The article discusses the semantic difference between the singular and the plural forms of the word νόμος (law) in the Second Book of the Maccabees. In Greek translations of books of the Hebrew canon, the plural νόμοι is used extremely rarely; normally νόμος is used in the singular (there is only one Law of Moses in the same way as there is one God and one Temple). In classical Greek, on the contrary, νόμοι is a standard designation for a legislative corpus. In the Apocrypha both singular νόμος and plural νόμοι are used, but, except in 2 Macc, no system has hither to been proposed. The present article argues that 2 Maccshows a theologically important semantic opposition between what was the norm for the Septuagint (νόμος as, primarily, the unique Law of Moses) and what was the norm in classical Greek usage (νόμοι as the corpus of traditional laws).

The focus of the article is on the meaning and use of the Greek word ἀνατολή (“sunrise”, “east”) in the Septuagint as compared with Classical and early Christian literature, as well as the language of papyri. Thisword was taken by the translators of the Septuagint as an equivalent for the Hebrew צֶמַח (“sprout”, “growth”) in three messianic prophecies (Jer צֶַ 23:5, Zech 3:8, 6:12). Explaining this discrepancy between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, scholars have pointed out that the choiceof the translator could have been influenced by the Aramaic meaning צֶמַח “to shine”. Against this hypothesis, it is argued in the of the root present article that the meaning “sprout”, “shoot” for ἀνατολή can be considered as standard in contemporary Alexandrian Koine.

Since 1970 the existence of cultic prostitution in the ancient Near East is being disputed. This paper presents a review of modern interpretations of the most discussed texts that were formerlyunderstood as an evidence of cultic prostitution. The following textsare discussed: Herodotus Klio 1.199; the hymn of Sumerian king Iddin-Dagan A 180-192; Akkadian texts in which the terms ḳadištu ‘priestess’ and ḫarimtu ‘prostitute’ are used side by side; texts of the Hebrew Biblethat contain the term ḳǝdēšā (Gen 38:21-22, Deut 23:18, Hos 4:14). Inconclusion an assessment of the current consensus is made.

This paper proposes an identification of the author of the 1^st redaction of the Homeric Cento (1HC). Comparison of 1HC with the verse Foreword of Bishop Patricius permits to conclude that the Patricius version was probably enlarged (the Latin Vergilian cento by Proba beingregarded as an example). On the other hand, comparing 1HC with the verse Foreword by the Empress Eudocia makes it clear that the versionin question includes features noticed by her, i.e. a large amount of “double-quoted” Homeric lines, which give a ‘Homeric flavour’ to 1HC. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the author of the 1HC is Eudocia.

This article focuses on the role of olfactory images in visionary literature. The main sources are three Cistercian works: the Liber miraculorum of Herbert of Clairvaux, the Dialogus miraculorum of Caesarius of Heisterbach, and the Liber revelationum of Richalm of Schoental. Sensuous perception of Grace is an important motif in visionary experiences, which gives them legitimacy and an emotional quality. Mystical experience, combined with olfactory impressions, gives the hero and reader a sense of the ‘real time’ event. A fragrance often becomes the mean of determining the presence or absence of Grace, because it is more difficult to falsify a smell than a visual image.

The article investigates the plot structure of medieval French farce. Several groups of plots are singled out, the largest of them being family farce; with several subgroups (a farce with a lover, a family conflict without a lover, parents vs. children). A completely new type of plot organisation of farce is shown in comparison with classical comedy.

Using the example of the works of a well-known British scholar, Frances Yates, the present author analyses a rational attitude to the so-called “Western esotericism”. Yates was among the first researchers to study the esoteric (“hermeticist-cubalistic” by her terminology) element in Renaissance and early Modern time culture. She has devoted four books to this topic. Yates’s approach is considered through the prism of a few key themes: esotericism and the scientific revolution, esotericism and artistic creativity, the history of John Dee. The author places Yates’s ideas in the general context of a rational view of Western esotericism in the second half of the twentieth century.