Pleasure and instruction in the Prologue of Longus’ “Daphnis and Chloe”

The present study attempts to demonstrate that the ancient Greek novel Daphnis and Chloe systematically explores the problem expressed by Horace in the phrase docere et delectare, and that this purpose is announced in the Prologue. The functions of prologues as such are briefly reviewed. After a consideration of the prologues of the remaining ancient Greek novels, the Prologue of Longus’s Daphnis and Chloe is analyzed line by line. Longus uses the Prologue, then, to establish a series of dialectical tensions that operate throughout the novel, allowing it to delight and instruct at the same time.

Pedagogika, jako podstawa bycia człowiekiem i europejskiej cywilizacji

Jest to próba uczynienia z pedagogiki (paidei) podstawy bycia człowiekiem i rzeczywistości, poprzez odwołanie się do jej antycznych źródeł.

Antroponimy w Quo Vadis Henryka Sienkiewicza i w koreańskich przekładach powieści. Ocalone czy stracone w tłumaczeniu?

Filologia Polska i Klasyczna: Instytut Filologii Polskiej; Zakład Gramatyki Współczesnego Języka Polskiego i Onomastyki

Komizm w teorii i praktyce antycznej powieści greckiej

The topic of the study entitled humour in the ancient greek novels: the theoretical conceptions and the lite- rary practice is significance of humour in ancient Greek novels. In the first part of this study the theoretical aspects are examined with reference to the conceptions of contemporary researchers of Greek novels. The influence of the humour on the character of the world presented in particular novels is considered in the second part of the article.

Irańska sztuka a perska archeologia starożytna w czasach Pahlawich (1925-1979)

Wydział Historyczny: Instytut Historii Sztuki

Etnogeneza Słowian w świetle badań kopalnego DNA

Wydział Biologii: Instytut Antropologii

La traduction en polonais des textes d'ancien français: une compétence spécifique

This paper is relating a practical experience of teaching Romance philology students the translation from ancient French into Polish. The main scope is a restitution of an ancient text respecting not only the equivalence at the Iexical and syntactical level, but also the discourse structures, such as the linear sequence of events and events related from different points of view: some examples of solving particular problems are discussed. The whole procedure resembles that of translating from Latin, rather than a translation from one modern language to another.

Wergiliusz jako twórca labiryntu

Romani antiqui putabant litteras aedificiis similes esse. Nonnulli scriptores Latini tali modo metaphoras suas composuerunt, ut descriptio aedificii una cum descriptione operis poetici esset. Aeneis etiam effigiem suam continet, quae est ecphrasis portae templi Apollinis. In fabulam Aeneae Vergilius fabulam Daedali introduxit, quae diu doctis ad nihil pertinere videbatur. Falsissime quidem, quia non solum coniunctio fabularum exsistit, sed etiam multae sunt causae fabulae Daedali hoc loco imponendae. Imprimis caelamen monstrat multos casus ex vita Daedali et Aeneae similes fuisse, deinde ostendere Daedalum creatorem hibridarum esse videtur. Aeneis etiam hibrida est, quia constat ex duabus partibus, quae sunt, ut ita dicam, „pars Odysseica” et „pars Iliadica”. Utri (Daedalus Vergiliusque scilicet) sunt ergo creatores hibridarum. Maximi momenti est quaestio: quis dicit “miserum!” in hac parte poematis? Auctrix commentationis censet illum clamantem Vergilium esse, quia poeta constructorem „alter ego” suum esse credebat. Auctrix scripsit etiam imaginem illam, in qua caelata est fabula de Minotauro sine Theseo, viam esse pietatis Aeneae minuendae. Scripsit verba illa quoque opinionem Vergilii de natura poesis et vocem Augusti absconditam esse.

