Research Online at MacEwan :: Browsing by Author "Garstad, Benjamin"

Browsing by Author "Garstad, Benjamin"

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Alexander the Great's liberation of Rome and an idiosyncratic model of World history in the Chronicle of John Malalas, the Excerpta Latina Barbari, and Fulgentius' De Aetatibus
(2018) Garstad, Benjamin
In two sixth-century chronicles, the Greek original of the Excerpta Latina Barbari and the Chronographia of John Malalas, the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians are said to have been freed by Alexander from a combination of eastern peoples including the Assyrians, Chaldaeans, and Persians. The statement is, without a doubt, unhistorical; nevertheless, such deviations from the received historical record rarely represent simple mistakes, but more often purposeful and meaningful manipulations. In this case, Alexander's liberation of the Greeks and Egyptians can be accounted for with reference to the Alexander Romance, a legendary account of his career, but the principal source on Alexander in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. But the Romans remain a puzzle. The notice on Nebuchadnezzar in the Excerpta, however, says that he conquered the Romans. This notice, moreover, seems to intentionally parallel a brief description of Alexander in the Excerpta. Some examination of the details seems to reveal a model of history that placed more emphasis on symmetry and symbolism than on accuracy. The eastern peoples under Nebuchadnezzar and the western nations under Alexander successively achieve dominion over the world, that is, they each establish a world kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar plays the role of the conqueror and Alexander that of the liberator. Thus, there is demonstrable recourse to the rhetoric employed to describe the Persian Wars and other conflicts with eastern powers that goes back to Herodotus and the beginnings of Greek historiography. The broader circulation of this model seems to be evident in echoes of it that can be found in the contemporary De aetatibus mundi of Fulgentius.
Alexander the Great, the disguised dinner guest
(2018) Garstad, Benjamin
The Alexander Romance depicts Alexander going alone to the court of Darius disguised as his own messenger, dining with the Persians and advancing his own reputation as a munificent king. This episode substitutes a fictional scene for a number of dramatic banqueting incidents in the historical record that cast Alexander in a negative light, specifically, the burning of Persepolis, the proskynesis affair, and the wedding at Susa, which are all banqueting scenes concerned with Alexander's generosity, reputation, and relations with the Persians. It is also an opportunity for intertextual allusion, especially to Homer and Herodotus. It is, further, only one of many occasions in the Romance when Alexander is said to go alone to visit his enemies in disguise; these episodes integrate the composition and evince a concern with the treatment of ambassadors. It is finally one of the only instances of the explicit characterization of Alexander in the Romance.
Alexander’s gate and the unclean nations: translation, textual appropriation, and the construction of barriers
(2016) Garstad, Benjamin
The Alexander Romance and the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius deserve a place in any discussion of the impact of the translator’s work on the construction of memory in multicultural societies. Both works are remarkable as the products and the objects of translation throughout the middle ages. Successive recensions of the Alexander Romance were translated, either from the original Greek or from Latin translations, into numerous vernacular languages until there were popular versions of the Romance in circulation from Iceland to Indonesia. The Apocalypse was first written in Syriac at the isolated monastery of Singara, but under the impulse of the initial Arab conquests it was translated into Greek and then Latin for a readership that stretched from one end of the Mediterranean to the other; translations into various vernaculars were made throughout the middle ages in places as far apart as England and Russia. The remarkable extent to which translation made both the Romance and the Apocalypse available to ever wider audiences has long been recognized. What has not necessarily been appreciated to the same extent is the cultural impact of these translations, especially in regard to the contact and conflict of cultures. I would like to redress this neglect by drawing attention to the implications of a single episode, one borrowed from the Apocalypse into a later recension of the Romance and perhaps the most famous incident in either work: Alexander walling up the Unclean Nations, the agents of the End Times, beyond the Mountains of the North. Up to the appearance of this incident Alexander had been seen, as he perhaps still is, as a conqueror who extended not only his own realm, but the cultural sphere of the Greeks as well, drawing barbarian peoples into the civilized world of the oikoumene. Under the impact of the Arab conquests, I will argue, Alexander was given the very different, but just as formidable, task of excluding foreign and exotic peoples from a world which was ideally homogeneous, represented by his confining of the Unclean Nations. This act symbolizes the reaction which characterized the next several centuries of Byzantine strategy, of retrenchment, defense of the frontiers, and assimilation of all deviant groups (pagans, heretics, and Jews) within the borders. The memory of Alexander inspired by repeated translations of the Romance and Apocalypse spawned this xenophobic response not only in Byzantium, but throughout Europe, until the Turks were at the gates of Vienna in 1683. Perhaps its legacy can still be discerned today in the inclination toward eschatological hysteria provoked by the perceived aggression of the Muslim world.
