Musical and dance motifs on Roman engraved gems of the Augustan Era | Journal of Music Archaeology Musical and dance motifs on Roman engraved gems of the Augustan Era Authors Angeliki Liveri https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9287-3884 (unauthenticated) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1553/JMA-002-03 Keywords: Augustus, gems, gem engravers, musical iconography, glyptic, Greek mythology, religion Abstract This paper presents a selection of Roman engraved gems (cameos and intaglios) which are deco­rated with musical and dance motifs, focusing primarily on artifacts dated to the Augustan era. The iconography of gems from this era varies, including figures that hold or play a musical instru­ment or dance, or sometimes only a musical instrument that covers the surface. The musicians and dancers are usually figures derived from Greek mythology and religion. This paper has three aims: first, to classify the motifs according to the mythical figures or musical instruments that they rep­resent. Second, to present/describe their iconography, and third, to interpret, how these objects were used by Roman rulers. I divided the gems examined into four categories: a) objects related to Apollo’s iconography; b) Dionysian themes; c) musical motifs with tritons; and d) single musical instruments. Downloads PDF Published 2024-12-08 Issue Vol. 2 (2024) Section Articles License Copyright (c) 2024 the author This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . How to Cite Liveri, Angeliki, trans. 2024. “Musical and Dance Motifs on Roman Engraved Gems of the Augustan Era”. Journal of Music Archaeology 2 (December): 53–87. https://doi.org/10.1553/JMA-002-03 . 1 (2023) Florian Leitmeir, Kamila Wysłucha, Stefan Hagel, Dahlia Shehata, Editorial , Journal of Music Archaeology: Vol. 2 (2024) Monika Ciura, The sound of thunder: A turtle-shell idiophone in the Classic Maya culture , Journal of Music Archaeology: Vol. 2 (2024) Florian Leitmeir, Jutta Guenther, Mapping Roman sounds: A methodological approach to reconstructing Roman soundscapes , Journal of Music Archaeology: Vol. 2 (2024) Joshua Kumbani, Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Animated motifs: A systematic analysis of dance scenes in the rock art of the Zimbabwean Plateau , Journal of Music Archaeology: Vol.

... Derived from the Greek kallos ( beauty ) . The name Kallisto ( she that is most beautiful ) is borne in Greek and Roman mythology by a nymph , a daughter of the Arcadian king Lycaon , and mother of Arcas . Beloved of Zeus , she was ... One of the most comprehensive baby name reference guides available, featuring more than 30,000 baby names, has been revised and expanded. Each chapter focuses on names from specific countries, regions, and ethnicities, including details about traditional naming customs. Each entry contains various spellings and pronunciations, as well as the name's meaning, history, etymology, and derivations.

This paper presents a selection of Roman engraved gems (cameos and intaglios) which are deco-rated with musical and dance motifs, focusing primarily on artifacts dated to the Augustan era. The iconography of gems from this era varies, including figures that hold or play a musical instru-ment or dance, or sometimes only a musical instrument that covers the surface. The musicians and dancers are usually figures derived from Greek mythology and religion. This paper has three aims: first, to classify the motifs according to the mythical figures or musical instruments that they rep-resent. Second, to present/describe their iconography, and third, to interpret, how these objects were used by Roman rulers. I divided the gems examined into four categories: a) objects related to Apollo’s iconography; b) Dionysian themes; c) musical motifs with tritons; and d) single musical instruments.

Introduction. The Chaons, a tribe that lived in the north of Epirus, were considered barbarians in the eyes of the Greeks for a long time in the eyes of the Hellenes. As they became involved in general Greek affairs, their natural desire was to prove their Hellenic origin, for which they resorted to the tried and tested way of creating a heroic genealogy, choosing the Trojan mythical hero Helenus as an eponym.Materials and methods. The research is based on narrative sources presented by ancient authors, as well as on monuments of material culture, which include terracotta and votive tablets. Their comparison and comprehensive research allows us to reach the necessary conclusions.Analysis. The Epirus tribes of the Chaons, who lived on the periphery of the Greek world and were considered barbarians in the eyes of the latter, sought to prove their Hellenic origin with the help of mythology. They chose Helenus, the son of King Priam, who possessed the gift of foresight, as the eponym of the tribe. The ancient Greek myths of Neotolemus and Helene were later supplemented by Roman authors who derived the Romans from their Trojan ancestors.Results. Thus, by creating a heroic genealogy, the Chaons proved their Greek origin. The peculiarity of this process was that the royal power of the Chaons was abolished. On the other hand, the idea of the Trojan origin of the Chaons in order to deduce the origin of the Romans from their Trojan ancestors was picked up and developed by Roman authors Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 228 p. 3. Hammond N. G. L. Epirus. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967. 847 p. 4. Kittela S. I. Dodona and Neoptolemus: Heroic Genealogies and Claims of Ethnicity // Studies in Ancient Oracles and Divinations. Ed. M. Kojava. Roma: Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, 2013. P. 29–47. 5. Malkin I. The Returnes of Odysseus. Colonization and the Ethnicity. Berkley. Los Angelos: University of California Press, 1998. 331 p. 6. Malkin I. Introduction // Ancient Perceptions of Greek Ethnicity. Ed. I. Malkin. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001. P. 1–28. 7. Nilsson M. P. Studien zur Geschichte des Alten Epeiros.

myths of two of the greatest Greek heroes: Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology) and Perseus. According to the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, Atlas stood at In Greek mythology, Atlas (; Ancient Greek: Ἄτλας, romanized: Átlas) is a Titan condemned to hold up the heavens or sky for eternity after the Titanomachy. Atlas also plays a role in the myths of two of the greatest Greek heroes: Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology) and Perseus. According to the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, Atlas stood at the ends of the earth in the extreme west. Later, he became In Greek mythology, Atlas (; Ancient Greek: Ἄτλας, romanized: Átlas) is a Titan condemned to hold up the heavens or sky for eternity after the Titanomachy. Atlas also plays a role in the myths of two of the greatest Greek heroes: Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology) and Perseus. According to the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, Atlas stood at the ends of the earth in the extreme west. Later, he became commonly identified with the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. Atlas was said to have been skilled in philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. In antiquity, he was credited with inventing the first celestial sphere. In some texts, he is even credited with the invention of astronomy itself. Atlas was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Asia or Clymene. He was a brother of Menoetius, Epimetheus and Prometheus. He had many children, mostly daughters, the Hesperides, the Hyades, the Pleiades, and the nymph Calypso who lived on the island Ogygia. Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator characterized Atlas as the founder of geography, leading to the modern sense of the term "atlas" for a collection of maps after Mercator published his own work in honor of the Titan. The "Atlantic Ocean" is derived from "Sea of…