Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons^™

Poetic Justice: Apology Overdue, Stephen Faison

Sophia and Philosophia

Jurors of our republic, I do not know whether you were persuaded by the case made against me, but I certainly hope that you were not. Some of what the prosecutor told you is accurate, though much of it is untrue. To put it another way, some of his facts are correct, yet the conclusions he presented were usually misleading distortions and in some cases simply incorrect. If the indictment is clarified to its essentials, I am accused of corrupting the young and not believing in the gods in whom the city believes. I intend to show that these charges …

Western Classics In Modern Japan (German), Frank Jacob

Publications and Research

A presentation paper (invited guest lecture) delivered at the Institute of Ancient History at Marburg University, Germany, July 12, 2016.

The Case For Another Son Of P. Quinctilius Varus: A Re-Examination Of The Textual And Scholarly Traditions Around Joseph. Bj 2.68 And Aj 17.288, Daniel J. Crosby

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

This paper addresses the issue of the historicity of another, older son of P. Quinctilius Varus who is attested in Joseph. AJ 17.288, but not in the parallel version at BJ 2.68. Modern scholarship, as evidenced by Ladislav Vidman (1998) and Klaus Wachtel (1999), finds itself at a loss as to which opinion, that of Walther John (1958) or of Meyer Reinhold (1972), to support. Whereas John rejects the evidence for an older son of Varus in AJ and proposes L. Nonius Asprenas (cos. suff. 6 CE) instead, Reinhold tersely rebuts John, supporting the validity of the text. This article …

Saving Socrates: A New Socratic Portrait, Anthony Lobrace

Honors Theses

In 399 B.C. Socrates was indicted on charges of asebeia, or impiety and corrupting the youth. He was brought before a jury of some 500 Athenians in a type of trial known as agon timetos, or “trial of assessment”. Casting their votes, the vast majority of the jurors found Socrates guilty of the offenses he was accused of. A week later he drank a cup of hemlock and died in his prison cell. In what follows I will draw a new portrait of Socrates. This will be constructed from details found in Aristophanes’ the Clouds, as well as Socratic dialogues. …

Modern Interpretations Of Ancient Roman Mosaics, Emily Pastore

Honors Theses

Ancient Roman mosaics have much to offer the modern viewer. This thesis takes into account modern archaeology and conservation techniques in studying and classifying these works of art. Since the thesis is focused on comparing the histories of and the mosaics found in the Ancient Roman port cities of Populonia and Ostia, it begins with the historical background of both cities. With close ties to the sea and to various religious cults, both cities held much in common, which can be seen in the mosaics they designed. I then discuss mosaic conservation and classification techniques in chapters two and three. …

Game Of Thrones And Ancient Rome, Alexander Arnold

Honors Theses

Ancient Roman society to this day influences different aspects of modern life. One of these aspects includes visual media and entertainment. Renowned by ancient sources and secondary sources as one of the most successful and powerful empires throughout history, the actions of the Romans inspire spectacles of amusement on contemporary award-winning movies and television shows. This would include movies like Gladiator and Spartacus along with television shows like Rome. This study investigates the award-winning, HBO television series Game of Thrones. The show is adapted from a novel series entitled A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George …

Boudicca's Rebellion Against The Roman Empire In 60 Ad, Daniel Cohen

Honors Theses

This paper examines the rebellion of Boudicca, the queen of the Iceni tribe, during the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britannia in 60 AD. The study shows that had Boudicca not changed her winning strategy in one key battle, she could have forced the Roman Empire to withdraw their presence from Britannia, at least until it was prudent to invade again. This paper analyzes the few extant historical accounts available on Boudicca, namely those of the Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio, to explore the effectiveness of tactics on both sides of the rebellion. The sources reveal that Boudicca enjoyed initial …

The Romanization Of Romania: A Look At The Influence Of The Roman Military On Romanian History And Heritage, Colleen Ann Lovely

Honors Theses

This thesis looks at the Roman military and how it was the driving force which spread Roman culture. The Roman military stabilized regions, providing protection and security for regions to develop culturally and economically. Roman soldiers brought with them their native cultures, languages, and religions, which spread through their interactions and connections with local peoples and the communities in which they were stationed. This thesis looks at that impact on the Halmyris Fortress and at the great province of Dacia. The effects this “Romanization” of the region influenced the culture, language, and heritage of the later Romanian state. Within this …

Democracy And Citzenship: A Counterintuitive Relationship Examined Through Ancient Athens And The Contemporary Crisis, Shivangi Mehta

Honors Theses

Ancient Athens is often valued for being the birthplace of democracy, a form of government that is often believed to be “by the people, for the people.” With democracy came the emergence of citizenship. In ancient Athens, citizenship was created to outline the political community by defining who belonged to the community and who was excluded from it. Through time, as countries have been claiming they are becoming more democratic, more restrictions have been imposed. These restrictions have created boundaries, thus excluding individuals from citizenship status causing them to lose their rights and abilities, specifically in areas such as political …

Caesars And Corleones: Augustan Rome And The Godfather, Edythe Malara

Honors Theses

What do The Godfather and the Roman Empire have in common? This thesis will compare the Augustan period of the Roman Empire and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Themes such as power, religion, family, and morality play a large role in The Godfather as well as in the life of Augustus. Even the personal character of Augustus seems to parallel the character of Don Vito Corleone. First, a historical background is provided about Augustus, the empire he ran, and how he ran it. I examine excerpts from famous authors of antiquity such as Suetonius, Cassius Dio, and Horace. I also …

Suburban Space And The City Of Rome: Liminality Fluidity And Differentiation, Henry Scherck

