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Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn Jul 2020

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

One fateful day on March 26, 1521, a lowly Augustinian monk was cited to appear before the Diet of Worms.[1] His habit trailed behind him as he braced for the questioning. He was firm, yet troubled. He boldly proclaimed: “If I am not convinced by proofs from Scripture, or clear theological reasons, I remain convinced by the passages which I have quoted from Scripture, and my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract, for it is neither prudent nor right to go against one’s conscience. So help me God, …


Bloodied Hearts And Bawdy Planets: Greco-Roman Astrology And The Regenerative Force Of The Feminine In Shakespeare’S The Winter’S Tale, Christina E. Farella Jun 2020

Bloodied Hearts And Bawdy Planets: Greco-Roman Astrology And The Regenerative Force Of The Feminine In Shakespeare’S The Winter’S Tale, Christina E. Farella

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis offers a new reading of William Shakespeare’s late play The Winter’s Tale (1623), positing that in order to understand this complex and eccentric work, we must read it with a complex and eccentric eye. In The Winter’s Tale, planets strike without warning, pulling at hearts, wombs, and blood, impacting the health and emotional experience of characters in the play. This work is renowned for its inconsistent formal structure; the first half is a tragedy set in winter, but abruptly shifts to a comedy set in spring/summer in its latter half. What’s more, is that planets, luminaries, and …


Is It So Bad To Be Yourself?, Andrew S. Russell May 2020

Is It So Bad To Be Yourself?, Andrew S. Russell

Graduate Theses

Homosexuality has been a topic of recent controversial religious discourse, not only in America, but also world-wide. This begs the question: when did homosexuality become such a divisive issue in religious circles? The purpose of this thesis is to examine how ancient western cultures perceived homosexuality and treated homosexuals. Starting with the pagan civilizations of Greece and Rome, and then looking at how homosexuality was perceived in the ancient Judaic world and into the early Christian community, it seems that homosexuality only gradually became stigmatized as early Christians sought to distinguish themselves as unique in the ancient world.


Between The Judean Desert And Gaza: Asceticism And The Monastic Communities Of Palestine In The Sixth Century, Austin Mccray Apr 2020

Between The Judean Desert And Gaza: Asceticism And The Monastic Communities Of Palestine In The Sixth Century, Austin Mccray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation focuses on the religious culture of Christian monasticism in sixth-century Palestine. Rather than see the monastic communities of the Judean Desert, just to the east of Jerusalem, and those around Gaza as two independent monastic regions, as much scholarship has done, the dissertation focuses on the common threads that can be seen in the monastic teachings and idealized ascetic practices in the literature of the area. This dissertation reveals ways to redefine the boundaries between the monastic communities of Palestine during the sixth century as well as emphasizes the continuities between the monks of the Judean Desert and …


Gems Of Gods And Mortals: The Changing Symbolism Of Pearls Throughout The Roman Empire, Emily Hallman Apr 2020

Gems Of Gods And Mortals: The Changing Symbolism Of Pearls Throughout The Roman Empire, Emily Hallman

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Born in the wombs of shells and polished by mother nature herself, pearls were regarded as gifts from the gods. For millennia, the creation of pearls was credited to the tears of heavenly creatures or the formation of sun-touched dewdrops. Countless civilizations, both Western and Non-Western, have their own myths and legends surrounding the pearl, a mark of their mysterious allure. The artform of jewelry, favored by the Roman aristocracy, took advantage of naturally perfected pearls to create stunning pieces with staggering prices. The pearl’s meaning evolved throughout the Roman Empire and into Early Christian Rome, setting up a contradictory …


Epiphanius's Condemnation Of The Nazarenes: When Orthodox Christianity Is Threatened By Jewish Practice, E. Andrews Jan 2020

Epiphanius's Condemnation Of The Nazarenes: When Orthodox Christianity Is Threatened By Jewish Practice, E. Andrews

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 377 AD, Epiphanius of Salamis wrote the Panarion. In the Panarion he labeled 80 religious sects as heretics. Among those groups was a Jewish-Christian sect called the Nazarenes. The Nazarenes believed that there is one God, that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and that both the Old and New Testaments were to be used as Scripture. For Epiphanius, the only fault of this sect was in their continued observance of the Law of Moses. It is important to explain why Epiphanius concluded that they were …