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This paper discusses "polemical triangulation," a common rhetorical and polemical device in Antiquity, through which an author attacks a person or a group of persons who are not the explicit addressees of a text or speech. It looks at its use and diversity with examples from Melito of Sardis and Ignatius, in the context of polemics against the Jews and the Docetists. In all cases, these models imply the existence of a marked anti-Judaism in Ignatius and his addressees. Some well-known methodological questions are addressed, such as the author's knowledge of the persons attacked, his or her relations with them, and other more or less consciously used sources of information. Finally, the paper draws conclusions about the relevance of the concerned statements for a historical study of the adversaries, their thinking or the arguments attributed to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to offer a fresh look at Philo' s theme of the two kinds of wisdom, the perfect one (represented by Sarah) and the intermediate, or encyclical culture (represented by Hagar), considering analogous images in Greek philosophy. The paper does not aim to sketch once again the history of the notion of enkyklios paideia, either in general terms or in Philo' s perspective, as this history has been sufficiently reconstructed from both a philological and a conceptual point of view. More modestly, I intend to re-define some original traits appearing in Philo' s exegesis of Gen 16,1-6, as developed in the first part of De congressu eruditionis gratia. As a result of this survey, I propose to read Philo' s interpretation as building not only upon the 'canonical' comparison with Penelope and her servants, but also, first and foremost, upon the Platonic metaphors of knowledge as 'eros' and 'childbirth' experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Leo the Great's sermons that allow to glimpse the intertwining between anti-Judaic and anti-heretical controversies. As part of the formulation of his doctrine, both Trinitarian and Christological, Leo strongly aimed to contrast both Judaism and the different heretical currents circulating at his time. In his dialectical procedure Judaism is often combined to other heresies (in particular, Manicheism), considered in a progressive removal from orthodoxy: Leo contested several heresies, for which the controversy against the Jews is proposed as an origin and as a model. He mixes pagans, Jews, and heretics according to polemical strategies functional to his ideological and religious conceptions. In particular, Jews are considered as a potentially dangerous enemy as Manichaeans. Although, in fact, the devil has exercised his dominion over all heretical doctrines, he has mainly caused the madness of the Manichaeans, in which the worst distortions of the true faith have flowed: the profanity of pagans, the blindness of Jews, the illegal practices of magic and, moreover, sacrilegious and blasphemous elements shared with other heresies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short paper focuses on the historically inaccurate characterization of Queen Zenobia as a Judaizer in ancient Christian sources, in relation to the heresy of Paul of Samosata. After surveying different presentations of the relationship between Paul and Zenobia and interrogating their significance, it argues that by weaving together Paul's xenophilia, Judeophilia, heresy, and appreciation for powerful women, a series of authors - Athanasius; Philastrius of Brescia; John Chrysostom; Theodoret; the author of a fragment attributed by Athanasius; those responsible for the invention of a work To Zenobia (or for attributing spurious excerpts of Paul to a lost work with this title); Photius; Michael the Great; Barhebraeus; and Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos - labored at painting the reversed image of the Christian intellectual tradition they knew and cherished: fully identified with the Roman Empire, ruled by a male emperor; separated from the scholarly practices of Jewish literate elites; and entrenched behind the wordy barricades of orthodoxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the several religious phenomena in light of which scholars have suggested viewing the origins of Manichaeism (usually Christianity and Zoroastrianism), Judaism has been too often excluded from the discussion. Nevertheless, there are reasons to think that Jewish traditions and ideas had an influence on the emergence of this religion in the 3rd century CE. In the light of some research recently conducted by a growing number of scholars, the modest aim of this paper is to carry out a reassessment and update aimed at clarifying the relationship between two phenomena (Judaism and Manichaeism) which played such a crucial role in the discourses on heresy in Late Antiquity and the Middle Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from a brief summary of the history of Klostermann' s edition, the paper focuses on the relationship between Origen' s Commentary on Matthew and the analogue commentary, characterized by a high level of