Papers by Sofie Remijsen
Classica et Mediaevalia
This paper argues that the so-called “Panhellenic” games never knew a rule excluding non-Greeks f... more This paper argues that the so-called “Panhellenic” games never knew a rule excluding non-Greeks from participation. The idea that such a rule existed has been accepted since the nineteenth century, when the idea of nationality played a much stronger role in the understanding of Greekness. Recent scholarship on Greek identity and ethnicity has shown that these were flexible and consta ntly renegotiated concepts and that the shared culture performed and the networks formed at sanctuaries and games played an important role in this negotiation process. Not only can the role of Olympia and other sanctuaries in the formation of Greek identit y now be understood without having recourse to a rule of exclusion, the flexible nature of identity also would have made it virtually impossible to the implement such a rule. The paper starts by reconsidering the well - known episode about Alexander I at Olympia – the central source text for the supposed rule – and addresses some common assumptions ab...
… Maatschappij voor Taal-en Letterkunde en …, Jan 1, 2009
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, Jan 1, 2010
Nikephoros: Zeitschrift für Sport und Kultur im …, Jan 1, 2009
Historica, Jan 1, 2008
KULeuven. ...
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Jan 1, 2011
Contests listed in victory inscriptions of athletes or performers are often characterized as στεφ... more Contests listed in victory inscriptions of athletes or performers are often characterized as στεφανίτης or ἱερός, to distinguish them from other, less important contests. The use of these categories and their importance to the competitors is well-known among classicists. In modern scholarship, however, the technical terms, either in Greek or as modern renderings, are often used anachronistically, because it is commonly overlooked that each term was typical of a specifi c period. The ancient use of categorizing terms for games has in fact not been studied from a historical perspective 2 , and with little attention for the difference between literary and technical usages. This paper will argue that the anachronistic use by modern scholars has hindered a good understanding of the categorization of contests in the Hellenistic and imperial periods.
Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, Jan 1, 2010
Reconsideration of SB 3.6222, a Greek letter from Alexandria mentioning a poorly attested sport, ... more Reconsideration of SB 3.6222, a Greek letter from Alexandria mentioning a poorly attested sport, pammachon, here performed in the presence of the emperor Diocletian. 1 I am grateful to Willy Clarysse and the anonymous referees of BASP for their interesting comments, in particular for the suggestions of readings for SB 3.6222, and to Herbert Verreth for references on topography. I also thank Fabian Reiter of the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin -Preußischer Kulturbesitz, for the high quality photograph of the papyrus and the permission to publish it. e research was funded by a fellowship of the Research Foundation Flanders ("Aspirant van het FWO"). 2 One of the rst studies on ancient athletics was J.H. Krause, Olympia, oder Darstellung der grossen olympischen Spiele und der damit verbundenen Festlichkeiten (Vienna 1838). 3 To name just two examples: M. Lämmer (ed.), Colloquium Agonistik in der römischen Kaiserzeit = Stadion 24.1 (Sankt Augustin 1998); Z. Newby, Greek Athletics in the Roman World: Victory and Virtue (Oxford 2005). Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 47 (2010) 185-204
… of the Israel Society for the …, Jan 1, 2010
According to sociologists, the distinction between the sacred and the profane is one of the main ... more According to sociologists, the distinction between the sacred and the profane is one of the main characteristics of religion. These two spheres can be demarcated in different ways, for example by building temples or altars reserved for cultic activities. Another way of distinguishing the sacred and the profane is temporal segregation, that is, holidays are reserved for religious rituals and not for everyday profane activity. 1
Historia, Jan 1, 2007
The aim of this study is to examine how the hour was used in administrative daybooks from Ptolema... more The aim of this study is to examine how the hour was used in administrative daybooks from Ptolemaic and Roman postal stations. The central argument is that the hour had a limited role in antiquity and that its systematic use in postal daybooks was therefore an innovation ...
The International Journal of the History of Sport, Jan 1, 2009
Journal of Roman Studies, Jan 1, 2008
In official and notarial papyrus documents from the Roman period in Egypt, women are regularly pr... more In official and notarial papyrus documents from the Roman period in Egypt, women are regularly presented as 'wife and sister from the same father and the same mother' as their husbands. According to the traditional view, this sentence 'leaves little room for ambiguity'. 1 Brother-sister marriages in Roman Egypt seem to defy a universal rule, for in nearly all societies marriage between a full brother and sister is taboo. This strange phenomenon causes general surprise as it not only collides with our own values, but we also know the negative genetic effects of such incestuous relations. Therefore, papyrologists and ancient historians have presented evidence that such marriages were indeed practised, with a 'vaguely prurient pleasure'. 2 Thus far, no one has been able to explain convincingly why the universal taboo on incest was violated in Roman Egypt. Recently, Huebner has argued that brother-sister marriages were not incestuous at all. 3 In her view, these were not marriages between a natural brother and sister, but between an adopted and a natural child. The central argument, which makes this thesis so attractive, is that marrying an adopted son to a natural daughter was a widespread family strategy documented all over the eastern Mediterranean. The formula 'wife and sister from the same father and the same mother' is -on her view -a juridical fiction, disguising this family strategy, and should not be taken at face value.
Articles by Sofie Remijsen
In official and notarial papyrus documents from the Roman period in Egypt, women are regularly pr... more In official and notarial papyrus documents from the Roman period in Egypt, women are regularly presented as 'wife and sister from the same father and the same mother' as their husbands. According to the traditional view, this sentence 'leaves little room for ambiguity'. 1 Brother-sister marriages in Roman Egypt seem to defy a universal rule, for in nearly all societies marriage between a full brother and sister is taboo. This strange phenomenon causes general surprise as it not only collides with our own values, but we also know the negative genetic effects of such incestuous relations. Therefore, papyrologists and ancient historians have presented evidence that such marriages were indeed practised, with a 'vaguely prurient pleasure'. 2 Thus far, no one has been able to explain convincingly why the universal taboo on incest was violated in Roman Egypt. Recently, Huebner has argued that brother-sister marriages were not incestuous at all. 3 In her view, these were not marriages between a natural brother and sister, but between an adopted and a natural child. The central argument, which makes this thesis so attractive, is that marrying an adopted son to a natural daughter was a widespread family strategy documented all over the eastern Mediterranean. The formula 'wife and sister from the same father and the same mother' is -on her view -a juridical fiction, disguising this family strategy, and should not be taken at face value.
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Papers by Sofie Remijsen
Articles by Sofie Remijsen