Arctos – Acta Philologica Fennica

The Unity and Diversity of Plato's Forms

Necip Fikri Alican — 2025-07-07

This paper examines the conception of Forms under the two-level model of Holger Thesleff for the interpretation of Plato. The primary focus is on the classification of Forms into three different categories comprising Ideal Forms, Conceptual Forms, and Relational Forms. The corresponding coverage favors the last of these categories in terms of the attention devoted, space reserved, and time dedicated to the elucidation of each one, aiming thereby to make up for its natural propensity to be confused with either one of the other two categories. The overall effort complements previous discussions of the topic, as opposed to repeating, rescinding, or revising any of them. It consequently brings out, more clearly than attempted or accomplished before, the similarities and differences between the three categories as an extension or reflection of the organic relationship between the classification of Forms and the two-level model itself.

Evaluating ἐπαξιόω in P. Oxy. Hels. 26

Irene Chioni — 2025-07-07

This contribution evaluates the reconstructed request verb ἐπαξιόω as it appears in the request formula of P. Oxy. Hels. 26, emphasizing the difficulties of reconstructing fragmentary texts—particularly when unusual linguistic features are involved. The analysis is grounded in the semantic analysis of the verb and in the role of ἐπι- in the formation of prefixed verbs. The study proposes a dual semantic development of the prefixed form, reflecting the evolution of ἀξιόω from an abstract meaning to a more concrete usage. In its abstract sense, the prefix ἐπι- indicate a continuous evaluation; in its concrete usage, it may express the accumulation of the request—aligning with the rhetorical aims of the text and exemplifying the writer’s skilled command of the language. As for the reconstruction itself, the conclusion is that the reading ἐπαξιόω should at the very least be marked as doubtful, due to both paleographic and linguistic concerns.

Quale π? Un Vitruvio impreciso, ma non ambiguo

Giovanni Gaia — 2025-07-07

In questo articolo si intende mettere in luce come il valore di π uguale a tre, indirettamente riportato dai manoscritti, non sia sicuramente da scartare come è stato fatto in vario modo a partire dal XVII secolo. È il modus operandi vitruviano a suggerire quest’idea, oltre al fatto, è bene ricordarlo, che a sostegno di tutti gli altri valori proposti non vi sia alcuna prova.

In this article, we intend to illustrate how the value of π being equal to three, as indirectly reported by the manuscripts, should certainly not to be dismissed, as has been done in various ways since the 17th century. It is the Vitruvian modus operandi that suggests this idea, in addition to the fact – worth remembering – that there is no evidence to support any of the other values proposed.

La tragedia di uno schiavo in un discorso di Metello Scipione (Ascon. 35,7—11 = ORF 154, F2 Manuwald)

Lucia Galli — 2025-07-07

L’articolo si propone di ricostruire un episodio attestato unicamente nel discorso pronunciato in senato verso il 18 febbraio 52 a. C. da Quinto Metello Scipione, che noi conosciamo attraverso una sintesi di Asconio (35,7–10). Secondo la ricostruzione presentata nell’articolo, Scipione avrebbe attribuito a Milone, del quale sottolineava la fredda ferocia, l’intento di uccidere il figlio bambino di Clodio; nel tentativo di trovarlo, Milone avrebbe fatto sottoporre ad un violentissimo interrogatorio lo schiavo che si prendeva cura del bambino, ma questi, pur di non tradire i suoi padroni, sarebbe morto sotto le torture. L’episodio veniva sfruttato da Scipione a scopo patetico, per suscitare indignazione contro Milone e ammirazione per lo schiavo fedele del quale, eccezionalmente, era fornito anche il nome. Non è possibile pronunciarsi sull’attendibilità di questa vicenda, testimoniata da un’unica fonte molto tendenziosa, ma è significativo che Asconio non la includa nella propria versione dei fatti.