compilation, attributed to the so-called Peter of Laodicea. Beyond a recapitulation of the attempts of identification of this mysterious author, the paper offers specimina of comparisons between correspondent sections of Origen' s and Peter' s texts, in order to highlight similarities and differences, and thus to discuss if Peter' s text can be rightly taken into consideration as a useful witness in a new edition of Origen' s text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to continue the discussion begun at the end of the 19th century comparing the reliability of both the 'indirect tradition' of Contra Celsum (represented by the Philocalia) and the 'direct tradition' (preserved only in the manuscript Vaticanus graecus 386 = A). In the first part of this paper, important conclusions resulting from the above discussion are recalled. Since some readings of Manuscript A are still considered problematic to this day, the second part of this paper deals with the question of whether the reliability of the 'indirect tradition' text has been underestimated in specific cases. Based on recent research on the Alethes Logos and a new analysis of Origen' s reply to Celsus' polemic, it is shown that in three selected fragments (fr. I 9, fr. VI 3 and fr. VI 1) the original words used by Celsus are to be found in the Philocalia instead of Manuscript A, i.e. the source that the modern editors of Contra Celsum followed. In part three of this paper it is shown that by preferring the words of the Philocalia for fr. VI 1, a door opens for a reinterpretation of the larger context of the passage for both the Alethes Logos as well as Contra Celsum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper wants to examine what Clement has to say about the language of religion. In order to cover the broader scope of the item five aspects must be regarded. The first section deals with Clement' s cultural approach about Greek and barbarian languages stressing in the end the preeminence of the Hebrew language on religious grounds. The second section shows how he makes use of the universal spread symbolic genre in favour of religious concealment. The next section has to do with his philosophic approach using Aristotle to understand language as a system of signs, and correspondingly religious language as a system of religious codes. The fourth section applies this conception to the Christian revealed religion in its elementary points. It is his decisive insight, that the Christian sign language must be interpreted e.g. by allegorizing, but cannot be abolished. Finally his ideas about Christian prayer are considered under linguistic aspects, displaying his special contribution of the intelligible, silent prayer as a symbol of pure thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper starts from an analysis of the role of astronomy in the De congressu and De opificio by Philo of Alexandria. As a 'queen' among the encyclical disciplines, astronomy represents the vehicle which allows the attainment of philosophy and the aspiration to the knowledge of God. Centuries later, again in Alexandria, in another homonymous De opificio preserved in the same manuscript as that of Philo, John Philoponus seems to put into practice what was theorised by Philo. More mature from a scientific point of view, he will make astronomy his exegetical tool to interpret the cosmogony of Genesis while maintaining the interweaving of exegesis and philosophy already visible in Philo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Greek verb deî appears several times in Luke-Acts and in different contexts of 'necessity': the necessity of the mission and the passion of Jesus and Paul; the necessity of the fulfilment of the Scripture; the necessity of moral or religious obligations as well as other necessary actions. The Peshitta does not translate all of occurrences of deî in Luke-Acts in the same way but chooses various verbs and expressions. The most frequent translation is the verb wāle ("to be right", "to be convenient", "one must"), which translates deî in different contexts. Another word used with a certain frequency is the passive participle ʻatid ("one must", "to be necessary", "to be destined"). However, the usage of this word, rich in theological content, is restricted to particular contexts. This paper seeks to give a precise explanation for how the Peshitta deals with the translation of deî in Luke-Acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper will focus on the paradigmatic profile of exile Filippo Pistrucci (1782-1859) as director and teacher at the Free Italian School from 1841 to 1848, linking this pedagogic role to his performances of Improvisatore [sic] both in public and private venues in London; to his journalistic writings published in proletarian and protestant journals and foreign language papers addressing foreign workers and immigrants (such as Apostolato Popolare, Il Pellegrino, L’Educatore, L’Eco di Savonarola); to philanthropic actions, organised by reformist’s circle, for all continental refugees and marginalised childhood. Promoting and supporting civil engagement within the context of Victorian democratic