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Belarus: Dzerzhinsky's Shadow
Lukashenka welcomes U.S. sanctions as the 'best present' he could have received.
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Lukashenka welcomes U.S. sanctions as the 'best present' he could have received.
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Top Belgrade officials split over Serbian participation in this month's Kosovo elections.
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Taking departure from Arrian’s famous statement (Anab. 1, Praef. 2) that he mainly relied on Ptolemy Soter’s account of Alexander the Great’s history since Ptolemy was the king and lies should be avoided by him, the roots of the idea of the royal truthfulness are discussed. It is claimed that the Greek political thought about monarchy and the institution of kingship had a strong ethical flavor but the argument of the kings’ veracity was not especially stressed out. Arrian, however, has found it both in Alexander the Great’s ideology and the ideology of the royal court in Ptolemaic Egypt. Essentially, however, the origins of the truthfulness idea are to be sought in the royal Oriental (Achaemenid especially), official ethics, under the influence of which Alexander certainly remained. The novelty of Arrian the historian’s decision should by thus appreciated. It does not mean that Arrian’s account of Alexander’s expedition is ideally objective but it certainly means that in his effort to give a possibly unbiased history of the Macedonian king’s achievements, he tried to do his best.
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The article focuses on the image of the three rulers of the Lagid Dynasty: Ptolemy IV, Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII, which was included in the sources, The Histories by Polybius in particular the ancient tradition is especially hostile towards Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy VIII, who are presented as the rulers neglecting state matters, concentrated on their own pleasures and, particularly in the case of Ptolemy VIII, cruel. Polybius’ most serious charge leveled against Ptolemy IV concerns his idleness as well as leading an inept foreign policy. In the light of the assessment of Ptolemy IV’s reign, Polybius’ opinion is not completely justified. On can judge that Ptolemy IV’s lifestyle decidedly influenced the opinion concerning his reign. It cannot be ruled out, however, that what we have to deal with in this case is the Ptolemies’ and the antique authors’ different understanding of the concept of tryphé (trufἠ). Affluence as a means of the possibilities of acting and the manifestation of splendour of the monarchy’s power was the idea that formed the basis of the concept of tryphé in the Ptolemies’ propaganda and ideology. Tryphé was the sign of the dynasty’s power, prosperity and constituted a complement of one of the most important elements of the Hellenistic kings’ propaganda, that is euergetism. The concept of tryphé was, nevertheless, ambiguous. In the light of the antique accounts, the understanding of the above concept was dominated by the pejorative aspects, such as a passion for luxury and a riotous lifestyle, which led to debauchery and effeminacy. At least a part of the opinions included in the antique sources can be explained just by the differences in the perception of the concept of tryphé on the part of the Ptolemies and Greek intellectuals. It does not concern only Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy VIII, but also Ptolemy VI, who was very positively presented in the antique tradition. Despite all his real liking for him, Polybius points out his tendency to live life to the full in an excessive manner. Tryphé constituted, however, a significant element of the Lagids’ ideology and it is difficult to suppose that the members of the dynasty consistently used the means which fell on barren ground. Even if the Ptolemies could not reach the intellectual elites in this way, the manifestation of tryphé brought results in the case of the other recipients, such as the ordinary subjects who were supposed to admire the splendour and affluence of the dynasty. When it comes to the representatives of culture and science, the Ptolemies successfully managed to get through to them in different ways, for instance by the acts of euergetism or by providing patronage for culture and science. Nonetheless, tryphé in a considerable way influenced the way in which the Ptolemies were perceived by ancient authors.
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The paper is an analysis of the scene in Ant. XI, 8: the supposed meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish High Priest, revealing Alexander’s special status as a chosen of God. The analysis concentrates on two issues: the literary character of the description and the problem of Alexander’s kingship as presented in Jewish literature.