This article aims to reconstruct an episode recorded only in the speech delivered by Quintus Metellus Scipio in the Senate on 18 February 52 BC; Scipio’s speech is known to us from a summary by Asconius (35,7–10). According to the reconstruction presented in the article, Scipio attributed to Milo – whose cold ferocity was emphasised – the intention of killing Clodius’ young son. Milo was said to have violently interrogated the slave responsible for looking after the child in an attempt to find the boy, but the slave died under torture rather than betray his masters. Scipio exploited the episode for emotional effect, aiming to arouse indignation against Milo and admiration for the loyal slave, whose name, exceptionally, was also recorded. The reliability of this story, which comes from a highly biased source, is impossible to verify, but notably, Asconius did not include it in his own account of the facts.

Lucretius, impietas and Religious Deviance

Visa Helenius — 2025-07-07

Lucretius’ Epicurean manifesto De rerum natura includes criticism of different aspects of ancient culture, such as classical mythology. Although from the textual evidence it is indisputable that he criticises the traditional Roman religion and its customs, the claim, defended in this article, that Lucretius was a religiously deviant thinker in a potentially harmful way for the ruling elite is controversial. It is controversial because there was, to some extent, freedom of religion in the late Roman republic. However, I argue that those in power had weighty reasons to consider De rerum natura as a religiously deviant work and thus Lucretius as an impious thinker (i.e., a person who lacks reverence towards the Roman gods and religious traditions). To be precise, his views are, even in the Roman intellectual context, radical. I use Varro’s theologia tripertita (‘threefold theology’), the sociological definition of religious deviance by Fritz Sack and John Scheid’s terminology of Roman religion to analyse Lucretius’ position.

With Her Back to the Wall?

Peter Kruschwitz — 2025-07-07

Revisiting the arrangement, textual design, and spread of information of the four inscribed parts of the well-known funerary altar of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and Aconia Fabia Paulina, the author argues that the inscription at the altar’s otherwise undecorated rear, the poem of Paulina, was deliberately designed to preserve private information about the couple and their religious beliefs, but to be hidden from the public eye – arguably by placing the altar’s rear against the wall of the burial space. This argument is backed up (a) by a revision of other inscriptions and sources referring to the couple and their religious agenda in public and private and (b) by consideration of further monumental texts that were inscribed only to be hidden away from the public eye in a similar fashion.

Mοναρχία and μόναρχος

Otto Linderborg — 2025-07-07

Classical scholars and historians of antiquity often assume that the concept of ‘monarchy’ (μοναρχία), like that of ‘tyranny’ (τυραννίς), was a part of Greek political terminology from a very early stage. Some eighty years ago, this theory was vigorously defended by Albert Debrunner, who argued that μοναρχία was the original Classical Greek constitutional term, functioning as a model for others such as ‘oligarchy’ (ὀλιγαρχία) and ‘democracy’ (δημοκρατία). In contrast, a lesser-known theory proposed by Gerhard Aalders asserts that the concept of people’s power, δημοκρατία, predates the emergence of μοναρχία and similar terms. This paper re-evaluates the origins of classical Greek constitutional terms by comparing these two alternative hypotheses, drawing on more recent scholarship, considering manuscript evidence, and discussing the historical context in which these Greek constitutional terms developed. Part I summarizes Debrunner’s theory and outlines the supporting arguments. Part II presents the main counterarguments, with a specific focus on the occurrences of μόναρχος (‘monarch’) in archaic Greek sources. Finally, Part III explores the implications of this critique and articulates four alternative hypotheses regarding the origins of μοναρχία and other classical Greek constitutional terms.

The Achaean Alphabet of Poseidonia-Paestum

Francesco Maniglia — 2025-07-07

This article provides an overview of the archaic script of Poseidonia-Paestum, aiming to identify its alphabetical structure and unique local characteristics. Through comprehensive analysis of letterforms, the study proposes palaeographic criteria for more accurately identifying the development of the Poseidonian alphabet. A comparison with an inscribed bronze jug in Achaean letters of uncertain origin highlights the effectiveness of the analysis in ascertaining the affiliation of Achaean inscriptions to the Poseidonia area. Finally, the study aims to establish reliable chronological parameters for dating archaic Poseidonian inscriptions.

