The Word of the King: Royal Truthfulness and some Cases of Royal Multilingualism in Ancient Eurasia

Summary: The present article examines a selection of royal multilingual inscriptions, mostly from the Near East and Anatolia, as expression of the linguistic competence of the king, as shown in other documents, especially from Mesopotamia, from the Bronze Age onwards. It also argues that the truthfulness of the royal utterance is the other side of the coin of the king’s linguistic competence

Herodotus, Egypt, and the Athenian Expedition

Herodotus’ Egypt has fascinated countless readers over many centuries. In part because the Egyptian logos ostensibly ends with the Persian conquest, readers have less often refected on the historical background against which Herodotus wrote it. After the conquest, Egypt was anything but a quiet province of the Achaemenid Empire, and one major revolt took place during Herodotus’ own lifetime. Starting from an overview of Egyptian restlessness under the Persian domination, I will investigate in the present study the extent to which post-conquest Egyptian history, and especially the major revolt that broke out after Xerxes died and saw the participation of troops of the Delian League in large numbers, may have impacted this part of Herodotus’ Histories. Finally, I will present to the reader a somewhat speculative refection on the original conception that underlies the Egyptian logos

Senso - revolutionising patient journey in inflammatory disease monitoring: financial planning and capital strategy

The current challenges in the healthcare sector demand innovative solutions. Point-of-care devices are emerging as simplified, efficient, and patient-centric alternatives, often using biosensor technology. SENSO, a miniaturised biosensor, measures inflammation in Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) patients by detecting the H2O2 concentration in a blood drop. Its integration into disease monitoring protocols, both on-site and remotely, promises to enhance patient quality of life while offering an efficient and reliable solution to healthcare professionals. The SENSO company will use PMR monitoring as a proof-of-concept, starting with the Iberian market, while assessing the biosensor’s potential for broader applications in the future

Multiple preverbs in ancient Indo-European languages: a comparative study on Vedic, Homeric Greek, Old Church Slavic and Old Irish

This thesis describes and analyzes multiple preverb composites in a sample of ancient Indo-European languages, including Vedic (R̥g-Veda), Homeric Greek (Iliad, Odyssey), Old Church Slavic (Codices Marianus, Zographensis, Suprasliensis), and Old Irish (Milan and Priscian Glosses). While preverbs and single preverbation are two well-studied topics in Indo-European linguistics, this is not the case for multiple preverb composites, whereby two or more such morphemes attach onto the same simplex verb (e.g. Ved. adhí ní √dhā- ‘over-down-put’ →‘deposit for’, Hom.Gr. ep-ana-títhēmi ‘on-upward-put’ → ‘shut’, OCS prědъ-po-lagati ‘in front of-along-lay’ → ‘distribute to’, OIr. do·aithchuiredar ‘to-back-put’ → ‘return’). After an introduction describing the aims of this work and the sample texts, the present thesis opens with a theoretical chapter devoted to the tools necessary to study preverbs (Cognitive Grammar, grammaticalization theory, semantic roles, aspect and actionality), and with a general and typological overview of preverbs. The thesis provides thereafter quantitative data as for the number of multiple preverb composites, multiple preverb combinations, and verbal roots modified by multiple preverbs. Moreover, it thoroughly carries out philological, formal, semantic, and syntactic analyses on multiple preverb composites. On the one hand, the results of such analyses deliver to us two similar scenarios for Vedic and Homeric Greek, whereby multiple preverbs still retain much of their original functions and syntactic behavior. By contrast, the grammaticalization and lexicalization paths are far more advanced in Old Church Slavic and in Old Irish. On the other hand, the comparison also points out a number of similarities among the developments undergone by multiple preverbs in the sample languages. Specifically, a process of ‘recomposition’ (i.e. step by step accumulation) most likely lies behind the formation of multiple preverb composites in all languages. In addition, preverb ordering can be similarly explained, based on an account integrating different kinds of factors: (a) semantic solidarity holding between preverbs and verbs; (b) preverbs’ tendency to be specified by further event participants; (c) specific etymologies of specific preverbs; (d) calques/influence from other languages. By means of concrete examples, it is also shown that cognate or semantically similar preverbs tend to undergo similar semantic shifts. Crucially, by analyzing a relatively small array of multiple preverb composites and by integrating the findings achieved by previous works on different languages, this thesis also contributes to shedding light on the common reasons behind the well-known preverbs’ grammaticalization and lexicalization. These developments were understood as two distinct re-analyses, both triggered by the same pivotal factor, specifically, the mentioned semantic solidarity that came to make preverbs’ semantic contributions be felt as redundant. Preverbs were thus either reassigned salient pieces of information as markers of actionality (grammaticalization), or were reinterpreted as part of the verbal stem (lexicalization)

The Controversy between Megalopolis and Messene in a New Inscription from Messene

2008 veröffentlichte P. Themelis ein Dekret der Stadt Messene, in dem ein Gebietsstreit zwischen Messene und Megalopolis aus den Jahren unmittelbar nach dem Krieg zwischen Messene und dem Achaierbund und dem Tod Philopoimens beschrieben wird. Das strittige Land schloss vier Gebiete ein, die meistens paarweise erwähnt werden, wovon eines das Territorium von Andania war. Der vorliegende Beitrag bietet einen revidierten Text mit Übersetzung und erläutert den historischen Hinter- grund des Dekrets sowie den Verlauf des Streits, in dem mehrere Schiedssprüche ergingen. Der Text wirft neues Licht auf die Rolle der Organe des Bundes, insbesondere der damiorgoi, bei Konflikten unter den Mitgliedstaaten, sowie auf die gemeinsamen Gesetze des Bundes.P. Themelis published in 2008 a decree of the polis of Messene that narrates a territorial controversy between Messene and Megalopolis from the years immediately after the war between Messene and the Achaian League and the death of Philopoimen. The land under dispute included four areas that tend to be mentioned in pairs, one of which was the territory of Andania. The present contribution offers a revised text with translation of the decree and discusses its historical background and the course of the dispute, which involved multiple arbitrations. The text sheds new light on the role of the organs of the League, especially the damiorgoi, in the resolution of disputes among member states, and on the common laws of the Achaian League.P. Themelis publia en 2008 un décret de la cité de Messène, qui fait état d’une contestation territoriale entre Messène et Mégalopolis dans les années suivant immédiatement la guerre entre Messène et la Ligue achéenne et la mort de Philopoimène. Le territoire disputé incluait quatre secteurs qui sont sou- vent mentionnés par paires, dont l’un était le territoire d’Andania. La présente étude offre une révision du texte avec traduction et expose le contexte historique du décret ainsi que le déroulement de la dis- pute qui fit l’objet de multiples arbitrages. Le texte éclaire d’une part le rôle des différents organes de la Ligue achéenne, notamment des damiorgoi, lors des conflits entre états membres et d’autre part les lois fédérales de la Ligue

Athens from the revolt against Demetrios to the Chremonidean War:Aristeides of Lamptrai in I.Rhamnous 404

This article examines the early Hellenistic honorific decree for the Athenian general Aristeides of Lamptrai (I.Rhamnous 404). After discussing the decree’s date and the external evidence about the honorand, the article provides a detailed analysis of Aristeides’ meritorious deeds in the order in which they are recounted in the motivation clause of the decree. In particular, the article considers the ways in which this decree advances our understanding of the Athenian revolt against Demetrios Poliorketes in 287, of Athenian relations with the Antigonids in the late 280s and early 270s, and of the early phases of the Chremonidean War