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

Worldwide Waters: Laurasian Flood Myths And Their Connections, Logan A. Mcdonald

Honors College Theses

In various cultures, stories of great floods have arisen, and many scholars agree that the writers of these stories based their accounts on an actual flooding event. However, these narratives vary in characters, plot, and even their meaning to each culture. This thesis examines several Laurasian flood narratives, perhaps the most ancient narratives in Western literature, including those of the Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian, and Israeli cultures. These civilizations all rose and existed in close proximity to one another, which makes the historicity of a flooding event more probable. A structural examination of the narratives and a comparison of their …

Extraordinary Episodes Of Ancient Money, Francis Louis Kailey

Honors Theses

The spread of coins, which occurred throughout the archaic and classical periods of Greece, was a foundational advancement toward forms of the modern economy. Modern theory has sought to explain the invention of coins with a variety of narratives. Generally, these narratives fall into two broad categories: market-driven monetization or state-driven monetization. On the one hand, some theory argues that coins developed from reducing private transaction costs. On the other hand, some theorists argue that the state benefitted from reductions in administrative costs from the use of coins and therefore undertook the cost of minting them. This thesis problematizes these …

A Study Of The Pantheon Through Time, Caitlin Williams

Honors Theses

I analyze the Pantheon, one of the most well-preserved buildings from antiquity, through time. I start with Agrippa's Pantheon, the original Pantheon that is no longer standing, which was built in 27 or 25 BC. What did it look like originally under Augustus? Why was it built? We then shift to the Pantheon that stands today, Hadrian-Trajan's Pantheon, which was completed around AD 125-128, and represents an example of an architectural revolution. Was it even a temple? We also look at the Pantheon's conversion to a church, which helps explain why it is so well preserved. My study aims for …

Bladelet Polish: A Lithic Analysis Of Spracklen ( 33 Gr 1585 ), An Upland Hopewell Campsite, Tyler R. E. Heneghan

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis builds upon recent investigations at Spracklen (33GR1585), a small upland site in Greene County, Ohio. The presence of non-local cherts, bladelets, and bladelet cores indicates a Middle Woodland Ohio Hopewell occupation. Raw material sourcing, debitage analyses, and a use-wear analysis uncovered that Spracklen functioned as a logistical hunting campsite. Its people utilized bladelets for butchery and hide-working processes. This information provides new insights into Hopewellian life in the uplands and its place within Hopewell community organization.

Earthen Monuments And Social Movements In Eastern North America: Adena-Hopewell Enclosures On Kentucky’S Bluegrass Landscape, Edward Ross Henry

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geometric earthen enclosures are some of the best known pre-Columbian monuments in North America. Across the Eastern Woodlands, many have been preserved as state and national parks. However, their chronological placement is poorly understood as they relate to the rise of complex social behaviors associated with the Adena-Hopewell florescence (500 BC–AD 500) in the Middle Ohio Valley. This is especially true for communities who built smaller enclosures referred to by archaeologists as ‘scared circles’. To better understand the timing, tempo, and nature of their construction I examined the Bluegrass Region in Central Kentucky using aerial and terrestrial remote sensing methods …

The Mythological Perspective Of Modern Media: Cross-Cultural Consciousness And Modern Myths, Rebecca E. Evans

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This piece assesses the cultural implications of modern narratives that incorporate classical mythology, specifically focusing on the hero’s journey. When the similarities of different myths across different cultures are analyzed, it becomes clear that there are modern analogs that incorporate mythic qualities and cultural values. These mythic foundations are analyzed here in popular works like Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Legend of Zelda, where the hero’s journey becomes an almost universal experience that inspires cross-cultural consciousness. The hero’s journey has evolved from a simple literary tool into a cross-cultural touchstone that shapes narratives into familiar works of cultural significance across …

Adoration And Art: Ancient Egypt, Greece, And Rome, Fiona Wirth

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

"Adoration and Art" focuses upon religious artifacts from the ancient Mediterranean and explores what these artifacts reveal about the religious practices and sacred spaces of their cultures. This Honors College capstone consisted of an exhibition through the Lisanby Museum utilizing artifacts from the Madison Art Collection. This text is the full exhibition catalog compiled by the student through her research as an intern for the Lisanby Museum.