Alexander’s return to Greece in the Alexander romance
(2016) Garstad, Benjamin
The Alexander Romance, a largely fictional account of Alexander the Great, is full of odd and arresting discrepancies with the more trustworthy historical accounts of the conqueror’s career. The route of the campaign described in the Romance is not the least of these inconsistencies, taking Alexander, as it does, along roads he never traveled and to places he never saw. Perhaps the oddest and most remarkable deviation from the historical record in the Romance’s version of Alexander’s itinerary is not a visit to some unlikely, exotic, or fabulous locale, but his return to Greece in the midst of his eastern campaign. Whereas, in fact, Alexander crossed the Hellespont never to see Macedonia or Greece again, in the Romance he comes back to put down an uprising of the Greeks and lay waste Thebes before he finally defeats Darius and completes the conquest of the Persian Empire. As Stoneman notes, the narrative here is “[l]ike a film running in reverse,” and the effect can be just as comical and disconcerting.
Ancient rhetoric and Paul's apology: the compositional unity of 2 Corinthians
(2004) Garstad, Benjamin
It is always gratifying to see New Testament literature dealt with as a species of Graeco-Roman literature rather than as an idiosyncratic phenomenon in the Greek culture of the Roman Empire. Long's insightful book is a fine example of such a treatment. The purpose of his work is to argue the integrity of 2 Corinthians by reading it as an example of a forensic apologetic epistle. The perceived discontinuities, which have provided fodder for those exegetes who see 2 Corinthians as a composite of a number of different letters, are understood as deliberate breaks separating the distinct elements found in Greek and Latin oratorical theory and practice. Altogether, Long's monograph is thorough—perhaps excessively so—and convincing.
Apocalypse
(2012) Pseudo-Methodius; Garstad, Benjamin
This volume contains two texts that crossed the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity. The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was one of the first works composed in response to the Arab invasions and the establishment of the Muslim empire in the seventh century. In a matter of decades, it was translated from its original Syriac into Greek and from Greek into Latin. (Both the Greek and Latin texts are presented here.) The Apocalypse enjoyed immense popularity throughout the Middle Ages, informing expectations of the end of the world, responses to strange and exotic invaders like the Mongols and Turks, and even the legendary versions of the life of Alexander the Great. An Alexandrian World Chronicle (Excerpta Latina Barbari) was considered important by no less a humanist than Joseph Scaliger. He recognized it as a representative of an early stage in the Christian chronicle tradition that would dominate medieval historiography. The original Greek text may have been a diplomatic gift from the court of Justinian to a potential ally among Frankish royalty, translated two centuries later by the Franks themselves in their efforts to convert the pagan Saxons. In addition presenting a universal chronicle with a comprehensive ethnography and geography, the Excerpta offer a Euhemeristic narrative of the gods and another account of Alexander.
