Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Politico greco antico »

STORIA E RAZIONALISMO NELLA CITTA ANTICAViene trattato l'intreccio tra storia e razionalismo nell'organizzazione dello Stato nel mondo antico. Si dimostra che la vita politica greca si basava sul razionalismo e che la Storia veniva usata, ma subordinandola a speculazioni razionali. Ciò è provato dall'importanza degli Atti di fondazione mitici e dalla manipolazione della documentazione storica per fini politici. Vengono trovate le origini del razionalismo politico greco nelle origini della polis nel primo periodo arcaico. L'articolo termina con una discussione sul rapporto tra il razionalismo politico greco e lo sviluppo della polis in Etruria e Roma arcaica.

RESUMO O artigo discute a reutilização do passado antigo em tempos posteriores, característica definidora de diferentes culturas e épocas. Para entender esses processos de reutilização, dois termos são usados com frequência: “recepção” e “usos do passado”. Em diálogo com a produção internacional na área, os estudos brasileiros sobre recepção e usos do passado têm se desenvolvido de forma notável, particularmente com o aporte de formadores como Francisco Murari Pires, Pedro Paulo Abreu Funari e José Antônio Dabdab Trabulsi. A constituição e o estabelecimento desses campos têm se dado, sobremaneira, no âmbito do Grupo de Trabalho em História Antiga da Associação Nacional de História (GTHA-Anpuh), manifestando-se em diferentes publicações de autores brasileiros no Brasil e no exterior. Para além da análise dessa dinâmica nos estudos de História Antiga e das definições, aproximações e distanciamentos entre recepção e usos do passado, o presente artigo também contempla a análise específica do caso de Curitiba e a presença da Antiguidade greco-romana na cidade, como exemplo na história brasileira.

RESUMENEl nacimiento en la Antigua Roma de niños con rasgos sexuales masculinos y femeninos a la vez, los llamados andróginos o hermafroditas, eran considerados como un gravísimo prodigio. Su expiación, necesaria para el restablecimiento de las buenas relaciones entre los hombres y los dioses, quedó en manos exclusivamente de mujeres: ancianas, matronas y virgines.PALABRAS CLAVE: Antigua Roma, Matrona, prodigio, expiación, andróginoABSTRACTThe birth in ancient Rome of children with both male and female sexual features, so-called androgynes or hermaphrodites, was regarded as a an extraordinary phenomenon. Their expiation, necessary for the restoration of good relations between men and gods, remained exclusively in the hands of women: old women, midwives and virgines.KEY WORDS: Ancient Rome, midwife, prodigy, expiation, androgynus BIBLIOGRAFÍAAbaecherly Boyce, A. (1937), “The expiatory rites of 207 B. C.”, TAPhA, 68, 157-171.Allély, A. (2003), “Les enfants malformés et considerés comme prodigia à Rome et en Italie sous la République”, REA, 105, 1, 127-156.Allély, A. (2004), “Les enfants malformés et handicapés à Rome sous le Principat”, REA, 106, 1, 73-101.Androutsos, G. (2006), “Hermaphroditism in Greek and Roman antiquity”, Hormones, 5, 214-217.Berthelet, Y. (2010), “Expiation, par les autorités romaines, de prodiges survenus en terre alliée: Quelques réflexions sur le statut juridique des territoires et des communautés alliés, et sur le processus de romanisation”, Hypothèses, 13, 1, 169-178.Berthelet, Y. (2013), “Expiation, par Rome, de prodiges survenus dans les cités alliées du nomen latinum ou des cités alliées italiennes non latines”, L´Antiquité Classique 82, 91-109.Breglia Pulci Doria, L. (1983), Oracoli Sibillini tra rituali e propaganda (Studi su Flegonte di Tralles), Napoli, Liguori Editori.Brisson, L. (1986), “Neutrum utrumque. La bisexualité dans l´antiquité gréco-romaine”, en L´Androgyne, Paris, Albin Michel, 31-61.Brisson, L. (1997), Le sex incertain. Androgynie et hermaphroditisme dans l´Antiquité gréco-romaine, Paris, Les Belles Lettres.Caerols, J. J. (1991), Los Libros Sibilinos en la historiografía latina, Madrid, Editorial Complutense.Cantarella, E. (2002), Bisexuality in the Ancient World, New Haven CT, Yale University Press.Cantarella, E. (2005), “The Androgynous and Bisexuality in Ancient Legal Codes”, Diogenes, 52, 5, 5-14.Cid López, R. M. (2007), “Las matronas y los prodigios. Prácticas religiosas femeninas en los ‘márgenes’ de la religión romana”, Norba, 20, 11-29.Cousin, J. (1942-1943), “La crise religieuse de 207 av. J.-C.”, RHR, 126, 15-41.Crifò, G. (1999), Prodigium e diritto: il caso dell’ermafrodita, Index, 27, 113-120.Champeaux, J. (1996), “Pontifes, haruspices et décemvirs. L´expiation des prodiges de 207”, REL, 74, 67-91.Dasen, V. (2005), “Blessing or portents? Multiple births in ancient Rome”, en K. Mustakallio, J. Hanska, H.