Herodotos' Histories contain many tricksters who are able to think quickly, outwit others, and get what they want using techniques that are not always honest. This paper explores how the skill of these manipulators often resides in their ability to use and abuse signs and hijack the process of signification. It is suggested that Herodotos' interest in and admiration of these manipulators of signs is connected with his narrative persona as master presenter and interpreter of signs.
This paper explores the term λευστήρ applied to Kleisthenes of Sikyon by the Pythia in Hdt. 5.67.2, first by exploring the poetics of stoning and pollution in Ancient Greece, then by arguing for the validity of both the more predictable meaning, 'stoner', and the Suda's sometimes contested gloss on the word, 'worthy of being stoned'. While the argument has been suggested before, sufficient linguistic evidence for understanding λευστήρ in this sense has not been presented in the past. The paper provides more conclusive evidence and also suggests that recent applications of the φαρµακός paradigm are inaccurate. ἐπεθύµησε ὁ Κλεισθένης ἐόντα Ἀργεῖον ἐκβαλεῖν ἐκ τῆς χώρης. ἐλθὼν δὲ ἐς ∆ελφοὺς ἐχρηστηριάζετο εἰ ἐκβάλοι τὸν Ἄδρηστον· ἡ δὲ Πυθίη οἱ χρᾷ φᾶσα Ἄδρηστον µὲν εἶναι Σικυωνίων βασιλέα, ἐκεῖνον δὲ λευστῆρα.Kleisthenes wanted to expel [Adrastos] from the land, since he was an Argive. He went to Delphi and consulted the oracle as to whether he should expel Adrastos, and the Pythia's response was that Adrastos was king of the Sicyonians, but that he, Kleisthenes, was a λευστήρ.
In Greco-Roman antiquity the intense competition (agōn) between opponents in the sporting arena was echoed by an equally fierce competition of magical materials inside and outside the venue. Curse tablets (Gr. katadesmoi, L. defixiones), phylacteries, protective magical texts worn on or near the person, and other magical materials, symbols, and rituals all competed with each other to advance or retard the performance of the competitors in the event. Extant tablets come from the early imperial period to the 6th century ce, but their use in the classical and Hellenistic periods is likely. The extant sport-related tablets contain curses relating to wrestling and running, beast-hunting in the arena (venatio), and chariot-racing in the circus, with tablets relating to the latter predominating. As chariot-racing in the empire became an increasingly high-stakes event and connected with competition among the factions, their supporters, and the ruling elite, the practice of magic to influence outcomes of the races is increasingly mentioned in sources of the period as a source of concern.
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