Studies in Classical Antiquity NS Vol. 14 / 2005 New Zealand / South Africa

196 Pages·2012·3.51 MB·English

ISSN 1018-9017

SCHOLIA

Studies in Classical Antiquity

NS Vol. 14 / 2005

New Zealand / South Africa
ISSN 1018-9017

SCHOLIA

Studies in Classical Antiquity

Editor: W. J. Dominik

NS Vol. 14 / 2005

New Zealand / South Africa
SCHOLIA
Studies in Classical Antiquity
ISSN 1018-9017
Scholia features critical and pedagogical articles and reviews on a diverse range of
subjects dealing with classical antiquity, including late antique, medieval, Renaissance and
early modern studies related to the classical tradition; in addition, there are articles on
classical artefacts in museums in New Zealand and the J. A. Barsby Essay.
Manuscripts: Potential contributors should read the ‘Notes for Contributors’ located at the
back of this volume and follow the suggested guidelines for the submission of manuscripts.
Articles on the classical tradition are particularly welcome. Submissions are usually reviewed
by two referees. Time before publication decision: 2-3 months.
Subscriptions (2006): Individuals: USD30/NZD50 (except Africa); Africa NZD30. Libraries
and institutions: USD50/NZD80 (except Africa); Africa NZD50. Institutional and personal
cheques should be made out to ‘Scholia/University of Otago’. Credit card payments are
preferred; please see the subscription form and credit card authorisation at the back of this
volume. Foreign subscriptions cover air mail postage and bank charges on institutional and
personal cheques. Payments from Africa, however, must be made with an international bank
draft or by credit card in New Zealand currency because of foreign exchange regulations in
many countries. After initial payment, a subscription to the journal will be entered. All back
numbers are available at a reduced price and may be ordered from the Business Manager.
Editing and Managing Address: Articles and subscriptions: W. J. Dominik, Editor and
Manager, Scholia, Department of Classics, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054,
New Zealand. Telephone: [phone]; facsimile: +64 (0)3 479 9029; e-mail:
[email protected].
Reviews Address: Reviews articles and reviews: J. L. Hilton, Reviews Editor, Scholia,
Programme in Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.
Telephone: [phone]; facsimile: [phone]; e-mail: [email protected].
New Series: Scholia is archived in ProQuest and LOCKSS, indexed and abstracted in
L’Année Philologique, indexed in Gnomon and TOCS-IN, and listed in Ulrich’s
International Periodicals Directory. Scholia is listed in the Australian Department of
Education, Science and Training Register of Refereed Journals and is recognised by the
South African Department of Education for research output subsidy. The contents of Scholia
and information about the journal are available on the world wide web at http://www.otago.
ac.nz/classics/scholia. Photocopies of articles and other sections of Scholia are available from
the British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC no. 8092.54348). Scholia Reviews, an
electronic journal that features the pre-publication versions of reviews that appear in Scholia,
is available on the world wide web at http://www.classics.und.ac.za/reviews.
Publication and Distribution: Scholia and Scholia Reviews have published or undertaken to
publish over 500 contributions by over 250 scholars and academics at over 150 universities in
29 countries. Scholia has been distributed to institutions and scholars in 41 countries.
Cover Illustration: Drawing by E. A. Mackay (University of Auckland) based on an Attic
black-figure fragment (inv. L.1989.K) in the Museum of Classical Archaeology, University
of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban (on permanent loan from A. Gosling).
Typesetting: W. J. Dominik, P. A. Roche, C. Harper.
Printing: Otago University Print Copyright: Otago/KwaZulu-Natal Classics 2007
SCHOLIA
Studies in Classical Antiquity
ISSN 1018-9017
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE (2004-05)
W. J. Dominik (Otago) Editor and Manager
J. L. Hilton (UKZN) Reviews Editor
T. Lockyer (UKZN), P. A. Roche (Otago) Assistant Editors
P. A. Hannah (Otago) In the Museum Editor
J. C. R. Hall (Otago) J. A. Barsby Essay Editor
C. Harper (Otago) Editorial Assistant / Assistant Business Manager
B. Knowles (Otago), A. J. Ryan (UKZN) Web Site Managers
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD (2004-05)
A. L. Allan University of Otago, New Zealand
J. E. Atkinson University of Cape Town, South Africa
J. A. Barsby University of Otago, New Zealand
A. F. Basson Brock University, Canada
D. J. Blyth University of Auckland, New Zealand
R. P. Bond University of Canterbury, New Zealand
G. Calboli University of Bologna, Italy
P. G. Christiansen Texas Tech University, USA
J. M. Claassen University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
J. Davidson Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
P. J. Davis University of Tasmania, Australia
J. S. Dietrich University of Tasmania, Australia
S. A. Frangoulidis University of Crete, Greece
P. A. Gallivan University of Tasmania, Australia
J. Garthwaite University of Otago, New Zealand
A. Gosling University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
R. N. A. Hankey University of Otago, New Zealand
R. Hannah University of Otago, New Zealand
J. G. W. Henderson University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
W. J. Henderson University of Johannesburg, South Africa
V. E. Izzet University of Southampton, United Kingdom
S. B. Jackson University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
D. Konstan Brown University, USA
B. P. P. Kytzler University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
E. A. Mackay University of Auckland, New Zealand
C. W. Marshall University of British Columbia, Canada
L. C. Montefusco University of Bologna, Italy
C. E. Newlands University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
S. T. Newmyer Duquesne University, USA
A. J. Pomeroy Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
M. V. Ronnick Wayne State University, USA
L. A. Sussman University of Florida, USA
P. M. W. Tennant University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
S. Thom University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
R. A. Whitaker University of Cape Town, South Africa
P. V. Wheatley University of Otago, New Zealand
F. J. Williams Queen’s University, Belfast, United Kingdom
M. J. Wilson University of Auckland, New Zealand
I. Worthington University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
A. V. Zadorojnyi University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
SCHOLIA
Studies in Classical Antiquity