Honors Theses

The suburbs of the ancient Rome are a geographical area which is difficult to define, but a space which is filled with interactions between social classes which differ from those which exist within the urban space of Rome. Conceptualizing the suburbs as a space which is utilized for spectacle and as a means of exerting physical influence outside of the city of Rome, serving as a space which operates as a blank canvas as opposed to Rome as a palimpsest, this research surveys the Sallustian Gardens, the Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker and the Villa of Hadrian. Using research on …

Metamorphoses (15.178) For Violin Clarinet Cello And Piano, Max Caplan

Honors Theses

A chamber music composition, approximately eight minutes long, for the above instrumentation. The title refers to a line from Ovid's epic, which reads, "All things are fluid, and every shape is born to change." Ovid puts the words in the mouth of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, who soliloquizes on the meaning of life, the nature of time, and the interconnectedness of all things. The speech centers around his ideas of reincarnation (either literal or metaphorical), which, as a kind of metamorphosis, links the passage thematically to the rest of the poem. Metamorphoses (15.178) reflects this central notion of change …

The World Of Elagabalus, Jay Carriker

History Theses

After his assassination in 222 the Roman Emperor Elagabalus served as Rome's whipping boy--an embodiment of all the vices that led to the decline and fall of Rome; but through placing his policies in the context of a a Julio-Severan Dynasty, the religious boundaries that he disregarded reveal a Varian Moment as a critical period in the Easternization of Roman religion which makes him one of the the most significant figures in Roman history.

Language Contact And Identity In Roman Britain, Robert Jackson Woodcock

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Language is one of the most significant aspects of cultural identity. This thesis examines the evidence of languages in contact in Roman Britain in order to determine the role that language played in defining the identities of the inhabitants of this Roman province.

All forms of documentary evidence from monumental stone epigraphy to ownership marks scratched onto pottery are analyzed for indications of bilingualism and language contact in Roman Britain. The language and subject matter of the Vindolanda writing tablets from a Roman army fort on the northern frontier are analyzed for indications of bilingual interactions between Roman soldiers and …

Roman Archaism In Depictions Of Apollo In The Augustan Period, Alisha Sanders

Honors Projects

At the end of the first century BCE, in order to spread the values and concepts that he wanted to perpetuate in his new political order, Augustus Caesar revived an archaistic art style based on that of the archaic period of ancient Greece. It was in this time that the Roman Empire was being established, and Augustus was taking sole power of the Roman world. This study is focused on works that include depictions of Apollo because one of the first and most studied examples of Augustus’s use of Roman archaism was the decorative program of the Temple of Apollo …

Carthaginian Mercenaries: Soldiers Of Fortune, Allied Conscripts, And Multi-Ethnic Armies In Antiquity, Kevin Patrick Emery

Student Scholarship

The story of the mercenary armies of Carthage is one of incompetence and disaster, followed by clever innovation. It is a story not just of battles and betrayal, but also of the interactions between dissimilar peoples in a multiethnic army trying to coordinate, fight, and win, while commanded by a Punic officer corps which may or may not have been competent. Carthaginian mercenaries are one piece of a larger narrative about the struggle between Carthage and Rome for dominance in the Western Mediterranean, and their history illustrates the evolution of the mercenary system employed by the Carthaginian Empire to extend …

Exploring The Contemporary Use And Understanding Of Precedent In Architectural Design Via A Comparative Analysis Of Brunelleschi And Le Corbusier, Shaelyn J. Vinson

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

As a student of architecture, conducting precedent research before diving into the design phase of a project is something that I am very familiar with. But, following each project’s precedent research, is often an overwhelming feeling of uselessness for the material found. For each project, assignments call for students to find a certain number of buildings on which to base their project. While historically this step makes sense, 21^st-century architecture students are taught that there is no “new” architecture, and that copying and collaging together existing buildings is the best way to achieve a successful design. This …

Skyscrapers Of Rome, Elizabeth B. Condie

Young Historians Conference

After the death of his mentor, Julius Caesar, in 27 B.C.E., Caesar Augustus scrambled to establish his power over the people. One of the tactics he used to exert his power was architecture. Throughout the years, succeeding emperors followed his example to use architecture as a means to control public image, maintain military and political authority, and display their divine power. The Roman forum, the Coliseum, and the Arch of Titus give insight into the control of the Roman Emperors. From these buildings sprang many different types of architecture, that are still used to display the power of states and …

What’S Your Temperament: The Humoral Theory’S Influence On Medicine In Ancient Greece, Riley Sebers

Young Historians Conference

Prior to the birth of Hippocrates of Cos in 460 BCE, medicine in ancient Greece revolved around the gods and magic. During Hippocrates lifetime, he remastered an old practice called the humoral theory: an idea stating that every individual person has a unique balance of substances called humors in their body. The balance of these humors is what keeps a man healthy, and if a specific amount is disturbed, sickness sets in. This theory allowed physicians in ancient Greece to move away from dominantly using magic to treat illness and start using the humoral theory instead.

Women In Power: The Unique Position Of Vestal Virgins In Ancient Rome, Elizabeth D. Walker

Young Historians Conference

The Vestal Virgins, priestesses in Ancient Rome, were placed in an atypical position of power. They were given many religious responsibilities that replaced the traditional expectations for women of Antiquity. This cult of the goddess Vesta lasted for the majority of Roman civilization, seemingly serving as an argument for an advancement in the rights of ancient women. Though the Vestal Virgins seem to be an outstanding exception to the rule of female oppression throughout history, further examination suggests that the role of Vestal priestess was simply another mode through which Roman men could control their female counterparts.