thought, nationalism and Protestantism, collecting some lessons given to poor Italian boys and workers in the self-anthology of Letture (1842) or enhancing militant impulse in all his literary works (tragedies, extemporaneous verses, letters, pedagogical sketches, memoir), Pistrucci’s artistic path testify – both in its empirical and theoretical manifestations – a special devotion to Mazzini’s cause on national education. Through the analysis of his biographical profile, the study of his political engagement with Young Italy, together with religious adherence to Reformated Church, the paper shows how Pistrucci produces a critique of catholic pedagogical model, prospecting a new one based on active citizenship, community ethics and social contract between different classes and generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper intends to examine the importance of the medieval Armenian versions from Greek texts: the versions of the so-called Hellenistic School (Yunaban dprocʽ) have a very characteristic feature because they translate the texts in a strictly literal manner: for these characteristics they often allow the philologist to go back to the original Greek text. In particular, the paper investigates and discusses several passages of the translations from Nemesius’ De natura hominis and from Dionysius Areopagites. In the case of pseudo-Dionysius, we can remark that the Armenian version in some passages agrees with the ancient Syriac version, in opposition to all the Greek manuscript of the direct tradition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at reconstructing the history of the canvas representing Origen painted by Jusepe de Ribera. Such an atypical iconographic motif was allegedly commissioned by Benedetto Giustiniani because Origen matched the interests of the 17th cent. baroque culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A careful study of the two prologues to Origen's collection of texts and of Gregory of Nazianzus' letter to Theodore of Tyana (ep. 115) indicates that the collection was originally an anonymus compilation (συλλογή or ἐκλογή). Gregory writes that the book he gives to Theodore contains «extracts from the φιλοκαλία of Origen». He uses the word φιλοκαλία to refer to the whole of Origen's work in favorable terms, just as Eusebius of Caesarea writes «φιλοκαλία of Irenaeus» (kephalaion H.e. V 26) to designate the entire work of lrenaeus. Basil and Gregory are not the authors of a collection called Φιλοκαλία, but the readers of an anonymous compilation of texts which Gregory presents as extracts from «the work of great beauty (φιλοκαλία) of Origen». The paper also examines the origin, dating, place of composition, structure, and aims of this anonymous compilation as well as the reasons for its attribution to the two Cappadocians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the thought of Adele Costa Gnocchi, pupil and assistant of Maria Montessori. She spread in the world the Montessori pedagogical model of “support to a new life”. In addition to her more popular projects, as Montessori Children’s Pre-school Assistant and Montessori Birth Center, in Rome, the paper describes the model of cosmic religiosity of Costa Gnocchi, at the base of her insights on “sacredness” of the birth and care of the child 0 -3 years. The biographical and religious path of Costa Gnocchi, in some ways still obscure, is reconstructed through various correspondence with people close to her, including those, unpublished, with the Montessori, mother and son. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues for the identification of an indeterminate biblical quotation in Augustine' s De consensu evangelistarum III 48 as the second part of Jb 37,10 cited according to Jerome' s first version, a revision indeed of the book of Job based on the hexaplar Greek text. A comparison with Augustine' s Adnotationes in Iob, relying upon the same version of the book of Job, makes the identification sure. The paper also provides a comparison of Jerome' s two versions of Job 37,10, as the second one (based on the Hebrew text) notably differs from the first one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on Gregory of Nyssa' s anthropological work De opificio hominis. Gregory refuses here some previous interpretations of the doctrine of 'double creation' of man because in his eyes they presuppose a close connection to pagan neoplatonic doctrines, namely the existence of intermediate principles between the first divine principle and the world as well as the transmigration of souls. The last section of the paper examines Gregory' s interpretation of Genesis 1,26-27 on the simultaneous creation of man both as image of God and sexually differentiated, as developed in De opificio hominis 16,185b-d. This compresence of universal and individual features of human nature in God' s foreknowledge is to be understood in the light of Basil of Caesarea' s Epistle 38 on the trinitarian concepts of substance and hypostasis. A parallel reading of the two texts suggests that Gregory is employing a theological framework for the development of his anthropological theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows some events related to the disciplines of artes reales and artes sermocinales in the first half of the fifteenth century in schools which were mainly devoted to the study of Greek and Latin classic authors in their original form and with new methodologies. The main focus is on some authors who were studied deeply and in a unique way in Vittorino da Feltre’s school, in Mantua: Euclid, Aristotle’s Poetics, the texts of Greek musicographers, Livy. They prove that the persuasive function of a sermo cannot be separated from scientific and philosophical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian apocalypse from the 2nd century, the narrator sees his first two visions after departing from Rome «unto villages» (εἰς κώμας: 1,3; 5,1). For a long time, a number of scholars have regarded that phrase as a textual corruption for εἰς Κούμας, meaning that Hermas was travelling to Cume, a small town in Campania. The latter phrase is not attested as such by any witness of the Shepherd, but it can be inferred from both ancient Latin translations of the work. Scholars are still divided on this issue. The present paper aims at showing that the conjecture εἰς Κούμας should be retained, despite the sound general rule that attested readings have to be preferred as far as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of late antique art commonly and uncritically accept that the Revelation provided the source for late antique church decoration. They rarely discuss the extent to which this text served as a basis for the vivid iconographies typical of late antique ecclesiastical décor. This paper explores how the imagery of Revelation impacted on late antique mosaic programs, considering as a crucial case study the triumphal arch of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore at Rome and, particularly, the motif of precious stones and jewels so frequent on several elements of the decoration. The latter also appears on a cornice, a jeweled band which later spread in the art of the whole empire, both in church and -- what is less known -- secular contexts. This motif will be explored first in a visual perspective and then defining its value in the culture of Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of this paper is to analyse some passages taken from the writings of Evagrius Ponticus and Cassian where, for the one who chooses the ascetic form of life, there is an insistence on the necessity to see things, material and immaterial, in a different way than the one who does not live ascetically. More precisely, the set of texts mentioned here would like to show how the act of seeing the things we see through the eye and the things we imagine with the mind are matters of capital importance for ascetics in late antiquity. The ascetic must, in fact, put aside the habitus of being in the world, because only in this way -- that is, by becoming aware of the limitation imposed by what he considers external -- can he devote himself fully to prayer. To do this, the ascetic must avoid not intentional perception, which means letting the mind create conceptual descriptions (νοήματα) and mental representations (φαντασίαι). By interrupting this process, the ascetic achieves a different way of seeing, which we can call non-representative, and consequently true knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of sight in the last homily of Ambrose's Exameron, considered as an attempt to elaborate a Christian pedagogy of vision. In the first part, dedicated to an in-depth analysis of the prologue of the sixth book (Ambr. Hex. VI 1, 2), I will analyse the rhetorical and exegetical background underlying Ambrose's description of his own homily as an 'ekphrastic periegesis' of the cosmos; the second part is devoted to the analysis of Ambrose's reflections on the physiology of sight and its gnoseological value, focusing in particular on the relationship between corporeal and spiritual senses and the mobility of the inner man's noetic vision (Ambr. Hex. VI 8, 45). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the episodes inspired by the biblical imagery, in the Early Christian repertoire is possible to detect a group of scenes that draw also on alternative sources, like the so-called Apocryphal Literature. In this paper are analysed the representations of the Old Testament dramatic story of Job, the devout and righteous man deprived of all his possessions and then affected by a horrible disease. In the two iconographical schemes used in Early Christian art -- the first showing Job alone sitting on a dunghill and the second one with the Patriarch feed by his wife or visited by his friends -- it is clearly recognizable the influence of the 'intertestamental literature', and in particular of the socalled Testament of Job, an amplification and retelling of Job's tradition, well known and used by the Early Christian interpreters in their comments on the Patriarch story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sudden expansion of Muslim troops was initially perceived by many Eastern Christians as an apocalyptic trial, a sign of the End of Time. In the same