The Socially Deviant (M)Other In Euripides' "Medea" And Two Modern Adaptations, Christina Faye Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For centuries male-dominated societies have developed their own culturally constructed images of the socially acceptable and socially deviant mothers. The thesis explores how the Grecian, Caribbean, and Irish cultures of Euripides’ Medea (431 BC), Steve Carter’s Pecong (1990), and Marina Carr’s By the Bog of Cats (1998) respectively, all based on the Medea myth, commonly define the social deviant (m)other and condemn her for her “otherness.” It also discusses the limitations of each society’s decision to label the Medea-figure as socially deviant. Euripides creates an impossible dichotomy between the culturally constructed concepts of heroism and motherhood, which he locates in …

Four Facets Of Diminishment In Cicero's Pro Caelio: Dilemma, Irony, Understatement, And Comedy, Donald Matthew Pasko

Graduate Theses and Capstone Projects (excluding DNP)

No abstract provided.

Platonic And Confucian Theories On Music-Parallels And Differences, Christian Moreno

Honors Thesis

Music has always been an important part of humanity, and with the advent of the Axial Age, the period between the 8^th and 3^rd centuries BC where new ways of thinking emerged in a wide range of cultures, two of humanity’s greatest thinkers in Plato and Confucius, would apply their thoughts and theories to music. By examining their opinions of music in their written texts, especially Confucius’ Analects and Plato’s Republic, as well as modern scholarship on the subject like the work of philosopher Mark Muesse, one can gain an insight into the general thinking of these …

"A True Philosopher Of Christ:" Ambrose Of Milan's Reworking Of Cicero's De Officiis, Lydia Herndon

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Tragedy And Theodicy: The Role Of The Sufferer From Job To Ahab, Nora Carroll

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The character of Job starts in literature, a trope and archetype of the suffering man who potentially gains wisdom through suffering. Job’s characterization informs a comparison to Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and finally Melville’s Moby-Dick. These versions of Job rally, fight, and rebel against a universe that was once loving and fair towards a more chaotic and nihilistic one. Job’s suffering is on the mark of all tragedy because he not only experiences a downfall, he gains wisdom through universalizing his torment. The Job trope not only stresses the role of suffering, it …

Violence, Religion And Politics: The Late Republic And Augustan Age, Matthew Tuggle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religion in the Late Republic was fused to politics. This study considers the relationship between violence, religion, and politics in the Late Republic and Augustan Age. It contends that Roman religion could encourage or discourage violence based upon the circumstances. The strain of Roman expansion on its political and religious institutions contributed to the civil discord that characterized the Late Republic, which created circumstances that were flexible enough for perspectives on each side to see the violence as justified. The ambition of a tribune, a sacrosanct office, could lead to circumvention of the traditional practices of the Senate, causing a …

Crazy In The Garden, Martin Pate Katzoff

Senior Projects Fall 2018

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

Victorious Athena: The Cult And The Temple Of Athena Nike, Brynlie-Sage Johnston

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

Apoikia In The Black Sea: The History Of Heraclea Pontica, Sinope, And Tios In The Archaic And Classical Periods, Austin M. Wojkiewicz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examines the influence of local and dominant Network Systems on the socio- economic development of the southern Black Sea colonies: Heraclea Pontica, Sinope, and Tios during the Archaic and Classical Period. I argue that archeological and literary evidence indicate that local (populations such as the Mariandynoi, Syrians, Caucones, Paphlagonians, and Tibarenians) and dominant external (including: Miletus, Megara/Boeotia, Athens, and Persia) socio-economic Network systems developed and shaped these three colonies, and helped explain their role in the overarching Black Sea Network.

This study is divided into three chapters. Chapter one starts with the history and historiography of Greek colonization. …

Pharsalus: Fall Of The Roman Alexander, Shane T. Ciancanelli

Senior Projects Fall 2018

This paper explores the lives of Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar, following their journey from young Patricians to their clash on the plains of Pharsalus in Greece. The reason for this is to find why it was that Caesar was victorious over Pompey, evaluating their skills as both politicians and military leaders.

Part one follows Pompey and looks at his sudden rise to prominence as a skilled general at a young age, and his tumultuous political career after retiring from military life. Part two explores the life of Caesar; his more traditional rise in comparison to Pompey, his sudden …

“Oh, Phaedrus, If I Don’T Know My Phaedrus I Must Be Forgetting Who I Am Myself”: Glimpses Of Self In Divine Erotic Madness, Jared De Uriarte

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Immortality In Literature: The Goddesses Of Ancient Greece, Rebecca Lozier

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The following text explores the connections between the mythology of ancient Greece and the society from which it arose. Women are often at the heart of classical myth despite being oppressed members of society. Understanding the role of women in mythology provides insight into women's treatment in ancient Greece. It follows the lasting influence of ancient Greece and its mythology through to the Romantic Period. Understanding how poets used myth, provides understanding into the culture's beliefs about women.