Antyk i współczesność: wokół pragmatyki tekstu antycznego (1Tm 1, 17). Z badań nad tradycją antyczną na Górnym Śląsku

The article presents an interpretation of the Soli Deo honor et gloria inscription from the fronton of the metropolitan cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice. The interpretation of the text depends on whether the word soli is taken as solely attributive or also as predicative. Given both the ancient and the contemporary historical and cultural contexts the former appears more plausible.

Badania archeologiczne a obrazowanie wizualne przeszłości

One can say that our times are dominated by visual communication. Usually all day long we have been faced by various pictures, visual forms and symbols. According to the subject of the book 'Archaeology-Culture-Ideologies' I found it interesting to pay attention to the problem of visual representation, or better say visual symbols in nowadays communication and culture, their meaning and importance. From this point of view I would like to show the role of archaeologists who discover, interpret or even create some of them. The subject is not new of course, but the most often it is taken into consideration by the scholars who practice in social anthropology or philosophy and quite rarely it appear in studies of archaeologies, especially in Polish tradition. In my opinion the subject concerning visual symbols communication and archaeology arise several important questions that are also valid for the theme of book 'Archaeology-Culture-Ideologies'. The first is socio-cultural role of our discipline, next the danger of political and propaganda misuse of the results of archaeological research and then also commercialisation of the archaeological activities. The problem of visualisation and visual-communication can be the matter of various studies. In my paper from the beginning I would like to present the general view concerning visual symbols and figural motifs and the main ideas and approaches to study them from different humanistic perspectives. Then in my presentation I am going to discuss the question why in our culture the visual symbols and representations became so popular – compare to other ways of human expression, for example verbal symbol communication. I would like to see the problem in historical perspective as well. There are a lot of evidences, which support the statement about the power of visual symbols in history. In ancient times for example Horace in 'Ars Poetica' suggested that human mind usually is much more impressed by eyes than by ears. In my opinion that is quite often in human culture that visual impression is before mental one. Visual representations and symbols are very powerful, they can show and communicate various phenomena, they act immediately and quite often in easily way they can associate. So for archaeological research it could be very important to make some studies concerning the ancient symbols and general iconography and also it would be grateful to make some attempts for the study what kind of potential meaning could have visual symbols. In my paper I can only make some general statement about it. But the most important for the topic is reflection on prehistoric and ancient visual symbols and representation and their presence in contemporary culture. So after some general statements concerning the visual symbols examined from various perspectives finally I would like to point out with support of some examples how ancient and prehistoric visual symbols and images are still used and captured by contemporary culture and what is or should be the role of archaeologists activity concerning this matter.

„Uksiążkowić świat”, czyli kilka słów o liberaturze

Celem artykułu jest przybliżenie kwestii dotyczących nowego zjawiska w literaturze, choć swymi korzeniami sięgającego czasów bardzo odległych, mianowicie liberatury. Przedstawiam nie tylko podstawowe tezy związane z liberaturą, np. postrzeganie utworu jako integralnej całości, w której następuje stopienie słowa i przestrzeni, ale także swoistą ewolucję form literackich, prowadzącą do narodzin nowego nurtu. Sednem tego procesu jest położenie nacisku na współistnienie formy i treści, obecne już w poezji wizualnej wywodzącej się ze starożytności i średniowiecza, a przybierające na sile w twórczości autorów związanych z XX-wiecznymi ruchami awangardowymi. „Totalne” myślenie o literaturze zyskało najciekawszy wyraz w twórczości autorów liberatów: Zenona Fajfera, Katarzyny Bazarnik i Radosława Nowakowskiego (zarówno praktyków, jak i teoretyków liberatury), których sylwetki oraz dzieła przedstawiam pokrótce w niniejszym artykule.

