ISSUE VI

FEA TURED A RTICLES:

Humani ty's Cradle: Pan-A frican A rchaeology

A ssyria: The M iddle K ingdom

A rchaeometry: The Science of A rchaeology

One M an's M agic: M yth and Ri tual in the A ncient World

CLASSICS| ARCHAEOLOGY | ANCIENT HISTORY

I n ista luce vive: The Br itish School at Rome's undergraduate

summer course

The New Music Movement of 5th Century B.C Greece

8 2618

Greater than Alexander?Philip II of Macedon and his empire

FIND US ONLINEWWW.MAMUCIUMMAGAZINE.COM TWITTER: @MAMUCIUMONLINE

MAMUCIUM

2

MAMUCIUM: ISSUE VIMEET THE MAMUCIUM EDITING AND DESIGN TEAM

SKY EMERY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DESIGNER FOR ISSUE VI

CHRISTOPHER MOWAT

LEAD SUB-EDITOR

THOMAS CHARLES

SUB-EDITOR/SUB-DESIGNER

SHASHANK PALETY

TREASURER

MEGAN WHITTAKER

SUB-EDITOR

Hello, and welcome to Issue VI of Mamucium!

Our thanks go out to the SALC Admissions and Classics and Ancient History Departments at Manchester for making this issue possible. It's thanks to the generosity of the departments that you now have this issue in your hands.

As the new editor-in-chief for the 2014-15 academic year it's my privilege to have worked on the editing and design of this issue with the team. We've made some changes to how we do things and hopefully this will improve and develop the magazine as we move into the new year.

Whether you're the top of your field, just getting interested in ancient cultures or somewhere in between, Mamucium aims to interest you this issue. Plus, don't forget you can join our team no matter how far from Manchester you are - we now have graduates writing from such far-flung lands as Newcastle! If you're in Manchester, of course, you'll find it easier to come to our occasional social events, but otherwise, look out for our updates on Twitter (@MamuciumOnline) Facebook (/MamuciumMagazine) and our own site, mamuciummagazine.com.

Vale!

Sky Emery

Background image : Cubiculum in the House of the Griffins; Front Cover image: Plate showing Hector and Achilles fighting over the body of Euphorbus; Back cover image: Hands of the Boxer bronze; Inside back cover page: Lago Albano; p.30: Soldier statue from Villa of Hadrian. Image credit for all above: Sky Emery

Mamucium logo designed by Sheel Doshi. Copyright retained by Mamucium.

All images within the body of this magazine sourced under Creative Commons License from Wikimedia Commons, unless specified otherwise in the caption or bibliography (pp. 28-29).

15

ASSYRIA: THE MIDDLE EMPIRE

3

84 12

16

Sky Emery

18

Christopher Mowat

Shashank Rao Palety

PAN-AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY ONE MAN'S MAGIC;ANOTHER MAN'S RELIGION

THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

ARCHAEOMETRY: THE SCIENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

30

CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY EVENTS

Victoria Ita

Emma Mellor

PHILIP II OF MACEDON:GREATER THAN ALEXANDER?

THE NEW MUSIC MOVEMENT OF 5TH CENTURY B.C. GREECE

Thomas Charles

26

Silvannen Gerrard

SATURNALIA: AN EXCERPT FROM MACROBIUS

22

Recommended by the editor

In t ranslat ion

PAN-AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTIONVICTORIA ITA

BSocSci (HONS) SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

SECOND YEAR

PAN- AFRICAN STUDIES

Africa is a continent with over fifty countries (including the island sovereign nations) and a population of over 1.1 billion people (2013), so it is natural that there should be an almost infinite number of legitimate approaches to pan-African archaeology. In this introduction to the topic of pan-African archaeology, I want to explore scientific studies of material remains within Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and Libya of past human life, as well as historical and cultural values. This article will further highlight responses of modern African scholars to misinterpretation and misrepresentation by some Western archaeologists, and explore modern threats to an accurate understanding of the heritage of the many groups across the continent.

It is only due to the restrictions of space that the discussion has been limited to the five countries named above. There are over ten times this number of countries in Africa, and modern borders and definitions of social groups have changed dramatically over time - see one example in the map of the Nok civilisation's area on p.7.

Camer oon

Major discoveries were made during research conducted across the Chad-Cameroon oil pipe trench in both 1999 and 2004. Research originally started during the 1070 kilometre pipeline's construction phase, with the aim of developing further insight into the indigenous history of Cameroon. The pipe runs southwest across the country, from the border with Chad to the western coast.

Archaeologists told the media they had found a site in southern Cameroon with a continuous history of about 5000 years, evidenced by artifacts from Cameroon's Iron and Stone Ages. Stone artefacts found included axes, arrow points, knives and fire scrappers from stone. Previously, the indigenous background of some groups in Cameroon has been denied and marginalised in regional history, but there is now a movement towards the protection of the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous groups. This forms the backbone of various projects, such as PRO 169.

Sout h Af r ica

South Africa has its own archaeological society, which aims to connect the gap between archaeologists and anybody who enjoys the subject and wants to gain further insight into the country's history. One particularly important site that was discovered in South Africa in 1991 was Blombos Cave. Discoveries from here have provided answers about the Homo sapiens who stayed in the area 100,000 years ago. Without entering into a debate of whether modern humans evolved in Africa, there are many archaeological sites and artefacts which help shape prehistory in South Africa, as well as furthering an accurate understanding of the past. In addition to this, there was also a discovery in Blombos Cave of two pieces of ochre, both engraved with abstract designs. These beads were made from Nassarius shells which were over 75,000 years old, as well as 80,000 year old bone tools. Both of these are some of the earliest evidence for shell-fishing, to over 140,000 years ago.

Another archaeological site in South Africa is the Sterkfontein Caves in the province of Gauteng. The region is also referred to as the Cradle of

4

(Above) Cape Town, South Africa, as viewed from Table Mountain.The oldest human artifacts ever found underwater - a set of hand axes dated to somewhere between 300,000 and 1,500, 000 years old - were found in Table Bay off the coast of Cape Town. In this period Table Bay would have been coastal land bordering the Atlantic Ocean.

(Below) Excavation site at Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa, 570 miles north east of Cape Town.Image credit: M ike Peel. www.mikepeel.net

5

Humankind because of the amount of early hominid fossils it contains. The caves are now owned by the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Archaeologists from the university are in charge of the main excavations at the site. (See previous page for image.) So far about 500 hominids have been found, including a skull of an Australopithecus africanus referred to as ?Mrs. Ples?.

In 1988 an almost complete Australopithecus fossil skeleton was discovered, but the fragments were not pieced together for several more years. The skeleton has since come to be known as ?Little Foot? and has tentatively been dated to 3.3 million years old, rather than the original proposed date of 2.2 million years. It's therefore possible that Little Foot is a direct ancestor of the human race.

NIGERIA

Nok is a village in Kaduna state in Northern Nigeria, as well as an archaeological site, which is well- known for its terracotta sculptures and art. The site has been dated to a civilisation from the mid first BCE which we now know as the Nok culture.

The Nok culture is the earliest known civilisation to have produced life-sized terracotta on the African continent, and the detailed hairstyles of the pieces are particularly refined. Through the study of various archaeological sculptures and artefacts, we can more fully appreciate the roots and ideas behind the aesthetics of Nigerian jewellery.

Libya

The conflict in Libya is a contemporary example of how its archaeological heritage has been overshadowed in comparison to major national issues featured in the media, such as the religious and political tensions throughout the nation. The current conflict in Libya has threatened the preservation of the country's archaeological heritage sites

and its research centres. In 2011, a museum in the major town of Bani Walid was looted and destroyed by anti-Gaddafi armed forces who seized the museum and defaced it with revolutionary slogans. The university campus of Bani Walid, where a group of female students had been making a film about Bani Walid's history, was destroyed by NATO strikes during the Civil War.

The future of Libya's heritage is threatened by the military crisis. Libya's rich heritage has connections with many other cultures; Cyrene in Eastern Libya was recognised in 630BC by the Greeks, and remains a city of major importance in the Jebel Akhdar region. The erasure of Libyan heritage sites and artefacts is causing irreversible gaps in the understanding of the Libyan people's cultural heritage.

RESPONSES TO ISSUES CREATED BY COLONIALIST ARCHAEOLOGY AND ERASURE OF PAN- AFRICAN HISTORY

The archaeology of countries on the African content is well-known to have been widely misinterpreted and misrepresented by colonialist archaeologists. Even modern approaches remain Eurocentric; 'everyday' terms like 'sub-Saharan' still carry Eurocentric viewpoints with geopolitical roots. 'Sub-saharan' denotes an adherence to the colonialist concept of a 'Saharan Barrier' - the idea that the African countries along the Mediterranean coast were 'whiter' and 'worthier' of study (consider Egypt) because of their links with European countries (though these were mostly European invasions.) Countries further south than the Sahara were considered 'barbarian' states in need of saving from their supposed inferiority.

Such racially insensitive attitudes could not fail to impact on the work of twentieth-century archaeologists and scholars before them. In the twenty-first century it is hoped that outdated viewpoints and misinterpretations will be dismissed in favour of newer and more respectful approaches to research.