-L. Sainio, V. Vuolanto (éds.), Hoping for continuity.Childhood, education and death in Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae XXXIII), Rome, 72-83.Delcourt, M. (1958), Hermaphrodite. Mythes et rites de la bisexualité dans l´antiquité classique, Paris, PUF.Delcourt, M. (1966), Hermaphroditea. Recherches sur l´être double promoteur de la fertilité dans le monde classique (Coll. Latomus 86), Bruxelles, Latomus.Doroszewska, J. (2013), “Between the monstrous and the Divine: Hermaphrodites in Phlegon of Tralles´Mirabilia”, Acta Ant. Hung, 53, 379–392.Freyburger, G. (1977), “La supplication d´actions de grâces dans la religion romaine archaïque”, Latomus, 36, 283-315.Freyburger, G. (1988), “Supplication grecque et supplication romaine”, Latomus, 47, 3, 501-525.Garland, R. (1995), The Eye of the Beholder. Deformity and Disability in the Graeco-Roman World, London, Duckworth.Graumann, L. A. (2013), “Monstrous Births and Retrospective diagnosis: the case of Hermafrodites in Antiquity”, en Chr. Laes, C.F. Goodey, M. Lynn Rose (eds.), Disabilities in Roman antiquity: disparate bodies, a capite ad calcem (Mnemosyne, supplements. History and archaeology of classical antiquity, 356), Leiden-Boston, Brill, 181-210.Guittard, Ch. (2004), “Les prodiges dans le livre XXVII de Tite-Live”, Vita Latina, 170, 56-81.Halkin, L. (1953), La supplication d´action de grâces chez les Romains, Paris, Les Belles Lettres.Lake, A. K. M. (1937), “The Supplicatio and Graecus Ritus”, en R.P. Casey, S. Lake- A.K. Lake (eds.), Quantulacumque: Studies Presented to Kirsopp Lake, London, Christophers, 243-251.Louis, P. (1975), Monstres et monstruosites dans la biologie d’Aristote, en J. Bingen, G. Cambier, G. Nachtergael (éd.), Le monde grec: pensée, litterature, histoire, documents. Hommages à Claire Préaux, Bruxelles, Éditions de l´Université de Bruxelles, 277-284.Mac Bain, B. (1982), Prodigy and expiation: a study in Religion and Politics in Republican Rome (Coll. Latomus 117), Bruxelles, Latomus.Maiuri, A. (2012), “Deformità e difformità nel mondo greco-romano”, en M. Passalacqua, M. De Nonno, A. M. Morelli (a cura di), Venuste noster. Scritti offerti a Leopoldo Gamberale (Spudasmata 147), Zurich, Georg Olms Verlag, 526-547.Maiuri, A. (2013), “Il lessico latino del mostruoso”, en I. Baglioni (a cura di), Monstra. Costruzione e Percezione delle Entità Ibride e Mostruose nel Mediterraneo Antico (Religio Collana di Studi del Museo delle Religioni “Rafaele Pettazzoni”), Roma, Quasar, Vol.II, 167-177.Mazurek, T. (2004), “The decemviri sacris faciundis: supplication and prediction”, en C.F. Konrad (ed.), Augusto augurio. Rerum humanarum et divinarum commentationes in honorem Jerzy Linderski, Stuttgart, Steiner Verlag, 151-168.Mineo, B. (2000), “L´anneé 207 dans le récit livien”, Latomus, 52, 512-540.Monaca, M. (2005), La Sibilla a Roma. I libri sibillini fra religione e politica, Cosenza, Giordano.Montero, S. (1993), “Los harúspices y la moralidad de la mujer romana”, Athenaeum. 81, 647-658.Montero, S. (1994), Diosas y adivinas. Mujer y adivinación en la Roma antigua, Madrid, Trotta.Montero, S. (2008), “La supplicatio expiatoria como factor de cohesión social”, en N. Spineto (a cura di), La religione come fattore di integrazione: modelli di convivenza e di scambio religioso nel mondo antico. Atti del IV Convegno Internazionale del Gruppo di Ricerca Italo-Spagnolo di Storia delle Religioni Università degli Studi di Torino (29-30 sept. 2006), Alessandria, Edizioni dell´Orso.Moussy, C. (1977), “Esquisse de l’histoire de monstrum”, RÉL, 55, 345-369.Péter, O. M. (2001), “Olim in prodigiis nunc in deliciis. Lo status giuridico dei monstra nel diritto romano”, en G. Hamza, F. Benedek (hrsg.), Iura antiqua-Iura moderna. Festschrift für Ferenc Benedek zum 75. Geburtstag, Pecs, Dialóg Campus Kiadó, 207-216.Sandoz, L. Ch. (2008), “La survie des monstres: ethnographie fantastique et handicap à Rome, la force de l´imagination”, Latomus, 68, 21-36.Scheid, J. (1988), “Les livres Sibyllins et les archives des quindecémvirs”, en C. Moatti (ed.), La mémoire perdue. Recherches sur l´administration romaine, Paris, École Française de Rome, 11-26.Schulz, C. E. (2006), Women´s Religious Activity in the Roman Republic, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.Segarra, D. (2005), “La arboricultura y el orden del mundo: de Vertumnus al ‘Dios’ que planta e injerta”, en R. Olmos, P. Cabrera, S. Montero (eds.), Paraíso cerrado, jardín abierto: el reino vegetal en el imaginario del Mediterráneo, Madrid, Polifemo, 207-232.Segarra, D. (2006), “‘Arboricoltori sacri’. L’operato degli aruspici nella sfera vegetale”, en M. Rocchi, P. Xella, J. A. Zamora (a cura di), Gli operatori cultuali, Atti del II Incontro di studio organizzato dal “Gruppo di contatto per lo studio delle religioni mediterranee” (Roma, 10 - 11 maggio 2005), Verona, Essedue.Trentin, L. (2011), “Deformity in the Roman Imperial Court”, G&R, II S., 58, 195-208.Vallar, S. (2013), “Les hermaphrodites l’approche de la Rome antique”, RIDA, 60, 201-217.