Authari in Paul the Deacon’s Historia Langobardorum, Secundus of Trent, and the Alexander tradition in early Lombard Italy
(2016) Garstad, Benjamin
The vivid anecdotes in Paul the Deacon’s account of the Lombard king Authari have regularly been explained as the result of Lombard oral tradition, but, when compared with the historical and legendary accounts of Alexander the Great probably available in sixth-century Italy, they seem rather more likely to have a literary source. Authari seems to be modeled on Alexander, and the resulting portrait is not a flattering one. He is compared unfavorably to Agilulf, his successor as king and as husband to Queen Theudelinda. The author of this invidious comparison appears to be Secundus of Trent, one of Paul’s sources. Secundus’s authorship has not previously been widely considered, because it was generally assumed that his historiola must have been a severely abbreviated chronicle, without any kind of literary elaboration. If, however, we allow for the possibility that his history was more expansive and full-bodied, we can see Secundus pursuing a personally and politically important interest in his comparison of Authari and Agilulf. Not only did Secundus write under the patronage of Agilulf and Theudelinda—and so owed Agilulf some support—he officiated at the baptism of their son, Adaloald, while Authari had forbidden Catholic baptism to his Lombard subjects.
Barbarian interest in the Excerpta Latina Barbari
(2011) Garstad, Benjamin
Joseph Justus Scaliger dubbed the text of Parisinus Latinus 4884, the sole surviving witness to a Merovingian Latin translation of a now lost Greek world chronicle, the Excerpta Latina Barbari. The name was essentially a judgement on the linguistic abilities of the translator, but it is suggestive. What is there in the chronicle to appeal to the 'barbarian' inhabitants of Gaul? An answer to this question can offer some insight into the provenance of a neglected, but intriguing text. It will be proposed that the Greek original of the Excerpta was composed as a gift for the Austrasian king Theudebert I and was intended to elicit his aid in the war against the Ostrogothic rulers of Italy. The translation is another matter. It seems to have been undertaken about two centuries later in the context of the missionary push to the north and east from Frankish territory.
Belus in the Sacred History of Euhemerus
(2004) Garstad, Benjamin
Euhemerus of Messene (ﬂ. c. 300 b.c.e.) wrote a ﬁctitious narrative called the Sacred History (Hiera Anagraphe) in which he claimed to have sailed to Panchaea, an island beyond Arabia on the Ocean, and there discovered a stele on which was written the story of the time when the gods were mortal men and rulers of the whole earth. Ever since, there have been arguments over whether Euhemerus was an atheist or a revolutionary philosopher, whether he was an historian or a theologian, and whether he wrote in response to the political, or the religious reality of his day. Although the discussion of Zeus in the Sacred History is known to us only at third hand (from Eusebius’ summary of Diodorus’ rendition, and from Lactantius’ citations of Ennius’ Latin translation), it seems clear that Belus of Babylon held a place of importance in the story, and may help us to answer some of our questions in regard to Euhemerus. The narratives of Euhemerus and his followers are united by the basic theory that the gods of myth were ancient human kings and by certain consistent features, including travels throughout the world by the “gods” to encourage civilization and their own worship. In Euhemerus’ own narrative the ﬁrst item of note on Zeus’ itinerary is a visit to Belus in Babylon.
Byzantine matters (review)
(2015) Garstad, Benjamin
Averil Cameron offered colleagues and students alike a synthetic introduction to the history and culture of Byzantium in The Byzantines (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006). This book is something different: a series of reflections on the current state of scholarship on Byzantium that are both erudite and accessible. To describe it as slender or brief (only 115 pages of text) is to belie the breadth of learning it encompasses and the dense mass of scholarly argument it penetrates. It is that rare gem, a profoundly learned book that may be read by the interested amateur in an evening.
