Editorial for Rosetta issue 28.
Articles
A study of the social and cultural lives of Greek men involved in long-standing homosexual relationships remains under-explored. Several studies have highlighted the importance of forensic oratory in shedding light on the complex social realities of the ancient world.1 Using an Athenian lawcourt speech, Lysias’ speech Against Simon, this paper investigates the significance of citizen-status males dispensing with the obligation of marriage and forming an enduring companionship with a socially and politically marginalised man to Greek norms and culture. Much of the scholarship on Greek homosexuality ignores the role of subaltern groups in same-sex relationships. Consequently, it underestimates the existence of homosexual practices beyond the codified structures of the conventional pederastic relationship model. Moreover, current studies on ancient sexuality and gender have overlooked the tension such unconventional relationships created with mainstream culture and values. Applying a multidisciplinary lens to Lysias’ speech Against Simon, the author considers how its narrative on same-sex desire, relationships, shame, and masculinity reveals a complex and diverse image of Greek homosexuality. By focusing on the participation of a subaltern man, I argue for the existence of a subculture in Classical Athens that sustained unconventional homosexual relationships and non-conforming gender behaviour.
Are metal detectorists really the bane of the professional archaeologist’s career? Or can they provide a useful source of material that may not be found otherwise? This paper will consider both sides of the argument, demonstrating how some of the biggest issues many have with detectorists are not necessarily the immense barriers they seem and how archaeologists would benefit from working with detectorists and fostering good working relations. It will put forward the idea that this data, collected in the Portable Antiquities Scheme Database, can be considered a form of ‘big data’. It is statistically significant due to its sheer volume and is, therefore, useful to archaeological research. There may be biases and flaws in the data, but this is true of all archaeological data and these can be overcome with proper research methodologies.
In the erotic experience as presented by Plato, the concept of otherness develops within the philosophical construction in different ways. In the Phaedrus, eros is experienced bipolarly, because it is personified and expressed differently and not equally in each member of the erotic pair. The depiction of the lover depends partly on that of the beloved, as the erotic experience itself is built upon the idea of ἔρωτος τινός. But beyond the presence of the beloved, the lover meets two more types of otherness. On the one hand, after seeing the beauty of the beloved, he notices the similarity within the notion of otherness and diversity, and understands that there is another world, purely conceivable with which he tries to come in contact. On the other hand, during the ascent to the world of Forms, he is confronted with his personal otherness, which is the struggle among the parts of the soul. Through the topic of otherness in Platonic eros, we find the critical points of sexual expression, the response of the beloved, the character and behavior of the lover, and the perception of and contact with the world of Forms.
There is an innate relationship between music and pastoral poetry that allows Ovid to manipulate the genre through a number of key scenes throughout the Metamorphoses. Theocritus’ Idylls and Virgil’s Eclogues have established this relationship in pastoral poetry and act as Ovid’s inspiration. The aim of this paper is to explore pastoral’s development through the analysis of key narratives and highlight the significance of the role of music. The episodes of Argus, Syrinx, Battus, Marsyas, Apollo and Pan’s competition, and Polyphemus show the genre’s development and changes, and comparison to Ovid’s poetic pastoral inspirations, Theocritus and Virgil, highlights its altered form. Ovid takes the simplistic bucolic landscape and its characters and inserts violent, shocking actions within the episodes. The poet constantly subverts the reader’s expectations in a supposedly peaceful and rural setting and music is essential to its manipulation.
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Book Reviews
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