Digital Commons Network^™

Leonardo’S Ancient Inspiration, Willem N. Roelandts

CAFE Symposium 2023

Investigating the hidden ancient inspiration in Leonardo de Vinci’s 'Battle of Anghiari' and it’s significance to the city of Florence. How and why Leonardo chose to incorporate Greco-Roman aesthetics into his art.

A Female Pharaoh And The Emperor’S Wife: Hatshepsut, Julia Domna, And Female Authority In Antiquity, Gabriella E. Ramalho

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis analyzes how historical notions of masculinity and femininity shaped perceptions of power between the Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut and Roman empress Julia Domna. Both rulers carefully created visual narratives of masculinity and femininity to leverage respect from their citizens, in accordance with what was contextually appropriate for their respective societies.

It will be shown that there are blatant disconnects between how others perceived them and how they wished to be portrayed. Hatshepsut, a rare female pharaoh, depicted herself in the regalia of a male king with a false ceremonial beard, scepters and crowns. Domna was described as the …

Ovid's Caeneus As A Queer Hero: Understanding Gender And Gender Variance In The Ancient Mediterranean., Rj Palmer

Theses and Dissertations--Modern and Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures

Caeneus, as written in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, is a notable blend of ancient and Hellenistic versions of the myth. Ovid’s Caeneus can be understood as a transgender man, since he was assigned female at birth, but asks for his gender to be changed by the god Neptune, and goes on to live the rest of his life with the body, appearance, and social roles of a man. Ovid incorporates Caeneus’ trans identity with his use of grammatical gender endings for Caeneus, using masculine gender for Caeneus except when discussing his pre-transition childhood, or when the centaurs address him mockingly while fighting. …

Artistic Representation And Self Esteem, Brianna Davis

Honors College Theses

Dependent upon the constructs of the perception of self and the viewpoint of others, humans base the value of their self esteem on outer perspectives rather than internal ones. For this thesis in particular, the outer perspective to be examined is representation in the field of the arts. This thesis project explores the process of self esteem, artistic representation in the arts, how one affects the other, a history of the correlation between the two, and ways to inform and educate the masses with the tools necessary to advance representation in the arts thus raising the self esteem of its …

A Virtual Reality Educational Game For The Ethics Of Cultural Heritage Repatriation, James Hutson, Ben Fulcher

Faculty Scholarship

The technology of virtual reality and the gamification of education has had proven educational benefits and has the ability to immerse students in a participatory learning experience. To capitalize on the strengths of the new digital medium, including immersion, engagement, and presence, a new educational game aims to teach the ethics of cultural heritage repatriation through the lens of art history. The use of games to address current issues and conceptualize a framework for understanding the complexities of geopolitics is not new but aligning these considerations with the pressing need to protect cultural heritage as seen in modern-day Ukraine is. …

Assembling Enslaved Lives: Labor, Consumption, And Landscapes In The Northern Shenandoah Valley, Matthew Clark Greer

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation is a study of the lives of some of the people enslaved on rural plantations and farmsteads in the northern Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Scholars did not widely acknowledge the presence of slavery in the Valley before the 1990s, and this is the first work to provide an in-depth view of the lives of enslaved Shenandoahans before 1860. Specifically, this project answers two questions: what was life like for enslaved people in the Shenandoah Valley, and how did they shape the region's political economies. Data for this project comes from archaeological excavations at the main enslaved quartering …

Freyre’S Plantation Playground: The Changing Landscape Of The Sugar Plantation Monjope, Catherine Elizabeth Lavoy

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation investigates the changing landscape of the sugar plantation Monjope in Pernambuco, Brazil from the mid-seventeenth to the end of the twentieth century. I examine this plantation’s changing landscape as part of a number of larger social, economic and environmental forces; in particular the development of racially based labor. Established in the sixteenth century, Monjope was one of the many Brazilian sugar plantations that relied on African slavery for labor until the end of the nineteenth century. I argue the plantation’s built environment in conjunction with the larger plantation landscape was part of a global trend of controlling labor …

