Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

Taking the Measure of the Ancient World 

readGreekorLatin).ButinsteadIwillindulgemyselfbyquotingfrommy
favouriteworkfromlateantiquity,Jerome’sbrilliantlyjournalisticaccount
of the life of Hilarion, an inhabitant of the ancient cityof Gaza,whowas
borninthesandconvertedintheearlyyearsofthefourthcenturyto
thelifeofaChristianascetic.
TheancientPhilistinecityofGazawasnowinfactaperfectexampleofa
‘‘Graeco-Roman’’place.LongsinceHellenised,ithadbeengiveninthethird
century the status of a Roman colony. Hence (in principle at least) it used
Latininitspublicaffairs,anditstwochiefannualmagistrateshadtheLatin
titleduumviri.AsaRomanurbs,Jeromereports,thecityheldanannualfes-
tivalinhonourofthegodConsus,tocommemoratetherapeoftheSabine
women.Aspartofthefestival,aChristian,Italicus,wasduetoenteraquadriga
(four-horse chariot) against one owned bya paganduumvirand feared the
effectofspells.SoHilarionwasaskedtoprovideholywatertoscatterover
theChristian-ownedhorsesandquadriga,andtheircharioteer.
Thus, Jerome records, ‘‘when the signal was given, they [the Christian
horses]flewoff,andtheotherswereheldup.’’Jeromepicksupherethetra-
dition of sports journalese inaugurated inIliad, and turns to using the
historicpresent:‘‘UndertheChristianchariotthewheelsgrowredhot;they
[the pagan horses] can scarcely see their rival’s backs as they fly past’’ (Sub
horumcurrurotaefervent;illipraetervolantiumtergavixcernunt).‘‘Mar-
nas has been conquered by Christ!’’ (Marnas victus est a Christo), shouted
thecrowd.Soindeeditwastobeintheend,butonlyafterseveralhundred
yearswhenworshippersofChristandofthepagandeitiesco-existed,and
morepeoplewereeducatedinGreekandLatinlanguage,culture,andtra-
ditionthaneverbefore.Weshouldnotbeafraid,inthemodernworld,to
boastofjusthowmuchofhumanhistoryallthisrepresents.But,equally,we
shouldallowourselvesto‘‘thinkaboutLatin,’’andabouthowthemodern
beginnercanbestbehelpedtoapproachtheGraeco-Romanworld.

ANoteontheSources

Foranyonewhowantstofollowupanyofthetextsmentionedinthislecture,
anoteofsomeplaceswheretheyareprintedfollows:

. Thepapyrusof..ismosteasilyfoundinA.S.HuntandG.C.Edgar,
Select Papyri(),no.,Loebedition.
. Josephus’ account of Alexander in Jerusalem comes from hisJewish An-
tiquities,,(–);thepassagequotedis–(Loeb).
. The Buddhist inscription of Asoka was first published by D. Schlum-