<p><strong>Resumo: </strong>Ao nos debruçarmos nos estudos acerca do cristianismo antigo percebemos que algumas análises ainda se pautam numa leitura teológica e doutrinal e tendem a deixar de lado os aspectos político-administrativos e disciplinares da organização das comunidades cristãs, bem como o cotidiano dos cristãos nas <em>ciuitates</em> greco-romanas. As epístolas de Cipriano, bispo de Cartago entre os anos 249 e 258, nos dão importantes informações acerca da constituição das comunidades cristãs africanas e do cotidiano dos cristãos cartagineses de meados do século III d. C., sobretudo durante o período das perseguições dos imperadores Décio e Valeriano. Nosso objetivo nesse artigo é discutir as informações contidas nas epístolas de Cipriano como fontes primordiais para a percepção do processo de desenvolvimento do cristianismo no norte da África, especificamente na cidade de Cartago durante o século III, momento no qual a crença cristã ainda é considerada uma <em>religio illicita</em>.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave: </strong>Cristianismo – Cipriano – Cartas – Cristãos – Norte da África.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong>By examining studies about ancient Christianity we realize that some analyzes are still in a guided reading theological and doctrinal, and tend to leave out the political and administrative aspects of the organization and discipline of the Christian communities, as well as the daily life of Christians at <em>ciuitates </em>Greco- Roman. The Epistles of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage between the years 249 and 258 , provides important information about the formation of the African Christian communities and the daily lives of Christians Carthaginians from the mid- third century A.D., especially during the period of the persecutions of the emperors Decius and Valerian. Our goal in this article is to argue the information contained in the epistles of Cyprian as main sources for the perception of the development of Christianity in North Africa, specifically in the city of Carthage during the third century, at which Christian belief is yet considered a <em>religio illicita.</em></p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Christianity – Cyprian – Letters – Christians – North Africa.</p>

The Walt Disney Company has been creating magical fairy tales since the early 1900s and is a trusted brand synonymous with wholesome, family entertainment (Wasko). Over time, this reputation has resulted in the Disney brand’s huge financial growth and influence on audiences worldwide. (Wohlwend). As the largest global media powerhouse in the Western world (Beattie), Disney uses its power and influence to shape the perceptions and ideologies of its audience. In the twenty-first century there has been a proliferation of retellings of Disney fairy tales, and Kilmer suggests that although the mainstream perception is that these new iterations promote gender equity, new cultural awareness around gender stereotypes, and cultural insensitivity, this is illusory. Tangled, for example, was a popular film selling over 10 million DVD copies and positioned as a bold new female fairy tale character; however, academics took issue with this position, writing articles entitled “Race, Gender and the Politics of Hair: Disney’s Tangled Feminist Messages”, “Tangled: A Celebration of White Femininity”, and “Disney’s Tangled: Fun, But Not Feminist”, berating the film for its lack of any true feminist examples or progressiveness (Kilmer). One way to assess the impact of Disney is to look at the use of shape shifting and transformation in the narratives – particularly those that include women and young girls. Research shows that girls and women are often stereotyped and sexualised in the mass media (Smith et al.; Collins), and Disney regularly utilises body modification and metamorphosis within its narratives to emphasise what good and evil ‘look’ like. These magical transformations evoke what Marina Warner refers to as part of the necessary surprise element of the fairy tale, while creating suspense and identity with storylines and characters. In early Disney films such as the 1937 version of Snow White, the queen becomes the witch who brings a poison apple to the princess; and in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty the ‘bad’ fairy Maleficent shapeshifts into a malevolent dragon. Whilst these ‘good to evil’ (and vice versa) tropes are easily recognised, there are additional transformations that are arguably more problematic than those of the increasingly terrifying monsters or villains. Disney has created what we have coined the ‘princess bubble’, where the physique and behaviour of the leading women in the tales has become a predictor of success and good fortune, and the impression is created of a link between their possession of beauty and the ‘happily-ever-after’ outcome received by the female character. The value, or worth, of a princess is shown within these stories to often increase according to her ability to attract men. For example, in Brave, Queen Elinor showcases the extreme measures taken to ‘present’ her daughter Merida to male suitors. Merida is preened, dressed, and shown how to behave to increase her value to her family, and whilst she manages to persuade them to set aside their patriarchal ideologies in the end, it is clear what is expected from Merida in order to gain male attention. Similarly, Cinderella, Aurora, and Snow White are found to be of high ‘worth’ by the princes on account of their beauty and form. We contend, therefore, that the impression often cast on audiences by Disney princesses emphasises that beauty = worth, no matter how transgressive Disney appears to be on the surface. These princesses are flawlessly beautiful, capable of winning the heart of the prince by triumphing over their less attractive rivals – who are often sisters or other family members. This creates the illusion among young audiences that physical attractiveness is enough to achieve success, and emphasises beauty as the priority above all else. Therefore, the Disney ‘princess bubble’ is highly problematic. It presents a narrow range of acceptability for female characters, offers a distorted view of gender, and serves to further engrain into popular culture a flawed stereotype on how to look and behave that negates a fuller representation of female characters. In addition, Armando Maggi argues that since fairy tales have been passed down through generations, they have become an intrinsic part of many people’s upbringing and are part of a kind of universal imaginary and repository of cultural values. This means that these iconic cultural stories are “unlikely to ever be discarded because they possess both a sentimental value and a moral ‘soundness’” (Rutherford 33), albeit that the lessons to be learnt are at times antiquated and exclusionary in contemporary society. The marketing and promotion of the Disney princess line has resulted in these characters becoming an extremely popular form of media and merchandise for young girls (Coyne et al. 2), and Disney has received great financial benefit from the success of its long history of popular films and merchandise. As a global corporation with influence across multiple entertainment platforms, from its streaming channel to merchandise and theme parks, the gender portrayals therefore impact on culture and, in particular, on how young audiences view gender representation. Therefore, it could be argued that Disney has a social responsibility to ensure that its messages and characters do not skew or become damaging to the psyche of its young audiences who are highly impressionable. When the representation of gender is examined, however, Disney tends to create highly gendered performances in both the early and modern iterations of fairy tales, and the princess characters remain within a narrow range of physical portrayals and agency. The Princess Bubble Although there are twelve official characters within the Disney princess umbrella, plus Elsa and Anna from the Disney Frozen franchise, this article examines the eleven characters who are either born or become royalty through marriage, and exhibit characteristics that could be argued to be the epitome of feminine representation in fairy tales. The characters within this ‘princess bubble’ are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Elsa, and Anna. The physical appearance of those in the princess bubble also connects to displays around the physical aspects of ethnicity. Nine out of eleven are white