The Coming Of The Anatolians: Mobility, Conflict, And Piracy In The Early Bronze Age Aegean, Natalie M. Yeagley

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the possibility that piracy was practiced in the Aegean Sea region in the Early Bronze Age (c. 3000-2000 BCE), by utilizing archaeological evidence to examine the prevalence and nature of violence in this region in this period. Piracy was most likely an aspect of the great surge in mobility, wealth, and conflict that characterized the extension of the Anatolian Trade Network (ATN) from the eastern Aegean into the central and western Aegean around 2550/2500-2100 BCE. I will trace the movement and examine the impact of tangible materials such as Anatolian architecture, metals, ceramics, and ships, and their …

Weaving In Mythology: Women’S Agency And Portrayed Character, Molly Mcleod

Honors Theses

Although weaving would have been a daily activity for many people in the ancient Greek world, the nature of the practice remains somewhat unknown to the modern view. The archaeological record contains loom weights and spindle whorls, but the looms and textiles themselves have almost entirely decomposed. Scholars have attempted to reconstruct what weaving looked like in the ancient world through a combination of literary sources, archaeological methods, and visual representations. Based on this research, and in order to better understand the process and difficulties of ancient weaving, I have constructed and woven fabric on a model of an ancient …

Preserving The Polychromy Of Antiquity: An Analysis Of Collections Stewardship And Colored Classical Antiquity Sculptures, Angelina D'Angelo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the past centuries, scholars have worked to understand that the remaining pristine white marble of ancient Greece and Rome was once brightly colored. Through archeology, classical studies, art history, and conservation science research, several discoveries have been uncovered regarding polychromy and classical antiquity sculptures. In a parallel research track, museum professionals refine their understanding of collections stewardship, making preservation policies and procedures beneficial for various object types. Collections stewardship practices and polychromy research must converge to care for the remaining color on these classical antiquity sculptures. This research project works to connect the fields of polychromy research and collections …

The Greco-Roman Influence On Early Christian Art, Tim Ganshirt

Honors Bachelor of Arts

It cannot be denied that early Christian communities used familiar Greco-Roman symbols, images, icons, and ideas in their own ways. For this reason, it will be necessary to examine why these communities in Rome took parts of Greco-Roman society that were familiar to them and used them in a different way, in addition to exploring the varying degrees of effect that these images had on the Christian communities themselves and on the society around them. By “early Christian communities,” I mean Christians living in Rome at the beginning of the third century until the late fifth century.[1] For these …

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.

Humanity And Nature: From Vergil To Modernity, Aaron Ticknor

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Though ecology is a relatively new field of study, the human relationship to nature has shifted and changed throughout history. In antiquity, it has been understood by scholarly consensus that there was a more general understanding of nature as a living force with spirit, for example the Roman animist concept of numen, and humanity being one with nature. In modernity, however, under the influence of Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon, nature is seen as completely separate from humanity and devoid of any value beyond the economic value of resources. Later philosophers such as Nietzsche lamented this shift, advocating for …

Evidence Of The Erotic In The House Of The Vettii, Ashley Franker-Shuh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis I examine the erotic evidence from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii. I analyze the erotic wall-paintings in the House of the Vettii (located in rooms b, p, n, t, and x¹) and the erotic graffiti found within the house (located in rooms v and a). I also consider individual and overarching themes found within the erotic wall-paintings in order to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the artwork and identify a number of themes in the decorative programme: erotic abandonment, illicit desire, and demigods that use sexual violence against …

Cultural Collapse Of The Seleucid Empire, John Paul Mastandrea

Honors Bachelor of Arts

This paper seeks to explore the causes for the collapse of the Seleucid Empire following the death of Alexander the Great. The reasons for this collapse were numerous, but primarily focus on the administrative difficulties inherited from the Persian empire, the vast cultural differences within the empire, and the priorities of the Seleucid rulers. In order to show a counter point of a Greek state that succeeded in ruling a foreign people, the exploration of Ptolemaic Egypt is put alongside the Seleucids. The Egyptian Greeks succeeded in all of the ways that the Seleucids failed. By putting these two states …