Filozofia antyczna wobec problemu interpretacji. Rozwój alegorezy od przedsokratyków do Arystotelesa

The present work examines the beginnings of ancient hermeneutics. More specifically, it discusses the connection between the rise of the practice of allegoresis, on the one hand, and the emergence of the first theory of figurative language, on the other. Thus, this book investigates the specific historical and cultural circumstances that enabled the ancient Greeks not only to discover the possibility of allegorical interpretation, but also to treat figurative language as a philosophical problem. By posing difficulties in understanding the enigmatic sense of various esoteric doctrines, poems, oracles and riddles, figurative language created the context for theoretical reflection on the meaning of these “messages”. Hence, ancient interpreters began to ponder over the nature and functions of figurative (“enigmatic”) language as well as over the techniques of its proper use and interpretation. Although the practice of allegorical interpretation was closely linked to the development of the whole of ancient philosophy, the present work covers only the period from the 6th to the 4th century B.C. It concentrates, then, on the philosophical and cultural consequences of allegoresis in the classical age. The main thesis advocated here has it that the ancient Greeks were in-clined to regard allegory as a cognitive problem rather than merely as a stylistic or a literary one. When searching for the hidden meanings of various esoteric doc-trines, poems, oracles and riddles, ancient interpreters of these “messages” assumed allegory to be the only tool suitable for articulating certain matters. In other words, it was their belief that the use of figurative language resulted from the necessity of expressing things that were otherwise inexpressible. The present work has been organized in the following manner. The first part contains historical and philological discussions that provide the point of departure for more philosophical considerations. This part consists of two introductory chapters. Chapter one situates the practice of allegorical interpretation at the borderline of two different traditions: the rhetorical-grammatical and the hermeneutical. In order to clearly differentiate between the two, chapter one distinguishes between allegory and allegoresis, on the one hand, and allegoresis and exegesis, on the other. While pointing to the conventionality (and even arbitrariness) of such distinctions, the chapter argues, nevertheless, for their heuristic usefulness. The remaining part of chapter one focuses on a historical and philological reconstruction of the most important conceptual tools of ancient hermeneutics. Discussing the semantics of such terms as allēgoría, hypónoia, ainigma and symbolon proves important for at least two crucial reasons. Firstly, it reveals the mutual affinity between allegoresis and divination, i.e., practices that are inherently connected with the need to discover the latent meaning of the “message” in question (whether poem or oracle). Secondly, these philological analyses bring to light the specificity of the ancient understanding of such concepts as allegory or symbol. It goes without saying that antiquity employed these terms in a manner quite disparate from modernity. Chapter one concludes with a discussion of ancient views on the cognitive value of figurative (“enigmatic”) language. Chapter two focuses on the role that allegoresis played in the process of transforming mythos into logos. It is suggested here that it was the practice of allegorical interpretation that made it possible to preserve the traditional myths as an important point of reference for the whole of ancient philosophy. Thus, chapter two argues that the existence of a clear opposition between mythos into logos in Preplatonic philosophy is highly questionable in light of the indisputable fact that the Presocratics, Sophists and Cynics were profoundly convinced about the cognitive value of mythos (this conviction was also shared by Plato and Aristotle, but their attitude towards myth was more complex). Consequently, chapter two argues that in Preplatonic philosophy, myth played a function analogous to the concepts discussed in chapter one (i.e., hidden meanings, enigmas and symbols), for in all these cases, ancient interpreters found tools for conveying issues that were otherwise difficult to convey. Chapter two concludes with a classification of various types of allegoresis. Whilst chapters one and two serve as a historical and philological introduction, the second part of this book concentrates on the close relationship between the development of allegoresis, on the one hand, and the flowering of philosophy, on the other. Thus, chapter three discusses the crucial role that allegorical interpretation came to play in Preplatonic philosophy, chapter four deals with Plato’s highly complex and ambivalent attitude to allegoresis, and chapter five has been devoted to Aristotle’s original approach to the practice of allegorical interpretation. It is evident that allegoresis