Classics

The contributors to this volume discuss several aspects and questions related to ancient Egyptian rituals against enemies (»execration rituals«). This type of ritual is documented through various kinds of sources from the 6th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic-Roman period, thus making it an especially multifaceted phenomenon to study.

The articles in this volume deal with the contrast between »succession« and »contradiction« ( enantiosis and acolouthesis) within intellectual traditions. The authors study various forms and manifestations of these phenomena in three case groups from antiquity to the Middle Ages and the modern era up to and including the 20th century.

In this study, Ken Heuring focuses on Cicero's Second Philippic, a passionate invective against Marcus Antonius, who succeeded Julius Caesar after his assassination in 44 BC. The author introduces key concepts in emotion linguistics, illustrating them with extracts taken from the speech.

The reception of Stoic philosophy is an important part of the early Christian discourse with contemporary philosophy. By comparing Christian texts to other ancient sources, Charlotte Kirsch-Klingelhöffer shows how Stoic thoughts such as conflagration, destiny and human autonomy, and terms such as logos spermatikos, either become part of Christian theology by adaption/modification or are criticized in order to engage in a dialogue with ancient philosophy.