One of the responses from African archaeologists to this is the creation of the Society of Black Archaeologists, which was founded in 2011. The Society of Black Archaeologists has a mission of promoting socially responsible academic research into pan-African history. One of their recent projects is the Oral History Project, the main aim of which is to research and reclaim the histories of the many and varied peoples on the African continent. The project highlights the contributions of black scholars and archaeologists to understanding these histories. It can be accessed at: www.societyofblackarchaeologists.com/oral-history-project.

6Terracotta f igure from Nok, Nigeria, in

the Nok art style

AIMS OF THE SOCIETY OF BLACK ARCHAEOLOGISTS

7

1. To lobby on behalf and ensure the proper treatment of African and African  Diaspora material culture.

   2. To encourage more people of African descent to enter the field of archaeology.

   3. To raise and address concerns related to African peoples worldwide

   4. To highlight the past and present achievements and contributions that people of African descent have made to the field of archaeology.

   5. To ensure the communities affected by archaeological work act  not just as objects of study or informants but are active makers and/or participants  in the unearthing of their own history.

Rock art of two cats f ighting, Wadi Mathendous in Libya

Map of area inhabited by Nok culture

THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROMEANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER COURSE

23 undergraduates descend on Rome for an intensive 12-day intensive course in ancient history structured around visits to dozens of ancient sites and monuments, featuring the Colosseum, Ostia, ten evening lectures and an unbelievable amount of walking.

SKY EM ERYBA (H ONS) CLASSICAL STUDIES

TH IRD YEAR, UOM

8

DAY ONE: GETTING TO ROME

The flight to Rome from Manchester is pretty much like

any other flight; the real adventure starts when you arrive at one of Rome's two airports, realise the WiFi doesn't work, you haven't set your phone up for roaming and you don't speak a word of Italian yet.

Eventually by some miracle (and with the help of two lovely Italian art students) I locate the School, which is designed to look like the lovechild of an ancient villa and temple. I meet my roommates - Alice and Jane - and about twenty of us gather in the courtyard to meet each other and our tutors for the week - Robert Coates-Stephens and Ed Bispham. These two are hilarious. It's clearly going to be a good week. Travel passes are given out and we are instructed not to lose them. I (accurately) predict that I'll lose mine by day ten.

There's an introductory lecture in the evening, followed by drinks on the terrace. We meet Chris Smith, the director of the School, and have the chance to talk more with Rob, Ed and each other before dinner. It transpires that there are students from everywhere in the UK - Dublin, Glasgow, Reading, Durham, St. Andrews, Oxford, Exeter, London, the Open University and others besides. I'm the only student from Manchester, but most people don't know each other, so it's not really a problem.

DAY TWO: THE TIBER

Breakfast at the BSR is a real Continental pastry affair, and most of us can't resist having seconds before we head out and traumatise the Italian commuters by piling onto the bus at the stop near the Villa Borghese. It's a hilarious journey to say the least, and we all seem to know each other

much better within about fifteen minutes.

The themes of the day include the Tiber and the Forum

Boarium, including a visit to an excavation site at the church of San Omobono where we're told about ongoing research and current discoveries regarding two temples, but one of our most thought-provoking site visits is Monte Testaccio - it's normally closed to the public, but the BSR has secured a permit for our group.

Nothing embodies the mass import economy of an ancient city like an entire hill made from broken amphorae. In many ways it's important to appreciate this side of ancient Rome, the city of relentless consumption that operated mass trade on a major scale. Trade was in wine and grain and olives and every other edible (and inedible) thing found across the Mediterranean. It's easy to get carried away with high ideals of Latin elegy and rhetoric, but the way to an ancient Roman's heart is often through his stomach.

DAY THREE: TRIUMPH

The Pantheon is not what I expect - full of Catholic imagery that bears little resemblance to the Roman pantheon. Much of the Roman statuary is now in the Vatican Museum and under the control of the Catholic church, which - controversially - has a level of control over Italian archaeology that simply doesn't apply in the UK. Funnily enough, the location of the start of the ancient triumphal route is now the site of a papal tailor - dubbed the Pope's sock shop.

We follow the route past some old temple ruins inhabited by a small army of stray cats to the Theatre of Pompey - or rather, the old site of it. The theatre is no longer standing, but the semi-circular shape of the auditorium is preserved by the curve of the terraced houses. The theatre of Marcellus, on the other hand (a small trek away) is physically in good shape - if you ignore the kind of penthouse palace someone has built on the top layer...

Some of the sites we visit are completely buried now, but can still be accessed through a staircase inside the church of San

Nicola in Carcere. Wandering underground down a tiny, ancient side-alley between the bases of two temples, as a Roman might have done whilst taking a shortcut to the vegetable markets in the old Forum Holitorium, I reflect on the enormous privilege of having a place on this course. I could have visited independently, but I could never have appreciated half these sites without the information Ed and Rob can provide, nor even gained access without the special permits secured by the BSR.

DAY FOUR: ANCIENT FORA

Anyone who has ever been to Rome will remember the bizarre chirping made by cicadas. These cricket-like insects are most active in high heat - something not in short supply in Rome - and today they are out in full force, forming a cacophonous backdrop to the boiling city fora.

In the Forum Romanum we visit the Comitium and the basilicae of Aemilia and Julia, plus multiple temples including those to Concord, Antoninus and Faustina, Vespasian, Castor and Julius Caesar. Not all of these are much more than the ruins of their foundations, but they're impressive nonetheless, as is the House of the Vestal Virgins, where several statues of the Vestals still stand in the ancient garden. There's still water in the ancient square pool, which is naturally refreshed by rain - not that that seems likely to happen any time soon. A dragonfly hovers near it, perhaps considering laying her eggs there; it's odd to see something so fragile and temporary in a place with so many centuries of history.

Later, after visits to the Forum of Trajan (including the imperial Column and Markets) and a gelateria, we return to the BSR for Robert's lecture. As tomorrow will be our day off, we don't need to prepare for a specific exhibition or site, so the talk is on building materials in ancient Rome. Something that stands out is the sheer variety of construction materials. It's frequently conveniently forgotten by filmmakers that ancient Rome wasn't all built from pure white marble. Phrygian 9

marble, for example, has purple veining and was said by the Romans to be eternally flecked with the blood of Attis, the priest of the cult of Cybele.

DAY FIVE: ALBANUS LACUS

Having a Monday off in Rome requires some planning, as it's the day that most museums and catacombs are shut. My roommate Alice and I take the train further inland instead - to Lago Albano, a crater lake known to the Romans as Albanus Lacus. Myth has it this is the site of Alba Longa, founded by Aeneas' son Ascanius after he abandoned Lavinium.

Not having time to build any new cities, the two of us hire a pedalo and go out onto the lake instead. We pedal close as we dare to the shore of the Pope's private summer residence. It can't be seen from the water, but the remains of Domitian's villa are enclosed within the Pope's grounds; the only opportunity for public visits is by special advance permit or a booked tour at 9.30 a.m. on a Saturday. All the same, it's odd to think that we are splashing around the lake that not only Domitian but multiple other Roman aristocrats could see from their fashionable country villas.

We have to return the pedalo eventually, but we sit on the shore for a bit and drink in the sight of the mountains around the basin. The 'sand' is a sort of glittering black ash; the sort of thing people would bottle and sell as an exfoliant in Covent Garden. It washes off easily while I float on my back in the clear water, grateful to be out of the city heat. It's a moment that will stay with me long after I leave Italy.

DAY SIX: THE PALATINE

Refreshed by our days off, most of us make it to breakfast today, which is lucky since it's a pretty energetic day.

We're lucky to be able to visit much of the Palatine this week, since not only is a lot of it off-limits, but a lot of work on the site is going on in preparation for an event marking the bimillenium of Augustus'

death. Technically this was in August, but the event was postponed to Augustus' birthday. Rob calls this traditional Italian efficiency. We see the House of Augustus, the Ara Pacis and the Forum of Nerva, but the real highlight of the day is the House of the Griffins, now underground. Like many of the sites we visit, it's generally closed to the public, but thanks to our permit we're able to appreciate the well-preserved frescoes, including a stunning wall painting in the architectural style.

DAY SEVEN: MUSEUMS

We take the Metro to Montemartini Museum some way out of the city - in fact, it's a disused electricity plant that's been converted into a museum. It was originally intended to be a temporary exhibition during restructuring work on the Capitoline complex in 1997, but the juxtaposition of the ancient and industrial world created an atmospheric setting so well-reviewed that it became a permanent museum.

It's full of surprising treasures presented in experimental ways; wandering down a quiet aisle at the back, I'm suddenly confronted with the famous tomb of Sulpicius Maximus, known as the 'boy poet' - or

alternatively as an ancient victim of pushy parenting. Analysis of the youth's Greek poem, inscribed on his tomb, has previously provided some insight into the literary education of children in ancient Rome.

After the museum tour, we travel back towards Rome's centre, visiting the

auditorium of Maecenas on the way. Unlike most visitors to Rome, we're lucky enough to be allowed inside. Rob reveals how often archaeology 'gets it wrong' when he explains that the curved steps along the end of the room, which we - like plenty of archaeologists before us - assumed were seats for a small audience, is actually an elaborate water feature.