Cognomina in -ianus Derived from Cognomina

Olli Salomies — 2025-07-07

In this paper, I discuss Latin cognomina ending in -ianus derived from cognomina, a formation attested for instance in Priscianus and Severianus, derived from Priscus and Severus. The main part of the exposition consists of an inventory of all cognomina of this type known to me, divided into sections according to the types of cognomina from which the cognomina in -ianus have been derived. The paper also includes observations on cognomina in -inus and on agnomina of slaves and freedmen in -ianus derived from cognomina. I conclude the paper with observations on the chronology of the cognomina in -ianus. Unlike cognomina in -ianus derived from nomina (Aemilianus, Fulvianus, etc.), which are known already from the Republican period, cognomina in -ianus derived from cognomina seem to be attested only from the about the middle of first century AD onwards.

Analecta epigraphica 350–352

Heikki Solin — 2025-07-07

Ulteriori considerazioni metriche e paleografiche sull'ara sepolcrale di Pretestato e Paolina (CIL VI 1779 = CLE 111)

Daniele Xhani — 2025-07-07

Questo articolo esamina gli aspetti metrici e paleografici dell’ara sepolcrale dedicata a Vettio Agorio Pretestato e Aconia Fabia Paolina. L’analisi metrica evidenzia che le iscrizioni sono composte in trimetro giambico (ia^t) anziché in senario giambico (ia⁶), suggerendo un tono tragico e solenne, in linea con il contesto funerario. Lo studio approfondisce anche le caratteristiche paleografiche, mettendo in luce errori e confusioni tra le lettere che sembrano derivare non solo dalla negligenza del lapicida, ma anche dalla natura dell’antigrafo. Infine, viene proposta una nuova lettura del verso 35 della pars postica, con una correzione al testo finora edito (subolemque pulchram si tuae similis).

This paper examines the metrical and palaeographic aspects of the funerary altar dedicated to Vettius Agorius Praetextatus and Aconia Fabia Paulina. The metrical analysis shows that the inscriptions are composed in iambic trimeter (ia^t), rather than in iambic senarii (ia⁶), highlighting a tragic and elevated tone appropriate for the funerary context. The study also investigates palaeographic features, revealing errors and letter confusions that could be attributed not only to the negligence of the stonecutter but also to the nature of the antigraph. A new reading of line 35 of the pars postica is proposed, offering a correction to the previously edited text (subolemque pulchram si tuae similis).

Etymological Notes on Lat. ōtium and autumnus

Adolfo Zavaroni — 2025-07-07

This paper aims to bring new material to the old but disputed hypothesis that Lat. ōtium is the development of *autiom ‘annihilation, passing, disappearance, inactivity’ (*au- < *h₂eu- ‘away, off’) and a cognate of Got. auþja- ‘empty’, Gr. αὔτως ‘just like; in vain’, αὔσιος ‘idle, vain’. Since Old Ligurian nouns (auto, otu, otiu, otiti) and verb forms (autit, otit, oti/e > ot and oturu) derive from a stem *aut- > *ōt- meaning ‘to annihilate, destroy, leave off, leave out’, the A. is inclined to suppose that Lat. aut, Umbr. ute, ote, Oscan auti ‘or’ and aut ‘but’ are relics of a previous pres. imp. 2nd sg. *auti/e ‘to deprive, leave off, leave alone’ perhaps formed to an adjective *auto- < *au+to- ‘deprived, missing, lacking’. The A. attributes the same stem *aut- to Lat. autumnus which would allude to both ‘vegetation and sunlight falling’ and ‘decline, decrease in human activity’. Cf. Gr. φθινόπωρον ‘late autumn’, where *φθιν- denotes ‘to decline, decay, perish’.

Alexandreis für alle

Antti Ijäs — 2025-07-07

Eine Rezension von Walter von Châtillon: Alexandreis. Lateinisch-deutsch. Herausgegeben und übersetzt von Martin Lehmann. Sammlung Tusculum. Walter De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2023. ISBN 978-3-11-079572-1. 1040 S. EUR 99.95.