skinned, with Jasmine having lightened in skin tone over time, and Tiana now having a tanned look rather than the original dark African American complexion seen in 2009 (Brucculieri). This reinforces an ideology that being white is superior. Every princess in our sample has thick and healthy long hair, the predominant colour being blonde. Their eyes are mostly blue, with only three possessing a dark colour, a factor which reinforces the characteristics and representation of white ethnic groups. Their eyes are also big and bulbous in shape, with large irises and pupils, and extraordinarily long eyelashes that create an almost child-like look of innocence that matches their young age. These princesses have an average age of sixteen years and are always naïve, most without formal education or worldly experience, and they have additional distinctive traits which include poise, elegance and other desired feminine characteristics – like kindness and purity. Ehrenreich and Orenstein note that the physical attributes of the Disney princesses are so evident that the creators have drawn criticism for over-glamorising them, and for their general passiveness and reliance on men for their happiness. Essentially, these women are created in the image of the ultimate male fantasy, where an increased value is placed on the virginal look, followed by a perfect tiny body and an ability to follow basic instructions. The slim bodies of these princesses are disproportionate, and include long necks, demure shoulders, medium- to large-sized perky breasts, with tiny waists, wrists, ankles and feet. Thus, it can be argued that the main theme for those within the princess bubble is their physical body and beauty, and the importance of being attractive to achieve success. The importance of the physical form is so valued that the first blessing given by the fairies to Aurora from Sleeping Beauty is the gift of physical beauty (Rutherford). Furthermore, Tanner et al. argue that the "images of love at first sight in the films encourage the belief that physical appearance is the most important thing", and these fairy tales often reflect a pattern that the prince cannot help but to instantly fall in love with these women because they are so striking. In some instances, like the stories of Cinderella and Snow White, these princesses have not uttered a single word to their prince before these men fall unconditionally and hopelessly in love. Cinderella need only to turn up at the ball as the best dressed (Parks), while Snow White must merely “wait prettily, because someday her prince will come" (Inge) to reestablish her as royalty. Disney emphasises that these princesses win their man solely on the basis that they are the most beautiful girls in the land. In Sleeping Beauty, the prince overhears Aurora’s singing and that sets his heart aflame to the point of refusing to wed the woman chosen for him at birth by the king. Fortunately, she is one and the same person, so the patriarchy survives, but this idea of beauty, and of 'love at first sight', continues to be a central part of Disney movies today, and shows that “Disney Films are vehicles of powerful gender ideologies” (Hairianto). These princesses within the bubble of perfection have priority placed on their physical and sexual beauty (Dietz), formulating a kind of ‘beauty contest motif’. Examples include Gaston, who does not love Belle in Beauty and the Beast, but simply wants her as his trophy wife because he deems her to be the most beautiful girl in the town. Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, looks as if she "was modeled after a slightly anorexic Barbie doll with thin waist and prominent bust. This representation portrays a dangerous model for young women" (Zarranz). The sexualisation of the characters continues as Jasmine has “a delicate nose and small mouth" (Lacroix), with a dress that can be considered as highly sexualised and unsuitable for a girl of sixteen (Lacroix). In Tangled, Rapunzel is held hostage in the tower by Mother Gothel because she is ‘as fragile as a flower’ and needs to be ‘kept safe’ from the harms in the world. But it is her beauty that scares the witch the most, because losing Rapunzel would leave the old woman without her magical anti-aging hair. She uses scare tactics to ensure that Rapunzel remains unseen to the world. These examples are all variations of the beauty theme, as the princesses all fall within narrow and predictable tropes of love at first sight where the woman is rescued and initiated into womanhood by being chosen by a man. Disney’s Progressive Representation? At times Disney’s portrayal of princesses appears illusively progressive, by introducing new and different variations of princesses into the fold – such as Merida in the 2012 film Brave. Unfortunately, this is merely an illusion as the ‘body-perfect’ image remains an all-important ideal to snare a prince. Merida, the young and spirited teenage princess, begins her tale determined not to conform to the desired standards set for a woman of her standing; however, when the time comes for her to be married, there is no negotiating with her mother, the queen, on dress compliance. Merida is clothed against her will to re-identify her in the manner which her parents deem appropriate. Her ability to express her identity and individuality removed, now replaced by a masked version, and thus with the true Merida lost in this transformation, her parents consider Merida to be of renewed merit and benefit to the family. This shows that Disney remains unchanged in its depiction of who may ‘fit’ within the princess bubble, because the rubric is unchanged on how to win the heart of the man. In fact, this film is possibly more troublesome than the rest because it clearly depicts her parents to deem her to be of more value only after her mother has altered her physical appearance. It is only after the total collapse of the royal family that King Fergus has a change of patriarchal heart, and in fact Disney does not portray this rumpled, ripped-sleeved version of the princess in its merchandising campaign. While the fantasy of fairy tales provides enthralling adventures that always end in happiness for the pretty princesses that encounter them, consideration must be given to all those women who have not met the standard and are left in their wake. If women do not conform to the standards of representation, they are presented as outcasts, and happiness eludes them. Cinderella, for example, has two ugly stepsisters, who, no matter how hard they might try, are unable to match her in attractiveness, kindness, or grace. Disney has embraced and not shunned Perrault’s original retelling of the tale, by ensuring that these stepsisters are ugly. They have not been blessed with any attributes whatsoever, and cannot sing, dance, or play music; nor can they sew, cook, clean, or behave respectably. These girls will never find a suitor, let alone a prince, no matter how eager they are to do so. On the physical comparison, Anastasia and Drizella have bodies that are far more rounded and voluptuous, with feet, for example, that are more than double the size of Cinderella’s magical slipper. These women clearly miss the parameters of our princess bubble, emphasising that Disney is continuing to promote dangerous narratives that could potentially harm young audience conceptions of femininity at an important period in their development. Therefore, despite the ‘progressive’ strides made by Disney in response to the vast criticism of their earlier films, the agency afforded to their new generation of princesses does not alter the fact that success comes to those who are beautiful. These beautiful people continue to win every time. Furthermore, Hairianto has found that it is not uncommon for the media to directly or indirectly promote “mental models of how a woman should look, speak and interact with others”, and that Disney uses its pervasive princess influence “to shape perceptions of female identity and desirability. Females are made to measure themselves against the set of values that are meted out by the films” (Hairianto). In the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast, those outside of the princess bubble are seen in the characters of the three maidens from the village who are always trying to look their very best in the hope of attracting Gaston (Rutherford). Gaston is not only disinterested but shows borderline contempt at their glances by permitting his horse to spray mud and dirt all over their fine clothing. They do not meet the beauty standard set, and instead