Today is a half-day, so after a quick visit to the Servian Walls by Termini before we all

split up for the afternoon. Jane, Il Kweon, Lucy and I all elect to visit the Palazzo Massimo museum, which is filled with innumerable famous treasures including the famous bronze Boxer and the well-known Discobolus. An entire room is dedicated to the display of the beautiful horti fresco from the House of Livia. My favourite piece is a large animal mosaic on the top floor, which includes a brilliantly cheeky-looking crocodile. The Palazzo Massimo is really unmissable for this one alone - not to mention the calmer statue of Augustus as Pontifex Maximus.

DAY EIGHT: COLOSSEUM

Today we break into an apartment block through the first floor window. Fortunately, it's been uninhabited since antiquity, and the rise in ground level means that the ancient block's first floor is actually at our ground level. Being inside an ancient flat is so strange - and pretty claustrophobic!

Once outside, it starts to rain, prompting an opportunist street-seller to accost us; Elle, Bronte, Kat and Lucy buy colourful Roma ponchos and are duly laughed at.

We take a trip to the Baths of Caracalla, which is a far more enormous complex than I had expected. We're even allowed to go down into the mithraeum underground before our wander around the baths, but the whole thing is cut short by a colossal downpour - it feels like the entire Mediterranean Sea is being dumped on our heads. We shelter under some trees - fortunately, while there's distant thunder, there's no lightning. We're accosted by another street seller. We panic and buy ponchos - and are duly laughed at by Elle, Bronte, Kat and Lucy.

By the time we get to the Colosseum, we've all dried off - mostly. The place is packed with tourists, but we're taken onto a top level area usually closed to

10

the public. It's exciting - what Classicist doesn't want to visit the Colosseum? - but a little sickening to be at the site of so much spilled blood and suffering for public entertainment. It's hard to reconcile the bloodthirsty public games with the philosophy and poetry that typify our high ideals of Classical history.

DAY NINE: VIA APPIA

This is one of the most intense days of the course, and Rob has brought his poncho, so naturally it's boiling all day...

We take a public bus out of Rome along the Via Appia, as far as the tower-like tomb of Caecilia Metella. Not much is left inside, but the building is structurally impressive. Frustratingly, we don't know much about Caecilia herself, but we know plenty about her male relatives. Though she was born into the incredibly powerful Metelli family, her best-known connection is probably her father-in-law Crassus, who was part of the alliance we know as the 'First Triumvirate' along with Caesar and Pompey.

It's a long walk - three miles! - back to Rome from the mausoleum, so it's fortunate for us that the Romans were so keen on straight roads. On the way back we stop at the Tomb of the Scipios with some excitement. Many of the most famous members of the Scipio family, who dominated much of Rome's history, were interred here in the small network of underground tunnels. We have to wear hard hats, although at my height there's not much chance of me hitting my head...

DAY TEN: OSTIA

Saturday has rolled around remarkably quickly, and on the coach to the ancient port of Ostia Antica we all try not to think about how close we are to the end of the course.

Originally Ostia would have been right by the coast, but since the sea has receded, we're still some kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea. This is also why there are two Ostias near Rome - old Ostia Antica and the modern Ostia Lido on today's coast.

Walking through the ruins of the old town is bizarre - not something I'd do alone at night, but gorgeous in the full light of a summer afternoon. It's a ruin, but preserved well enough to fill in the gaps. We take a walk through an old bakery and around a market which has beautiful mosaic floors. We've brought Costas Panayotakis, a Classics professor from Glasgow University who is visiting the BSR for research purposes, and he gives us a hilarious short lecture from the stage of the ancient theatre whilst we sit on the steps.

After lunch we venture into the museum and admire the sculptures. It sounds strange, but one of my favourite things about these sculptures is the feet - modern sculptures tend to have toes that get shorter from the inside to the outside of the foot, but Graeco-Roman statues tend to have feet with 'Greek toes', where the second toe is longer than the big toe - like mine!

DAY ELEVEN: HADRIAN'S VILLA

Today's trip is another coach one - this time to Hadrian's villa in Tivoli. This is possibly the sleepiest place on earth. It must have been heaven for Hadrian to retreat here, ruling from a distance in the later years of his reign. The villa is colossal, filled with buildings influenced by Hadrian's international travels. Egyptian and Greek influences are particularly obvious.

After a detailed tour of the villa, including the famous rectangular pool watched over by statues (and a small fleet of terrapins) Rob and Ed take us up to a platform on the upper level of the roccabruna tower where

you can see a 360? panorama of the surrounding mountain ranges of Lazio. Here, it's impossible not to appreciate the sheer magnificence of the

imperial lifestyle.

DAY TWELVE: VALETE OMNES

It's our final day, so we go back to the general

area near the Forum Romanum to visit some sites we didn?t have time to fit in on our other days. It?s still scorching, so it?s a relief to find that we?ll be spending most of the hottest part of the day underground or in the shade of structures like the Arch of Dolabella.

We visit the Case Romane del Celio, a residential complex which is now buried beneath the Basilica de SS. Giovanni e Paolo. The complex was excavated in 1887 by Padre Germano and has over twenty high-ceilinged rooms buried beneath the fifth century superstructure of the basilica. It?s thought that at some point a single owner bought up the living complex and had it converted into a single house. Nowadays the complex is slightly off the beaten tourist track, but people still come to see some of the ancient paintings that still survive. Similarly, the Catholic church of Santa Maria in Trastevere still has several original pieces from various phases of late antiquity. In some cases, however, the sculpted faces of 'pagan' gods which previously decorated the Roman structure were hacked off in a rather brutal onslaught against the place's history.

The day ends, to general approval, at a tiny bar, which just about has enough outdoor chairs to accommodate us. Tomorrow there will be emotional goodbyes at breakfast, but for now we just want to relax in the shade and appreciate the time we've had. For some of us, including myself. this has been an experience we could not have had without the support of the BSR and our own universities. The course fee (around £800 excluding flights) is fair but not always easy on a student budget, even with a part-time job, and several of us have been recipients of grants and scholarships.

Personally, I'm indebted to both the BSR and the Manchester Travel Fund (particularly to Polly Low) for the assistance provided. I'll be forever grateful - and I can't recommend the summer school (or Ed and Robert, the tutors) enough. I learned more than I thought possible in two weeks, visited far more places than I was able to list here and made friends from universities around the UK. If you want a classical adventure in Italy, this is it.

(Tip: The BSR application deadline is usually the start of May.)

11

ONE MAN'S MAGIC......is another man's rel igion.

In today's world, the words 'magic' and 'rel igion' are two very dif ferent things. When we think of magic we think of Harry Pot ter or Gandal f , dressed in their robes, holding a wand or staf f , chant ing mysterious languages (or, somet imes, just Lat in).Rel igion, on the other hand, is for many people a very real experience, fol lowing t radit ions in a show of faith. The lat ter is discussed in non-f ict ion, whilst the former f i l ls stories of the f ict ion sect ion of a bookshop.

In the ancient Mediterranean world, however, there was much less of a distinction. Magic was real, and was as much to do with a relationship with the gods as religion. Our modern values have led to many scholars finding it difficult to write a specific definition of the difference between these two subjects, and indeed question whether

there should be a distinction at all. Sarah Illes Johnston considers our values to be exactly the reason for a sudden interest in the field of ancient magic in the 1960s and 1970s, whereas previously it had been avoided as almost a taboo subject.1 Since then, so much scholarly ink has been spilled in drawing and redrawing the line that

divides these two areas. Jan Bremmer does well to sum up the problems with the definitions as well as the problems with creating definitions at all.2 So what are these distinctions, and, more importantly, which elements blur the lines?

Probably the biggest reason to see an ancient distinction is the fact

Early book of magic (c. 3rd-5th century CE)

12

that it was illegal to practise magic under Roman law. The Twelve Tables of Archaic Rome prohibit ?enchant[ing] crops away?,3 and similarly the Lex Cornelia de Sicariis et Veneficis of 81 BC prohibits murder by stealthy or magical means. Although both of these laws use questionable descriptions and applications, they do show a distrust and prohibition of magic. Although there are similarly prohibitions of specific religious cults (for example, the Cult of Isis was banned from the city of Rome three times between 59 BC and AD 19), traditional 'Roman' religious practice is, in fact, necessary for the maintenance of the legal and political system. So far, so distinct.

