Romanitas - Revista de Estudos Grecolatinos
Romanitas – Revista de Estudos Grecolatinos was born, at first, from a finding: the visible lack, in Brazil, of journals of an interdisciplinary nature committed to the dissemination of intellectual production around Greek and Roman society, a reality in sharp contrast with the increase in the interest aroused, in the last decades, by Classical Studies, as it is possible to conclude based on the growing number of researchers involved, at all levels of academic formation, with research projects on the past of Greece and Rome, which motivated the team of Laboratory of Studies on the Roman Empire/Section ES, linked to the History Postgraduate Program of the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes), to found the journal.
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Sophists and Philosophers in the Roman Empire
Dossier: Sophists, Philosophers, and Rhetoricians in the Ancient World
Copyright (c) 2025 Tim Whitmarsh, Esdra Erlacher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
It was our aim, in this dossier, to examine the role played by sophists, philosophers, and rhetores in Antiquity, highlighting their functions, discursive strategies, theoretical disputes, social interests, and other issues related to the activities of these individuals. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective that brings together History, Philosophy, Literature, and Anthropology, and based on a highly diverse body of sources, the contributors to this issue set out to understand the actions of a range of individuals or groups in the ancient world who, through their literary and discursive expressions, reinforced or mitigated identities, positions, or projects of power. The texts the reader will encounter in the following pages also constitute a valuable body of material for understanding the circulation, production, and dissemination of knowledge in the ancient Mediterranean.
Copyright (c) 2026 Esdra Erlacher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Roman expansion and integration of provincial territories
Interview with Vagner Carvalheiro Porto, professor at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo (MAE/USP). He holds a PhD (2007) and a Master's degree (2001) in Archaeology from USP, and a Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Santo Amaro (1994). He coordinates the Laboratory of Provincial Roman Archaeology (LARP/USP), where he conducts research on the Roman provinces of Syria-Palestine and the Iberian Peninsula. He also leads the research groups “Ancient Numismatics” and “Interactive Archaeology and Electronic Simulations” (ARISE). Additionally, he serves as co-editor-in-chief of the Revista do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da USP and is a CNPq research productivity fellow. Among his most recent research projects are those carried out at the archaeological site of Tel Dor, in Israel. His work focuses on the analysis of Roman expansion and the integration of conquered territories into the imperial order.
Dossier: Processes of Expansion and Territorial Integration in the Ancient Mediterranean
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Introduction of the dossier: "Processes of expansion and integration in the ancient Mediterranean".
Abstract: The textual, epigraphic, and material sources of the Roman Empire reveal to us that it was common, in the context of the Principate, to find sophists, philosophers, and rhetors circulating through the poleis and civitates. Although we know that philosophy and sophistry were distinct domains of knowledge, with their own teachers and educational centers, in practice, their boundaries often became fluid, so that the same individual could simultaneously play the role of both sophist and philosopher. An exemplary case is that of Dio of Prusa, who has been classified since Antiquity sometimes as a sophist, sometimes as a philosopher. Considering the different identities attributed to the author, our objective in this article is to discuss, based on Dio’s speeches, how sophistry and philosophy were addressed in his discourses and how the orator himself wished to be recognized.
Copyright (c) 2025 Esdra Erlacher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A critical analysis regarding Diomedes and the communication of ‘menos’ (Iliad, Book V)
Abstract: This article proposes a critical analysis of the definition of “communication of menos” as presented by Maria Daraki (1980). This concept refers to moments when a god transmits ‘ardour’ to a hero, often accompanied by a poetic formulaic description in which the deity ‘softens’ the hero’s limbs, making them lighter. Our central hypothesis is that Daraki’s definition presents descriptive limitations, preventing the identification of all instances in which menos is transmitted from a deity to a human in the Iliad. To support this analysis, we divide the study into two main stages. First, we address the definition of menos, considering contemporary etymological and terminological studies. Then, we examine the occurrences of the term menos in the first five books of the Iliad, with particular attention to the aristeia of Diomedes (Il. V).
Copyright (c) 2025 Eduardo Rodrigues https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Cultural hybridity and mortuary rites in the Greco-Roman Egypt
Review of: LOBIANCO, L. E. Funerais miscigenados: egípcios gregos romanos. Curitiba: Appris, 2024.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jéssica Ladeira Santana https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Review of: SILVA, M. A. O.; IPIRANGA JÚNIOR, P. (org.). Filóstrato: novas abordagens. Teresina: EDUFPI, 2022.