of questioning his cruelty, the audience is left laughing at the horse’s antics. Interestingly, the earlier version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast portrays these maidens as blonde, slim, and sexy, closely fitting the model of beauty displayed in our princess bubble; however, none match the beauty of Belle, and are therefore deemed inferior. In this manner, Disney is being irresponsible, placing little interest in the psychological ‘safety’ or affect the messages have upon young girls who will never meet these expectations (Ehrenreich; Best and Lowney; Orenstein). Furthermore, bodies are shaped and created by culture. They are central to self-identity, becoming a projection of how we see ourselves. Grosz (xii) argues that our notions of our bodies begin in physicality but are forever shaped by our interactions with social realities and cultural norms. The media are constantly filled with images that “glorify and highlight some kinds of bodies (for example, the young, able-bodied and beautiful) while ignoring or condemning others” (Jones 193), and these influences on gender, ethnicity, sexuality, race, and religion within popular culture therefore play a huge part in identity creation. In Disney films, the princess bubble constantly sings the same song, and “children view these stereotypical roles as the right and only way to behave” (Ewert). In The Princess and the Frog, Tiana’s friend Charlotte is so desperate to ‘catch’ a prince that "she humorously over-applies her makeup and adjusts her ball gown to emphasize her cleavage" (Breaux), but the point is not lost. Additionally, “making sure that girls become worthy of love seems central to Disney’s fairy tale films” (Rutherford 76), and because their fairy tales are so pervasive and popular, young viewers receive a consistent message that being beautiful and having a tiny doll-like body type is paramount. “This can be destructive for developing girls’ views and images of their own bodies, which are not proportioned the way that they see on screen” (Cordwell 21). “The strongly gendered messages present in the resolutions of the movies help to reinforce the desirability of traditional gender conformity” (England et al. 565). Conclusion The princess bubble is a phenomenon that has been seen in Disney’s representation of female characters for decades. Within this bubble there is a narrow range of representation permitted, and attempts to make the characters more progressive have instead resulted in narrow and restrictive constraints, reinforcing dangerous female stereotypes. Kilmer suggests that ultimately these representations fail to break away from “hegemonic assumptions about gender norms, class boundaries, and Caucasian privileging”. Ultimately this presents audiences with strong and persuasive messages about gender performance. Audiences conform their bodies to societal ‘rules’: “as to how we ‘wear’ and ‘use’ our bodies” (Richardson and Locks x), including for example how we should dress, what we should weigh, and how to become popular. In our global hypermediated society, viewers are constantly exposed to princesses and other appropriate bodies. These become internalised ideals and aid in positive and negative thoughts and self-identity, which in turn creates additional pressure on the female body in particular. The seemingly innocent stories with happy outcomes are therefore unrealistic and ultimately excluding of those who cannot or will not ‘fit into the princess bubble’. The princess bubble, we argue, is therefore predictable and restrictive, promoting female passiveness and a reliance of physical traits over intelligence. The dominance of beauty over all else remains the road to female success in the Disney fairy tale film. References Beauty and the Beast. Dirs. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Walt Disney Productions, 1991. Film. Beauty and the Beast. Dir. Bill Condon. Walt Disney Pictures, 2017. Film. Best, Joel, and Kathleen S. Lowney. “The Disadvantage of a Good Reputation: Disney as a Target for Social Problems Claims.” The Sociological Quarterly 50 (2009): 431–449. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.2009.01147.x. Brave. Dirs. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman. Walt Disney Pictures, 2012. Film. Breaux, Richard, M. “After 75 Years of Magic: Disney Answers Its Critics, Rewrites African American History, and Cashes in on Its Racist Past.” Journal of African American Studies 14 (2010): 398-416. Cinderella. Dirs. Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske. Walt Disney Productions, 1950. Film. Collins, Rebecca L. “Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media: Where Are We Now and Where Should We Go?” Sex Roles 64 (2011): 290–298. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9929-5. Cordwell, Caila Leigh. The Shattered Slipper Project: The Impact of the Disney Princess Franchise on Girls Ages 6-12. Honours thesis, Southeastern University, 2016. Coyne, Sarah M., Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, and Victoria Birkbeck. “Pretty as a Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement with Disney Princesses on Gender Stereotypes, Body Esteem, and Prosocial Behavior in Children.” Child Development 87.6 (2016): 1–17. Dietz, Tracey, L. “An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior.” Sex Roles 38 (1998): 425–442. doi:10.1023/a:1018709905920. England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses." Sex Roles 64 (2011): 555-567. Ewert, Jolene. “A Tale as Old as Time – an Analysis of Negative Stereotypes in Disney Princess Movies.” Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences 13 (2014). Grosz, Elizabeth. Volatile Bodies. London, Routledge, 1994. Inge, M. Thomas. “Art, Adaptation, and Ideology: Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Journal of Popular Film and Television 32.3 (2004): 132-142. Jones, Meredith. “The Body in Popular Culture.” Being Cultural. Ed. Bruce M.Z. Cohen. Auckland University, 2012. 193-210. Kilmer, Alyson. Moving Forward? Problematic Ideology in Twenty-First Century Fairy Tale Films. Central Washington University, 2015. Lacroix, Celeste. “Images of Animated Others: The Orientalization of Disney's Cartoon Heroines from The Little Mermaid to The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Popular Communications 2.4 (2004): 213-229. Little Mermaid, The. Dirs. Ron Clements and John Musker. Walt Disney Pictures, 1989. Film. Maggi, Armando. Preserving the Spell: Basile's "The Tale of Tales" and Its Afterlife in the Fairy-Tale Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015. Orenstein, Peggy. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. Parks, Kari. Mirror, Mirror: A Look at Self-Esteem & Disney Princesses. Honours thesis. Ball State University, 2012. Pinocchio. Dirs. Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Norm Ferguson, Bill Roberts, and T. Lee. Walt Disney Productions, 1940. Film. Princess and the Frog, The. Dirs. Ron Clements and John Musker. Walt Disney Pictures, 2009. Film. Richardson, Niall, and Adam Locks. Body Studies: The Basics. Routledge, 2014. Rutherford, Amanda M. Happily Ever After? A Critical Examination of the Gothic in Disney Fairy Tale Films. Auckland University of Technology, 2020. Sleeping Beauty. Dirs. Clyde Geronimi, Eric Larson, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Les Clark. Walt Disney Productions, 1959. Film. Smith, Stacey L., Katherine M. Pieper, Amy Granados, and Mark Choueite. “Assessing Gender-Related Portrayals in Topgrossing G-Rated Films.” Sex Roles 62 (2010): 774–786. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. Dirs. David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Ben Sharpsteen, William Cottrell, Perce Pearce, and Larry Morey. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. Film. Tangled. Dirs. Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. Walt Disney Pictures, 2010. Film. Tanner, Litsa RenÉe, Shelley A. Haddock, Toni Schindler Zimmerman, and Lori K. Lund. “Images of Couples and Families in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films.” The American Journal of Family Therapy 31 (2003): 355-373. Warner, Marina. Fantastic Metamorphoses, Other Worlds. London: Oxford UP, 2002. Wasko, Janet. Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy. Polity Press, 2001. Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts through Disney Princess Play.” Reading Research Quarterly 44.1 (2009): 57-83. Zarranaz, L. Garcia. “Diswomen Strike Back? The Evolution of Disney's Femmes in the 1990s.” Atenea 27.2 (2007) 55-65.