This does, however, begin to blur when we turn to the biggest evidence concerning magic in Roman legal history: the trial of Apuleius. Apuleius lived during the second century AD, and in AD 158/9 he defended himself against a charge of magic. Only his defence speech survives from this trial ? without evenso much as a verdict ? however what he does say is enlightening as to the causes and some of the 'evidence' used against him. Although this evidence is not extant, his rebuttal asks if someone is denounced a magician if they ?breathed silent prayers to heaven in some temple... [or] uttered no prayer in some temple... The same argument will be used if you have made some votive dedication, or offered sacrifice, or carried sprigs of some sacred plants?.4 These actions, to an ancient as well as modern reader, are clearly meant to be understood as religious, not magical, actions. Apuleius is

asking us to question where we draw the line between the two. 1856 years later and we still don't have an answer for him ? go figure. Terminology at first appears to be helpful in distinguishing between the different practitioners. One uses the terms goes, magos or pharmakeus in Greek or magus, veneficus or even cantatrix in Latin to refer to a magician, sorcerer, witch or wizard, with the same level of interchangeability we find in modern English. Of course, none of these terms would have been used to refer to the magician's religious equivalent, the priest (hiereus in Greek, or sacerdos in Latin), so here at least we can see a dividing line. Or would they? When we take a closer look at these words difficulty again bleeds through. Magos/magus is likely to be a loan word to the classical languages from the Persian, meaning a wise man of their religion or, as Matthew Dickie translates it, a ?fire-priest?.5

Connotations of the translation aside, we are once again faced with this idea that foreign religion is deemed magic by those who do not understand it. Similarly, pharmakeus and veneficus can also be translated as 'pharmacist' or 'poisoner', depending on context, and cantatrix in its dictionary translation means 'female singer/chanter'. But these words, aside from gender, were somewhat interchangeable ? an attitude our own language has adopted. A modern day example would be Snow White?s Evil Stepmother: is she a witch? A Sorceress? Would you dare to call her a hag? Each of these words has different connotations that it sums up

EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF APULEIUS

The whol e of Aemi l i anus' cal umni ous accusat i on was cent r ed

i n t he char ge of magi c. I shoul d t her ef or e l i ke t o ask hi s most

l ear ned advocat es how, pr eci sel y, t hey woul d def i ne a magi ci an.

I f what I r ead i n a l ar ge number of aut hor s i s t r ue, namel y, t hat

magi ci an i s t he Per si an wor d f or pr i est , what i s t her e cr i mi nal i n

bei ng a pr i est and havi ng due knowl edge, sci ence, and ski l l i n al l cer emoni al l aw, sacr i f i ci al dut i es, and t he bi ndi ng r ul es of r el i gi on, at l east i f magi c consi st s i n t hat

whi ch Pl at o set s f or t h i n hi s descr i pt i on of t he met hods

empl oyed by t he Per si ans i n t he educat i on of t hei r young pr i nces? I

r emember t he ver y wor ds of t hat di vi ne phi l osopher . Let me r ecal l

t hem t o your memor y, Maxi mus:

When t he boy has r eached t he age of f our t een he i s handed over t o t he

car e of men known as t he Royal Mast er s. They ar e f our i n number ,

and ar e chosen as bei ng t he best of t he el der s of Per si a, one t he wi sest ,

anot her t he j ust est , a t hi r d t he most t emper at e, a f our t h t he

br avest . And one of t hese t eaches t he boy t he magi c of Zor oast er t he son of Or omazes; and t hi s magi c i s no ot her t han t he wor shi p of t he

gods.

13

14

in our minds, but each can, and does, refer to the same person without discord. The terminology of magic, then, is slippery both in ancient and modern languages.

One final area worth a peek when we are discussing this blurring of definitions is Egypt. Egyptian religion, with its animal worship, mysterious temples and strange language secret even to most Egyptians, did not escape the Roman charge of magic. But Egypt as a nation, unlike Apuleius as an individual, was able to embrace this charge, perhaps even be said to go as far as to put on a show for Greeks and Romans alike. Following the nation's introduction to the empire in 30 BC, the Egyptian priests seem to have almost spread the rumours themselves of magical practice. David Frankfurter suggests a definition of ?magic? within a Romano-Egyptian context to be as much a product of a declining priesthood as secretive and illegal practices.6 Why? Well, it is perhaps the same reason why the scholars of the 1960s and 1970s (see above) began such intense study of the subject ? magic is an exotic, elusive subject, and taboo or not people will always be fascinated with it. Although the association of magic sparked a lot of prejudice towards the Egyptian priests, it also sparked a fervour that kept their religion alive and kicking long after their country's takeover. Indeed, in the first few centuries AD, the Cult of Isis actually rivalled Christianity in popularity, and very nearly took over as the most prevailing religion of the ancient world.7

The areas of 'magic' and 'religion', then, were not solidly defined in the ancient Mediterranean. Many writers, ancient and modern, have tried to create boundary lines between the two areas, but each time there seems to be something that slips through the nets, one way or the other. It is even hard to categorise them by asking each individual in question ?do you identify as a priest or a magician?? As you can see, the answer is not

always the one you expect, or even only one answer. It is better, perhaps, to see the two areas as less of a dichotomy and more as two ends of a sliding scale, whereby one can be anywhere along the line, perhaps existing as both a priest and a magician concurrently.

CHRISTOPHER MOWAT

PhD CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY 2014-2017

MA CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY, UOM; 2013BA ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANCIENT HISTORY, UOM; 2012

14

Priest praying to Horakhty ca.900 BCE

During the festival of the Saturnalia leading Roman nobles, and some scholars with them, meet at the house of Vettius Praetextatus and devote the annual celebration to conversation on matters relating to the liberal arts, inviting each other in turn to dinner, in friendly hospitality, and separating only for repose at night. For the whole of the rest days the better part of the day is devoted to serious discussions, but at dinner their talk is on topics that become the festive board. In this way there is always some subject under review the whole day long, for learned treatment or light, although the conversation at table will of course take a more jovial turn, as having pleasure for its aim rather than some earnest purpose. Certainly in Plato?s well-known Symposium (as in the works of other writers who have described such banquets) the conversation of the guests does not touch on any matter of graver import, but the theme of love, treated with diversity and charm; and Socrates indeed here, so far from seeking as usual to press his opponent hard and to tie him up in tighter and tighter knots, seems to be engaging in a sham fight rather than a battle and all but giving his victims a chance to slip away and escape.

Now the table talk, while decent and above reproach, must also be attractive and pleasant, but the morning discussions will be of sterner stuff, as befitting men of learning and distinction. And, if in the writers of old a Cotta, Laelius, and a Scipio shall continue to discuss matters of the highest importance for as long as Roman literature shall endure, surely a Praetextatus, a Flavianus, an Albinus, a Symmachus, and a Eustathius, men of like distinction and no less worth, may be permitted to express themselves in the same way.

Saturnalia was a festival held

annual in ancient Rome between

the 17th and 23rd of December. It

honoured Saturn and was a time

in which the normal social

structure was put aside, replaced

by continual gift giving, partying

and banquets. The modern

celebration of Christmas takes

some of its elements from

Saturnalia, which is why you may

find it sounds somewhat familiar.

This excerpt is from the writer

Macrobius, whose work

?Saturnalia? is an excellent

source of information about the

festival and if you wish to learn

more this piece of literature is a

recommended place to start.

Thomas Charles

15

MACROBIUS'SATURNALIA

Saturnalia by Antoine Callet, 1783

ARCHAEOMETRY:

THE SCIENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGYSHASHANK RAO PALETY

BSC (HONS) BIOLOGY, SECOND YEAR, UOM

An archaeologist is interested in finding out about the past ? they excavate, look at artefacts and read manuscripts to figure out how civilisations before us thrived or died. On the other hand, archaeometrists go a step further and using a combination of advanced scientific techniques find out the minute details ? for example, what Richard III started eating shortly before his death or where the clay in pottery found in excavations is sourced from. Or they could accurately tell the age or the period a certain building or object belonged through carbon dating, without having to make ?informed guesses?.

With breakthroughs taking place in physics, chemistry and biology, our ability to understand both the nitty-gritty of our ancestors? lives or analyse artefacts only got better. So much so that, this ardent application of technology to understand the past is now

considered to be the domain of archaeometry, separate from the broader field of archaeology.

The technology is applied chiefly to tackle five areas: the age of an artefact, locating sites and leads within them, figuring out the use of the artefacts, studying the technology of ancient civilisations and to make out the raw materials that went into producing that artefact. Finding out the age of artefact tells us how long the civilisation that it belonged to existed and the raw materials used tell us about how the environment of the site was like in yesteryears.

A variety of cutting edge technology is employed by archaeometrists. It is now possible to analyse an artefact non-intrusively through techniques like X-Ray fluorescence (for determining the internal structure), neutron activation analysis (which gives concentration of elements in large samples after

they are made ?heavy? by bombarding them with neutrons), scanning electron microscope (where electrons are used to produce highly magnified images), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (to identify elements present in traces). Dating of samples involves measuring the presence of radioactivity or isotopes (the ?heavier? version of the same element). Techniques include carbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and thermoluminescence dating.

Suitable sites for digging are remotely identified using aerial photography and satellite imagery. Once a site is shortlisted, a variety of geophysical survey methods like ground penetrating radar, magnetoreceptors (used to measure magnetic strength), electricity resistance meters, etc are employed to identify leads within a site. They work on the principle of detecting variation in physical properties like

16

Once a site is shortlisted, a variety of geophysical survey methods like ground penetrating radar, mangnetoreceptors (used to measure magnetic strength), electricity resistance meters, etc are employed to identify leads within a site. They work on the principle of detecting variation in physical properties like magnetism, electric resistivity, etc ? if the difference is significant, there could be something archaeologically significant underneath. A typical archaeometrist will spend their time trying to identify new digs, working at existing ones or analysing and preserving artefacts.