Review: Anonymus Londiniensis: De Medicina. Edidit Daniela Manetti. Editio altera. Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana 2044. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2022

Heikki Solin — 2025-07-07

Review: Christian Beck: Die Ausstattung kleinerer Häuser in Pompeji (Insula IX 5):. Decor-Entscheidungen und ihre Wirkung (62–79 n. Chr.). Decor 6. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2023

Eeva-Maria Viitanen — 2025-07-07

Review: Lajos Berkes – W. Graham Claytor – Maria Nowak (Hg.): Papyrologische und althistorische Studien zum 65. Geburtstag von Andrea Jördens. Philippika 167. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2023

Antti Arjava — 2025-07-07

Review: Jonas Borsch – Olivier Gengler – Mischa Meier (Hg.): Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas im Kontext spätantiker Memorialkultur. Malalas Studien – Schriften zur Chronik des Johannes Malalas 3. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2019

Antti Arjava — 2025-07-07

Review: Patrick Brimioulle: Das Konzil von Konstantinopel 536. Roma Aeterna 8. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2020

Antti Arjava — 2025-07-07

Review: Filippo Canali De Rossi: Le iscrizioni degli antichi autori greci e latini. Voll. 1–3 indivisibili. Scienze e Lettere, Roma 2021

Mika Kajava — 2025-07-07

Review: Chiara Cenati: Miles in Urbe. Identità e autorappresentazione nelle iscrizioni dei soldati di origine danubiana e balcanica a Roma. Epigrafia e Antichità 49. Carocci editore, Roma 2023

Olli Salomies — 2025-07-07

Review: Angelos Chaniotis (ed.): Unveiling Emotions III: Arousal, Display, and Performance of Emotions in the Greek World. Heidelberger Althistorische Beiträge und Epigraphische Studien 63. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2021

Saara Kauppinen — 2025-07-07

Review: Riccardo Chiaradonna: Ontology in Early Neoplatonism: Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus. Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca et Byzantina 9. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2023

Visa Helenius — 2025-07-07

Review: Corpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. Vol. V: Galilaea and Northern Regions. Part 2: 6925–7818. Edited by Walter Ameling et al. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2023

Antti Arjava — 2025-07-07

Review: Corpus inscriptionum Latinarum. Vol. IX, Suppl. 1, Fasc. 4: Sabini. Edidit Marco Buonocore. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2022

Olli Salomies — 2025-07-07

Review: Francesca Cotugno: Writing and Orthography in Non-Literary Texts from Roman Britain: A Sociolinguistic Approach. LautSchriftSprache 4. Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 2022

Timo Korkiakangas — 2025-07-07

Review: Philip Hardie: Selected Papers on Ancient Literature and its Reception. 2 vols. Trends in Classics – Supplementary Volumes 148. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2023

H. K. Riikonen — 2025-07-07

Review: Annette Haug –Adrian Hielscher –Anna-Lena Krüger (eds.): Neighbourhoods and City Quarters in Antiquity. Design and Experience. Decorative Principles in Late Republican and Early Imperial Italy. Decor 7. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2023

Nikolai Paukkonen — 2025-07-07

Review: Cesare Letta: Tra umano e divino. Forme e limiti del culto degli imperatori nel mondo romano. La Casa dei Sapienti 3. Agorà & Co., Sarzana-Lugano 2021

Outi Sihvonen — 2025-07-07

Review: John Nash: Rulers of the Sea. Maritime Strategy and Sea Power in Ancient Greece, 550–321 BCE. De Gruyter Studies in Military History 8. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2024

Christa Steinby — 2025-07-07

Review: Giorgia Proietti: Prima di Erodoto. Aspetti della memoria delle Guerre persiane. Hermes Einzelschrift 120. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2021

Christa Steinby — 2025-07-07

Review: Luigi Enrico Rossi:, κηληθμῷ δ’ ἔσχοντο: Scritti editi e inediti. Vol. I: Metrica e musica. Vol. II: Letteratura. Vol. III: Critica letteraria e storia degli studi. A cura di Giulio Colesanti et al. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2020

Heikki Solin — 2025-07-07

Review: Przemysław Siekierka – Krystyna Stebnicka – Aleksander Wolicki: Women and the Polis: Public Honorific Inscriptions for Women in the Greek Cities from the Late Classical to the Roman Period. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2021

Antti Arjava — 2025-07-07

Review: Zsuzsanna Szántó: The Jews of Ptolemaic Egypt. The History of a Diaspora Community in Light of the Papyri. De Gruyter, Berlin – Boston 2024

Iida Laurén — 2025-07-07