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Many scholars believe that literary and artistic level of Book V of Vergil`s Aeneid is much lower than in the neighbouring books four and six. Nonetheless a detailed analysis of the contents and composition allows, in my opinion, to treat Book V as interesting and valuable. Vergil concentrated primarily on the sense of suffering which often befalls innocent people. The most vivid is the example of Palinurus whose undeserved and sacrificial death permits Aeneas to continue with his mission. The death of Palinurus and Dido is, I think, a symbolic farewell of Aeneas with the Trojan past and the wandering on the sea. The participants in the games are all secondary characters. By introducing them Vergil, I believe, wished to stress the importance of every man of Aeneas` crew in the fulfilling of the task set by destiny. The importance of fatum and fortuna increases exponentially in the instances where human strength and abilities fail.
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The present paper investigates the autopresentation of Alexander of Aphrodisias as the philosopher – teacher of kings.
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The paper discusses monetary and sculptural portraits, either attributed or tentatively identified as representations of Mithridates VI Eupator. The object of analysis are their iconographical features as well as their dependence on Hellenistic royal portraitures as well as the issue of imitatio Alexandri.
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The paper traces the lives and careers of elite families of Greek descend in the Roman empire. Main focus of the paper is the family of Statilii, active in the Peloponnese in the 1st-3rd c. AD. The memebers of the family served as local officials of the highest rank and gained great influence in the province, becoming prominent representatives of the regional elite.
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The article begins with short introduction referring to the role of advisors, teachers and sages in the political life with emphasis on the changes connected with the emergence of Athenian democracy and education offered by the sophists. Athenian state offers excellent opportunities for political education, on the other hand the existence of a sage in the system based on the popular rule in the eyes of some intellectuals proves to be difficult, or impossible. Plato’s reaction on the death of Socrates results in his resigning from public activity, Isocrates however finds his own way of life in accordance with his views. He seemingly retreats from political activity, because he does not present his speeches in the assembly, still he takes part in political life by writing treatises referring to the contemporary issues. The treatises To Nicocles and To Philip prove that his interests were not limited to the Athens; he was eager to consider different political systems and believed that addressing the powerful leaders might be quite an efficient way to influence political reality. In the treatise To Nicocles he offers the general set of principles that should be obeyed by a king in order to preserve his authority and take good care of the state, the treatise To Philip comprises an appeal to the king of Macedon encouraging him to unite Greece in the crusade against Persia. In spite of obvious differences in the historical context, both works present mixture of moral idealism and political pragmatism characteristic for Isocrates, who put en effort in establishing for himself the position of political commentator and advisor. His professional activity added a new quality to the political culture of Athens, where an individual either took active part in assemblies and administration, or chose the life of a private man. Isocrates escaped this alternative and introduced a new model of an intellectual in the public sphere.
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The paper discusses Medieval interpretation of Roman legal prescription, concerning the acceptance of gifts and presents by state officials. The discussed text is the Kórnik manuscript of Digestum Vetus and the comments that it contains, both in form of text and illustrations, that pertain to the main issue debated.
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Review of the volume "Narratives 8. Narrative, culture, history", edited by Tamás Kisantal.
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Study about sport life in the Transylvanian city Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca) during the period of the of the Compromise.
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Fragment from a retrospective lecture on communist censorship in Romania during Ceauşescu's reign.
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Online social networking has recently become a major mass media topic, a source of an optimistic buzz, but also the focus point of various social anxieties. In parallel with the unprecedented rise of social media use among Romanian internet users, Romanian mass media has also been devoting increasing space to the risks and opportunities presented by social networking sites. This paper investigates Romanian news media representations of online social networking, focusing on the coverage offered by two of the largest news outlets. It charts the main risks and opportunities associated with the use of these sites, with special attention to the way concerns about children's social media use are framed, the moral language the latter are cast in, and the voices framing the representation of children's online experience.
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Study about the inequalities associated with Internet use in Romania.
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Interview with contemporary Hungarian poet Márió Nemes Z., by Imre József Balázs.
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Whereas in postmodernism, being was left in a free-floating fabric of emotional intensities, in contemporary culture the existence of the self is affirmed through the network. Kazys Varnelis discusses what this means for the democratic public sphere.
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Review of "Ördögszáj" [Devil's Mouth] by contemporary Hungarian playwright István Vörös.
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