Archaeometrists can also work in museums, galleries or academia ? broadly speaking all positions open to archaeologists are open to archaeometrists. Some universities in the UK and elsewhere

offer postgraduate and doctoral studies in archaeometry. Having a background in either archaeology or a similar discipline and/or a science is essential to pursue a postgraduate qualification.

Following graduation, students may either choose to work professionally or go on to do fellowships. It can be quite surprising for some to realise how important archaeometrists are to understanding our past. Written records don?t always tell the true or complete story.

Moreover, a lot of progress ranging from discovering fire to the first developments in agriculture took place in prehistory ? none of which is documented in words. The world needs curious, determined and analytical minds to uncover the past and to tell us all the stories that have been left untold.

Archaeometry at Manchester

The former director of Manchester's archaeometry program was the late Dr. G.W.A. Newton. Under his guidance over 6,000 samples of ceramic artefacts were analysed and archived in a wide range of projects by researchers and students of all levels. The database included pottery from Austria, Britain, Crete, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, the Levant, Libya, the Czech Republic, Spain, Turkey and even some shipwrecks in the Mediterranean.

The program ran from 1970 to 2000 and continues to provide an invaluable source of information. Dr. Newton hoped that the data produced at the university would be made freely available to archaeologists and archaeometrists worldwide. It is now available globally from the site:http://archaeometry.missouri.edu/datasets/uman/index.html.

17

Measurement of secession vase with external beam PIXE (particle-induced x-rays) method. Image from Microanalytical Centre at Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia.

GREATER THAN ALEXANDER?Of all the men from Ancient Greece, Alexander I I I of Macedon, more popular ly known as ?Alexander the Great?, is probably one of the most famous. A name that even by the time of the Roman Empire had become synonymous with outstanding (military) achievement, Alexander the Great has frequently been hailed as one of the best generals of the Ancient Wor ld.2 Conversely, Alexander?s father, Philip I I , is a more neglected histor ical figure.

Though he is generally acknowledged as great man by those who have studied his reign, he has a tendency to get somewhat overshadowed by the dazzling achievements of his ?more famous, and better-documented son?.3 Nevertheless, it is arguable, as both Worthington and Müller rightly note, that without the developments and accomplishments of Philip, Alexander would not have been able to achieve all that he did in such a short space of time.4

Philip I I

Perhaps Philip II?s greatest accomplishment was the transformation he made to the stability and authority of Macedon itself during his reign. In 359 B.C., when Philip succeeded the throne, the kingdom of Macedon was in ruins, suffering from political instability and military crisis. The previous king had been killed and 4,000 hoplites (Macedon?s only real army) decimated by an invading force of Illyrians who looked likely to invade again.5 Furthermore, the rightful heir to kingship, Philip?s nephew, was too young, and both the Athenians and the Thracians supported different pretenders to the throne.6 As Worthington has noted, had the kingdom of Macedon ?been a ship, the reasonable expectation at this point was that it would sink without a trace?.7 And yet, by the end of Philip II?s reign, when he

was assassinated in 336 B.C., Macedon was the most powerful political and military superpower in the Mediterranean.8

Upon his accession, Philip clearly realised that if Macedon was ever to become more than an insignificant, peripheral kingdom that was either exploited or ignored by its neighbours, then he needed to secure its stability, and create a new military force that was capable of holding its own against the hoplite armies of Greece.9 Since the majority of the Macedonian people were peasants, Philip could not really create a hoplite force as the panoply was costly and an expense usually paid for by the (rich) individual. Thus, Philip developed the hoplite army he was familiar with to create a cheaper yet effective alternative that he could personally finance.

Firstly, he created a new spear, the sarissa, which was eighteen feet long, double the size of the conventional hoplite spear, providing his men with the

advantage of reach. Furthermore, to compensate for the fact that both hands were required to wield the sarissa, Philip also modified the traditional porpax shield, opting for a smaller, lighter one that was either strapped to the left arm, or slung from a shoulder strap in a style reminiscent to Homer?s Iliad.10 The expensive bronze breastplate was also exchanged for a cheaper version made from linen which also provided greater flexibility.11 These men were then rigorously trained to a degree unprecedented elsewhere in the Greek world12 and combined with Macedon?s existing Cavalry (known as the ?Companions?) who had adopted the brilliantly effective Scythian wedge formation.13

With this new and improved army Philip was able to defeat the Illyrains in 358 B.C., who held the territory of Upper Macedon, allowing him to unify the kingdom and make use of the rich natural resources that the area possessed.14 From here it soon became apparent that this new

Macedonian army, and Philip?s strategic use of it, were superior to anything that had gone before. Philip swiftly moved through northern Greece, besieging and capturing numerous poleis in the Calkidike and surrounding areas with startling and unprecedented efficiency.15 Between 357 and 356 B.C. he captured Amphipolis, Pydna, and Potidea, followed by 18

1

Coin from the reign of Philip II

719

Methone in 354 B.C. and Olynthus in 348.16 Furthermore, Philip also became archon of Thessaly in 352 B.C., providing him with both the use of the brilliant Thessalian cavalry, and the ability to legitimately interfere with the affairs of the Amphictyonic Council centred at Delphi.17

Philip II?s dominance over the northern Greek states and his potential threat to the rest was eventually challenged by an alliance between Athens and Thebes. However, they were decisively defeated by the Macedonia army at the battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C.18 making Philip the de facto ?master? of the Greek world.19

Alexander the Great

Alexander came to power two years later in 336 B.C. when Philip was assassinated, but he had always displayed amazing potential. Plutarch records that even when Alexander was only seven-years-old he was allegedly found asking detailed questions from the Persian ambassadors at the Macedonian court as to the communication routes and size of their army.20 When his father left him temporarily in charge of the kingdom in 340 B.C., when he was sixteen, Alexander was responsible for putting down a revolt, which ended in him founding Alexandropolis, his first of many cities. Furthermore, at the age of eighteen, he led the Macedonian cavalry to spectacular success at the battle of Chaeronea, decimating the Theban Sacred Band and helping to secure victory for his father.21

As soon as he was proclaimed king, Alexander marched through Greece to assert his authority, finally being acknowledged at Corinth as leader of the Greeks in the war against Persia.22 Following a brief campaign against Macedon?s western neighbours to secure his borders, Alexander returned to Greece

to put down a rebellion in Thebes. Then, in 334 B.C., he crossed the Hellespont to join his advance forces in Asia Minor, thus beginning the conquest for which he best known.23

Within a year, Alexander defeated Darius, the king of Persia, at the battle of Issus and had him on the run, capturing Darius? abandoned family in the process.24 However, instead of pressing on in pursuit of the king, Alexander veered off along the coast, successfully laying siege to Tyre from the sea with torsion stone-throwers, something that had never been done before. Though the assault lasted for seven months, Alexander?s use of siege machinery here surpassed even the brilliance of his father.25 Following this Alexander turned towards Egypt, an unexpected but perhaps ?understandable? move.26 Nevertheless, regardless of the delay in Egypt, Alexander was soon back on the march, again defeating Darius at the battle of Gaugamela. Following Darius? assassination, Alexander then defeated the new self- proclaimed king, Bessus (Artaxerxes V), eventually doing what no Greek before had ever done, and conquering their great Persian rival.27

If Alexander had fault it was that he believed his own myth, totally convinced of his own divinity and right to conquer. Only when his army mutinied in 326 B.C. at Opis when he wanted to continue on and conquer India, which was

thought to be the end of Asia, was he forced to turn back.28 Furthermore, Cawkwell has also criticised Alexander for his actions at Issus, where the Persians were able to outflank him, and at Gaugamela, in which the opposition broke through the Macedonian centre, making the battle ?a close run thing?.29 This is not to take anything away from Alexander, however, and he truly

was worthy of his fame. The scale of Alexander?s conquests, and the ruthless speed with which he achieved them, along

with the fact that he was never defeated,30 was truly remarkable and unprecedented, and his achievements would cast a long shadow over the Ancient World.

Not until the rise of Rome would an empire the size of Macedon be rivalled, and even though the solidarity and unity of the kingdom fragmented following Alexander?s death, both he and Philip had forever changed the Mediterranean World.31 ?In the space of thirty years? two men had raised the insignificant, weak kingdom of Macedon to become the master of the Mediterranean.32 Alexander?s achievements in little over ten years will always continue to dazzle the world (and rightly so). Nonetheless, as Cawkwell has noted, in the matter of political (and even sometimes military strategy) Alexander was superseded by his father.33 Supreme in both politics and war, Philip spectacularly transformed the disunited kingdom and ruined army he inherited into the superpower of the Mediterranean and ?superb instrument of war? that he bequeathed to his son.34 Therefore, though many ?tend to view Philip?s reign as a preamble to Alexander?s?,35 it should always be remembered that it was Philip?s own accomplishments that made Alexander?s possible.

7

SILVANNEN GERRARD

MA CLASSICS AND ANCIENTHISTORY, UOM; 2016

BA (HONS) ANCIENT HISTORY, UOM; 2014

Mosaic of Alexander the Great from House of the Faun in Pompeii; c. 100BCE.

