Non Litarary Evidence

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Discuss how the non-literary or documentary evidence (coins and inscriptions) has

advanced our knowledge and understanding of specific events in Greek and Roman

history.

Much of the Greek and Roman writers information on historical events were limited

or used for propaganda and mostly subjective and many literary sources have been

lost over time or are yet to be found. It is therefore that we cannot only rely on literary

evidence for our attempts to reconstruct history. Because we want an objective

reconstruction of what really happened and that literary sources are not sufficient by

themselves, we need to use all the information that we can find and this is were non-

literary evidence plays a role in the reconstruction of evidence.

Under non-literary evidence we find the following categories; Archaeology,

epigraphic, numismatic and papyrological evidence. These non-literary sources we

can use to check literary sources.

An major non-literary source that supplied us with invaluable information are

epigraphic evidence. These are inscriptions incised on durable and hard material.

Our reconstruction of the organization of the Delian League formed in the 5 th century

BC comes mostly from inscriptions. The Delian League was formed in 478/7 BC as

answer to the Persian threat of invasion. It was also the fist official step of Hellenism.

Through these inscriptions, especially the inscriptions we today call the Athenian

Tribute lists, we were able to reconstruct the organization of the Delian Legue. These

inscriptions were recorded annually from 454BC after the treasury of the league has

been moved from the island Delos to Athens. The inscriptions are a systematic


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account that follows the conversion of the League to an Athenian Empire that would

lead to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War.

We also learn that from these inscriptions, that after the Peace of Callias there were no

major tribute contributions made and that tax on allied shipping was lowered by 5%

from 414BC-410BC. These inscriptions were essential information on reconstructing

the organization of the League and a major contribution for Greek history.

Another interesting inscription gives us a complete description of the peace between

the Greek city-states and Philip of Macedonia and the creation of the League of

Corinth. It clearly states the responsibilities of its members and their loyalty towards

each other and the confirmation of Philip II as hegemon of Greece.

One of the inscriptions that have most fascinated me was an inscription on Pontius

Pilate. Most people are familiar with the Biblical story of the crucifixion of Christ.

While the Bible confirms that Pilate ordered the crucifixion, Roman historical writes

such as Tacitus and Josephus claims that Pilate held the his office of procurator.

This would imply that Pilate could not order an execution, as his title could not

condemn Christ to his death. These two contradiction were finally resolved when an

inscription was found that stated the title of Pilate was, in fact, Praefectus Iudaeae.

In this position Pontius Pilate was indeed capable in giving the order that condemned

Jesus Christ to the cross.

Here we can again refer to the fact that non-literary sources can be used as a method

to check literary sources.


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Another good example of this is the epigraphic evidence for a speech of the emperor

Claudius regarding the admittance of Gauls to the senate. Tacitus recorded this speech

in his Annales and we can therefore check the credibility of Tacitus with this

epigraphic evidence. Tacitus account was very accurate but at the same time

demonstrated his liberal means of writing. He changed some of the order around and

rearranged a few things while shortening a few other things.

Numistic evidence is coins that served as an exchange medium and source of

payment. The numistic evidence provides us with valuable information on the

political, economic and religious history of antiquity, particularly as a propaganda

instrument. The dating, inscriptions, pictures and attributes to the gods on the coins all

depict some kind of message or propaganda from the state that distribute these coins.

For the sate the coin was one of the greatest means to spread their propaganda and

confirm their authority and commemorate great achievements. A good example of this

would be the Hellenistic coin issued to commemorate the naval victory of Demetrius

over the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy I in 306 BC.

Now the image of an emperor or king on a coin has specific importance since for it

symbolically expresses authority of the person on the coin. Trojan commemorated his

military victories and his authority over client kingdoms on his coins. Hadrian again

celebrated his great building achievements on his coins.

With the image of an emperor on a coin, the soldiers were constantly reminded who

paid them for their services. Most emperors of the Roman Empire used this for

propaganda.


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A coin struck after the battles of Salamis and Plataea depicts the official state religion

of Athens by having on the coin the symbol of Athena (an owl) and also the image of

Athena herself. This demonstrates that Athena aided them in the battles against the

Persians and that she was patron of the state. Thus, going against the state meant

going against the goddess as well. This clearly shows us how an important role

religion played in ancient Greece. It also shows the historian how religion was used as

propaganda.

A coin struck in 66-70 BC by emperor Sestertius commemorates the end of the Jewish

revolt. It sends out a warning to other provinces not to rebel and confirms Romes

authority over her provinces. Again these coins clearly demonstrate to the historian

how successful coins were for propaganda and from it we learn how the ancients used

them for the advantage in political aspects of every day life.

It is because these coins reflect the institutions recognized and sanctioned by the state

that they are of such value to us. They indirectly tell us much about the religious and

political system. Other than the political and religious systems coins also gives us

general information on ancient money but, also, we are able to measure the economic

strength of the state by looking at the purity of the coins.

(Archaeology for interest sake)

Fantastic examples of archaeology that has provided us with rich information on

Roman culture are the excavations of Pompeii. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius over

the Roman city Pompeii has created a time capsule and beautifully preserved the


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citys every day life. Through these excavations we learned much about Roman social

life, economy and architecture that would have been lost without archaeology.

Through the essay above it has been made clear the essentian information that

documentary evidence supply to the world of the historian. Without it our

reconstruction of the past would be full of holes and gaps, more so than there are

already.


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Bibliography

M. Ray, Living in earliest Greece, Faber and Faber 1969

R.L. Green, Ancient Greece, Rupert Hart-Davis Educational Publications 1969

Prof Ursula Vogel, Prof CPT Naude, A Tronson, Ancient History, Study Guide 2 for

ANH201-S, (Evidence for Greek and Roman History)

Non Litarary Evidence

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