way, the prolonged struggles and the fear of a Byzantine reconquista led on the Muslim side to the development of a vital apocalyptic production which rose in correspondence to times of internal and external strife. In the process of formation of Muslim eschatological aādīth corpus a central role was played by the (re)discovery of earlier judaeo-christian traditions. These newly achieved histories and prophecies were generally called "Isra'iliyyat"(Israelitic stuff), and were looked in a mix of interest and concern by Muslim scholars. The ancient knowledge of Christians and Jews was eagerly sought for its purported ability in foretelling the future, but at the same time the other two monotheisms represented a polemical adversary and often a perilous enemy for Islam. Apocalyptic discourse had the fundamental role of defusing the threat of religious alterity, by relativizing it in a positively- oriented history. Thus, the adversaries were identified as prophesied anti-messianic figures and their threat was considered a temporary one. This apocalyptic worldview was actually shared by the rivaling religions, in a peculiar use of the very same images, topoi and narrations against each other. This paper will focus on the Muslim production, mainly by analysing the traditions collected in the Kitāb al-Fitan (Book of Tribulations) by Nu'aym b. ammād (d. 842) and by confronting its description and production of religious alterity with those of the coeval Christian apocalyptic texts. This paper hopefully will highlight the role of Apocalyptic as a key moment in the process of Islamic tradition-building, which looked at the previous monotheistic heritage between a will of continuity and a need for scriptural independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper deals with some difficulties in the Italian school system process of unification according to Law Casati, due to a complex interrelation between the central State and the local authorities about vet education. The Regio Istituto tecnico in Bergamo represents an interesting case study, because the initial unsuccessful choice of introducing a mineralogical and metallurgical curriculum was produced by the lack of a fruitful debate with the local stakeholders and an inadequate understanding of the wide educational and professional initiatives offered by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the place of the concept of philautia in the Evagrius Ponticus’ conception of disease of the soul. We consider that this notion (philautia) has serious implications for the complete understanding of the evagrian vision of disease of the soul. Indeed, the philautia is, in the evagrian system, the most direct consequence of the ignorance of itself that the nous suffers after its fall. Philautia is also the immediate cause of the parà phýsin orientation of the passionate part of the soul. Putting the self-satisfaction as a precept, the philautia culminates in the state of spiritual atony and passionate eff ervescence called acedia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Life of John the Merciful, written by Leontios of Neapolis in the middle of the VII century, was translated into Syriac probably during the VIII century and then transmitted in some important Syrian Orthodox collections. The relevant differences between the Syriac version and the original Greek drew the attention of some scholars, who supposed that the Syriac reflects an ancient phase of the Greek text. This paper aims to clarify the issue of the position of the Syriac Life of John the Merciful within the manuscript tradition, which still represents a desideratum. After a detailed description of the extant different versions of the Greek text, the author focuses on the relation between the Syriac translation and the Greek witnesses, employing the stemmatic method, and provides a list of loci where the edition of the Life can be improved thanks to the Syriac. Conclusions are then drawn, shedding light on the Syriac milieus to be held as responsible for the translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Armenian corpus of Philo’s translations is a reference case to assess the usage of the ancient Armenian versions in textual criticism of the Greek originals. The paper highlights the exemplary character of this corpus, pinpoints progresses in the studies from a methodological point of view and sketches lines for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Acts of Peter and Paul are an apocryphal text well known and appreciated both in the Western and Eastern worlds, spuriously attributed to one Marcellus (‘pseudo-Marcellus’) who is also mentioned in other apocrypha. After providing a general introduction to the Acts of Peter and Paul in the Greek, Latin, and Armenian traditions, this paper focuses on a comparison between the Greek text and its Armenian translation, providing relevant examples thereof. The philological analysis shows that the Armenian translation depends on a well-attested Greek text and clarifies on which branch of the Greek manuscript tradition it is most likely based. It also offers some possible explanations for the discrepancies between