The Name And Its Significance: An Examination Of Names In Aristotle’S And Plato’S Philosophy Of Language, Matthew Blain

Honors Bachelor of Arts

In the early 20th century, philosophy underwent a “linguistic turn,” in which philosophy, humanities, and even sciences made a redoubled focus on language itself. This turn was quite comprehensive, focusing on nearly every aspect of language such as meaning, reference, truth and falsity, logic, and the connection of language and reality. This renewed focus garnered a significant amount of attention and thought in the 20th century by some of its most prominent thinkers of both the analytic and even continental traditions. In the analytic tradition, Wittgenstein, in his Tractatus, saw language as the logical limit of our known world, out …

Feminine Monstrosity: Medusa Through The Ages, Meredith Kate Wolkom

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

Revealing The Black Form: Black Bodies In Nineteenth-Century French Orientalist Visual Art, Nathanael Amir Justin Lapierre

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In the nineteenth century, Orientalism functioned as a Western tool for dominating and restructuring the perception of the Orient. In France, where Orientalism found favor amongst artists, Orientalist works were produced in the literary and visual arts to inform and control the narrative about the East. Influenced by the Napoleonic imperial conquests and an increased French presence in the East, Orientalism became an integral movement in the French visual arts. The relationship between France and the Orient was one of power and domination, which was mirrored in that between the French and the Blacks.

As a part of the Western …

Molding Diana: A Critical Analysis And Catalog Of A Selection Of Lamps From The Turnure Collection, Peyton Kendall

Honors Theses

In 2019, James Turnure, Samuel H. Kress Professor of Art History Emeritus, donated a collection of antiquities to Bucknell University’s Samek Art Museum. Among the artifacts were seventeen Roman oil lamps, seven of which were chosen to serve as the basis for this thesis. The selected lamps are included in the attached catalog, representing their first formal study and publication. This thesis thus serves to introduce the lamps into the known archaeological corpus, providing greater accessibility to future researchers. Accompanying the catalog are three chapters dealing in the modern reception of small finds, the ancient Roman oil lamp industry, and …

Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve: Expressing Hecuba’S Emotions In Artistic Retellings, Marie Gruver

Undergraduate Research Awards

Hecuba has famously been regarded as the secondary character of the Fall of Troy and not as the maternal symbol of the city’s downfall itself as she deserves. Forever the overlooked heroine, I argue that it is not Euripides’ Hecuba per se, but readings of her story by empathetic artists, creators, and scholars of different time periods are who create new interpretations of Hecuba’s role within her own myth. As artistic renditions have progressed through time, Hecuba’s grief itself has become the central focus of the illustrated retellings of her story.

Fine Roman Dining At Affordable Pompeian Prices: Reevaluating The Commercial Gardens Of Pompeii, Claire Campbell, Rhodora G. Vennarucci

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Previous scholarship has designated Roman gardens into binary otium or negotium designations; however, this research on Roman gardens suggests that these concepts often exist in spaces simultaneously. The reevaluation of commercial gardens in Pompeii presented in this article allows for an integrative analysis of garden spaces, which reveals that commercial gardens have coinciding qualities and functions with private elite gardens and that various trades were actively integrating these features into commercial settings to promote and financially supplement their businesses. This research challenges the assumption that non-domestic, commercial gardens only have qualities indicative of negotium and that garden spaces were not …

The Economic Rationality Of Consumption In The Mycenaean Political Economy And Its Role In The Reproduction Of Social Personae: Modeling Prestige Networks., Devin Alexander Stephens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a theoretical examination of the economic rationality of consumption as it existed within the Mycenaean political economy. Using a modified paradigm of social network analysis, a semiotic approach is used in the study of identity expression and economic stratification present at three Late Helladic cemeteries. In doing so, the claim that exchange strategies which existed outside of palatial redistribution were present in the Late Helladic was substantiated as a similar logic of mortuary stratification which existed during the palatial era was also found to have existed after the shift to the post-palatial era and the collapse of …

