Chapter 3. Conquerors and Serfs: Wars of Conquest and Forced Labour in Archaic Greece Hans van Wees In many parts of the Greek world, the typical agricultural labourer was neither a free man nor a slave, but something in between. The Greeks, for once, did not have a word for it, but we may call this status “serfdom”. [1] Such serfs… Read more
Chapter 4. Agreste genus: Helots in Hellenistic Laconia Nigel M. Kennell In the aftermath of the battle of Leuctra, Sparta lost a third of its territory, comprising over half its arable land, and the majority of its helots. While their fellows west of Taygetus soon established a free state, Laconian helots, with no similar collective identity invented or genuine to differentiate themselves from their masters, remained… Read more
Chapter 5. The imaginary conquest of the Helots Nino Luraghi In a previous paper, I have questioned the idea that the Helots who worked the land of the Spartiates in Laconia and Messenia were the descendants of free populations who had occupied those areas before the Dorian conquest of Laconia and the Spartan conquest of Messenia, respectively, and had been enslaved en masse by the Spartans… Read more
Chapter 6. The Dorianization of the Messenians Jonathan M. Hall It is an axiom of recent scholarship that the primordial and essential identity proclaimed by an ethnic group may often be a recent and illusory fiction, forged in the context of—and in response to—precise historical circumstances, but this view was actually anticipated already in 1922 by Max Weber, who emphasized that subjective beliefs in common descent… Read more
16. Constructing Legitimacy: The Ptolemaic Familiengruppe as a Means of Self-Definition in Posidippus’ Hippika [1] Elizabeth Kosmetatou, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Scholarly interest in the Hellenistic epigram has recently soared, and important studies have been published on its specific characteristics, context, models, and development. [2] Of particular relevance is the ongoing vivid discussion of the process… Read more
17. Reading as Seeing: P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 and Greek Art Nassos Papalexandrou, University of Texas at Austin O Queen of Egypt with the lovely brow—To you—thou smilest and to me it seemsThe earth has owned but one such smile; ’twas thouVisitedst Lionardo in his dreams. (Kenyon Cox 1888) This essay is motivated by a fascinating collection… Read more
18. “Drownded in the Tide”: The Nauagika and Some “Problems” in Augustan Poetry [1] Richard F. Thomas, Harvard University Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swellAnd the profit and loss. A current under seaPicked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fellHe… Read more
19. Posidippus’ Iamatika [1] Peter Bing, Emory University The Milan papyrus confronts its modern readers with many surprises, among them—due to its singular subject matter—the short section entitled ἰαματικά (AB 95–101). To help us get our bearings in the terrain of this extraordinary new text, I want in this paper to pose some rudimentary questions such as the following: … Read more
20. ‘Tropoi’ (Posidippus AB 102–103) Dirk Obbink, University of Oxford The section comprising the eight poems following col. xv 23 in P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 (Posidippus AB 102–109) is headed by the sub-title Τρόποι. It comes late in the collection as preserved, but it was not its final one: the blank space left after AB 109 originally contained the heading of another section, now lost, but which may have… Read more
Afterword. An Archaeologist’s Perspective on the Milan Papyrus (P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309) Gail Hoffman, Boston College When I was asked to participate in a workshop on the new Milan papyrus (P.Mil.Vogl.VIII 309) with epigrams attributed to Posidippus, I wondered how an archaeologist, who generally works in the Early Iron Age (ca. 1100–700 BCE), could possibly contribute to a discussion about Hellenistic epigrams. However, as I have come… Read more