the two texts that cannot be ascribed to accidents occurring in the Greek manuscript tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article off ers an overview of the corpus of the Armenian writings on Stephen the Protomartyr and, particularly, of the texts related to his death as well as the discovery and the translation of his relics (Revelatio, Translationes, Passiones, including an unpublished Passio Sancti Stephani that I recently discovered). Special attention is paid to the Armenian translations of the Greek and Syriac Panegyrics dedicated to the fi rst martyr, stressing when the original is lost (cf. the translations of the Laudationes attributed respectively to Athanasius of Alexandria and Gregory Thaumaturgus) or is preserved (cf. the translations of some writings in honor of Stephen attributed to Gregory of Nyssa, Proclus of Constantinople, and Ephrem/Jacob of Sarugh). For each text, several unpublished Armenian MSS have been listed in order to pave the way for new critical editions. In the last section, the paper offers the edition of the Armenian text (on the basis of MSS P110 and P118) and the Italian translation of a Panegyric of Saint Stephen attributed to Basil, making for the fi rst time its content accessible also to the readers who do not master the Armenian language. The importance of the Panegyric goes beyond the constitution of the corpus of texts on Stephen; as a matter of fact, it is one of the sources of the Commentary on the Song of Solomon attributed to the Armenian medieval poet Gregory of Narek. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Epideixis of Irenaeus of Lyons is known to us only in its Armenian translation. In Epideixis 43 appears a Hebrew quotation both transliterated and translated first from Hebrew to Greek and then from Greek to Armenian. This quotation – as far as we know, the only one in the Hebrew language in the whole work of Irenaeus – entails three problems. First: Irenaeus affirms that it is a quotation of Moses, but we can’t recognize it in any text we know, even if it resounds to Genesis 1,1. Second: it is difficult to reconstruct the original Hebrew text because the transliteration and the Armenian translation don’t correspond to each other. Indeed, a sequence of letters of the transliteration hasn’t any correspondence in the translation, and moreover, it is difficult to identify it with a Hebrew term. Third: in our passage, the Armenian language presents ambiguities that Greek did not, and the scholars do not agree about the position of Irenaeus in the theological point that this quotation would explain, namely if the Word was generated ab aeterno or ante tempus.  is paper pretends to present the status quaestionis of the previous interpretations of the quotation and to support one of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an overview of the rich Armenian tradition concerning Severian of Gabala’ s homilies. After an inventory, it deals with authenticity questions, surveys the relations between the Armenian and Greek forms, evoking a criterion that might help distinguishing early from (comparatively) late translations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

 is paper highlights the infl uence of Ori gen’ s intellectual legacy on the thought of the French theologian Henry de Lubac. In order to achieve this goal, the categories of “history” and “spirit” are scrutinized, constituting as they do not only the title of de Lubac’ s most important work on Origen, but also his fundamental theorical grid to understand the Alexandrian theologian. However, the essay aims to show that, though still retaining some explanatory potential for grasping how Origen’ s thought structures itself, such categories inevitably neglect deeper elements in the latter. Origen’ s assumptions about the epinoiai do especially help solve the aporias raised by de Lubac’ s frequent analogies between Logos, Scripture, Eucharist and Church, all of whom turn hardly distinguishable from one another, without recurring to such theorizing. As a result, a unitary reflection still emerges, centering around the aforementioned relationship between history and Spirit and up to date addressing issues and methods in contemporary theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the tales in parabiblical and Rabbinic Literature about the fate of Jewish infants during Egyptian captivity, comparing them with contemporary legal and homiletic texts about infancy, birth, and exposure of infants. The story of infants exposed and raised by angels is put in parallel with the Babylonian poem Atra-Hasis, advancing the hypothesis of an original myth about birth and overpopulation behind Exodus' infancy stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide an overview of the funerary practices and places reserved for infants in Visigothic Spain, between the late Roman period and the Arab Conquest. It investigates in particular some of the most important necropolises of the Meseta, the core of the Iberian Peninsula and the land occupied by the Goths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The child is a liminal subject in Italian archaeological