20

21

ASSYRIA:THE MIDDLE EMPIRE

Assyrian history can be roughly divided into three major phases. The first, the Old Kingdom, was truly ancient and began at the end of the 21st Century BC before ending roughly in the mid 15th Century BC. This end was brought about by the Mitanni empire which controlled Assyria for just under 100 years before king Eriba-Adad (1392 - 1366 BC) broke the old empire from Mitanni control. His son, Ashur-Uballit (1365 ? 1330 BC) was

the first of a line of conqueror kings who expanded the empire?s territory. Adad-Nirari I was one of the earliest kings of this line and pioneered the justification that Assyria had been given the divine right of conquest by the gods themselves. The Middle Assyrian Empire suffered from some internal problems, and eventually its end came as the result of a failed coup and the onset of ?the ancient Dark Ages? eventually undermined the

empire and led to its collapse.

Prior to the period known as the Middle Assyrian Empire the city of Assur was under the dominion of another: the Mitanni. Their empire controlled territories in South-Eastern Anatolia and Northern Syria. This came to an end when the Assyrian king Eriba-Adad came to power. During his reign of which we know regrettably little, he threw off the chains of the Mitanni and a succession of kings

THOMAS CHARLESMA ARCHAEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER; 2015BA (HONS) ANCIENT HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY, UOM; 2013

22

followed who would rapidly expand Assyria?s borders. The first of these was Ashur-Uballit who defeated the Mitanni king in battle and brought Babylon, Assur?s old rival, under his control. He did this by marrying his daughter to the Babylonian king Kara-Hardas (half Assyrian himself).1 Sadly the historical sources are not clear and in fact disagree on the subject of exactly who she married, with some stating she married Burna-Burias, father of Kara-Hardas. Either way, when Kara-Hardas was murdered by his court the marriage was the pretext Ashur-Uballit needed. He invaded, conquered and placed Kurigalzu I on the throne.

Following this, Ashur-Ubalit went to war with Mattiwaza, another Mitanni king and defeated him in battle. Doing so allowed him to annex both the Mitanni and Hurrian empire?s lands, adding them to Assyrias growing territory. Enlil-Nirari succeeded his father as king in 1329 BC and was promptly attacked by Kurigalzu I, no doubt attempting to throw off Assyrian control now that the great Ashur-Uballit was dead. But Enlil-Nirari

was victorious in the ensuing war and made Babylon official Assyrian territory. His son, Arik-Den-Ili succeeded him in 1307 BC and would prove to be another great conqueror king as his father and grandfather before him. He campaigned into the Zagros mountains to the east, successfully subjugating tribes there and in Syria.

The next king to inherit the throne would prove to be very important to Assyria?s history. Adad-Nirari I naturally marched forth on campaign and defeated old enemies on the battlefield, the Hittites in the north west and Babylon in the south.2 His reign has left behind more artefacts and material culture than that of his predecessors. From this we have learnt of an important innovation in this conqueror king?s philosophy which is also arguably of more interest than the amount of land he conquered. He claimed that he was given the blessings of the gods to go forth and conquer, a justification that would be eagerly adopted by most of his successors.

Salmaneser inherited the throne

from his father and continued the as yet unbroken tradition of this line of kings of expanding Assyrian territory. He did so at the expense of the Hurrian kingdom of Urartu, pushing Assyrian borders out to include much of eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus mountains. These were not the only Hurrians he warred against however; under Salmaneser Assyria fought and defeated the Mitanni once again. This brought their empire to an end and was such a momentous event that it may have been a factor in the peace brokered at the time between the Hittites and Egyptians. Such a powerful, expansionist empire was a major threat and the Hittites attempted to save the Mitanni, unsuccessfully of course.

The next in line for the throne was Tukulti-Ninurta I who reigned from 1244 to 1207 BC. He defeated the Hittites again before embarking on a successful conquest of Babylonia where he claims to have stood upon king Kashtiliash IV?s neck ?as though it were a footstool?.3 He took Kashtiliash IV captive and ruled Babylon for seven years during which time he massacred its inhabitants,

7Diagram of the Eclectic Chronicle 23

destroyed its defensive walls and took on Sargon I of Akkad?s old title of ?King of Sumer and Akkad.? This period also saw the contribution of blasphemy to his royal legacy by looting a statue of the god Marduk from the city.4 This accusation of blasphemy by his priests, though ignored by the king himself, contributed to a deteriorating relationship between the two powerful factions of Assyria and the founding of a new capital city, Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta. This city lasted as long as its architect who was killed in a coup by his sons in 1206 BC.

Following the coup that toppled Tukulti-Ninurta I came a period of instability. In just under 30 years 5 kings rose and fell from the throne and Babylonian territory was lost to the Kassites. This was undone by Ashur-Dan I who reconquered northern Babylonia, and brought Assyria into conflict with the Elamites, who controlled southern Babylonia in his unusually long reign (1179-1133 BC). Following his death instability again wracked Assyria as his successor was deposed by his own brother who in turn died the same year. This left third son Ashur-resh-ishi I as king. Apparently like his forebears, he was a talented warlord and took advantage of the failing Hittite empire by taking Aramean territory from them. Although Babylonia

competed with Assyria for these lands they were ultimately defeated and imperial expansion again became the goal of Assyrian kings.

The expansion of the empire would be a major element in the reign of the next king, Tiglath-Pileser I. He started his conquests as a response to the Phrygian invasion of Assyria early in his reign, the invaders attempting to occupy territory around the northern Euphrates. Tiglath-Pileser?s armies won, however, and not only pushed them out of Assyria but went on to conquer three cities of the Luwian kingdom and forced Neo-Hittites from the province of Subartu. This preceded a conquest of Malatia and victory of the Luwian cities of Commagene, Cilicia and Cappadocia again. He built a fortress amongst them that contained copper plates that bore inscriptions celebrating his victories.

This was not the end of his conquests. He next campaigned through Syria and defeated the Arameans before travelling to the source of the great Tigris itself. He then conquered the Hittite town of Pitru which gave him control over the high road of the Mediterranean. This became the stage from which he launched campaigns against a number of Canaanite and Phoenician cities including Biblos, Tyre, Sidon and others. Tiglath-Pileser

conquered Arvad and from there sailed the Mediterranean, one of the first Assyrian kings to do so. In keeping with his ancestors he also found the time to conquer Babylon and though he did not make himself the city?s king he did use the title ?King of Sumer and Akkad?. An extremely successful king, he was also considered a great builder. Not only did he expand the empires territory to an unprecedented scale but he reconstructed the temples of Ashur of Hadad, some of the most important places of worship in the city of Assur itself. His successor was less notable. Asharid-apal-Ekur reigned for a mere two years, though notably the title of royal scribe became important during his reign, being listed by the king?s name in the Khorsabad Kinglist.

Like his predecessors Ashur-bel-kala (1073 ? 1056 BC) was a conqueror king. His reign saw a number of impressive achievements made but also saw events that would lead to the fall of the empire itself. As with other kings he set out on campaigns against his foes, defeating Urartu and Phrygia in the north and the Arameans in the west. His relationship with the Babylonian king Marduk-Shapik-Zeri was a friendly one, but that did not stop him from invading after the king?s death and installing his own puppet on the throne.5 One of the

7

Depiction of Assyrian horsemen running down defeated Arabs

24

more unusual features of his reign saw the creation of the earliest zoos. Egypt supplied a number of exotic animals as tribute which helped to populate the zoo.6

Zoos aside, Ashur-bel-kala?s reign was a fairly standard record of war against his neighbours. Near the end of his reign, however, a man called Tukulti-Mer attempted to depose the king. The ensuing civil war was terrible and was an enormous disaster for the Assyrian empire in general. Although the king defeated the pretender to the throne the war prevented him from defending his western territories and the Arameans took vast swathes of land from the Assyrians. Ashur-bel-kala was able to retake some of these territories but much remained lost to the empire. Sadly for Assyria and indeed the rest of the Near East, as his reign ended the ancient dark ages began.