was of paramount importance for the ancient thinkers, irrespective of whether they would value it positively (Preplatonic philosophers and Aristotle) or negatively (Plato). Beginning with the 6th century B.C., the ancient practice of allegorical interpretation is motivated by two distinct interests. On the one hand, the practice of allegorical interpretation reflects the more or less “conservative” attachment to the authority of the poet (whether Homer, Hesiod or Orpheus). The purpose of this apologetic allegoresis is to exonerate poetry from the charges leveled at it by the first philosophers and, though to a lesser degree, historians. Generally, these allegorists seek to save the traditional paideia that builds on the works of the poets. On the other hand, the practice of allegorical interpretation reflects also the more or less “progressive” desire to make original use of the authority of the poet (whether Homer, Hesiod or Orpheus) so as to promote a given philosophical doctrine. The objective of this instrumental allegoresis is to exculpate philosophy from the accusations brought against it by the more conservative circles. Needless to say, these allegorists significantly contribute to the process of the gradual replacing of the mythical view of the world with its more philosophical explanation. The present book suggests that it is the philosophy of Aristotle that should be regarded as a sort of acme in the development of ancient hermeneutics. The reasons for this are twofold. On the one hand, the Stagirite positively values the practice of allegoresis, rehabilitating, thus, the tradition of Preplatonic philosophy against Plato. And, on the other hand, Aristotle initiates the theoretical reflection on figurative (“enigmatic”) language. Hence, in Aristotle we encounter not only the practice of allegoresis, but also the theory of allegory (although the philosopher does not use the term allēgoría). With the situation being as it is, the significance of Aristotle’s work cannot be overestimated. First of all, the Stagirite introduces the concept of metaphor into the then philosophical considerations. From that moment onwards, the phenomenon of figurative language becomes an important philosophical issue. After Aristo-tle, the preponderance of thinkers would feel obliged to specify the rules for the appropriate use of figurative language and the techniques of its correct interpretation. Furthermore, Aristotle ascribes to metaphor (and to various other “excellent” sayings) the function of increasing and enhancing our knowledge. Thus, according to the Stagirite, figurative language is not only an ornamental device, but it can also have a significant explanatory power. Finally, Aristotle observes that figurative expressions cause words to become ambiguous. In this context, the philosopher notices that ambiguity can enrich the language of a poet, but it can also hinder a dialectical discussion. Accordingly, Aristotle is inclined to value polysemy either positively or negatively. Importantly, however, the Stagirite is perfectly aware of the fact that in natural languages ambiguity is unavoidable. This is why Aristotle initiates a syste-matic reflection on the phenomenon of ambiguity and distinguishes its various kinds. In Aristotle, ambiguity is, then, both a problem that needs to be identified and a tool that can help in elucidating intricate philosophical issues. This unique approach to ambiguity and figurative (“enigmatic”) language enabled Aristotle to formulate invaluable intuitions that still await appropriate recognition.

Herod Wielki i „nowa” Jerozolima

Summary: Herod the Great (73-4 B.C.E.) was a Roman client king of the small Jewish state Judaea in the last three decades before the common era. An essential aspect of Herod's reign was his role as a builder. Remarkably innovative, he created an astonishing record of architectural achievement, not only in Judaea but also throughout Greece and the Roman East. Herod’s own inclinations caused him to engage in a building program that paralleled that of his patron, Augustus. The most famous and ambitious project was the expansion of Jerusalem and rebuilding of the Second Temple. Josephus Flavius, a 1st-century Jewish historian, in his descriptions of the visual structure of Jerusalem delivers the picture of the Jewish society in the latter Second Temple Judaea, who were fundamentally antagonistic toward images. For Josephus, Roman iconography, such as Herod’s eagle from the Jerusalem Temple, represents not only political domination but also an unambiguous religious abomination. Visual conservatism in the public realm finds important verification in the excavated remains of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and the Herodian Quarter (Upper City). Geometric patterns and forms predominate on the floor mosaic, stone furniture, in architectural detail and funerary remains. No human imagery is present in the Jewish context. However, Herodian structures in Jerusalem reflect the architectural and visual vocabulary of their time which contains popular elements of Roman domination in the ancient world.