research, still limited and discontinuous about it. Italian archaeology, particularly of Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, seems in fact to be more affected by the critical issues and difficulties concerning the analysis of this specific age, reserving for it a marginal place in studies dealing with this topic. This paper focuses in particular on studies of infant funerary practices that are considered most indicative of the child's material presence in the ancient society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of some strategies for the inclusion of children in the Egyptian society, with particular regard to sons who do not have a biological relation with their parents but who are acquired through assimilation practices, such as the adoption of an orphan or the emancipation of a young slave. For this purpose, some literary attestations will be examined in order to show how in ancient Egypt a "nobody's child" could turn into a legitimate child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to outline how the child was conceived and perceived in ancient Mesopotamian society. This overview will be outlined by examining the juridical documentation, which will allow us to know how much the child's status was closely linked to the protection of the family institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In ancient Mesopotamia, infancy is an elusive category. Although vaguely defined from a lexical viewpoint, the concept of childhood is almost entirely absent from literature, and seldom represented in non-literary textual sources. Texts regarding childbirth, however, constitute an exception to this. Several sources, from mythological accounts of creation (anthropogonies) to therapeutic texts and omens, shift their attention to birth and the baby. Taking this fact into account, in this paper I focus on the role that children bodies play in divination. More specifically, I analyze how the appearance of the baby different body parts conveys a message that can concern both the baby - as carrier of his/her individual destiny written in his/her body (physiognomy), and the whole community (teratomancy), the child becoming at the same time both the message and messenger of the gods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at providing a general overview on the papyri preserving the Acta Alexandrinorum, dealing as it does with their origin, state of preservation and contents, as well as with the history of research since the time they were found and edited. Moreover, the paper delves into such issues as the dating of the writings and their graphic types. An analysis of the literary aspects of the Acta and their historical relevance for our understanding of the Jewish presence in Egypt during the first centuries of the Common Era is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The so-called Dialogue with Heraclides is not a whole, but it is a collection of three different literary pieces, probably taken from a larger collection of Origen's διαλέξεις or διάλεκτοι present in his library in Caesarea. The first part of this paper examines the structure of the so-called Dialogue, the literary genre of διάλεξις and its connection with the rhetorical practices of the Second and Third century, and the place of this miscellaneous work in Origen's production. §§2 and 3 analyze style and content of the second part of the so-called Dialogue. Origen deals with the problem raised by someone about some biblical passages, which may be interpreted as indicating that the human soul coincides with blood. By allegorizing these and other biblical texts, Origen offers a short exposition of his doctrine of the spiritual senses, which allows him to solve the posed difficulties. A suggestion about the possible eschatological and martyrological views of Origen's opponents concludes the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the reconstruction of the main educational and cultural experiences lived by the Italian philosopher Mario Dal Pra (1914-1992), during his childhood and youth in Veneto (a region in the North-East of Italy). The classical studies in the seminary of Vicenza, the involvement in the local Catholic Movement (Azione Cattolica and then Fuci), the studies in Philosophy at the University of Padua under the guide of Erminio Troilo represented the pillars of his initial formation as a Catholic young scholar during the dreadful Fascist period. This kind of perspective, so effective in those years, was suddenly changed by Dal Pra into a new look on reality, philosophy and religion − influenced by a critical rationalism − after his commitment in Italian Resistance movement during the second world war. For this reason, an in-depth analysis of his “Venetian years” could offer an unreleased reading of his intellectual and religious origins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with Rufinus' translation of chapter 9 from Gregory of Nazianzus' second Oration and reaches some innovative conclusions about his translation techniques. In or. 2,9, in order to demonstrate the assumption that grazing animal is different from leading souls, the