NS Vol. 14 2005 ISSN 1018-9017

CONTENTS

Editorial Note 1

ARTICLES

Tool Use in Animals: Ancient and Modern Insights and Moral Consequences 3
Stephen T. Newmyer

The Mystery Fleet of Xenophon, Hellenica 4.6.14 18
Vivien Howan

Offering a Seat to a Grieving Goddess 34
Liz Warman

Plautus’ Miles Gloriosus 3.2: A Second Delayed Prologue? 38
Stavros Frangoulidis

Sabinus in Ovid’s Exile Poetry 43
Martin Helzle

Righting the Reader: Conflagration and Civil War in Lucan’s De Bello Civili 52
Paul Roche

Women in Senecan Tragedy 72
Hanna M. Roisman

Barbarus, une dénomination de l’ennemi étranger chez César 89
Émilia Ndiaye

v
vi Scholia ns Vol. 14 (2005) v-vi ISSN 1018-9017

Note sulla tradizione annalistica relative al teatro ‘A Lupercali in Palatium
Versus’ 109
Luigi Pedroni

REVIEW ARTICLES

Nero the Sun King 122
Edward Champlin, Nero
(Keith Bradley)

The Origins of Racism? 127
Benjamin Isaac, The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity
(Craige Champion)

The Prince and the Stars: Germanicus’ Translation of Aratus 132
D. Mark Possanza, Translating the Heavens: Aratus, Germanicus and
the Poetics of Latin Translation
(Emma Gee)

Imperialism Then and Now 137
Martin M. Winkler (ed.), Gladiator: Film and History
(John Hilton)