The general aim of the Dissertation is to analyse from a political perspective the language of Sophocles’ plays, using the history of concepts methodology. The research approach is interdisciplinary, since it provides an accurate philological and historical analysis of the sources. In particular, the research focuses on the discourses pronounced by the most relevant female characters in Sophocles’ dramas. I took into account the tragic language as political, referring on how the different characters’ speeches produce relationships and connections, and cause some specific acts within the institutionalised and codified structure of a political community. I focused on several speeches of the female characters of three plays: Women of Trachis, Antigone and Electra. In my research work I studied and problematized such concepts as “publicness”, “performativity”, “agency”, frequently used by many contemporary American philosophers and political theorists in order to analyse the language of the Ancient Greek tragedy. Since public spaces in 5th century Athens - such as the theater, the assembly, and the courthouse – were restricted to the men’s speeches, I focused on how the female speech was produced, with the aim to destabilize and criticize the very idea of “public speech” in classical Greece as gendered. In particular, I focused on three institutionalised forms of discourse, such as: the legal and judiciary discourse, the agon, and the lamentation. The structure of the Dissertation is the following: - A general Introduction presenting the aim of the Dissertation. - Chapter I, describing the sources and the research methodology, reviewing the bibliography and narrating the historical context. - Chapter II, on Deianeira, the female protagonist of Women of Trachis. It focuses on the institution of marriage and on the legal discourse. - Chapter III, on Antigone’s and Electra’s sororal agonism. The analysis focuses on the agons between the female protagonists and their respective sisters. - Chapter IV, on Antigone’s and Electra’s lamentations and interactions with the Chorus. - The Conclusions and final comments.
Lo scopo generale della dissertazione consiste nel produrre un’analisi storico-concettuale politica del linguaggio delle tragedie sofoclee, e utilizza un approccio interdisciplinare, impiegando un’analisi filologica e storiografica. In particolare, tale analisi vuole approfondire lo statuto di parlante della donna nell’Atene del V secolo e l'efficacia della parola delle figure femminili più rilevanti nella drammaturgia sofoclea. Si è indagata la politicità del linguaggio tragico, ovvero la capacità dei discorsi di costruire relazioni, legami, di produrre un determinato agire all'interno di una comunità politica, a partire da una dimensione istituzionalizzata e codificata. Ci siamo concentrati sulle tragedie Trachinie, Antigone ed Elettra, e in particolare sulla presa di parola delle protagoniste femminili di ciascun dramma. Nel corso del lavoro di ricerca, si è posta la necessità di approfondire e mettere in questione concetti come quelli di “pubblico”, “performatività”, “agency”, per mezzo dei quali la ricezione critica - specialmente quella della filosofia e della political theory americana contemporanea – ha indagato la politicità del linguaggio della tragedia classica. Lo spazio del pubblico in Grecia antica (quello del teatro, delle assemblee, dei tribunali), tradizionalmente concepito come lo spazio del “politico”, è anche lo spazio della parola maschile. Dunque, si è reso necessario un approfondimento delle modalità attraverso le quali si produce il discorso femminile in modo da produrre una critica all’idea stessa di “discorso pubblico” ad Atene. In particolare ci siamo concentrati su tre forme istituzionalizzate del discorso, quali: il discorso pronunciato in tribunale, gli agoni, la lamentazione. Il percorso argomentativo si struttura nelle seguenti fasi: - Un’introduzione di carattere generale che spiega gli obiettivi che ci siamo posti, la scelta di usare la tragedia come materiale per una riflessione filosofico-politica, e la scelta di guardare al discorso dei personaggi femminili. - Il capitolo I, che spiega i materiali usati e la metodologia. Contiene anche una ricognizione bibliografica e la contestualizzazione storica. - Il capitolo II, incentrato su Deianira, protagonista delle Trachinie. Nella prima parte il tema centrale è l’istituzione del matrimonio, nella seconda il discorso giudiziario. - Il capitolo III, incentrato sugli agoni tra sorelle, rispettivamente nell’Antigone e nell’Elettra. La prima metà riguarda gli scambi discorsivi agonistici tra Antigone e Ismene, la seconda quelli tra Elettra e Crisotemi. - Il capitolo IV, incentrato sulle lamentazioni e sugli scambi discorsivi col coro, ancora nell’Antigone e nell’Elettra. - Le osservazioni conclusive che rimarcano l’intento iniziale di produrre una critica politica all’idea stessa di “discorso pubblico” nell’Atene classica.

Oggetto di questo studio sono le procedure di votazione in uso nel mondo greco, in particolare tra età classica ed ellenistica, sebbene non manchino riferimenti anche all’epoca tardo arcaica e romana. Si tratta di un tema non semplice, in ragione anzitutto della stessa documentazione disponibile, relativa, peraltro, in larga parte al contesto ateniese, e costituita da passi di opere di genere diverso (opere storiografiche, orazioni, testi drammatici), che alle procedure di voto, nella maggior parte dei casi, fanno riferimento solo incidentalmente, quando non si limitano semplicemente a menzionarle, forse per il fatto di essere, tali procedure, ben note al pubblico, da iscrizioni e da fonti di natura iconografica. Ciò ha fatto sì che non poco di quanto si è scritto appaia in proposito, in realtà, ipotetico e che molto ci sia ancora da capire quanto al funzionamento di entrambi i principali sistemi di voto vigenti nel mondo greco: la cheirotonia (con tutte le sue varianti terminologiche di cui le fonti registrano i nomi e che fanno riferimento a momenti differenti) e la psephophoria. La ragione che, sopra tutte, ha spinto a intraprendere questo lavoro è la mancanza, all’interno del vasto panorama di studi sull’attività politico-istituzionale delle poleis greche, di un lavoro d’insieme aggiornato, che abbia come unica pretesa quella di ricostruire le procedure di voto nei loro aspetti più tecnici e procedurali, al fine di fornirne un quadro (anche geografico e cronologico) il più possibile esaustivo e comprenderne appieno il funzionamento, le ragioni alla base dell’utilizzo e, infine, il rapporto con forme di governo e organi istituzionali. Nel lavoro, pertanto, sono stati discussi, con l’ausilio delle testimonianze letterarie, epigrafiche e iconografiche, in primo luogo gli aspetti più immediati delle procedure, quali le origini, i problemi legati alla terminologia, le diverse denominazioni, i contesti di applicazione; in secondo luogo, sono stati affrontati aspetti più tecnici e problematici di entrambi i sistemi di voto, come la questione del calcolo delle mani (e quindi dei voti) nella cheirotonia o quella della segretezza per quanto attiene, invece, alla psephophoria, chiedendosi se effettivamente quest’ultima consistesse in una votazione segreta, cosa troppo spesso data per scontata e non sempre supportata dalla documentazione. I capitoli sono inoltre corredati di altrettante appendici in cui sono discusse procedure di voto, l’acclamazione e la ekphyllophoria, ritenute in qualche modo affini ai principali sistemi di votazione in essi analizzati, e di tabelle nelle quali è stata raccolta la documentazione epigrafica presa in esame.

