Graffiti in Antiquity

348 Pages·2014·5.7 MB·English

by  Peter Keegan

GRAFFITI IN ANTIQUITY
Th e graffi ti that survive from the ancient world of the Mediterranean off er
us an extraordinary insight into the everyday life – both public and private –
of the time. Whether cut, painted, inked or traced in charcoal, graffi ti were
used to address topics as diverse as religion, magic, myth, politics, sport,
commerce and sexuality.
Graffi ti in Antiquity examines 3,000 years of history, drawing chiefl y on
sources from Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures. Th e men and women of
these cultures – both free and enslaved – used graffi ti to comment on their
own lives and to champion, satirize and protest against issues of the day.
Th e sources are carefully presented within their specifi c historical, cultural
and archaeological contexts, but the purpose of the study is to explore how
these sources can construct a broader picture of social identity and interaction.
Graffi ti in Antiquity off ers readers a new way of understanding the lives of
ordinary people in the ancient world.
Peter Keegan is Senior Lecturer in Roman History at Macquarie University,
Sydney. He is author of Gender, Social Identity, and Cultural Practices in
Private Latin Inscriptions.
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GRAFFITI IN ANTIQUITY
Peter Keegan
First published 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Th ird Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Peter Keegan
Th e right of Peter Keegan to be identifi ed as the author of this title has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent
to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been applied for
ISBN: 978-1-84465-607-3 (hbk)
Typeset in Warnock Pro and Myriad Pro by Kate Williams, Swansea
CONTENTS
Abbreviations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
Introduction: Modern approaches to ancient graffi ti 1
I. TECHNIQUES
1. Methods, types, contexts 16
II. TRADITIONS
2. History 27
3. Literature 46
4. Art and architecture 67
III. BELIEFS
5. Religion 86
6. Magic 114
7. Mythology 139
IV. LIFESTYLES
8. Politics 158
9. Sport 184
10. Commerce 218
11. Sexuality 243
v
CONTENTS
Conclusion 276
Appendix: Where to fi nd ancient graffi ti 289
Notes 299
Ancient references 315
Bibliography 319
Index 327
vi
ABBREVIATIONS
AE L’Année Epigraphique: revue des publications épigraphiques relatives a l’antiquité
romaine. 1888–. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
CEG Hansen, P. A. (ed.). 1983–9. Carmina Epigraphica Graeca, 2 vols. Berlin: De
Gruyter.
CIG Boeckh, A., J. Franz, E. Curtius & A. Kirchhoff (eds). 1828–77. Corpus Inscriptionum
Graecarum, 4 vols. Berlin: Subsidia Epigraphica.
CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum: Consilio et Auctoritate Academiae Litterarum
Regiae Borussicae Editum. 1863–1974. Berlin: Berlin- Brandenburg Academy of
Sciences and Humanities.
CLE Buecheler, F. 1897–1926. Carmina Latina Epigraphica. Leipzig: Teubner.
Graf. Pal. Solin, H. & M. Itkonen- Kaila. 1966. Graffi ti del Palatino I: Paedagogium. Helsinki:
Akateeminen Kirjakauppa.
IG Inscriptiones Graecae. 1903–. Berlin: Berlin-B randenburg Academy of Sciences and
Humanities.
ILS Dessau, H. 1892–1916. Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, 3 vols. Berlin: Berolini.
LSJ9 Liddell, H. G., R. Scott & H. S. Jones (eds) 1996. Greek–English Lexicon, 9th edn.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
NSc Notizie degli scavi di antichità. 1884–1929. Rome: Accademia nazionale dei Lincei.
PGM Preisendanz, K. A. Henrichs. 1974. Papyri Graecae Magicae: Die Griechischen
Zauberpapyri, 2 vols. Stuttgart: Teubner.
PIR2 Petersen, L. & W. Eck (eds) 2006. Prosopographia Imperii Romani, 2nd edn. Berlin:
De Gruyter.
RIB Collingwood, R. G. & R. P. Wright 1965. Th e Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. 1923–. Leiden: Brill.
Uley Tomlin, R. S. O. 1993. “Th e Inscribed Lead Tablets”. In A. Woodward & P. Leach
(eds), Th e Uley Shrines: Excavation of a Ritual Complex on West Hill, Uley,
Gloucestershire, 1977–79, 113–26. London: English Heritage.
vii
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Th e purpose of this volume is to give a general introduction to the non-
offi cial mark-m aking practices of the ancient world – graffi ti in antiquity – in
their physical and cultural setting. It covers the period from the invention of
recorded human communication (prehistory) to the end of the post-c lassical
period (late antiquity). Th is survey is built upon a socio- historical narrative,
for which a broadly chronological structure and a particular focus on the
major cultural entities of the Mediterranean (Egypt, Greece, Rome) seemed
appropriate – especially given the sheer length of the period described and
the scale of the changes in question. I hope, however, that the manner in
which I have written, and my choice and presentation of illustrations, have
resulted in a broadly integrated and balanced picture in which thematic
interpretation is at least as prominent as historical description.
For the same reason – the length and variety of the period and the diver-
sity of ancient cultures covered – my sole authorship may at fi rst suggest that
elements of the volume’s range will lack that sense of immediacy that comes
from direct acquaintance with the latest research. However, on two counts
I hope that this is not true. First, while I have tried constantly to write for a
mythical general reader, I have indicated areas of specialist controversy and
made my position clear. Second, my own research interests – ancient epi-
graphic practices across antiquity; theoretical perspectives on ancient literary
and sub- literary discourse; sexuality, gender and body history in pre- modern
societies – should mean that this book is not biased in favour of the familiar
(or at least not as much as you might expect), but rather of the peripheral
periods and cultural facets of antiquity.
I have learned much from this study of ancient graffi ti about the many
thought- worlds that existed in our past, and also acknowledge with pleasure
the collaboration of the editorial team at Acumen Publishing in the UK, espe-
cially Tristan Palmer, whose suggestions have much infl uenced the design
of the book, and Katharine Green, whose advice in relation to the choice
ix