Reviews 144

Books Received 167

In the Museum 171

J. A. Barsby Essay 177

Exchanges with Scholia 184

Notes for Contributors 185

Forthcoming in Scholia 15 (2006) 188

Subscription Form 189
EDITORIAL NOTE

One of the distinguishing features of Scholia since it commenced publication in
1991 has been its publication of contributions by scholars from numerous countries
around the world. Scholia 14 (2005) contains contributions by scholars at universities
in New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada, USA,
France and Greece. The research articles cover a wide range of subjects and authors
such as tool use in animals, the use of the term barbarus, a stone theatre in Rome, one
of the Homeric Hymns, Xenophon, Plautus, Ovid, Lucan and Seneca.1 In the feature
article of this volume the assertions of ancient writers such as Pliny, Plutarch and
Aelian that some animals are capable of using tools are shown to be corroborated by
modern scientific research, which suggests that the mental activity of animals is
conscious and therefore should encourage humans to reconsider their treatment of
them.2
While the Scholia Editorial Committee undertakes to publish submissions
accepted as soon as possible, it reserves the right to hold over any contribution to
another volume. The vast majority of articles and reviews are published in the volume
of the journal specified in the formal letters of acceptance sent to contributors;
however, some articles and reviews may not appear until the publication of a
subsequent volume for various reasons. Due to circumstances beyond the control of
the editor, some of the articles scheduled for publication in this volume have had to be
postponed and therefore are listed again as forthcoming but this time in Scholia 15
(2006).3 The editor regrets the delay in publication and apologises to the contributors
of these articles.
Scholia is predominantly a print journal, but its professional website has been
upgraded so that all articles and other contributions appear in pdf format. This
development reflects the editor’s belief in the importance of a strong web presence to
enhance the journal’s profile and to ensure maximum exposure of its contents. In
addition, Scholia is archived in ProQuest and LOCKSS, indexed and abstracted in
L’Année Philologique, indexed in Gnomon and TOCS-IN, and listed in Ulrich’s
International Periodicals Directory. Scholia is listed in the Australian Department of
Education, Science and Training Register of Refereed Journals and is recognised by
the South African Department of Education for research output subsidy.
The In the Museum section, which contains news about classical artefacts in
New Zealand museums, features an article in this volume by Robert Hannah on Greek
and Roman lamps in the Otago Museum in Dunedin.4 This volume also includes the
2005 J. A. Barsby Essay, which is the paper judged to be the best student essay in

1 See ‘Articles’, pp. v-vi.
2 S. Newmyer, ‘Tool Use in Animals: Ancient and Modern Insights and Moral
Consequences’, pp. 3-17.
3 See p. 188.
4 See pp. 171-76.
1
2 Scholia ns Vol. 14 (2005) 1-2 ISSN 1018-9017

New Zealand submitted to Scholia during 2005. First place was awarded to
Elizabeth Lockhead (Canterbury), for her essay entitled ‘The Relationship Between
Books and Slaves: Horace Epistles 1.20’.5 The winner’s prize of NZD150 was
sponsored by the Australasian Society for Classical Studies. Joint second place was
awarded to Maree Newson and to Olivia Holborow (Victoria, Wellington); the runner-
up prizes were sponsored by the Australasian Society for Classical Studies and the
Department of Classics at the University of Otago. The competition was adjudicated
by Paul McKechnie (Auckland), Matthew Trundle (Wellington) and Robin Bond
(Canterbury).

William J. Dominik
Editor, Scholia

5 See pp. 175-81.
TOOL USE IN ANIMALS: ANCIENT AND
MODERN INSIGHTS AND MORAL CONSEQUENCES

Stephen T. Newmyer
Department of Classics, Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282, USA