Cappadocian delved into the shepherd' s life and its duties, drawing basically from Theocritus' poetry. As true to its Vorlage as it might appear at first sight, Rufinus' version of the oration bears nonetheless the typical marks of Roman literary translation: explicative additions, more vivid and tangible descriptions, a moralistic attitude, enriching allusions to auctores of renown. In this respect, whereas Gregory alludes to Theocritus as his primary source, Rufinus depends on Virgil' s works, especially the Bucolica and Georgica, which he reads along the lines of ancient Virgilian exegesis as taught in the school of Donatus and then transmitted to us by Servius and Servius Danielinus. In addition to this, Rufinus aims at emphasizing the shepherd' s care for the flock, thus betraying the influences of both the text of the Gospels and the representation of the Good Shepherd in the mosaics of the Aquileia Basilica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the figure of Moses as interpreted by Philo and Origen, in order to capture the contacts between these two exegetes and the dependence of the Christian on the Jew. According to their reading, the figure of Moses is outlined as a prophet (the greatest one), a legislator and a hermeneut (with a distinction between laws that are directly instituted by God and others that are granted by Moses), or finally as a holy man and a model of life, who had access to the contemplation of mysteries. For Philo, such hidden mysteries constitute the meaning of the Pentateuch, are the symbol of the harmony of the cosmos and the law, of the nature and moral life, while for Origen, on the other hand, they represent the Christological meaning, hidden below the types and the adumbrations. The desert cycle brings out some contacts in their way of understanding Easter as a passage or transit, a clear concept in Philo, which Origen acknowledges and enhances. The understanding of the journey in the desert as a spiritual itinerary of the soul is another aspect of their proximity: a place of trial and ascetic commitment for Philo, for Origen a space vacuum perturbationibus et fluctibus, ad quietem discendi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philo's De Vita Mosis has given birth to different questions about its genre, its relationship with other works, its supposed readers; this paper deals especially with this last question. Through a detailed analysis of the most important themes and of the words chosen by Philo, it is possible to notice that the author reserves a lot of attention to Roman values and tries to present Moses and the Jewish culture in the most favourable way for a Roman audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution analyses the relationship between Philo' s philosophical exegesis and some categories that are characteristic of Platonism in the Imperial Age. The figure of Moses is assumed as a point of observation of this phenomenon, since he is a privileged subject in the relationship between man and God. The analysis assumes as a core point the exegesis of Dt 5,31, in which God invites Moses to "stay with him". Two main concepts are at stake: the proximity to God and the idea of stability. This paper therefore tries to explore the possibility that these two aspects are translated and assimilated, throughout Philo' s hermeneutics, to two central axes of Platonism in the Imperial Age: assimilation to God, on the one hand, immutability and the First Principle' s ontological otherness, on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to give a general introduction to the theme section resulting from an international meeting held at the "Dipartimento di Storia Culture Religioni", Sapienza University of Rome, on November 11-12, 2016. The paper briefly clarifies the importance of the Book of Genesis in Western culture and the value of Origen's interpretation of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to study the kind of relationship which links the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron. This subject has been debated for a long time, since the discovery of the 'apocryphal' Gospel of Thomas, and has been very controversial. Scholars in fact disagree about this issue: some point to a direct relationship, a dependence of the Gospel of Thomas upon the Diatessaron or vice-versa; others instead deny a direct relationship and rather think to an indirect one. This kind of analysis is not easy because of the lack of an original of the harmony of Tatian. We can, in fact, reconstruct the text of the Diatessaron only through his many witnesses but this reconstruction is nevertheless very complex. This paper tries to show some examples of such a complex relationship: three cases in which we can clearly glimpse the connection which exists between the two texts. The analysis showed us that the relationship which does subsist between the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron is not of a direct kind but rather they shared one common source, a gospel tradition with variant readings which probably was available in the canonical text of that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]