Eparchikon biblion V, 2: Is Thalassai the Same as Byssos?
Journal Title: Studia Ceranea. Journal of the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe - Year 2013, Vol 3, Issue
Abstract
The article examines a kind of fabric described as ‘θάλασσαι’ in The Book of the Prefect (Τὸ ἐπαρχικὸν βιβλίον). The meaning of this term by both editors and commentators of the document has not been satisfactorily explained so far. It appears highly probable, however, that ‘θάλασσαι’, because of the ‘marine’ origin of the word, can be associated with a textile from byssos – the socalled sea silk, made from fibres produced by a mollusc pinna nobilis. The presence of this fabric in numerous ancient sources is indicated, incl. works of Aristophanes, Cicero, Herodotus and Plutarch. Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices, where the price of ‘marine wool’ is at the very high level is also investigated.
Authors and Affiliations
Anna Kotłowska, Adam Jaroszyński
Constantinopolitan Charioteers and Their Supporters
Support in sport is certainly one of the oldest human passions. Residents of the eastern Roman imperial capital cheered the chariot drivers. The passion for supporting the drivers was common for all groups and social cla...
Book Reviews: Марияна Цибранска-Костова, Сборникът «Различни потреби» на Яков Крайков между Венеция и Балканите през XVI век [Сборник «Различные потребии» Якова Крайкова между Венецией и Балканами в XVI-ом веке], «Валентин Траянов», София 2013, pp. 191.
Book Review.
Book Reviews: Ivan Biliarsky, The Tale of the Prophet Isaiah. The Destiny and Meanings of an Apocryphal Text, Leiden–Boston 2013, pp. 310.
Book Review.
Book Reviews: Vladimír Vavřínek, Encyklopedie Byzance [Encyclopedia of Byzantium], s autorskou spoluprací Petra Balcárka, Nakladatelství LIBRI, Slovenský Ústav AV ČR, Praha 2011, pp. 550.
Book Review.
Славянский перевод апокрифа Didascalia Domini / Откровение святым апостолaм (BHG 812a-e)
The New Testament apocryphon Didascalia Domini is one of the least known. Its original was written in Greek, according to François Nau, at the end of the 7th century. Relatively early it was translated into Old Church Sl...