Copyright (c) 2025 Letícia Aga Pereira Passos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Mercenary networks in Greek historiography
This text examines key steps from ancient Greek historians in which the actions of mercenaries are narrated from the perspective of the support networks they constituted. The aim is to highlight other elements that made the relationship between mercenaries, regimenters and communities of either origin or reception something more complex than just a relationship of payment for services performed. Finally, two consequences of the coordinated action of these mercenaries are discussed: on the one hand, their transformation into a reserve support base; on the other, and perhaps the most significant consequence, the danger that the presence of these mercenaries in a community entailed as something not always just latent, especially when they were motivated to act in a concerted manner and had opportunities to do so.
Copyright (c) 2025 Breno Battistin Sebastiani https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Sacred Basileía of Justinian (527–565)
Most of the historiography on Byzantium maintains that the political model employed by Justinian in the sixth century was an autocracy. Conceptual definitions of the term, however, are generally restricted to texts that, in essence, trace its origin to the title autokrátōr, drawn from the official protocols of the imperial chancery and used to denote a centralizing and unlimited power, as Justinian’s administration is understood to have been according to this line of interpretation. These historiographical assertions, however, diverge from the Greek texts of the panegyrics On Buildings and Description of Hagia Sophia, written respectively by Procopius of Caesarea (490–562) and Paul the Silentiary (?-580), which employ the form of address basileús. On the basis of these two authors, we seek to propose, as an alternative explanatory framework, the concept of sacred basileía, considering its use primarily as a means of articulating the divine assistance granted to Justinian in his exercise of rule.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Maria de Oliveira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The influence of the ‘grammatici’ and ‘rhētores’ in the‘Corpus Hermeticum’ 18 (11-16)
This article focuses on and examines the Corpus Hermeticum 18, which falls within the scope of the History of Ancient Mediterranean Religions and the History of Philosophy. Thus, the objective is to analyze the influence of grammatici and rhētores on the Hermetic treatises, more specifically on the aforementioned treatise, considering its historical-philosophical correlation with the Second Sophistic. Accordingly, it demonstrates the influence of grammatici and rhētores through the presence of Atticism, particularly the occurrences of verba composita or verba nova. Finally, it concludes that the panegyrist employed rhetorical paretymological techniques, similar to those found in Plato’s Cratylus dialogue. In particular, this article shows that the study of Hellenistic rhetoric in Corp. Herm. 18 paves the way for a deeper understanding of Late Antiquity’s literary practices, revealing that Hermetic production was not isolated from the broader intellectual and rhetorical influences of its time. Lastly, this analysis of the interaction between Hermetic teachings and rhetorical principles allows for a more comprehensive approach to the transmission and composition of Hermetic texts, highlighting their complexity and stylistic sophistication. Thus, the inclusion of treatise 18 in the Corpus Hermeticum should not be seen merely as an editorial accident but rather as a reflection of the intersection between literature, rhetoric, and philosophy in Hellenistic Egypt under Roman rule.
Copyright (c) 2025 David Pessoa de Lira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Description of Greece, written by Pausanias in the 2nd century AD, is a work composed of ten Books that detail the regions of continental Greece, combining geographical, historical and cultural descriptions. The author emphasizes monuments, religious rituals and local traditions, in addition to reporting conflicts and political events, such as Roman domination. The article analyzes this work within the context of the Second Sophistic, highlighting its archaizing character and its relationship with cultural memory and Greek identity, as discussed by Bommas (2011) and Alcock (1996). It is argued that the Description of Greece responds to the provincialization of Greece after 146 BC, reflecting both an idealized glorious past and the adaptation to Roman rule. While Porter (2001) and Pretzler (2007) emphasize its performative and informative character, Habicht (1998) criticizes the intellectual superficiality of the period. Anderson (1993) and Whitmarsh (2005) emphasize the construction of Greek identity under Rome. The study also relates Pausanias to sophists such as Polemus and Aelius Aristides, demonstrating how his work is inserted in a hybrid political and cultural context, where rhetoric and erudition supported both entertainment and the affirmation of Greek identity, highlighting the effervescent intellectual panorama of the period.
Copyright (c) 2025 Arhão Henrique Ramos da Silva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Philosophers and Allegorist Philosophers in Ancient Greece
In this article, I propose to investigate the notion of allegory as a mediating mechanism between philosophy and mythical narratives. The Greek allegory, also known in historiography as the “allegory of the poets,” was an interpretative phenomenon aimed at preserving the explanatory value of myths and the morality expressed by poets by constructing a hidden meaning within the narrative structure. Thus, between myth and philosophy, allegory – or more precisely, allegoresis – emerges as an interpretative method that, in addition to defending poetic traditions, recontextualizes the doctrinal richness of myths. Ultimately, allegorical interpretation, or allegoresis, added complexity to a world that questioned the cognitive and educational value of poetry. Therefore, I argue that the debate between myth and philosophy, as well as between poets and philosophers, can be better understood through the inclusion of the so-called allegorist philosophers.
