Julia Kindt

DELPHIC ORACLE STORIES AND THE BEGINNING OF HISTORIOGRAPHY: HERODOTUS' CROESUS LOGOS

erodotus displays a special interest in beginnings and endings. It is not only the beginnings and endings of his own narratives, his logoi, to which he gave special thought, and which he shaped carefully so that they form patterns of “ring composition.”1 Within the Histories, Herodotus shows a special interest in the beginnings and endings of cities and communities, of empires and states, and, above all, of the people in power.2 Thus, although Herodotus’ underlying theme is the growing antagonism between the barbaric East and the Greek West, erupting in the Persian Wars, his interest in the changing nature of things induces him to follow patterns of beginning and ending, of growth and decay, as a general principle in history.3 From Herodotus’ perspective, King Croesus’ reign over Lydia marked both a beginning and an end: “He was the first foreigner so far as we know to come into direct contact with the Greeks, both in the way of conquest and alliance, forcing tribute from Ionians, Aeolians, and Asiatic Dorians, and forming a pact of friendship with the Lacedaemonians. Before Croesus’ time all the Greeks had been free.”4 At the same time, Croesus’ fall ends the Mermnad monarchy over Lydia. Herodotus devotes a large part of the first book of his Histories to an account of Croesus’ rise and fall.5 What is the significance of the story of this “first man” beyond his appearance as the first king to subdue Greek cities?6 What paradigmatic aspect of history did Herodotus see in the story of Croesus’ rise and fall that induced him to dedicate an extended narrative to the king of Lydia at the beginning of his

Review Article: Capturing the Ancient Animal: Human/Animal Studies and the Classics

This article reviews several books published since the turn of the millennium that explore the role and representation of animals in different areas of ancient Greek and Roman culture. Despite differences in focus and outlook, these books herald the arrival within classical studies of the questions, concepts and methods of human/animal studies as an emerging field of enquiry. This article takes their publication as an opportunity to take stock and to outline the relationship between these disciplines. I explore how current research on ancient animals resonates both in existing debates in classical scholarship and within the context of the larger interdisciplinary debate. I also suggest how this debate can point to productive avenues for further enquiry in classical studies. More specifically, I argue that the interdisciplinary debate sets an important agenda, which should be embraced more fully by classical studies. Classical scholarship on the role, function and perception of animals in different areas of ancient Greek and Roman life can provide important insights into one aspect of the heritage – Western conceptions of humanity and the place of the animal within it – which has not yet received the attention it deserves. I conclude that classical scholarship can make a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary debate, helping it deliver on its stated goal of examining and challenging Western concepts of self, as well as the ideologies of ‘the other’ underpinning them.

Personal religion: a productive category for the study of ancient Greek religion?

This article investigates the scope and meaning of ancient Greek personal religion as an additional dimension - besides official (polis) religion - in which the ancient Greek religious experience articulates itself. I show how ‘personal religion’ is a rather broad and amorphous scholarly category for a number of religious beliefs and practices that, in reflecting individual engagement with the supernatural, do not fit into our conception of polis religion. At the same time, I argue that personal religion should not be seen simply as that which is not official Greek religion. Nor is personal religion simply ‘private’ religion, oikos religion or the religion of those who had no voice in the sphere of politics (metics, women). Rather, ‘personal religion’ combines aspects of public and private. It is a productive category of scholarly research insofar as it helps us to appreciate the whole spectrum of ways individuals in the ancient Greek city received and (if necessary) altered culturally given religious beliefs and practices. Indeed, the examples discussed in this paper reveal a very Greek conversation about the question of what should count as a religious sign and who was to determine its meaning.

Rethinking Greek Religion: Beyond the polis: rethinking Greek Religion

Because the polis is most cherished and the real religion of the Greeks, the battles for her also have the force and terror of religious wars and every break with her fundamentally uproots the individual. Jacob Burckhardt INTRODUCTION An inquiry into ancient Greek religion beyond polis religion necessarily starts from the question of what we mean by polis religion and the impact of this model on how we conceive of ancient Greek religion as a field of study. In current scholarship, particularly in the Anglo-American and Francophone worlds, polis religion has become a powerful interpretative model for the study of Greek religion. The model is now sufficiently well established that we need to explore its implications as well as the alternatives that complement or move beyond it. Surprisingly, however, the implications of the model are rarely discussed in the study of ancient Greek religion. There is no single account that directly and comprehensively responds to Sourvinou-Inwoods two methodological articles on polis religion – the most explicit conceptual formulation of the model. This chapter offers a critical evaluation of where we stand. It identifies key problems in the scholarly use of the polis-religion model and examines how individual scholars have positioned their work in regard to these issues. Rather than rejecting the model outright, the chapter aims to move the debates forward by exploring its scope and limits. It examines polis religion in its different forms and formulations and discusses the ways in which some scholars have recently sought to overcome the ‘polis orientation’ implicit in large parts of the work done in this field.

Parmeniscus’ Journey: Tracing Religious Visuality in Word and Wood

he fifth book of Semus’ History of Delos (DhliavÍ), dating perhaps from the late third century b.c.e., features a certain Parmeniscus from the city of Metapontum in southern Italy, a man distinguished by birth and wealth. Parmeniscus had consulted the oracle of Trophonius in Lebadeia (Boeotia), a consultation that involved descending into a cave. One of the well-attested effects of the oracular procedure at this institution was the (temporary) loss of the ability to laugh, and Parmeniscus was affected by this very symptom when he resurfaced from the cave.1 He referred to another, even more prominent, oracular institution in search of a remedy. The priestess Pythia at the Delphic oracle, when approached concerning this matter, responded, e≥r¬ m’ a ̊mfμ gevlwtoÍ, a ̊meÇlice, meilicÇoio: d∫sei soi mhvthr o≥koi: th;n eßxoca t∂e (“You, implacable one, ask me about soothing laughter; the mother will give it to you at home. Honor her greatly”).2 Parmeniscus returned to Metapontum, but still did not regain the ability to laugh. Had the oracle deceived him? A little later he happened to travel to the sacred island of Delos, where he much enjoyed all the marvelous things the island had to offer. He also visited the temple of Leto, Apollo’s mother, expecting that