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Romans 1:18-2:29 connects with Stoic philosophy in a way that would be unmistakable to a Gentile audience. While acknowledging the Hellenistic tone of the passage, this paper focuses on the Stoic elements of natural law that were broadly recognized in Rome. Particularly, Cicero's speeches, rhetorical handbooks, and philosophical treatises provide a comprehensive account of the connections between Hellenistic philosophy and Roman law and declamation. Although no direct evidence exists to show that Paul had read Cicero, these texts reveal the culture of the Roman Christians to whom Paul was writing. Key concepts of natural law appear in Romans that contextualize Paul's message on internal obedience in 2:27-29, although he reworks them. Paul emphasizes spirit 'πνεῦμα' as the generating force of obedience. Two interpretations of πνεῦμα echo Stoic perspectives as the intent opposed to the letter of the law and as the inward motivation of the person obeying the law. The third interpretation as a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit would be new for Paul's Roman audience. This paper demonstrates that by incorporating Stoic elements on natural law, Paul presents the central significance of internal obedience in a way that would be understandable to his Christ-believing auditors and readers in Rome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The display of paintings in seventeenth-century Roman palaces was integral to the social virtue of splendor intended to convey the owner's social, political, and, in the case of cardinals, ecclesiastical importance. Recent research has shed additional light on the careful consideration given to the rooms in which paintings were to be hung and viewed based on the rank and status of guests who were admitted into those spaces. This necessitates a reevaluation of the presence of music paintings, which, too often, have been dismissed as a minor genre of merely descriptive representations of contemporary music practices. This paper investigates the implications of the display of music paintings by Caravaggio and Antiveduto Grammatica in the palace of Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte. Parallel examinations of music paintings in the palaces of Vincenzo Giustiniani and cardinals Francesco and Antonio Barberini reveal similar patterns of display. This paper contends that while paintings of musical subjects are relatively few, surprisingly, they were hung in prominent locations in the private residences of Rome's most powerful and influential cardinals. These paintings were instrumental in helping Cardinal del Monte achieve splendor and fashion himself as a leading arbiter of taste in both painting and music in Rome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roman stamped bricks are considered one of the best indicators of the provenance of Roman building materials, contractors and owners, due to the names included in the stamps. They are also a good proxy for understanding part of the supply chain directed towards Rome and the city's peripheral territories; however, hypotheses based on stamps are nevertheless often insufficient for pinpointing production centers, which limits the extent to which the movement of these materials and their makers can be reconstructed. This paper analyses some well-preserved brick assemblages from the Ager Rusellanus in southern Tuscany and reviews previous provenance hypotheses based on the stamps. The results from ceramic petrography and a systematic review of published analyses highlight how combining contextual information with a wellstructured, analytical approach is fundamental for understanding the movement of goods, the nature of the workforce and even the relationship between state-commissioned building works and its agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a new perspective on the religious function of the Latin adjectives cretatus (whitened with chalk) and calidus (having a white spot on the forehead). The researchers of Roman religion have attributed to the former a specific role. Whitening chalk was used to cover any imperfections in the appearance of the sacrificial animal. According to them, cretatus could also have a pejorative meaning. The author of the article, however, disagrees with this view and suggests to examine more closely the context in which the adjective was used and references to the white colour of the victims. He argues for a different, positive interpretation, namely that the adjective cretatus was used to indicate the effect of a ceremonial act intended to emphasise Roman piety. In the case of the other adjective, calidus, the examination of the context in which the word appeared proves that it most likely did not serve as a technical religious term and animals with a white spot on their foreheads were not considered pars pro toto as white victims in Rome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Antonine Wall Distance Sculptures are iconic and unique sculptural reliefs that marked Rome's most north-westerly frontier across central Scotland. Their inscribed texts and iconography depict graphic tales of frontier life, and recent non-invasive analysis has confirmed they were originally brought to life through vibrant polychromy. This paper tracks the trajectory of one Distance Sculpture that was embedded into the dramatic setting of Dunnottar Castle off the north-east coast of Scotland during the 16th century, where it was recorded as having been repainted during that episode of use. A suite of complementary analytical techniques, including pXRF, FTIR, and SEM/EDS, was recently reported on which identified pigments and surface treatments as well as their chronology of application, confirmed through stratigraphic sequencing visible in cross-section. That approach facilitated the investigation of all episodes in the itinerary of this iconic sculpted relief from the second century to the Scottish Renaissance. That vanguard research has provided an unprecedented opportunity to unravel the rich hidden history behind this unique monumental inscription and re-tell a fascinating transformational tale of a pivotal period in its past. The combination of historical, archaeological, and scientific approaches to an understudied, and overlooked, phenomenon of post-antique colouration is revolutionary in polychromy studies. It provides innovative and well-contextualised information that lifts an aesthetically modest Roman monument into a vibrant, colourful, and sumptuous decorative feature fit to grace the walls of a Renaissance castle emulating Roman imperial practices. We can now trace its journey through time by delving into the detail of its Renaissance repainting to present, for the first time, an accurate digital reconstruction as it performed for 16th century audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being one of the most important conflicts of the ancient world, and a pivotal moment in Roman history, there are still misconceptions about the Second Punic War. Most notably, the fact that Hannibal was on the verge of victory following his success at Cannae (216), and that only the victory at the Metaurus (207) changed the course of the war in Rome's favour. This paper will emphasize the different strategic approach employed by both sides and that, ultimately, Hannibal's Hellenistic warfare doctrines were inadequate against Rome's war machine of the late third century. Next, it will examine four crucial factors that deeply influenced the course of the war well before the battle of the Metaurus due to their military, strategic and economic repercussions. Ultimately, it will be suggested that Rome altered the course of the war already from 215 and that, by 211, its victory was already determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The material fabric of a city is never neutral. It speaks to the opportunities of access and usage that some are given at the exclusion of others. Scholars of the everyday have analyzed how city residents counter oppression by appropriating and transforming spaces. Less attention, however, has been given to how not only people, but also material things have agency in producing opportunities for insurgency. This paper examines how people and materialities imbricate, co-producing geographies of survival on Ponte Sant'Angelo, a bridge in Rome where diverse immigrants eke out a living by selling trinkets. Interviews and observations revealed that both seniority on the street and immigration status divide vendors into three groups, each with a different degree of power over other users of the bridge. At the same time, Ponte Sant'Angelo, a physical entity made by permanent built forms as well as contingent elements such as water levels and car traffic, generate five distinct areas, each with a different degree of attractiveness in the eyes of diverse vendors. Differences across vendors and material elements intertwine with one another. The nitty-gritty of the city, its seemingly banal materialities, partner with vendors as they negotiate power and counter exclusion. These circumstances call for expanding scholarship of the everyday , exploring how multiple, interdependent agencies shape urban patterns of oppression and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]