Abstract. Research conducted in recent decades by zoologists and specialists in animal
behavioral psychology have corroborated ancient assertions, found in the elder Pliny,
Plutarch, and Aelian, that some animals are capable of using tools to enhance their lives.
Modern scientists agree with these ancient writers that this capacity may indicate the
presence in animals of some conscious mental activity and that this may compel humans to
rethink their treatment of animals.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the modern animal rights
movement remains relatively unknown even to activists who have some sense
of the history of the movement. Animal rightists are generally unaware of the
extent to which issues central to the current debate on the moral status of
animals are anticipated in ancient discussions of man’s relationship with non-
human species that are found both in serious zoological and philosophical
treatises and in naïve compilations of animal wonders. A question that in the
past several decades has achieved a certain degree of notoriety in scientific
literature is that of whether animals have the intellectual capacities needed to
use or even to produce tools. This question, like all questions that relate to the
potential mental faculties of animals, is important to animal rights advocates
because of the implications it has for human conduct toward non-human
animals. If it can be proven that animals can solve such problems as securing
food and attaining freedom by manipulating and altering the components of
their physical environment, humans might feel morally obligated to rethink their
treatment of them if such behavior is indicative of a correlation between tool use
and higher intelligence in animals. The question of the “technological skill” of
animals is taken up in ancient literature in a manner that at times parallels
current scientific observations to a remarkable degree. Arguments in support of
the hypothesis that animals can use tools, and examples of the sorts of tools that
animals use, are surprisingly similar in ancient and modern literature. This study
examines the issue of tool use in animals as it is addressed in Greek and Roman
scientific and philosophical literature and in its modern counterpart.
Roger French observes that Aristotle held two views on the nature of
animalkind: that each animal’s nature expresses itself as well as possible and
does nothing that does not contribute to the welfare and survival of that animal’s
3
4 Scholia ns Vol. 14 (2005) 3-17 ISSN 1018-9017

species, and that each species can be compared against other species favorably
or unfavorably.1 In Aristotle’s zoology, animal species are judged to be
naturally perfect or imperfect when viewed against other species. Man occupies
the high point in this system, and all other species represent to a greater or lesser
degree a falling away from man. From this vision Aristotle developed his
biological doctrine of sunšceia (“continuity,” “gradualism,” Arist. Hist. An.
588b5, Part. An. 681a12-15), whereby nature advances by degrees toward
humankind, a doctrine that contributed substantially to the concept that came in
later ages to be known as the scala naturae, or Great Chain of Being.2 This
chain does not reach seamlessly from the lowliest animal species to man, but
admits of a break between other species and man in the matter of mental
capacity. As philosopher of mind Richard Sorabji has characterized Aristotle’s
position, “Even Aristotle’s gradualism in biology is carefully qualified so that it
allows for a sharp intellectual distinction between animals and man.”3 In this
doctrine man stands at the pinnacle of creation thanks to his possession of
reason, which Aristotle denied to animals. He allows animals tÁj perˆ t¾n
di£noian sunšsewj ÐmoiÒthtej (“resemblances of intelligent understanding,”
Hist. An. 588a23f.), but he reserves reason for man: mÒnoj g¦r œcei lÒgon
(“for he alone possesses reason,” Pol. 1332b5f.).4 Aristotle reiterates and
elaborated his denial of reason to animals elsewhere in the course of his
zoological treatises. He claims, for example, that only man has a deliberative
faculty: bouleutikÕn dł mÒnon ¥nqrwpÒj ™sti tîn zówn (“Man alone among
animals is a deliberative creature,” Hist. An. 488b24f.). Moreover, while other
species may be capable of movement, only man is capable of thought: Øp£rcei
g¦r ¹ for¦ kaˆ ™n ˜tšroij tîn zówn, di£noia d' oÙden… (“Locomotion is
present in other animals as well, but thought [is] in no other one,” Part. An.
641b8f.).
The notion that man differs from other animals most especially in his
capacity for intellectual activity that is denied to other species because of their
inferior mental endowments became, according to Robert Renehan, a
commonplace so widely accepted in western thought that its Greek origin has
been forgotten, although the dichotomy between humans and other animal
species that arises from the concept has, as Renehan expresses it, “scarcely any

1 R. French, Ancient Natural History: Histories of Nature (London 1994) 59.
2 The classic study of the idea of the scala naturae remains that of A. O. Lovejoy, The
Great Chain of Being (Cambridge, Mass. 1939). On Aristotle’s contribution, see pp. 55-59.
3 R. Sorabji, Animal Minds and Human Morals: The Origins of the Western Debate
(Ithaca 1993) 13.
4 Aristotle reiterates this claim at Eth. Nic. 1098a3f.; Eth. Eud. 1224a26f.; and Metaph.
980b28.