Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal. / The present study on the colonies of Andros is driven by the need to increase our knowledge of the northern colonies as a whole. Northern Greece is the least well documented of the regions which were reached by the 8th and 7th c. B.C. Greek colonists. Not only does the study of the Andrian colonies augment the available documentation on the northern Greeks, it also provides an opportunity to examine one mother-city's overall colonization process. Through the sum of ancient sources and archaeological data pertaining to the four Andrian colonies, the study attempts to lay out the socio-economic history of the colonies as a whole and as separate entities. Such aspects as: 1) The foundation dates; the colonization process; 2) the relations with the indigenous populations; and 3) the economic relations with the other Greek colonies in the region, as well as the major centers of the Greek mainland, are examined. There is first question of the colonizing enterprises undertaken by Eretria, Chalcis, and Paros so that a general understanding of the overall colonization of the northern Aegean coast can be obtained. The resulting synthesis helps fill in the gaps in the history of the Andrian colonies caused by the lack of primary sources for the latter, whether they be literary or archaeological. The socio-economic history of the colonies from the time of their foundation to the end of the 5th c. B.C. which is based on the analysis of the preliminary study of the Parian and Euboean colonization in the north, the ancient sources, and the archaeological remnants, taken in conjunction with what is known of the indigenous population, is the end result of the study. Though literary sources date the foundation of the colonies to 655/54, based on the archaeological evidence available, it is established that the colonies were founded within the 3rd quarter of the 7th c. B.C. An orderly pattern of colonization seems to have prevailed in that the colonies were established successively in accordance with the previous colonization efforts by the city-states of Euboea and the pre-established sea route the geographical emplacement of Andros imposes. Therefore, Sane, situated on the isthmus of Acte, and apparently colonized with the help of the Chalcidians, was the first to be settled, then came in order, Akanthos, Stagira, Argilos, and perhaps Tragilos. It is concluded, with relative probability, That Tragilos was also an Andrian colony established in the lst half of the 6th century. It has also been deemed highly probable that the colonies, after the initial foundation of Sane, were in part settled by land and that Thracian tribes, residing at both extremities of the Andrian periphery, undoubtedly contributed in the actual colonization process. The 6th and 5th centuries witnessed the gradual increase of commercial importance of the northern colonies reflected, in the lst half of the 6th c. by the influx of Corinthian pottery, no doubt due to the foundation of Potidaea, and of Thasian pottery. The trend of growing commercial interactions is characterized in the 2nd half of the 6th c. with the marked presence of Athenian pottery and the start of coining at three of the four colonies. Spurred by the Persian and general eastern demand for silver, Stagira and Akanthos began to mint coins around 530 B.C. while Argilos, which never seemed to have direct access to silver mines, only began around 510 B.C. The fact that Sane seems to have remained coinless throughout its existence suggests that it was primarily a settlement of an agricultural nature and that Akanthos may actually have exerted a hegemony of sorts over it. Strong bonds with the east meant that the Akanthian coin production was dominant in the area as of the end of the last Persian War until their production ceased in 380 B.C., ousting Stagira out of the picture during the course of this period. Argilos ceased production as of the middle of the 5th century which is to be attributed to a shift in Athenian interest in the region represented by the drop of the tribute to be paid to Athens by Argilos from 10.5 talents to 1 talent in 116/5, the increase from 3 talents to 30 talents in the Thasian tribute for the same year, the foundation of Amphipolis, and the Athenian presence at Berge which has been closely linked to the minting of coins at Tragil os. As the Athenian empire began to dwindle following the Peloponnesian Wars, the history of the colonies becomes intertwined with that of the growing Macedonian power which, by the middle of the 4th century would control the entire region. Overall, it would seem that Sane was commercially inactive throughout its existence, Stagira was able to exploit and profit from the nearby silver mines from the middle of the 6th c. until about 480 when it gradually started to lose importance to Akanthos, which remained a strong and independent city well into the 4th century, while Argilos, though probably more important than Akanthos for part of the 5th c., regretfully became insignificant, especially after the foundation of Amphipolis in 437 B.C.