Charlemagne’s failure of charity in Pseudo-Turpin’s Chronicle and beyond
(2020) Garstad, Benjamin
The Chronicle of ps. Turpin is disparaged for its compositional failings, but it has its strengths too. These are exemplified by the episode in which the pagan king Aigolande upbraids Charlemagne for neglecting to provide for the paupers he sustains as well as the clergymen of his court. On account of Charlemagne’s oversight Aigolande refuses baptism and continues the war that eventually results in Roland’s death. This episode serves many purposes; it pro- vides coherence to the narrative, motivation and sympathetic humanity to the antagonists of the piece, depth and fallibility to the character of Charlemagne, substance to the character of Turpin himself, and a punch to a moral lesson the Chronicle attempts to deliver. Its importance was recognized in the ps. Turpin tradition, and the remarkably subtle and effective device of turning the criticisms of a heathen on the faults of Christian society was adapted and repeated for centuries.
"Chronographiae quae Theophanis continuati nomine fertur liber quo Vita Basilii Imperatoris amplectitur," by Ihor Sevcenko (review)
(2012) Garstad, Benjamin
The article reviews the book "Chronographiae quae Theophanis continuati nomine fertur liber quo Vita Basilii Imperatoris amplectitur," by Ihor Sevcenko.
Crusade propaganda in word and image in early modern Italy: Niccolo Guidalottos' panorama of Constantinople (1662) (review)
(2017) Garstad, Benjamin
In 1662 Fra Niccolo Guidalotto da Mondavio presented Pope Alexander VII with an enormous (6.12 x 2.58m) panorama of the city of Constantinople surrounded by allegorical figures bearing text and a pen and ink drawing on linen-backed paper, along with the manuscript of an explanatory text of seventy folios, the Parafrasi. Both were prepared by Guidalottos own hand and call for a crusade against the Turks. The Panorama was Book Reviews 205 housed in the Chigi archive in Rome, the family archive of Alexander VII, where it suffered decay and damage until the mid-twentieth century, and the Parafrasi remains now in the Vatican Library (Chigi D. 2, 22). Nirit Ben-Aryeh Debby has prepared in the present slender volume a wide-ranging introduction to Guidalotto’s Panorama and Parafrasi, setting both in the context of Mediterranean history, the visual and textual culture of the region from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century, and the personal animosities of a well-traveled and visionary Franciscan. If she has not thoroughly covered all of the ground for investigation she has indicated, she has pointed out the direction further scholarship on Guidalotto’s productions must take.
'Death to the Masters!': the role of slave revolt in the fiction of Robert E. Howard
(2010) Garstad, Benjamin
The fantasy fiction of Robert E. Howard reveals a number of largely unspoken assumptions about the historical role of slavery and its consequences in Jim Crow Texas. Howard traced a trajectory that led from slavery through miscegenation and servile uprising to the destruction of civilisation. The descriptions of slave revolts in his fiction depends upon a paranoid rhetoric which developed in the South before and after Emancipation to respond to the fact of servile insurrection, outlining the consistent features of such revolts and explaining their causes and historical implications. As documents offering insight into the segregationist mind, Howard's stories are invaluable.
Deification in Euhemerus of Messene: charisma or contrivance?
(2015) Garstad, Benjamin
To introduce Euhemerus of Messene into a discussion of the charisma of the ruler is to ask what was the quality that Euhcmerus presumed certain rulers in the primeval past had possessed which inspired their subjects to deify them. Two of the chief difficulties in answering our present question - or, indeed, any question about Euhcmerus - are the fragmentary and attenuated nature of his remains on the one hand, and the abundance of often much better preserved near-contemporary authors who seem to share his basic premise chat the gods were once human rulers, on the other. When we try to compensate for the former impediment by referring to the latter we run the risk of imputing to Euhemerus ideas which, although not altogether alien to him, he did not express.
