Texte remanié de: Diss.--Fachbereich Geschichtswissenschaften--Marburg--Philipps-Universität, 1987. / Bibliogr. p. 296-313.

Thèse de doctorat : ETUDES LATINES : Metz : 1998. / 1998METZ005L. 128 ref.

Cette étude analyse la place et le rôle du mode de vie dans les discours et les pratiques politiques à Rome à la fin du IIIe siècle av. J.-C. et au IIe siècle av. J.-C. qui formaient un moment charnière. Le luxe faisait partie des pratiques de distinction de l’aristocratie à la fin du IVe siècle av. J. C. et au IIIe siècle av. J. C. À partir de la deuxième guerre punique, l’élite commença à s’inquiéter du rôle politique du faste et des menaces qu’il faisait peser sur le système oligarchique ; elle fit ensuite voter des lois régulant les festins pour éviter que ceux-ci ne servissent à gagner du crédit politique, mais sans évoquer franchement cette raison, par déférence pour le pouvoir et par souci de préserver sa légitimité. Le combat contre le luxe investit les discours, influant sur l’image que l’élite donnait d’elle-même. Les adversaires du luxe, comme Caton l’Ancien, mirent en avant une nouvelle qualité, la frugalité, correspondant à l’adoption d’un train de vie inférieur à ce que son rang permettait. Une représentation négative se structura autour du luxe, explicitement et définitivement associé aux vices, aux étrangers, en particulier aux Grecs, et implicitement considéré comme caractéristique des hommes inaptes à servir leur patrie ou aspirant à un pouvoir excessif. Une représentation antithétique se développa autour de la frugalité, qualité des vrais Romains fidèles aux mœurs de la campagne et soucieux des intérêts de la République, une image qui fut particulièrement appréciée par le peuple. Ces arguments connurent un immense succès dans les luttes politiques du dernier tiers du IIe siècle av. J. C. La frugalité était cependant difficilement applicable en toutes circonstances car elle heurtait les normes de l’élite : il importait de signifier à travers elle une position politique, mais il fallait aussi savoir recevoir convenablement ses amis. Le stoïcisme, qui se développait alors à Rome et qui prescrivait une vie tempérante, dut s’adapter à cette exigence. / This study analyses the place and role of the way of life in political speeches and practices in Rome in the late third century BC and in the second century BC, which formed a turning point. Luxury was a means of social distinction for the aristocracy in the late fourth century BC and third century BC. From the Second Punic War onwards, the elite began to worry about the political impact of this sumptuousness and the threats it posed for the oligarchic system. Consequently, the elite introduced laws regulating banquets in order to prevent hosts from gaining political prestige, without clearly citing this reason, out of deference for the government and in order to protect its own legitimacy. This fight against luxury spread in speeches and influenced the image of itself which the elite wanted to promote. The detractors of luxury, like Cato the Elder, proposed a new ideal – frugality, which implied adopting a lifestyle more humble than that which was allowed by one’s actual rank. A negative definition of luxury was proposed – it was explicitly and definitively associated with vice, foreigners (Greeks especially), and implicitly considered to be typical of men who were unable to serve their homeland or who aspired to excessive power. An antithetic representation of frugality was developed and was thought to be the quality of real Romans who were true to the values of the countryside and anxious to preserve the interests of the Republic. This image was highly valued by the people. These ideas played a significant role in the power struggles in the last third of the second century BC. Frugality remained nonetheless a difficult quality to adopt in all circumstances because it went against the standards of the elite – while it mattered for the elite to make their political position clear through frugality, it was also important to cater to one’s guests as befitted one’s rank. Stoicism, which was then developing in Rome and advocated a restrained way of life, had to adapt to this demand.

Cette étude se propose d’analyser la réception médiévale du personnage de Caton d’Utique, philosophe stoïcien et citoyen romain engagé dans la défense des institutions républicaines durant la période de la seconde guerre civile, qui se suicida après la victoire de Jules César (46 av. J.-C.). Concentrant, dans un premier temps, notre intérêt sur le Catone dantesco, et en particulier sur le portier du Purgatorio de la Commedia, il a semblé pertinent de remonter le cours du temps afin d’étudier les potentielles sources de la figure catonienne élaborée par Dante (1265-1321). Ce projet a conduit à réévaluer l’image du Romain dessinée par les auteurs antiques (Ier s. av. J.-C.-VIIe s. ap. J.-C.), puis à découvrir les contours de celle tracée par les auteurs médiévaux (VIIIe s. ap. J.-C.-1320). Cet imposant parcours s’est organisé autour d’une quadruple interrogation concernant la pensée médiévale : quel rôle y joue l’exemplarité ? quelle place revient à Rome et aux Romains ? comment sont traitées les questions de la liberté et du suicide ? comment répond-on au problème du salut des païens antiques ? / The study examines the medieval reception of the character of Cato of Utica, a Stoic philosopher and Roman citizen engaged in defending the institutions of the Roman Republic during the second civil war, who committed suicide after the Julius Caesar's victory (46 B.C.E.). The thesis starts by focusing on the Catone dantesco, and in particular on Cato as the warden of the Purgatorio of the Commedia, and then works backwards in analyzing the potential sources of Dante’s (1265-1321) portrayal. This undertaking leads to a reevaluation of the image of Cato in antique authors (1st century B.C.E.-7th century C.E.), and then to uncovering the outlines of the portrayals of medieval authors (8th century C.E. - 1320). This massive undertaking is organized around four questions concerning medieval thought : what role does the notion of exemplarity play in the discussion? What place is given to Rome and to the Romans? How are the questions of liberty and suicide treated? How do the authors discuss the problem of salvation for pagans of Antiquity?

This study aims to determine whether current and past research on the Badarian culture of early Egypt accurately reflects the evidence uncovered in the past and the evaluation of the excavation reports by the early excavators. An archaeological re-evaluation of the Badarian culture and relevant sites is presented in the introduction. Inter-regional development of the Badarian is crucial to placing the Badarian in the temporal ladder of the predynastic cultures, leading up the formation of the dynastic era of Ancient Egypt. The following thesis is not meant to be a definitive answer on the origins and placement of the Badarian people in the Predynastic hierarchy of ancient Egypt, but one of its aims is to stimulate discussion and offer alternatives to the narrative of the Badarian culture. A set of outcomes is presented to test all hypotheses. Research questions are discussed to determine whether the Badarian culture is a regional phenomenon restricted to a small area around the Badari-Mostagedda-Matmar region, or as a wider inter-regional variable carrying on into the later Nagada cultures. To reach a hypothesis, the chronology of the Badarian is analysed, in-depth study of the original excavation reports and later research on the Badarian question. An important facet of this study is a literature review of the Badarian culture, past and present. The Badarian culture had always been a subject of speculation, especially in terms of its chronology and regional development. There is no consensus on the chronology of dispersion out of the desert to the Nile Valley, as well as areas north and south of the Nile Valley. It is important to establish the concept of an agronomic sedentary lifestyle by the Badarian, and to re-evaluate the evidence for the long-standing idea that the Badarian was in fact the first farmers of the Nile Valley, also in terms of their perceived exchange and trade networks. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)