This dissertation assesses the significance of luxury dining ware within Roman society by analyzing the economic and socio-cultural value of these objects. Specifically, I focus on silver and gold tableware from the Roman Republic through the third century CE. Precious metal vessels are particularly well-suited to a study of socio-economical value because they are somewhere between an art object and a commodity. Because these objects are made from silver and gold, they have material value, but they are also valuable for their functionality within the dining context, particularly for hosting guests at the convivium. Their utility is, therefore, expressly social in nature. In the Roman world, silver and gold vessels were also highly decorative and as such served as display pieces and objects of attention. Their ability to communicate was not limited only to their material or their functionality; they were neither mere utilitarian commodities, nor simple stores of wealth. Scholars often note that precious metal vessels were status symbols and stores of wealth, but they rarely analyze the way that these objects functioned within those roles. I seek to address this issue by considering the different forms of attention and the processes of valuation which were applied to luxury products in the Roman period. I will ask how social and cultural contexts affected the value of precious metal tableware and how the monetary value of these items determined the social contexts in which they were used. Additionally, this dissertation includes a study of the epigraphic habits on surviving silver and gold tableware in order to better understand how these vessels were used and exchanged. The inscriptions give a sense of the kinds of attention that was given to these objects and the way in which owners or makers might use them to communicate. I will approach these questions through an analysis of four primary types of value: economic, cultural, social, and aesthetic value. Value can be an economic measure achieved by quantifying the significance of an object and expressing this as price. But value can also be applied through cognitive processes via the attention paid to objects and the attitudes of people towards them. By looking at the significance of tableware as a luxury product, utility object, and display piece, I take account of the different ways in which these vessels could be used to communicate within social contexts. I will show that the value of precious metal tableware, in both an economic and cultural sense, provided its owners with opportunities to convey particular messages aimed at navigating the fraught networks of status that existed in Roman society. Gold and silver dining ware could be a store of wealth, but not one which produced financial returns like other assets. Rather, the benefits of storing wealth as luxury dining products were social in nature. The use of precious metal dining ware at communal dinners, or for display, could project an image of wealth, taste, and, most of all, generosity. The return on assets of silver and gold dining ware was social rather than financial capital. Luxury commodities like silver and gold plate were enmeshed in the social interactions and behaviors of elite Romans and so become agents in defining the social personas of their owners.

This dissertation provides a model for understanding the relation between shifting imperial and post-imperial geopolitics and cultural change in diverse local communities. Specifically, I offer a new perspective on the debate in ancient history regarding “Hellenization,” i.e., the adoption and adaptation of Greek cultural idioms by non-Greek communities. Despite recent advances in emphasizing local communities’ agency in the “Hellenization” process, scholars tend to maintain a rigid dichotomy of monolithic “Greek” vs. “local” culture, and do not offer a comprehensive model accounting for variations in changes, and continuity, by region or time. I propose such a model for the late- and post-Seleucid Levant, and offer significant insights into Hellenistic, Phoenician and Jewish history. I argue that following the Seleucid conquest in the early second century BCE, diverse local communities began competing against each other for imperial favor by often resorting to a form of particularistic ethnic discourse, which emphasized claims to ancestral, pre-Hellenistic identities. In a paradoxical process, however, competing communities often adopted Greek cultural idioms to support these particularistic claims. While it is shown how the specific Greek cultural idioms adapted, varied according to sub-region and period, leadership, and geopolitical situation, it is argued that the idiosyncratic competitive dynamic, fostered by Seleucid power, incentivizing both particularistic discourse and the adoption of new Greek cultural idioms, proved pivotal in allowing diverse communities to develop a Greek cultural “infrastructure.” The political-cultural analysis allows us to broaden and nuance our understanding of subsequent Seleucid disintegration. By better integrating the literary and epigraphical sources with a fresh approach to the numismatic evidence (including the study of some unpublished collections) and taking into account the dramatic archaeological advances of the past two decades, I propose a new model for Seleucid decline. The “concessionist” dynamic outlined by recent scholarship, according to which local elites exploited Seleucid dynastic rivalries to extract privileges, needs to be qualified. While describing well the situation in some communities, such as Hasmonaean Judaea, it is not adequate for cities on the Phoenician coast. Rather, I propose an alternative “loyalist-secessionist” model, stressing the greater importance of external actors, especially the underappreciated role of the Ptolemies and a new understanding of Rome’s indirect involvement. The cultural implications for this novel political-historical model come to the fore following a watershed in Seleucid political history, the death of King Antiochus VII in 129 BCE. In an anarchic late-Hellenistic world, smaller cities, such as Tyre and Sidon, upon becoming independent, sought new alliances by re-utilizing