Euhemerus and the Chronicle of John Malalas
(2016) Garstad, Benjamin
In spite of Warren Treadgold's recent contention to the contrary, no new insights on the Sacred History of Euhemerus of Messene are to be gleaned from John Malalas and the account of the gods found in his chronicle. They cannot be directly connected to Euhemerus, or even to a complete version of Diodorus Siculus’ lost sixth book, which related a version of the Sacred History. We would, nevertheless, like to know the source for what Malalas says about the gods. Previous efforts to identify the author of the euhemeristic narrative in the chronicle of Malalas prove unavailing and misleading. Taking into account the parallel version of this narrative found in the Excerpta Latina Barbari, it would seem that the most likely author is Bouttios, one of the authorities cited for a few other items by Malalas. Treadgold has included this Bouttios in the list of authors he considers to be nothing more than inventions of Malalas. But, unlike the others on Treadgold's list, the existence of Bouttios can be independently corroborated. We are, moreover, in a position to offer some speculations about Bouttios and his work.
Euhemerus in context
(2006) De Angelis, Franco De Angelis; Garstad, Benjamin
Euhemerus, the famous theorist on the nature of the gods who lived around 300 BC, has usually been discussed as a disembodied intellectual figure, with scholars focusing on his literary and philosophical sources and influence. Although he is called ““Euhemerus of Messene,”” there is uncertainty as to where he was born, lived, and worked, in particular whether he came from Sicilian or Peloponnesian Messene. Until now, the conquests of Alexander the Great and the establishment of the Successor Kingdoms have been considered the only context for Euhemerus. This paper will draw upon literary, historical, and archaeological evidence to argue that Euhemerus belongs in a Sicilian context. The long history of the worship of rulers in Sicily from the oikistai to the tyrants of Syracuse, the wealth of Sicily, the proximity of the Lipari Islands, the multiethnic milieu of Sicily with its vigorous interaction and syncretism, all contributed to Euhemerus' experiences and thought. We suggest that centuries of Sicilian cultural and political experience, not merely the ““phenomenon”” of Alexander the Great and the dawn of the Hellenistic Age, provided the impetus to the ideas of Euhemerus, and that Euhemerus brought this Sicilian contribution to bear on the new problems of the wider world.
Herakles by Emma Stafford (review)
(2013) Garstad, Benjamin
The article reviews the book "Herakles" by E. Stafford.
Hero into general: reading myth in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Nonnus of Panopolis, and John Malalas
(2014) Garstad, Benjamin
One of the interpretive models applied by the ancient Greeks to their myths was the recasting of heroes as generals and their lonely quests as elaborate military campaigns. In the first instances, this reimagining of mythic narratives was intended to explain the esteem in which heroes were held, lend credibility to their legends, and extend the period of recorded history. Rather than “debunking,” the interpretation of heroes as generals was a positive attempt to bolster the reputation of the heroes and their cults. Over time this particular kind of historicization seems to have enjoyed extensive popularity, so much so that its rationale crept into even the most inhospitable genres, like epic, which rejected rationalization on the whole. Indeed, so popular was the understanding of heroes as generals, it was not necessarily made explicit in accounts that took it as a premise. The very prevalence of this historical interpretation of myth seems to have resulted in a return to at least the appearance of fable form in accounts of mythic heroes intended as historical narratives. The seismic ideological shift from a predominant paganism in the ancient Mediterranean to a predominant Christianity also finally made the historicization of myth a kind of debunking. Not that Christian versions of myth denied the existence of heroes, rather they stressed their most disreputable characteristics and deeds and attempted to undermine the regard in which heroes were held. This article will explore the development of the interpretation of heroes as generals through an examination of the accounts of three different figures: Heracles in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Dionysus in Nonnus of Panopolis, and Perseus in John Malalas.
Iconoclasm from antiquity to modernity (review)
(2015) Garstad, Benjamin
The papers in this volume are collected with the purpose, according to the editors, of broadening the perspective in which the most remarkable historical instances of iconoclasm, in Byzantium and the Reformation, are understood. The contributions, although they are not given a synthetic interpretation until the end, more or less succeed in this purpose and constitute a worthwhile contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon of iconoclasm in general and several instances of it in particular.

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