Elena Santagati’s research while affiliated with University of Messina and other places

From ancient sources, we learn that typically, a politician condemned to exile would withdraw to private life, waiting for the period of interdiction to end. For Pisistratus, on the contrary, sources tell us that during his exiles, he distinguished himself by conducting intense activity, both politically and economically. My contribution aims to demonstrate, in particular, how the periods of exile were exploited by the future tyrant of Athens to intensify his expansionist activity. The fruits of this activity, detached from the actions of the city and configured as a ‘private' initiative, were made available to the entire citizenry upon ‘return' to the city and proved to be particularly valuable for the growth of the city of Athen.

The Macedonian Kings and the Two Wreaths of Zeus This paper aims to investigate the reasons why, since the reign of Philip II, the “national” Zeus, venerated on Olympus and Dion and characterized by the oak crown, was abandoned in favor of the Olympian Zeus of Elis, characterized by the olive/oleaster wreath. We notice that while the members of the royal family display, in life and death, an oak wreath as an insignia of their kingship, and at the same time also as a symbol of their highest divinity, the kings themselves issue the image of the panhellenic god with an olive/laurel wreath on their coins.

In the ancient world, visual and verbal σύνθημα appears to be of enormous importance during conflicts. It is one of the elements pertaining to the management and organization of political intelligence. In particular, the signal, declined in the verbal form, for its fundamental function of ‘recognition’ to validate the belonging of a soldier to a particular side, had to be chosen with great care. Its use appears to have intensified and, at the same time, perfected, according to what can be gathered from historiographical evidence and from military treatises, at the time of the transition between the Classical and Hellenistic eras, when the way of waging war also underwent an important transformation.

The gathering of archival materials always precedes the work on the items in every collection. Unfortunately, many documents have been lost, collections have been scattered, but their impact on culture and science has remained, as a deep interest in the ancient world, including its material products. Perhaps this appeal of the ancient world comes from Italy, thanks to its history, monuments and culture. Among the greatest contributors to spreading knowledge of and fascination with antiquity were painters, especially those who wanted to surround themselves with period objects when creating scenes set in ancient times. There are also collections devoted to classical art and literature. The book I have in front of me is an excellent mirror of antiquity collecting. It presents its history, the reasons for the rise of the fascination with antiquity, the history of individual collections, as well as methods of searching for them. Moreover, almost every article outlines the political circumstances of the time that affected collectors and their actions. This book will most probably find its way to the bookshelves of archaeologists, art historians, historians, museologists, as well as numerous gatherers and collectors.