La storia dell’Epicureismo è stata segnata negativamente fin dalle sue origini. Gli Epicurei sono stati accusati da più parti non solo di essere degli edonisti privi di una morale, ma anche di essere dei parassiti della società che hanno vissuto nascosti pur di godere dei piaceri più dissoluti. Queste sono state le accuse più frequenti che hanno macchiato il nome di Epicuro e dei suoi seguaci lungo il corso della storia. Tuttavia, se, da un lato, sono stati numerosi gli studi che hanno dimostrato che il piacere di cui si fa portavoce l’Epicureismo è ben lontano dall’essere una mera accumulazione di godimenti senza fine, dall’altro, non è stata rivolta la stessa attenzione alla difesa degli Epicurei dall’accusa di essere dei parassiti della società, sovversivi e incapaci di essere inseriti in un contesto sociale e civile. Solo recentemente è stata finalmente restituita un’immagine storicamente più corretta dell’Epicureismo. Gli studi di Geert Roskam, infatti, sono stati fondamentali per riaprire un dibattito che per secoli non è stato possibile neanche tenere in considerazione. Con il suo volume Live Unnoticed (Λάθε βιώσας): On the Vicissitudes of an Epicurean Doctrine, Roskam è riuscito a ridare vigore all’immagine di Epicuro come di un filosofo inserito in un determinato contesto sociale e politico con il quale dialogava consapevolmente. Come si è avuto modo di vedere, è ora possibile parlare di Epicureismo e politica, dato che non è del tutto vero che l’uno implichi necessariamente l’assenza dell’altra. L’Epicureismo e la politica, infatti, hanno incrociato le loro strade per diverse ragioni e in molti modi, per cui sarà necessario comprendere quali sono le motivazioni che hanno determinato la nascita della rappresentazione degli Epicurei come avversi ed estranei alla sfera politica. La domanda da cui si deve partire, quindi, è se effettivamente si possa o meno identificare un pensiero politico epicureo. Se per pensiero politico si intende l’elaborazione di una filosofia politica intesa in senso positivo, la risposta deve essere necessariamente negativa. Negli scritti di Epicuro che sono stati ritrovati, infatti, non c’è una vera e propria sezione in cui il fondatore del Giardino espone sistematicamente delle regole o delle indicazioni sulla politica dei suoi giorni. Questo perché la politica non è il cardine della sua filosofia, né tantomeno il luogo in cui l’individuo esplica la sua natura più autentica. È, tuttavia, innegabile l’importanza della politica e della giustizia per la sopravvivenza della comunità filosofica epicurea e non si può nascondere il fatto che vi siano degli Epicurei che hanno interagito attivamente con i politici loro contemporanei o che abbiano addirittura ricoperto delle cariche pubbliche. Andrà, dunque, analizzato a fondo il significato che assume la sfera politica per l’Epicureismo nell’evoluzione della sua storia. L’analisi che è stata condotta, quindi, ha avuto come obiettivo di mettere in evidenza quali siano i legami tra l’Epicureismo, la politica e la giustizia, tenendo conto del fatto che non si può prescindere dai principi cardine dell’etica epicurea. Solo comprendendo fino in fondo questi ultimi, infatti, è stato possibile far emergere quale sia il rapporto tra l’Epicureismo e la sfera pubblica. Per questa ragione nel primo capitolo, dal titolo “Giustizia e politica in Epicuro”, si è affrontato lo studio dell’etica del Maestro, della sua biografia e dalla realtà storica in cui il Giardino è stato fondato. Successivamente è stato necessario ripercorrere l’origine della massima Λάθε βιώσας, in relazione alla formazione della comunità filosofica epicurea e al tema della giustizia e delle leggi, grazie alle quali la comunità stessa riesce a preservarsi e tutelarsi. Solo dopo aver affrontato ogni aspetto del rapporto che intercorre tra Epicureismo, politica e giustizia alle origini della fondazione della scuola attraverso la lettura delle parole del Maestro, a partire dal secondo capitolo, intitolato “Gli Epicurei di seconda generazione e la politica”, è stato possibile intraprendere un percorso di studio per osservare da vicino l’evoluzione del pensiero politico nell’Epicureismo greco. In particolare, nel secondo capitolo in un primo momento sono stati esaminati gli Epicurei di prima generazione, i quali hanno per primi fortificato le basi del pensiero di Epicuro, cercando di trasmettere e divulgare la sua dottrina. Oltre a soffermarsi su Metrodoro, Ermarco e Colote, discepoli fedeli di Epicuro e personalità importanti nel Giardino, si è cercato di comprendere il ruolo avuto da Mitre e Idomeneo, i quali furono amici di Epicuro stesso, pur essendo stati incaricati con ruoli di rilievo nella politica del loro tempo. È stata, inoltre, analizzata la figura di Timocrate, fratello di Metrodoro, il quale ha gettato le basi per costruire quell’immagine negativa di Epicuro come di un uomo dedito unicamente al piacere del ventre. Dopo aver compreso in che modo la scuola delle origini intratteneva dei rapporti con la politica del proprio tempo, nel terzo capitolo, dal titolo “Filonide di Laodicea a mare: un politico epicureo?”, è stata affrontata la lettura del PHerc. 1044, per dare rilievo alla figura di Filonide di Laodicea a mare, un politico e filosofo epicureo che operò alla corte dei Seleucidi in Siria. Infine, nel quarto capitolo, intitolato “L’eredità di Diogene di Enoanda”, sono state analizzate le ragioni politiche profonde che hanno portato Diogene di Enoanda a far incidere su un portico i dettami della filosofia epicurea, dimostrando ancora una volta quanto ogni Epicureo sia stato indissolubilmente legato alla sfera politica, sempre tenendo conto dell’ambiente e del periodo storico in cui stava vivendo. Punto cardine del seguente lavoro, infatti, è proprio quello di mettere in rilievo i nessi forti e imprescindibili su cui si fonda il rapporto che ogni Epicureo ha intrattenuto con la politica. A partire dal fondatore della scuola, infatti, la rilevanza del contesto storico specifico e dell’ambiente sociale è stata di fondamentale importanza per riuscire a decifrare le scelte compiute da ogni allievo del Giardino e, in senso più ampio, da ciascun seguace dell’Epicureismo nella storia della scuola. Non soltanto la vicinanza storica e geografica al Maestro ha avuto un’influenza sugli altri Epicurei, ma anche l’estrazione sociale e il tipo di obblighi e doveri che si avevano prima ancora di aderire alla filosofia del Giardino. Questa constatazione non deve essere fraintesa e non deve essere interpretata