Copyright (c) 2025 Thiago David Stadler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
In the last decades, Cicero has been reassessed as a significant and complex thinker due to the diversity and breadth of his writings across various literary genres, as well as his creative engagement with Hellenistic philosophy. Cicero’s work offers substantial insights into the intellectual life of the Mediterranean and late Republican Rome, as well as the production and circulation of knowledge during that time. This article will explore aspects of his intellectual landscape and how Cicero’s philosophical project is reflected in some of his forensic speeches and philosophical dialogues.
Copyright (c) 2025 Claudia Beltrão https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The relationship between humans and food initially arises as a primary response to the stimulus of hunger, as a natural instinct for survival. The oldest civilizations emerged where sustenance was guaranteed, and their evolution is closely connected to advancements in the productive sphere. In archaic Roman society, food consisted of products derived from an agricultural and pastoral economy, but contacts with the Etruscans and Greeks permeated Roman culture with new values: the banquet became associated with pomp and luxury as a tangible and necessarily manifest expression of real wealth; even wine became one of the characteristic and most important elements to demonstrate this social status. The aim of this text is to present how wine, unknown to the Greeks and Romans in the archaic period, became a fundamental food on the Roman table and how the Romans developed specific techniques for the cultivation and production of this beverage. In the second part of this article, I will present the results of an experiment conducted between 2009 and 2013 in which we aimed to verify if a wine considered luxurious by the Romans could be considered a quality wine today.
Dossiê: Medicina e Alimentação na Antiguidade
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The historiography on Domitian in three acts
In this article, we propose an analysis of the representations of Emperor Titus Flavius Domitian (81-96) in the texts of antiquarian historians confined to the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. We identify three perspectives on this controversial Princeps. In the period spanning from the late 19th century to the mid-1930s, the traditionalist perspective stands out, wherein, despite its proponents recognizing the importance of material culture in historical analyses, primacy is still given to textual sources. In the second phase, between the mid-1940s and 1989, revisionist texts emerge, in which the characterization of tyranny, inherited from the traditionalists, began to be questioned by historians through the exploration of material culture. Finally, in the rhetorical perspective, which unfolds between the 1990s and the first two decades of the 21st century, historians and classicists are observed to understand the rhetorical construction of both textual sources and material documentation.
Copyright (c) 2024 Irlan de Sousa Cotrim https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Interview with John Wilkins, Emeritus Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, a specialist in the History of Food and Medicine in the Greco-Roman World, and a member of the scientific committee of the journal Food and History, published by the European Institute of Food History and Cultures.
Copyright (c) 2024 John Wilkins, Margarida Maria de Carvalho, Nathalia Monseff Junqueira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Introduction of the dossier: "Medicine and Food in Antiquity".
This article explores the metamorphosis of Jesus, from a humble Jewish preacher who was crucified, to being elevated to divinity by Christians in ancient Greece and Rome. After his death, his disciples began to worship him as God. This raises questions about how a crucified peasant managed to achieve the status of Lord of the universe. The method we will employ for this research will be bibliographical.
Copyright (c) 2025 André Magalhães Coelho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The relations between power and memory in the‘Urbs’
In this article, we explore the iconographic motif of honorific columns within a monetary corpus that extends from the 2nd century BCE, comprising the coins portraying the Columna Minucia (RRC, 242/1; 243/1), to the Augustan denarius depicting a Columna Rostrata on the reverse (RIC, Augustus, 271). Building on the concept of triumphal memory (Hölscher, 2006), we aim to understand how these monuments, whether standing alone or integrated into larger architectural complexes, served as elevated bases for statues commemorating individuals, either during their lifetimes or posthumously.
Copyright (c) 2025 Thiago Eustáquio Araujo Mota https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Patronage, Leadership, and Conflict in the Republic
In this article, we aim to analyze the role of veterans between 64 and 27 BC, in the final decades of the Republic, as a support group for Julius Caesar and Octavian. During this period, the veterans emerged as a significant force, quickly co-opted by these leaders, who saw in them a resource to challenge senatorial politics. In exchange for their support, the veterans demanded material benefits, consolidating a patronage–client relationship. This bond not only characterized their actions but also contributed to the profound social transformations that marked the Republican crisis.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ayla Fernanda de Oliveira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A review of Guerra e schiaviin Grecia e a Roma: il modo diproduzione bellico
Review of: CANFORA, L. Guerra e schiavi in Grecia e a Roma: il modo di produzione bellico. Palermo: Sellerio Editore Palermo, 2023. 128 p.