their Greek cultural “infrastructure” towards greater institutional and cultic homology with Greek peer polities. In the absence of Seleucid pressure towards particularism, by contrast, traditional elements were rendered obsolete or even counterproductive to these new efforts. Thus, only at this stage of independence from Hellenistic empire non-Greek cultural elements atrophied, explaining the loss of Phoenician language in this period and the decline in sites of native cult. In other words, it was not a long, linear process of “Hellenization” but concrete, largely contingent, historical factors that explain this development in the specific time and place. In the neighboring Hasmonaean kingdom, by contrast, a series of contingent events (e.g., the “Judaization” of the Idumaeans) created a power-multiplier that put the kingdom onto a different trajectory. Prioritizing imperialistic ambitions, and shifting their own Greek “infrastructure” accordingly, they were not incentivized to similarly abandon traditional language and cult. Rather, by adopting a new ethos of a Hellenistic court, the kingdom facilitated the coalescing of newly-Judaized elites around the Hasmonaean dynasty and Jerusalem, fostering a metrocentric imperialistic outlook which paradoxically complemented and cemented rather than replaced the Yahwistic cult and a sense of Jewish particularism. This, I argue, is a key, hitherto overlooked, factor in the continuity of particularistic Jewish identity, which may help historicize and elucidate the seeming Jewish “exceptionalism” in the region. Put differently, the observed cultural divergence between Levantine communities, clearly apparent by the Roman period, can, in fact, be traced to, and elucidated by a specific historical moment, the common experiences of Seleucid imperial domination and the contingent effects of it collapse in the course of the 2nd century BCE.

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This thesis explores the influence of the legend of Troy on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, and Lydgate's Troy Book. This study seeks to understand why medieval English Christians held the pagan myth of Troy in such high regard beyond the common postcolonial critique of Trojan ancestry as a justification for political power. I begin by demonstrating how Vergil's Aeneid presents a new heroic ideal much closer to Christian virtue than Homeric values, Aeneas submitting his will to fate and earning his piety through suffering. I then turn to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, assessing how Gawain is not only descended from Aeneas but how the major events of his quest echo Aeneas' journey, especially in both heroes' submission of their wills to fate. Next, I reveal how Chaucer's Troilus enacts a platonic ascent from a state of ignorance to a state of truth, but as Troilus' name is also linked to the city of Troy itself, the fate of Troilus becomes the fate of Troy. In this way, Chaucer dramatizes the spiritual ascent of his Trojan ancestors in that they move from sin to salvation as a culture. Finally, I investigate how Lydgate refashions Troy into an earthly manifestation of Augustine's City of God. In doing so, Lydgate not only remembers his people's past but prophesies the fate of Trojan descendants. Such an analysis helps late antique and medieval scholars understand not only why such classical myths were popular in a predominantly Christian era, but also how the legends of Troy gave medieval English society a myth-history through which to dramatize their spiritual lives.

“Inscribing Community” examines Greek inscriptions from Rome, between the first and fourth centuries CE, in order to understand the spaces and presentation of multicultural communities within the topography of the city. Literary sources, from Martial to Aelius Aristides, cite Rome’s multiculturalism as a defining feature of the city. These literary sources, however, separate Rome’s diverse population from the city’s built environment. For all the presentation of the city as a culturally diverse capital, did its multicultural population contribute to the topography of the city? Understanding the relationship between the city’s multicultural population and landscape comes as a challenge given the difficulties of tracing identity within material culture and the flawed preservation of Rome’s archaeological record. For this dissertation, I turn to Greek inscriptions – as both social historical texts and archaeological objects – in order to examine the organization and spaces of multicultural communities in Rome. Greek inscriptions, despite the cultural popularity of the language, remained a rarity in the landscape of Rome, accounting for less than 5% of the existing epigraphic record of the city. Within the center of Rome, inscribed Greek represented a cultural practice of the eastern half of the empire, where Greek functioned as the administrative language. When the Greek epigraphic record is mapped onto the topography of Rome, three distinct clusters of inscriptions can be seen in the areas of the Sacra Via, the Baths of Trajan, and the southern Transtiberim region. The contents of the inscriptions within these areas not only demonstrate the existence of communities organized by people from the different parts of eastern Mediterranean but also reveal their physical impression on the city. The three sites mark the only known structures and spaces devoted to multicultural communities in the urban topography of Rome. The Greek inscriptions of these three sites, when examined together, reveal the tension between motivation and perception in imperial Rome. Individuals and communities created inscriptions in Greek as an expression of their identities and native cultures. Yet, the display of inscriptions made the texts perceptible objects within the landscape of Rome, which anyone in the city might interpret in their own way. At each of the sites, imperial power mediated this tension, affecting their presentation and articulation of identity. Whether displayed in the center of the city or its periphery, Greek inscriptions in Rome represent eastern cultural identity that can also serve as a message of imperial dominance.