What happened in Assyria next is unclear. Over the next 250 years the empire lost its territories, being reduced to the capital city-state and the land surrounding the city, albeit with a number of trade routes they managed to hold open. Nevertheless Assyria was able to weather the period of decline better than many of its neighbours. Although the borders were pushed back Assyrian kings managed to stabilise them and evidence suggests the city remained relatively prosperous. It was not entirely stable of course. Ashurnasirpal I (1049-1031 BC) oversaw a period of famine during his reign while his successor Shalmanaser II

appears to have lost territory in the Levant to the Arameans. On the other hand Ashur-nirari IV (1018-1013 BC) conquered the Babylonian cities of Pitru and Mutkinu. He was deposed by his uncle Ashur-rabi II who replicated his feat of conquest and in the process even reached the Mediterranean.7

Ultimately two kings can be given credit for bringing Assyria out of the dark ages and its ascent as the region?s dominant power once more. The first was

Ashur-dan II who reigned from 935 ? 912 BC. He oversaw a period focused on rebuilding and consolidating

Assyrian power, installing governmental offices in all of the empire?s remaining provinces. This boost to infrastructure also saw record grain harvests, providing the food and resources that his successor and son Adad-nirari II used to begin what is recognised as the final major period of Assyrian history: the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

The Middle Assyrian Empire was, particularly at its height, one of the most powerful and influential empires of the Near East. It saw a near constant expansion of its territories and eventually encompassed the northern half of Mesopotamia with heavy influence on the rest. It even conquered and controlled Babylon, a major rival of the Old Kingdom and destroy the Mitanni empire that once defeated Assyria. Despite going from strength to strength, the empire?s huge size eventually made it indefensible when Tukulti-Mer attempted to overthrow Ashur-bel-kala. This action forced the king to divert resources towards retaining control of his kingdom, allowing rivals to snatch up Assyrian land. The dark ages that followed further reduced Assyrian territory until the empire barely exceeded the city-state?s immediate territory. Despite this Assyria?s strong economic base and previously potent empire helped it to endure this period and gave Adad-nirari II a strong launching point to conquer Assyria?s old territories and establish the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

ASSYRIAN KING LISTMID-SECOND TO EARLY FIRST

MILLENNIUM BCE

Er iba-Adad: 1392 ? 1366

Ashur-Uballit I : 1365 ? 1330

Enlil-Nirar i: 1330 ? 1319

Ar ik-Den-I r i: 1319 ? 1308

Adad-Nirar i I : 1307 ? 1275

Salmaneser I : 1274 ? 1245

Tukulti-Ninur ta I : 1243 ? 1207

Ashur-Nadin-Apli: 1207 ? 1204

Ashur-Nerar i I I I : 1203 ? 1198

Enlil-Kudur i-Usur : 1197 ? 1193

Ninur ta-Apal-Ekur : 1192 ? 1180

Ashur-Dan I : 1179 ? 1134

Ninur ta-Tukulti-Ashur : 1133

Mutakkil-Nusku: 1133

Ashur-Resh-Ishi: 1133 ? 1116

Tiglath-Pileser I : 1114 ? 1076

Ashar id-Apal-Ekur : 1075 ? 1074

Ashur-Bel-Kala: 1074 ? 1056

Er iba-Adad I I : 1055 ? 1054

Shamshi-Adad IV: 1053 ? 1050

Ashurnarsipal I : 1049 ? 1031

Shalmaneser I I : 1030 ? 1019

Ashur-Nirar i IV: 1018 ? 1013

Ashur-Rabi I I : 1012 ? 972

Ashur-Resh-Ishi I I : 971 ? 967

Tiglath-Pileser I I : 967 ? 935

Ashur-Dan I I : 935 ? 912

Adad-Nirar i I I : 911 ? 891

Ashur, divine eponym of the city of Assur

25

THE NEW MUSIC MOVEMENT OF 5TH CENTURY B.C. GREECE

After centuries of dominance in the lives of the Greeks, music soon became a subsiding feature and its paideutic (educational) role gradually began to change. The phenomenon is identified by A. Salappa-Eliopoulou as being a direct result of the rise in the technical innovations that took place at the turn of the mid-fifth century.4 These innovations took music away from its initial goal and became more focused as part of the entertainment industry. What was originally fashionable soon changed, and musical contests became increasingly popular. With the increasing popularity came a completely new spectrum of performances and music styles that enabled Athens to quickly develop a lively and varied musical culture, fed by influences from her mainland and seafaring neighbours.5 It seems that what was once the accepted norm in Athens became less and less popular. With original compositions taking the main-stage, citizens greeted this New Music movement with the sound of both enjoyment and disgust.

I have chosen to focus on the three most well-attested instruments of the period; the lyra, the kithara, and the aulos, and the innovations they underwent.

The Aulos

The earliest surviving iconographic evidence for the aulos comes from part of a marble sculpture from Keros, which dates to 2800 B.C.6 By comparing very early depictions such as these with the iconographic evidence for the auloi of the late-fifth century, its appearance seems to have changed very little, if at all. Upon entering the mid-fifth century, however, we finally begin to see developments to the instrument with regards to its reeds and finger holes.

The Open-Reed Mouthpiece

The aulos is a wind instrument, and as such requires the musician to blow into the mouthpiece to enable the production of sound through the process of vibrating the reed. Theophrastus? Research into Plants (4.6) claims that prior to the fifth century, the auloi reeds were grown and prepared using a technique that allowed for a natural and ?unforced? (aplastos) sound. Theophrastus asserts that if the reeds are cut around mid-September and dried for ?a number of years? the reed will

create the unforced sound.

However, when the auletes changed their technique to a ?forced? (plasis) one, the reeds were cut earlier in July and were moulded to remain open. Theophrastus attributes this technique to Antigeneides, a famous virtuoso from Thebes, who was active in the late fifth and early fourth century B.C.

The open ends of the reed needed to be squeezed between the musicians? lips

26

Youth playing the aulos. Attic red-figure cup, ca. 460 BC?450

BC

In the modern sense of the word, the term ?music? is defined as ?an ar t form consisting of sequences of sound? organised melodically, harmonically, and rhythmically.?1 In the pre-Classical sense of the word, music translates the term ??????? (mousik?), which was used to identify not only the act of making sounds, but extended to include other ar t forms, such as poetry and dance.2 Ar istotle, in his Politics (1341a), notes the impor tance of music throughout the ancient wor ld, and so it comes as no surpr ise that musicologists, such as M.L. West, acknowledge music as essential to the pattern of Archaic Greek life.3

to create the desired forced sound. This change in moulding the reeds meant that the pitch or tone of the aulos could be modified, allowing for the player to glide between notes (modulation) and alter the volume of the sound depending on how tight they pinched the reed between their lips.7

The Finger Holes

Prior to the middle of the fifth century, the aulos had five or six finger holes in a typical arrangement.8 The arrangement imposed a limit on the amount of notes achievable: six. The only possibility of creating others prior to the New Music movement was through the process of diesis. Diesis enabled the notes to have their pitch raised slightly if the player only partly covered the finger holes. The amount by which the pitch could be raised depended on how much of the finger hole was covered, which could vary from a quartertone to a semitone.

Before the New Music movement there were three types of auloi, each one being slightly different in size to play three different Greek harmoniai (scales); the Dorian, Lydian, and Phrygian. If a musician wanted to change from one harmonia to another, they had to change to the instrument that was tuned to the desired harmoniai. This issue vanished during the New Music movement, as it became possible to play any of these three harmoniai on the same instrument.

The invention is ascribed to Promonos of Thebes, who was active in the mid-fifth century (Paus. 9.12).9 Unfortunately, Pausanias does not provide details about how Promonos managed to accomplish this, but Landels convincingly argues that we can assume that Promonos modified the design of the instrument by increasing the amount of finger holes.10

The Lyra and Kithara

According to Greek mythology, the lyra was invented by the god, Hermes (see the Homeric Hymn to Hermes,

4.48-54). The sound box, as mentioned in the hymn, was constructed from a tortoise shell. The shell, according to West, has markings that indicate the tortoise that was used for the construction of the lyra was the testudo marginata, whose carapace grows between nine and twelve inches in length and four to five in depth.11 The size of the carapace would not allow for a very powerful sound to resonate, and so the instrument was traditionally used in a domestic setting as opposed to a professional one.

The kithara had two distinct basic

forms in the fifth century: the flat-based and the round-based. The flat-based kithara was the more popular version during the fifth century and so it is this version that will be considered with regards to the innovations of the New Music movement.

The Strings

As string instruments, it comes as no surprise that the main focus of instrumental change was concentrated around the strings. A musician would

play a string instrument by either plucking or strumming the strings with their fingers or with a plectrum. In the vast majority of Classical artwork, lyres had seven strings, and the names of the strings became the names of the notes: hypat?, parhypat?, lichanos, mes?, trit?, paran?t?, and n?t?.12 The number of strings determined the pitch range available to the musician and they soon increased during the New Music movement allowing musicians to create more complex sounds.

Pseudo-Plutarch, who documents the innovations of the movement in the second century A.D, accredits several of the new musicians, such as Melanippides, Phrynis, and Timotheos, as adding additional strings to the lyres during their careers in the fifth century (Ps.-Plu. Mus. 1141d-1142a). Aristophanes alludes to music going beyond the monotony of seven notes (Aristoph. fr. 467) and Ion of Chios wrote a poem about the novelties of the eleven-stringed lyres (Ion. fr. 32). Our sources indicate that the number of strings certainly increased and this was a practise that became more popular in the fifth century, allowing the new musicians to create original compositions.

The innovations of these instruments during the New Music movement were some of the first steps in the evolutionary process of music. The lyra and kithara appear to be some of the earliest forms of our modern day guitars, and the aulos is not too dissimilar from a flute or a recorder. The fifth century New Music movement paved the way for the even more innovative age of the fourth century, where we even begin to see empirical evidence for advanced notation and scores. Without this experimental age of music and the innovations brought about by the new musicians, our musical history could have been a very different story.

27

Musician, 'black f igure' style lekythos vase

EMMA MELLOR

MA CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY (2014); BA (Hons) CLASSICAL STUDIES (2012)

28

MACROBIUS, SATURNALIA

PAN-AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION

THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

ARCHAEOMETRY: THE SCIENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

ONE MAN'S MAGIC...