Designing Digital Antiquity: Classical Archaeology In New Virtual Applications, William Loder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that the combination of existing archaeological theory with game design theory offers an innovative avenue for creating serious 3D applications of archaeological sites in virtual reality that can be productively used for pedagogical, research, and outreach solutions. In this thesis, I engage with the archaeological theories of phenomenology and sensory studies, briefly touching on structure and agency as well as discussion of some current digital applications in use in the field. For this project, I am interested in game design theory as it relates to education and I view Virtual Reality as an important tool …

Roman New Comedy In The Renaissance: The Influence Of Plautus In Shakespearean Comedy, Nick Minion

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Undoubtedly the most well-known playwright in the English language, Shakespeare’s influence can be felt in most every genre in most every era. Allusions to his work can be found anywhere, from horror novels to sci-fi. Beyond allusions, most strongly felt is his stylistic influence in theatre. Names, plot devices, and images have all been taken from Shakespeare’s greatest works and implemented and transformed in new art forms. However, not all elements of Shakespearean drama originated with the bard himself. Shakespeare drew inspiration from the dramatists that preceded him, especially Roman playwrights. In his earlier works, these similarities are apparent. The …

Ancient Drama Applications In Education And Interactive Entertainment, Katerina Zacharia, Marientina Gotsis

Classics and Archaeology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

1. Northeast Insulae Project: Context And Analysis, Mark Schuler

The Final Report

This book places the excavation of the northeast insulae at Hippos of the Decapolis, into its historical context, summarizes the archaeological findings, and posits that the site was an urban monastery centered around a healing cult that grew from the veneration of a revered woman and became a monastic infirmary also employing herbals to relieve the suffering in the larger community.

The Unwelcome Guest: Envy And Shame Materialized In A Roman Villa, Andrew Scholtz

Middle Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (MEAMS) Faculty Scholarship

A third-century C.E. inscribed mosaic from Skala, on the Greek island of Kefallonia, has greatly expanded our knowledge of envy’s evil eye in the Roman Mediterranean. Yet its inscription has not drawn the attention it deserves. Paying heed to the literary, affective, and material dimensions of this and other mosaic texts, I explore how the Skala poem, in tandem with the imagery it accompanies, mediates encounters between guest, host, and house. In so doing, it forms part of a decorative program materializing envy as actor in a drama celebrating a householder’s fortune while exposing the envious to general scorn.

Li Pittori Parlano Con L’Opere: Visualizing Poetry In Practice In Early Modern Italian Art, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The relative sophistication of artists in the early modern era is contested, especially with regards to their educational backgrounds. On one hand, Dempsey-esque intellectual history is vested in touting the structured, literary curricula in art-educational institutions; while on the other, a complete rejection of the “artist-philosopher” as historical fiction seeks to undermine this hegemonic construct. This study argues that the lack of early formal education in the cases of artist like Annibale Carracci and Nicolas Poussin, who, unlike Peter Paul Rubens, did not have a firm foundation in the classics and languages that would allow them to engage directly with …

Empire, Autochthony, And Identity In Fifth-Century Athens

Symposium of Student Scholars

The fifth-century BCE is a period of Athenian history that is bookended by conflict. It began with the Persian Wars, which established Athens as a major power and gave them claim to their empire. The period ended with the Peloponnesian War, which resulted in the defeat of Athens and the end of their imperial reign. The fifth-century was a period of unprecedented cultural, political, and ideological development, and is one of the most important periods in all of Greek history. Despite the various developments that occurred in the fifth-century, most of the scholarship on fifth-century Athens is concerned with the …

Excavations At North Field Poster, Sydney G. Durham

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Ongoing excavations of the North Field,Vindolanda site reveal fascinating results about the military occupation of early Roman-Britain. Features of the industrial complex (kiln and dryers), ash and smoke pits, ditch cuts, and artifacts of tools, ceramics and everyday objects help archaeologists contextualize military life and production here at the North Field. The excavation of three early shallow cut ditches between 2010-2014 reinforce that the site hadprolonged occupation and use of the fort pre-dated the main site’s earliest date of 85 AD, possibly for construction and/or defensive purposes. The excavation of the later small and large kiln/dryer reveal continued production of …