Ce mémoire vise à appliquer l’étude des oracles en Grèce au cas longtemps malmené de l’oracle du rempart de bois. Alors que les historiens modernes deviennent de plus en plus critiques face à la littérature oraculaire grâce aux découvertes de l’épigraphie, cet oracle semble résister à cette nouvelle vague : tout et son contraire ont été allégué afin de le préserver de l’étiquette de post eventum. À la lumière du cadre historique dans lequel Hérodote a conçu ses Histoires, nous serons en mesure de décortiquer les éléments constitutifs de cet oracle qui prédit l’issue de la Seconde Guerre médique et selon lequel les Athéniens trouvèrent leur salut derrière le désormais célèbre « rempart de bois ». Nous nous attarderons finalement au dit « Décret de Thémistocle », trouvé à Trézène et commandant l’évacuation d’Athènes. Au terme de ce mémoire, l’épisode du rempart de bois apparaîtra définitivement comme post eventum. / The aim of this thesis is to apply the study of oracles in Greece to the long mistreated case of the oracle of the Wooden Wall. While modern historians are becoming increasingly critical of oracular literature since the discoveries of epigraphy, this oracle appears to resist this new wave: anything and everything were alleged to preserve it from the label of post eventum. The components of this oracle, which predicts the outcome of the second Persian War, and according to which the Athenians would find their salvation behind the now famous Wooden Wall, will be dissected in light of the historical context surrounding Herodotus’ work. The “Decree of Themistocles” found in Troezen, which ordered the evacuation of Athens, will also be addressed. In the conclusion of this thesis, the episode of the wooden wall will be seen to be definitely post eventum.

L’Adversus nationes est un texte polémique où l’auteur, Arnobe de Sicca, défend le christianisme en plus d’attaquer le paganisme. Nous y retrouvons les principales accusations lancées contre le christianisme ainsi que les attaques des intellectuels chrétiens contre les païens. Il s’agit de l’un des derniers textes apologétiques rédigé avant la paix de Milan (311). Arnobe y explique l’importance de s’éloigner des erreurs du paganisme et d’adhérer au christianisme dans le but de sauver son âme. Bien qu’il ne s’agisse pas d’une œuvre à caractère historique, Arnobe fournit, pour étayer son argumentation, plusieurs indices sur sa conception de l’histoire romaine. L’Adversus nationes, qui n’est pas traduit intégralement en français à ce jour, n’a pas été très souvent étudié du point de vue de l’interprétation de l’histoire. Une telle étude permet de comprendre la pensée de son auteur sur Rome, son histoire et ses périodes politiques. La première partie de ce mémoire présentera une petite biographie d’Arnobe ainsi qu’un survol du contexte historique dans lequel il vivait. Puis, les principales caractéristiques de l’histoire rhétorique seront exposées au deuxième chapitre. La seconde partie du mémoire traitera de l’analyse de passages de l’Adversus nationes. Le troisième chapitre sera consacré aux grands personnages romains. Le quatrième chapitre traitera de la providence divine dans l’histoire romaine. Finalement, le cinquième chapitre cherchera à retrouver les sources d’Arnobe lorsqu’il traite d’évènements historiques importants. Ce mémoire offre, comme conclusions, une nouvelle hypothèse concernant la datation du livre 1 de l’Adversus nationes et une nouvelle influence concernant certains récits historiques rapportés par Arnobe. / Adversus nationes is a polemical text in which the author, Arnobius of Sicca, defends Christianity in addition to attacking paganism. This text includes the main accusations against Christianity as well as the counter-arguments intellectual Christians presented against pagans. It is one of the last apologetic texts written before the peace of Milano (311). Arnobius explains the importance of moving away from the mistakes of paganism and of adhering to Christianity in order to save one’s soul. Although the nature of this text is not historical, Arnobius provides several hints on his conception of Roman history, to strengthen his argumentation. Adversus nationes, which has not yet been completely translated into French, has not often been studied from the point of view of interpreting history. Such a study allows a better understanding of its author’s thoughts on Rome, its history and its political systems. The first part of this thesis presents a brief biography of Arnobius as well as an overview of the historical context in which he lived. Then, the main rhetorical characteristics of history are exposed in the second chapter. The second part of this thesis provides an analysis of key passages in Adversus nationes. The third chapter focuses on major Roman figures. The fourth chapter addresses divine providence in Roman history. Finally, the fifth chapter looks for Arnobius’s sources behind his treatment of important historical events. In its conclusion, this thesis offers a new hypothesis regarding the date of book 1 of Adversus nationes and uncovers a new influence concerning certain historical accounts reported by Arnobius.

