Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 10, 2023, No. 1
The voice of Orpheus (Schol. Eur. Hec. 1267),
or once more about the worn out thresholds
of some subtumular constructions
Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
Abstract. Over the last few decades, a differentiated approach was gradually imposed in terms of the interpretation the subtumular constructions, which for a long time had been classified as burial constructions. Some of them are already seen as temples dedicated to both the initiation rite and immortality rituals. A number of constructions are marked with characteristics revealing their long-time use: several stages of construction in previously raised embankment, worn steps and thresholds, movable stone doors, etc. Based on a comparative analysis of the ancient written sources and the results of the archaeological research of some subtumular constructions, the article proposes another hypothesis regarding their functions as a subtumular oracul (necromanteion, i.e., Oracle of the Dead).
Keywords: tumulus, subtumular construction, Orpheus, oracle
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 9, 2022, No. 1
Orpheus the Magician: The Orphic Argonautica
Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
Abstract. The modelling of identity involves the construction of opposites and “Others”, whose relevance is always subject to the continuous interpretation of their differences from “Us”. The mythological figure of Orpheus is a composite and multifaceted paradigm, charged with the model characteristics of Otherness both through literature and through the visual arts. Based on the analysis of the Orphic Argonautica and the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius, this article aims to concisely identify the concepts projected in the Thracian singer and musician’s functional mythological elements that construct this Otherness through unconventional behaviour and liminality.
Key words: Orpheus, The Orphic Argonautica, Others/Us, Otherness, Thracia
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, 2021, No. 2
The basilisk:
An episode from the Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni
Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
Abstract. The paper aims to analyse the episode about the fight of Alexander the Great with the sinister, poisoning the air with his breath and eyes basilisk in the medieval tradition about the Romance of Alexander, respectively the Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni (Rezension J3).
However, the tracing of the literary tradition in the Latin West unequivocally suggests the functioning of at least three basic variants of the mythic-and-literary narrative, which presupposes the multiplication of the sources and its transmission. Variations in the story of Alexander and the basilisk sometimes indicate a distancing and alienation from the paradigm of the Rezension J3.
If the oldest α-Rezension of the Pseudo-Callisthenes’ literary core dates no later than AD 200, we are most likely faced with a later interpolation of a text that functioned independently of it, but dating back to an earlier epoch, not later than the middle of the 4th century, and probably before that. This would hypothetically outline the chronological boundaries and possible transmissions of the episode with the meeting of Alexander the Great and the basilisk as an integral part of the landscape of the Otherworld on the way to the “land of the blessed” and the end of the world passing through the “land of twilight”, where miracles can happen and fantastic monsters meet.
Keywords: Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni, Rezension J3, Archipresbyter Leo, basilisk, Itinerarium Alexandri
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 7, 2020, No. 2
Emperor Constantine I the Great
between Byzantion and Constantinople
Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
Abstract. The paper examines the religious, ideological, and political manifestations of Emperor Constantine I the Great during the consecration ceremonies of the city named after him, which have been the subject of heated discussions and contradictory interpretations. The focus is on the policy of tolerating and encouraging local cults in Byzantion, which Constantine clearly preferred and pursued.
Historical sources can be grouped into at least two groups organized around the events related to the consecration of Constantinople in May 330 AD, in which two remarkable ritual and cult centres stand out:
1) The Constantine Forum: the consecration of the solar statue of Emperor Constantine at the newly constructed Constantine Forum on the famous porphyry column the day before or on the first day of the 40-day celebrations, accompanied by numerous additional ceremonies and rituals;
2) The Hippodrome: The ceremony of the Hippodrome on the first day of the 40-day celebrations in which the gilded xoanon of Constantine, holding a small sculpture of Tyche on the city in his right hand, was carried in the “Helios Chariot”.
In the worship of the Emperor Constantine I the Great during the consecration ceremonies of the Constantinople two important religious ideas were intertwined as central:
- Reviving and incorporating the ancient mythological tradition of the founding Byzantion in the new context and traditions of Constantinople;
- The specific role of Zeuxippus, the central solar deity of the Thracian population in the city identified with Helios / Zeus Helios / Zeus Hippios, in this religious-political context.
With this public behaviour, perhaps the emperor sought a balance between the traditional urban religion and local cult practices, on the one hand, and those of the imperial cult of the ruler or even his personal cult, on the other.
Keywords: Emperor Constantine I the Great, Byzantion, Constantinople, Zeuxippus, Tyche of the city