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Volume 54 (2011)
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Volume 54, Issue 2
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Articles
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An Analysis of the Astrological Reports of the 7th Century B.C.Reiko MAEJIMA2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 1-17
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis article considers the role of the astrologers in the Neo-Assyrian imperial rule by analyzing the astrological reports of the 7th century B.C. First, based on the formal analysis of the omens lists and the astrological reports, I found that the main purpose of these materials was rerecording the omens, which they considered to be the order divinely ordained in the distant past. Second, I examined the time relationship between when natural phenomenon occurred and when the astrologers interpreted them using the omen series by analyzing the verbal tenses of the records. I discovered that the astrologers interpreted the phenomenon not when they predicted them, but mainly when they actually observed them. This result would relate to the role of the Neo-Assyrian kings to control disorder and to restore the world order by following the gods. That is this analysis makes it clear that the astrology was used to ascertain the agreement between the actual world order and the divinely ordained order. The astrologers reported the confirmed matters to the kings, thus supporting the Neo-Assyrian imperial rule.View full abstractDownload PDF (17784K) -
An Interpretation of the Nude Youths of the Archaic Attic Grave ReliefsEmiko TANAKA2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 18-42
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe nude youths holding a javelin or spear that appear on the Archaic Attic funerary stelae from about 560-550 B. C. (e.g., Metropolitan Museum 12.158) have often been considered to be nude soldiers. Nobutoshi Fukube, on the other hand, interprets them as athletes, i.e., javelin throwers. Scholars have not stated the basis for their interpretations. But neither soldiers nor athletes had been depicted on Attic funerary stelae until this period, so whichever these youths are, interpreting them is essential for understanding the development of Greek grave reliefs.
It seems that the reason why some scholars have interpreted these figures as soldiers is that the composition is similar to that of the heavily armed soldiers which appear in later decades. For example, Friis Johansen says, “Soldiers were represented in nude at first, but later they were fully armed.” But in contemporary Greek art, there were no nude soldiers. The soldiers wore armour—at the least, helmets and greaves. As Matthias Raecke has indicated, in the vase painting during the 6th century the armour of the soldiers became more heavy and luxurious, but at about 500 B. C. the soldiers suddenly came to be represented fully nude, just like the youths on the grave stelae. Therefore, if we take the youths to be soldiers, their nudity contradicts the general development of the representation of the soldier.
On the other hand, a few contemporary stelae depict a naked figure holding a discus. Since the discus throw was one of the pentathlon contests, we can conclude that these are pentathlon athletes. Javelin throwing was also included in the pentathlon. Indeed, among the late Archaic and early Classical grave stelae there are examples showing a nude man with both a discus and a javelin. I therefore conclude that the nude figures with spears represent javelin throwers, and that the pentathlon player was a popular image at the beginning of the history of the Archaic Attic grave reliefs.View full abstractDownload PDF (21667K)
Notes
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An Essay about the Pottery Excavated at Tappeh HoseynābādTadahiko OHTSU, Yui ARIMATSU2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 43-62
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe burnished gray ware which characterizes the Bronze Age (about 3800-1600 B.C.) has been found in the mountainous lands of the Northern Iran. However, much is unknown about its function, origin, or the background of its distribution. This uncertainty has been the main factor which has hindered the analysis of the Bronze Age culture in this region.
Recently, pottery that appears to be at the earliest stage of this ware has been excavated in Tappeh Hoseynābād, situated in the Gorgan Plain of north-east Iran. Stratigraphical changes in the pottery at this site probably indicate changes in the form and technique of this ware at its earliest stage. Also, we can expect to learn much about other wares of this period from other pottery found there.