come una maniera per conferire più importanza alla propria indole o ai propri impegni politico-sociali, ma è un dato di fatto, di cui Epicuro ha tenuto conto nell’elaborazione della sua etica, fondata sul ruolo centrale affidato al sobrio calcolo. Quest’ultimo doveva essere sempre applicato in modo tale da poter mediare, da un lato, tra il raggiungimento della felicità e del proprio fine etico, dall’altro, tra la propria natura e il proprio dovere sociale, per non incorrere in pericoli che avrebbero portato al turbamento della propria anima. La scelta di soffermarsi unicamente sull’Epicureismo greco, tuttavia, non ha impedito di tenere in considerazione due personalità dell’Epicureismo romano che sono state fondamentali per la storia di questa scuola filosofica. Nel corso del lavoro, infatti, le opere di Filodemo di Gadara e Lucrezio sono state costante punto di riferimento, insieme a quelle dei due più grandi detrattori dell’Epicureismo: Cicerone e Plutarco. In particolare, è stata annessa al presente lavoro una breve appendice sul pensiero politico di Lucrezio, nella quale si è cercato di contestualizzare i riferimenti politici lucreziani all’interno del De rerum natura per comprenderne le origini e le implicazioni. Con il presente lavoro incentrato principalmente sull’Epicureismo greco, dunque, si ha la speranza di delineare un’immagine quanto più esaustiva, sebbene ancora in costruzione, della concezione politica epicurea e della riflessione sulla giustizia, le quali, pur non essendo il fine ultimo dell’etica epicurea, hanno avuto un posto fondamentale e trasversale nello sviluppo dell’Epicureismo nel corso della sua storia.

This edited volume uses the prism of bad rule or tyranny to sharpen our understanding of political discourse from the ancient world to the Renaissance. Eleven chapters present case studies examining Hebrew, Greco-Roman, Byzantine, early, high, and late medieval, and Renaissance conceptions and representations of bad or tyrannical government. Since bad rule is always a perversion of the norm, its shifting conceptualizations shed light on historically specific assessments of what constitutes legitimate and acceptable political behavior. Meanwhile, political debate also reflects specific power structures, authors, and audiences. The book’s chapters, therefore, examine notions of bad rule within the ideological frameworks and societal patterns of the respective periods, thus painting a picture of historical and intellectual change. However, these often profound variations notwithstanding, the book also shows that it is meaningful to think of its subject as a ‘premodern Western tradition’, in the sense of an exchange of ideas. There are shared roots in Greek and biblical thought, and ongoing cross-fertilization spanning two millennia. Moreover, the rationale of both pro- and anti-monarchical discourse by and large derives from virtue ethics, in their Greek, Roman, and Christian incarnations. This reliance on morality as the foundation of political organization only declined in the sixteenth century, which therefore marks the end of the story of tyranny in premodern political thought told in this volume.

The image of a political thinker that arises from Taubes’s readings of Paul is the result of Taubes’s peculiar method of reading Paul through key thinkers of the twentieth-century European thought, such as Nietzsche, Benjamin, and Barth. The political aspects of the philosophers’ readings are brought to the fore by Taubes’s intertwinement of historical and philosophical perspectives, but also of the crossing of the Jewish and the Christian. Taubes’s political Paul is drawn from contradictory meanings within the Pauline epistles, primarily Romans. On one hand Taubes’s Paul is anti-imperial as the apostle’s message amplifies a seething antagonism toward the values of the Greco-Roman world and “declares war” against the Emperor himself. On the other, Taubes’s Paul develops a “nihilism” which is actually “quietist” and withdrawn in relation to direct contestation of actually existing authority. This nihilistic view of the apostle can be further argued for through affinities between readings of biblical scholars of our day and Friedrich Nietzsche, building further upon Taubes’s interpretations of Paul.

New materials from the Foreign Policy Archive of Imperial Russia and other Russian archives relating to the history of the Serbian spiritual presence on the Holy Mountain show the development of Russian-Serbian interchurch relations from 1850 to the 1870s. At this time, Athos became involved in the sphere of geopolitical interests of European powers that used the ethno-confessional factor as an instrument of political influence in the Middle East and the Balkans. One of the key tasks of Russian diplomacy, in order to strengthen Russian influence in the Orthodox East, was to provide material assistance to the Athonite monasteries, among which an important place belonged to the Serbian monastery of Khilandar. Study of the correspondence of Russian secular and ecclesiastical diplomats (Envoy to the Port N. Ignatiev and Consuls in Thessaloniki A. Lagovsky and A. Muravyov) and representatives of the highest spiritual authorities of Serbia and Russia (Metropolitan Mikhail of Serbia, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, and ober-Prosecutors of the Holy Synod) allows us to trace the decision-making process in Russian departments (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Holy Synod) regarding the financial support of the Khilandar monastery, which was negatively affected by the problems associated with the new political structure of the Transdanubian principalities and the anti-church policy of Alexander Kuza towards the monastic farmsteads of the Eastern Patriarchates. The key points of the correspondence relate to the issues of providing material assistance to Khilandar and diplomatic support from the MFA in resolving a ten-year dispute between Khilandar and Zograf monasteries over the land plots of two Slavic monasteries on Mount Athos, which was considered in a Turkish court and attracted the close attention of European diplomats. Special efforts by Russian diplomats were aimed at reconciling the Serbs and Bulgarians and overcoming the Greco-Russian crisis on Athos, which reached its apogee in the mid-1870s. The development of ethno-national (Russian-Serbian, Greek-Russian, and Bulgarian-Greek) relations is considered in the context of the Eastern Question in the third quarter of the 19th century.