All images used belong to article author Sky Emery.

1 Johnston, S.I. (2005) ?Introduction: divining divination? in Johnston, S. and P. Struck Mantikê. Brill: Leiden. 1-28.

2 Bremmer, J. (1999) ?The Birth of the Term 'Magic'? Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 126:1-12.

3 Table VIII, fr. 8a.

4 Apul. Apol. 54. trans. H. Butler (1909) Clarendon Press: Oxford.

5 Dickie, M.W. (2001) Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World. Routledge: New York. 14

6 Frankfurter, D. (2002) ?Dynamics of ritual expertise in Antiquity and beyond: towards a new taxonomy of ?Magicians?.? in Mirecki, P. and M. Meyer (eds.) Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World. Brill: Leiden. 159-178.

7 Turcan, R. (trans. A. Neville)(1996) The Cults of the Roman Empire. Blackwell: Oxford.

Society of Black Archaeologists:

http://www.societyofblackarchaeologists.com/

Vase image from Microanalytical Centre at Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia. http://www.rcp.ijs.si/mic/our_work/applications/archeometry.php

Useful links/Further reading

1. Archaeometry in Archaeology by Robert M. Ehrenreich. Journal of Archaeology Method and Theory: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20177321?origin=JSTOR-pdf

2.Interesting archaeology/archaeometry finds: http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/archaeology/

3. Isotopes reveal Royal diet, NERC: http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1745

4. Options with Archaeology, Prospects: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options_archaeology.htm

5. Scholarly articles on the various scientific techniqueshttp://www.jstor.org/stable/i23354917

6. See archaeometry and archaeology in action ? Portus Project: www.portusproject.org

BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH FOOTNOTE GUIDE

Translation of Macrobius' Saturnalia by Percival Vaughan Davies, 1969

Painting by Antoine Callet. The Saturnalia. 1783

29

5. Eclectic Chronicle, tablet, BM27859 (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1351316&partId=1) (see article for image)

1. Grayson A.K. (1975) Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles, J. J. Augustin, New York (p. 211)

2; 3. Grayson A.K. (1972) Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Vol.1, Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG ((pp. 57-59; p.108))

6. Koh, Y. (2006) Royal autobiography in the book of Qoheleth Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft,

Walter de Gruyter, Berlin (p.94)

4. Morgan, C. (2006) The ancient Near East: historical sources in translation, Chavalas, M. ed, London, Blackwell publishing. (pp145-152)

7. Pitard, W. (1987) Ancient Damascus: A Historical Study of the Syrian City-State from Earliest Times until its Fall to the Assyrians in 732 B.C.E. Eisenbrauns, Indiana (p.91)

PHILIP II: GREATER THAN ALEXANDER?

ASSYRIA: THE MIDDLE EMPIRE.

THE NEW MUSIC MOVEMENT OF 5TH CENTURY B.C. GREECE

2. Burke, E.M. (1978) ?The Greeks at War in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C.? in Military Affairs, 42: 142 ? 3. (p. 143)

26; 29; 30; 33; 34. Cawkwell, G. (1978) Philip of Macedon, Faber and Faber, London. (pp. 164; 163; 164; 150)

1; 5; 15. Gabriel, R.A. (2010) Philip II of Macedonia, Greater than Alexander, Potomac Books Inc., Washington, D.C. (pp. 61-62; 68-69; 91)

6a. Hammond, N.G.L. (1994) Philip of Macedon, Duckworth, London. (p. 26)

21. Hammond, N.G.L. (1997) ?What may Philip have Learnt as a Hostage in Thebes?? in Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 38: 355 ? 72. (p. 357)

11; 21. Heskel, J. (1997) ?Macedonia and the North, 400 ? 336? in Tritle, L.A. (eds.) The Greek World in the Fourth Century, Routledge, London, 167 ? 188. (pp. 168; 182; 185)

19. Lendon, J.E. (2005) Soldiers and Ghosts, A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity, Yale University Press, New Haven. (p. 121)

4; 6b; 19. Müller, S. (2010) ?Philip II? in Rosiman, J. and Worthington, I. (eds.) A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex, 166 ? 85. (pp. 200; 167; 177)

23; 24; 26; 27; 28. Rhodes, P.J. (2005) History of the Classical Greek World, 478 ? 323 B.C., Blackwells, London. (pp. 349; 349-351; 353-354; 353; 354-355; 356)

10; 32. Snodgrass, A.M. (1967) Arms and Armor of the Greeks, The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. (p. 114)

13; Spence, I.G. (1993) The Cavalry of Classical Greece: A Social and Military History with Particular Reference to Athens, Clarendon Press, Oxford. (pp. 20; 26-27)

31. Tritle, A.L. (1997) ?Introduction? in Tritle, L.A. (eds.) The Greek World in the Fourth Century, Routledge, London, 1 ? 7. (p. 3)

3; 4; 7; 17; 18; 21; 35. Worthington, I. (2008) Philip II of Macedonia, Yale University Press, New Haven. (pp. 26, 36-37; 147-150; 18; 210)

1 Collins English Dictionary entry ?Music? available at www.collinsdictionary.com [Accessed 8th June 2014].2 Bundrick claims that the earliest attested uses of mousik? in ancient Greek literature that display a combination of these varying nuances can be found in Pindar Ol.1.15, fr. 32 and Epicharmus fr. 91. Bundrick, S. (2005) Music and image in Classical Athens. Cambridge University Press. p.210.3. West, M. L. (1992). Ancient Greek Music. Oxford. p.284 Sallapa-Eliopoulou (2012) ?Music Evolution in Ancient Greece and the Value of Music Education in Pseudo-Plutarch?s De Musica?, Journal for the Centre of Ancient Philosophy and the Classical Tradition, 6: 76-86. (p.77)5 Rotstein, A. (2012). ?Mousikoi Agones and the Conceptualisation of Genre in Ancient Greece?, Classical Antiquity, 31: 92-127 (p.96) 6; 7; 8; 9. Landels, G.J. (1999). Music in ancient Greece and Rome. Routledge. London & New York. (pp.26; General text; 33; 36)10. ibid. 36; in his Republic, Plato also references an aulos that can move between the different harmoniai, which he dates as being invented during the New Music movement (Rep. 3.399c-d).; Barker, A. (2007). Harmonics in Classical Greece. Cambridge University Press. p. 27111. West op cit. p. 56.12. For example see the Attic red-figure kylix attributed to the Sosias painter (Berlin F2278) or the Attic white-ground lekythos attributed to the Achilles painter (Munich S80).

NOTICES AND EVENTS

THE ORESTEIA OF AESCHYLUS

SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE THEATRE, LONDON

DIRECTED BY ADELE THOMAS

Tickets

£5 standing

£16 - £43 seated

SHOWING: 29 August - 16 October 2015

13 January 2015, 10.00am ? Priority Booking opens for Friends & Patrons of Shakespeare?s Globe9 February 2015, 10.00am ? Public Booking opens

http:/ /www.shakespearesglobe.com/ theatre/

whats-on/globe-theatre/ the-oresteia

UPCOMING LECTURES OF THE MANCHESTER CLASSICAL ASSOCIATIONRoom A7, Samuel Alexander Building, University of Manchester. Lectures are followed by questions, informal discussion over a glass of wine, then dinner at a local restaurant with the speaker.

'Drama in the Gutter'28.01.15; 17.30Speaker: Costas Panayotakis (University of Glasgow)

'Women on the wal ls: The female gaze in ancient epic'25.02.15; 17.30Speaker: Helen Lovatt (University of Nottingham)

"They should speak Lat in and no other language": the pains (and pleasures) of learning Lat in in the Renaissance

18.03.15; 17.30

Speaker: Paul White (University of Leeds)

This well-preserved

ancient plate depicting

Menelaus and Hector fighting

over the body of Euphorbus (a

Trojan soldier) is currently on loan from the British Museum to

the Musee du Louvre in Paris, where it will remain until 13 February 2015. It forms part of

the 'Rhodes: a Gate from and to the Eastern Mediterranean' exhibition. The plate is dated to

600BCE and was excavated in Kamiros.

See the front cover of this issue for a close-up.

Image credit: Sky Emery

JOHN PERCIVAL POSTGATE LECTURE 2014

A history of the world in 8 mil l ion objects: What is the Brit ish Museum for now?Speaker: Dr Jonathan Will iams, Deputy Director of the Brit ish Museum

Tuesday 09 December 2014, 5.45pm fol lowed by a recept ion for al l at 7pm.

Sherrington Building, Ashton Street , LIVERPOOL

Book at www.l iv.ac.uk/events

/postgate2014/

30

(Issue VI season only. Please see future issues for more recent events.)

LAGO ALBANOKNOWN IN ANTIQUITY AS ALBANUS LACUS

AND THOUGHT TO BE THE SITE OF ASCANIUS' CITY,

'ALBA LONGA'.

12 MILES SOUTH EAST OF ROME

31

HANDS OF 'THE BOXER'AN ORIGINAL BRONZE c. 330BCE.

DISCOVERED ON THE SLOPES OF

THE QUIRINAL HILL, ROME, IN 1885.

NOW IN THE PALAZZO MASSIMO, ROME.