Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

By The Power Vesta-Ed In Me: The Power Of The Vestal Virgins And Those Who Took Advantage Of It, Elena M. Stanley Apr 2022

By The Power Vesta-Ed In Me: The Power Of The Vestal Virgins And Those Who Took Advantage Of It, Elena M. Stanley

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

Vestal Virgins were high ranking members of the Roman elite. Due to the priestesses’ elevated standing, Romans made use of their inherent privileges. Through analyses of case studies from ancient authors and archaeology, I identify three ways Romans wielded Vestal power: familial connections, financial and material resources, and political sway. I end by exploring cases of crimen incesti, the crime of unchastity, which highlight all three forms. The Vestals were influential women who shared access to power in different ways. The Vestals were active participants in the social and political world of Rome.


Greco-Roman Paganism And Women Leaders: The Foundation Of Early Christian Art, Rowan Murry May 2021

Greco-Roman Paganism And Women Leaders: The Foundation Of Early Christian Art, Rowan Murry

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore the impact of Greco-Roman pagan motifs as well as women leaders and officials on the development of Early Christian art by analyzing catacomb paintings, sarcophagi, and minor arts such as finger rings and carved gemstones. I also discuss surviving primary sources written by Tertullian, Eusebius, St. Jerome, and Clement of Alexandria, to gain a better understanding of anti-art views in the first few centuries of the Church’s rise to power. These anti-art sentiments were often rooted in attempts to disassociate themselves from pagan practices while Early Christian art was emerging amongst the lower classes who …


Women In Livy And Tacitus, Stephen Alexander Prevoznik May 2021

Women In Livy And Tacitus, Stephen Alexander Prevoznik

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Although often neglected in Roman literature, women play important roles where they do appear. This is especially true in Livy's history called the Ab Urbe Condita or "From the Founding of the City" and Tacitus' work the Annals. For reasons I will clarify more in my presentation, Livy uses women as examples. Some are examples that the readers should follow. Lavinia, Lucretia, and the Sabine women all exemplify something good. Lavinia is noble in her aim, Lucretia is a model for chastity, and the Sabine women show the value of harmony. Livy also presents women who are bad examples. …


We're All A Little Bit Gay: Female Homoeroticism In Greek Art, Devon A. Matson Jan 2021

We're All A Little Bit Gay: Female Homoeroticism In Greek Art, Devon A. Matson

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study provides a close analysis of women in artwork from Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece (700-30 BC). Such images have traditionally been considered from exclusively heteronormative and androcentric perspectives. I employ queer and feminist theory in an attempt to provide a new understanding of the images present on these examples of ancient art which showcase women’s relationships. I examine a terracotta figure, a stamnos, a psykter, and a cup that display women interacting with one another. Their interactions demonstrate both homosocial and homoerotic relations. In an effort to reach a broader audience, I have curated a digital exhibit that …


Etruscan Biophilia Viewed Through Magical Amber, Greta Rose Koshenina May 2020

Etruscan Biophilia Viewed Through Magical Amber, Greta Rose Koshenina

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore the usage and purpose of amber objects in burials from Etruria, specifically from the late Villanovan Period (ca. 800-720 BCE) to the Orientalizing Period (ca. 720-580 BCE). I have followed a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches as well as visual analysis of amber grave goods. While there has been extensive research on the medicinal and ritual purposes of amber grave goods from excavated Etruscan tombs, I show that there was likely a specific interest in amber that contains organic inclusions likely because of the Etruscans’ interest in nature. I examine the presence and …


The Exceptional Case Of Plancia Magna: (Re)Analyzing The Role Of A Roman Benefactress, Barbara F. Caceres-Cerda May 2018

The Exceptional Case Of Plancia Magna: (Re)Analyzing The Role Of A Roman Benefactress, Barbara F. Caceres-Cerda

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis analyzes the extravagant renovation of the Hellenistic gate complex funded by Plancia Magna, an elite woman from Perge, a city in the Roman province of Pamphylia. By using Plancia Magna as a case study, I hope to use her patronage of an outstanding architectural program to examine the dynamic roles elite women held under the Roman Empire in the late 1st century to 2nd century CE. Euergetism played a key role in developing cultural standards and civic obligations. Predominantly a male dominated practice, Plancia Magna stands out as one of its active and independent participants by commissioning the …


French Women In Art: Reclaiming The Body Through Creation/Les Femmes Artistes Françaises : La Réclamation Du Corps À Travers La Création, Liatris Hethcoat Dec 2016

French Women In Art: Reclaiming The Body Through Creation/Les Femmes Artistes Françaises : La Réclamation Du Corps À Travers La Création, Liatris Hethcoat

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The research I have conducted for my French Major Senior Thesis is a culmination of my passion for and studies of both French language and culture and the history and practice of Visual Arts. I have examined, across the history of art, the representation of women, and concluded that until the 20th century, these representations have been tools employed by the makers of history and those at the top of the patriarchal system, used to control women’s images and thus women themselves. I survey these representations, which are largely created by men—until the 20th century. I discuss pre-historical …


Ovid's Insight Into The Minds Of Abandoned Women, Rachel A. Bier Mar 2013

Ovid's Insight Into The Minds Of Abandoned Women, Rachel A. Bier

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Mythical heroines, such as Penelope of the Odyssey, often took minor roles in literature, ones in which their characters' complexities were not addressed. Ovid revived the heroines of tradition and gave them voices which expressed realistic feelings and thoughts in his Heriodes. In these fictional letters to absent lovers, Ovid creates realistic characters, each of whom reacts to her abandonment with an insightful feminine voice. By examining the heriones' voice and the ways in which the Heriodes differs from the literary tradition, and by considering the effects of the epistolary genre on the characters' voices, I argue that Ovid …


The Effect Of Misogyny On The Persecution Of Women As Practitioners Of Magic In Ancient Greece, Rome, Medieval And Early Modern Europe, Mark J. Mangione Apr 2011

The Effect Of Misogyny On The Persecution Of Women As Practitioners Of Magic In Ancient Greece, Rome, Medieval And Early Modern Europe, Mark J. Mangione

Honors Bachelor of Arts

This paper will look at the history of magic from the time of the ancient Greeks, to its development and integration into the culture of the Romans, and finally its evolution, downfall, and outlawing in the Medieval and Early Modern Europe. More specifically, this paper intends to focus upon the gender of practitioners of magic. There is a discrepancy between classical literature and non-literary sources of who actually were practitioners of magic. Women prevail as practitioners in Greek and Roman literature but non-literary sources say that men too were practitioners of magic. Glimpses of misogynistic thoughts can be found in …