Ce travail de recherche cherche à répondre à deux questions : Quels sont les liens sociaux liant les maîtres et ingénus aux dépendants, sont-ils plus importants entre ingénus et affranchis qu’entre ingénus et esclaves? Ont-ils une influence positive sur l’affranchissement des esclaves dans la Correspondance de Cicéron ? Cette étude évolue par thème, passant des liens amicaux, matrimoniaux, sexuels aux évaluations des maîtres et des patrons sur leurs esclaves et affranchis. Avant la conclusion, quelques pages seront également dévolues aux esclaves et affranchis absents de la Correspondance pour expliquer cette absence et les situer dans le contexte de la fin de la République romaine. L’étude des liens sociaux liant les dépendants aux maîtres, patrons et ingénus, dans une approche soulignant les liens amicaux, affectifs, maritaux et sexuels plutôt que les liens sociaux purement juridiques, a permis de prouver l’existence assez fréquente de liens amicaux et affectifs entre les dépendants (esclaves et affranchis) et les maîtres, les patrons et les ingénus dans la Correspondance. L’étude de la Correspondance démontre également que ses liens amicaux et affectifs étaient plus nombreux et plus soutenus entre affranchis et ingénus qu’entre ingénus et esclave, mettant en lumière l’importance des liens d’amitié et d’affection dans le processus d’affranchissement de certains esclaves. / This paper will answer these questions: What were the social relationships between Roman masters/ingenui and slaves/freedmen? Were these relationships more often between ingenui and freedmen than ingenui and slaves? Did these relationships influence positively the slaves’ manumission in Cicero’s Letters? This paper will index and analyse the social relationships between ingenui and slaves/freedmen in the Letters. By social relationships, are meant friendships, marriage ties, sexual relations, masters’ and patrons’ estimation of their slaves/freedmen behaviours. Some pages will be devoted to the slaves and freedmen not mentioned in the Letters to explain this absence in the context of Rome in the last century BC. The study of social relationships between slaves/freedmen and masters, patrons and ingenui, in a social approach rather than a purely legal one, permitted the conclusion that friendships and affection often existed between slaves/freedmen and their masters/patrons or other ingenui of the Letters. In addition, this study proves that friendships and affectionate ties were more numerous and lasting between ingenui and freedmen than between ingenui and slaves. Accordingly, I defend the importance of friendships and affections ties in the manumission’s strategies of certain slaves.

La notion d'un esprit étranger et invisible qui prend possession d'un corps est, croit-on, sémitique. Les peuples proche-orientaux et juifs avaient développé des rituels et des pratiques spécifiques pour s'en débarasser. Les Grecs, pour leur part, avaient parfois à composer avec différentes entités, des daimones, des morts ou des apparitions et parfois des divinités dont les actions pouvaient s'avérer très nuisibles, si ce n'est nettement invasives. Toutefois, la communis opinio maintient que les concepts de la possession et de l'exorcisme ne furent chez eux, que tardivement introduits, et ce, sous l'influence des sémitiques. Pourtant, la littérature et les sources épigraphiques, papyrologiques et archéologiques semblent démontrer que les Grecs avaient déjà, dès l'époque classique, dans leur propre culture et religion, les éléments caractéristiques de la possession et de l'exorcisme. Une analyse approfondie de textes d'auteurs anciens, de formulaires de magie,dont les très connus Papyri Grecs Magiques et de diverses amulettes, apporte des arguments décisifs en ce sens. / The notion of an alien and invisible spirit who takes possession of a person is believed to be Semitic. The Near East and Jewish people had developed rituals and specific practices to get rid of them. The Greeks, meanwhile, had to deal with numbers of entities, daimones, dead or apparitions and sometimes with the gods themselves, whose actions could be very harmful, if not clearly invasive. Nevertheless, the communis opinio holds that the concepts of possession and exorcism where belatedly introduced, and this only under the influence of Semitics. However the literature and the epigraphic, archaeological and papyrological sources seems to show that the Greeks already had, from the classical period, in their own culture and religion, the characteristic elements of possession and exorcism. A detailed analysis of some ancient texts, of magical formularies, including the well-known Greek Magical Papyri, and of various amulets, provides decisive arguments in this direction.