In this paper, we present an outline of the pottery excavated in Tappeh Hoseynābād, material which has not been published, and position the pottery within the study of the Bronze Age. We conclude that the pottery of Tappeh Hoseynābād should be dated to the ‘appearance’ stage of the burnished gray ware, and it may be able to fill in the ‘hiatus’ in the chronology of this ware. When one follows the changes in the pottery at this site, it seems possible to interpret the ‘appearance’ of this ware itself as being a more gradual process than has been hitherto supposed. In this process, burnished gray ware may have passed though not only quantitative changes, but also some qualitative changes, as those in technique and function. Thus we can say that the pottery of Tappeh Hoseynābād may offer important data for analyzing the origin and regional changes in the burnished gray ware of Iran.View full abstractDownload PDF (17947K) -
From Inscriptions of the Tombs of nb-m-3ḫtHiroshi HIRAYAMA2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 63-73
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIt is generally held that the name Osiris was not attested until the 5th dynasty, when it appears as a title of deceased kings in the Pyramid Texts. However, the name may be attested in the tomb of nb-m-3ḫt, an elder son of King Khafra. The mother of nb-m-3ḫt was queen mr-sy-‛nḫ III, one of Khafra’s wife. The prince had two tombs, called LG86 at Giza Central Field and LG12 in the Quarry Cemetery beside the pyramid of Khafra. Piacentini appears to report that an epithet including the name Osiris, im3ḫw ḫr wsir, is attested in LG86. However, an examination of the original report on LG86 shows that the name Osiris is attested not in LG86, but in LG12. From the name of the owner, nb-m-3ḫt, and the fact that one of his tombs was built in the site of quarry for Khafra’s pyramid, LG12 can be dated from the reign of Khafra to the end of the 4th dynasty. Thus, it is possible that the name of Osiris is attested at the end of the 4th dynasty.View full abstractDownload PDF (10133K) -
Genealogy and Social Position of the Sphrantzis FamilyTomohiro HIRANO2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 74-91
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe purposes of this article are reconstruction of the genealogy of the late Byzantine historian Georgios Sphrantzis (Γεώργιος Σφραντζῆς, 30. July 1401-1477/78?), who wrote the “Chronikon”, and considering the family’s social position.
The most of scholars had thought that the family name of the Sphrantzis was his paternal one. During the 10th-14th century, the Sphrantzai were basically the magnates of the Macedonia region, namely Thessaloniki. This family position is testified in Georgios’ historical work as his maternal family. His maternal grandfather was the founder of a monastery in Verroia (chap. XL. 13). On the Ottoman conquest of Thessaloniki (1387), this person immigrated to the Limnos island on the North Aegean Sea, leaving his eldest daughter (possibly historian’s mother) in Thessaloniki; and his other two daughters became pupils of the Osia Thomais and settled in a convent in Constantinople (chap. XVIII).
The Sphrantzai were mentioned in Constantinople and Lirnnos during the 15th century, but as ‘Sphrantzai-Sevastopouloi'. One Andronikos Sevastopoulos acted as an imperial official in both Thessaloniki and the North Aegean in the late 14th century. The possibility of his family connection with the Sphrantzai was proved from the usual practice of calling the eldest grandson by the paternal grandfather’s name: an apographevs Andronikos Sphrantzis Sevastopoulos was mentioned in the Limnos in 1430. Chronologically he could be a grandson of Andronikos Sevastopoulos, and son of a senator Sphrantzis Sevastopoulos. The connection between this family and the historian was testified from historian’s own narration. His fourth son was also Andronikos. He had skill of taking census, a task of the apographevs, which was held by his possible brother Andronikos and another member of the Sevastopouloi. Thus it is concluded that the historian Georgios Sphrantzis took his family name from his maternal one.View full abstractDownload PDF (22214K) -
Asuka TSUJI2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 92-110
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSFourteenth-century Coptic saints such as Barsuma al-Uryan (d. 1317) and Ruways (d. 1404) are well known and venerated even today in modern Egypt. The fourteenth century produced many saints in the Coptic Church, and their lives and miracles were faithfully recorded as anonymous Lives. Each consists of a Life and Miracles, which were written shortly after their deaths. For this reason, these sources are replete with information regarding the daily life in Mamluk Egypt.
However, these sources have received limited academic attention, although in the recent years, some individual saints’ Lives have been successfully used as historical sources. The reliability of the historical evidence may vary from one Life to another. Some Lives could be heavily biased, some more dependable as a record of everyday life. Further, some of the actions of a saint that were deemed peculiar to him could be a common trait among the saints from the same period.
Therefore, in order to use these Lives as historical sources, there is a need to assess this hagiographical genre as a whole. First, I will point out the basic elements of the sources. Second, I will introduce some newly discovered manuscripts and also new saints’ Lives which were previously unknown. This will widen the scope of this genre. Third, I will analyze the motives and background of the compilation of the saints’ Lives.
In this way, I wish to gain evidence of the little-known literary activity of the Coptic Church in the fourteenth century and present the potential of the Lives as historical sources not only for the Coptic Church but also for Middle Eastern history.View full abstractDownload PDF (21379K)
Report
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Report on the International Conference on Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite (25-26 August 2011, Tokyo, JAPAN)Transformation of a GoddessKeiko TAZAWA2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 111-118
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (8630K)
Brief Communication
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Masamichi YAMADA2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 119-122
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (714K) -
Kimie MAEDA2012 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 123-126
Published: March 31, 2012
Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2015
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (1049K)
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