Copyright (c) 2025 María Candela Paz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ethnographic reports from Antiquity reveal some societies’ singularities listed in their pages. Political, military and everyday aspects are reported, imprinting mythological and rational explanations, which are characteristics of the thought developed in the ancient world. The aim of this article is to show the Egyptians’ diet, described in the narratives of the historians Herodotus (ca. 484-425 BC) and Diodorus Siculus (ca. 90-30 BC) as well as the geographer Strabo (ca. 64 BC - 23 BC). These travelers, who wrote in different historical contexts, were chosen for several reasons. The first one is due to their stay in Egypt for some years and because they shared a common culture, writing consistently in Greek. Such narratives shed light on the processes of food production in Egypt and possible changes, if any, from the Saitic to the Hellenistic periods. In addition, we will support our analysis with the material culture produced by the Egyptians in terms of food preparation, so that we can observe the way this society prepared bread and beer.
Copyright (c) 2024 Nathalia Monseff Junqueira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Brief reflections on History of Medicine and the use of 'garum' as medication
In this contribution, I seek to provide a very brief comparative perspective between ancient and modern medicine, outlining a historical background that I believe is pertinent and didactic for my main theme, which is the use of garum as a medication in ancient medicine and veterinary medicine. In doing so, I present the human practice of care under a more revealing time continuum, attempting to demonstrate that our current level of knowledge about medicine is very recent and that we need to respect the legacy of the ancients.
Copyright (c) 2024 Paulo Duprat https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This paper aims to establish an overview comprising Mediterranean Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology to discuss themes such as migration, memory, and temporality. The study of contemporary societies and their relationship with the material world can help to understand the intersections between the past and the present of societies that lived in the same geographical space of the Mediterranean. Thus, we will explore the navigation scenario, focusing on shipwrecks. Although such phenomena occur for different reasons, they are felt and expressed by distinct societies, offering archaeological interpretations of the past, while also serving as a possibility of archaeology of the present.
Copyright (c) 2024 Letícia Aga Pereira Passos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Dossiê: Vertentes da linguagem visual nas sociedades clássica e pós-clássica
Presentation ofvolume 23 of Romanitas Journal.
Copyright (c) 2024 Edjalma Nepomoceno Pina https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Food, water and wine in the medicinal practices of Oribasius (4th century CE)
Oribasius of Pergamum was a Neoplatonic doctor from Late Antiquity, more specifically from the period of approximately 320 to 403. His work was considered for a long time to be a mere compilation of Galen. We reject this idea when we see that there are several medical supplements updated by this doctor in his time. In this article, we aim to analyze food, water, and wine in the medicinal practices of Oribasius. In terms of food, we chose to talk about red meat. All these elements are part of the medical diet written by Oribasius for Emperor Julian and his military troops.
Copyright (c) 2024 Margarida Maria de Carvalho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Propõe-se, neste artigo, analisar a ação da documentação numismática na construção de memória e sua atuação nos conflitos políticos internos vividos por Roma durante as últimas décadas do período republicano. As moedas romanas, na condição de agentes da memória, intervinham ativamente nos conflitos. A partir da seleção de três fontes (RIC 545, RRC 448/3 e RRC 443/1), datadas de entre 49 e 28 a.C., buscamos compreender a forma particular como as peças monetárias recordavam as Guerras Civis, evitando dar visibilidade à dimensão doméstica dos conflitos e, ao mesmo tempo, enfatizando as guerras contra povos estrangeiros.
Copyright (c) 2025 Giovanni Pando Bueno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The integration of Illyria into the Roman Empire (3rd century BC-1st century AD)
This article aims to examine the integration of Illyrian territory into the Roman Empire. We demonstrate that the Roman conquest and occupation were slow and gradual processes, extending over centuries until the establishment of the province. Between the 3rd century BC and 1st century AD, Illyrian territory was the stage of disputes, and its integration was carried out through various Roman strategies, not only military but also political and legal. Furthermore, we note the influence of the natives in this process, either through direct resistance or through established agreements. Initially, we explore the ethnic and geographic composition of Illyria in the pre-Roman context, and then we discuss the phases of the annexation of the region into the Roman Empire, addressing the natives’ resistance and the role of local elites in the integration process.
Copyright (c) 2025 Guilherme de Aquino Silva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0