans, living in a more fertile environment, did not feel the same need as Cycladic islanders to establish networks of affiliation for purposes of food security.

This paper examines the political content and context of Seneca's Natural Questions. It argues that, on the one hand, Rome is marginalized in the context of the immensity of the cosmos; and philosophy is elevated above traditional Roman pursuits, including political activity and historical writing. But at the same time the work is firmly anchored in its Roman geo-political context; Seneca situates himself in a long and continuing tradition of investigation of the natural world, where Roman writers can stand alongside Greeks and others; and the current emperor Nero is presented not just as princeps and poet, but as sponsor of geographical and scientific investigation.

This paper examines the political content and context of Seneca's Natural Questions, and argues that the work moves in two apparently contradictory directions. On the one hand there is a grand vision of the cosmos and its splendour, in comparison to which empires and imperial power, including Rome's, recede into insignificance; similarly the pursuit of philosophy, particularly the branch of philosophy that studies the cosmos, is elevated above other pursuits, including political life and historical writing, to which members of the Roman élite were typically devoted. But at the same time the work is firmly anchored in the Roman world, drawing widely on information about the natural world that was garnered from all corners of the Empire and from beyond; Seneca situates himself in a long and continuing tradition of investigation of the natural world, a tradition in which Roman writers hold their own alongside Greeks, Egyptians, and Chaldaeans; and there are several brief references to the current emperor Nero, which present him not just as princeps and poet, but also as sponsor of geographical and scientific investigation of the Nile. The paper is structured so as to oscillate between these two perspectives: Section ii analyses various ways in which Rome is marginalized in the work; Section iii shows how at the same time the work is firmly anchored in the contemporary Roman world; Section iv argues that Seneca in effect constructs an ideal intellectual community that includes Rome, but also transcends it in time and space; Section v starts with the representation of Nero in the work, and goes on to explore what we know of the contemporary intellectual context; finally Section vi offers some concluding remarks on how the two perspectives coexist. At several points in the paper the elder Pliny and his Natural History will be contrasted with Seneca and the Natural Questions. Both works were written in the final years of the author's life. Seneca wrote his in the early 60s, before his enforced suicide in a.d. 65. Pliny wrote his in the 70s, before his death in the eruption of Vesuvius in a.d. 79. 1 The superficially similar titles of their two works conceal significant differences. One might say that Seneca's title (which would be better translated 'questions about nature', or 'investigations into nature', or 'physical investigations') promises more than it delivers. For natura is a very broad term, yet Seneca does not deal with astronomy, nor with plant, animal and human nature, all of which are included, with much else besides, in Pliny's Natural History. Seneca covers what was known in the Greek world as meteorology. This term, which was first used in this way by Aristotle, covered the study of physical phenomena occurring in the air, and certain phenomena occurring on or within the earth that