Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons^™

Orpheus And The Harrowing Of Hell In The Tale Of Beren And Lúthien, Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Critics have observed that Beren and Lúthien’s tale is a Christian retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The “Harrowing of Hell” tradition is widespread in Italy as attested by the mosaic of San Marco among others, but it is in France that the Ovid Moralized reconnects it to Orpheus who descended into the Underworld to save Eurydice (an already late antique parallel) and therefore attests a happy ending version of the story that can be found in medieval England and also in various classical sources, perhaps even in the original legend of Orpheus. The apocryphal Harrowing is also …

The Impact Of The Gut-Brain Axis On Alzheimer’S Disease, Elissa Wakim

Best Integrated Writing

Elissa’s review for the Graduate Biomedical Review focuses on the links between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain; the gut-brain axis and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. As a student in the Microbiology and Immunology Masters Program Elissa was particularly interested in the gut microbiota and their connection to neurodegenerative disease. She tidily reviewed the literature and wrote a fascinating and compelling piece of work.

Best Integrated Writing 2024 - Complete Edition, Wright State University School Of Humanities And Cultural Studies

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. This is the first issue after a 5 year hiatus.

Visualizing Ancient Empire In Tudor England: Imperial Monarchy, Reformation, And The Antique Soldier In The Title Page To Richard Grafton’S Large Chronicle (1569), Peter Nicholas Otis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis analyzes the iconography and visual sources of the title page to the first volume of A chronicle at large and meere history of the affayres of Englande (1569) by the Tudor author Richard Grafton. Representing the visual synthesis of several distinct but interrelated currents that developed in the preceding century, the title page to the Large Chronicle offers a rare glimpse into a transitional moment in the middle Tudor perception and visual representation of the British past. These currents include imperializing royal iconography, with origins in antecedent representations in the late fifteenth century; the entry of the ‘classicizing’ …

Northeast Insulae Project: Context And Analysis (Revised Edition), Mark Schuler

The Final Report

This volume of the Final Report places the excavation of the northeast insulae into its historical and archaeological context and draws interpretive conclusions from the work done. Much of the material presented here is repeated in a second volume which recounts the history of the project sequentially. But the focus in this volume is on interpretation of the material remains in their context.

The Cult Of The Nymphs: Identity, Ritual, And Womanhood In Ancient Greece, Ivana Genov

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Examining archeological and epigraphic evidence in its historical context, in this thesis I explore the Cult of the Nymphs venerated across ancient Greek poleis. I analyze the nymph’s profound cultural and historical impact that is often overlooked in the study of ancient Greece. Nymphs were female deities thought to embody ecological sites, such as fountains and springs, and became fundamental to polis identity. Their locations were often central to city plans, and their faces, depicted on coinage, became representative of the city itself. In the community, nymphs were integral to rituals for major life events, most often in the lives …

Demythologizing Homer: Investigating Religion In Minoan Crete, Elizabeth Rybarczyk

Student Research Submissions

The Minoan civilization of Bronze-Age Crete has, until recently, been obscured in mythological uncertainty. As a prehistoric civilization, the available evidence for historic analysis is sparse and ambiguous. This paper evaluates the material evidence for ritual activity to chart the religious developments of Minoan Crete. In the earliest periods of their civilization, the Minoans practiced animism, which reflected their ideals towards survival and cooperation. As their prosperity grew due to technological advancements, a social hierarchy formed. The emerging elite employed religion to justify their claim to power by appropriating religion, which culminated in a dual-monotheistic Knossian theocracy. This lasted until …

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.

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.

Saga Beyond The Gate: Chapter One, The Coming Of The Gate Ghost, Tristan B. Miller

MSU Graduate Theses

“Saga Beyond the Gate: Chapter One, the Coming of the Gate Ghost” explores performance sculpture used as religious ritual. My work emphasizes ritual, creation myths, relics, physical manifestations of lived religion, and the power of narrative belief. One often turns to religion, science, or spirituality, to seek answers to questions about being a conscious entity, and one’s journey to the end. This saga uses scripts from all three of these schools of thought, placing the world of the Gate Ghost into tangible reality, as a play on a stage. Artefacts represent objects of power and mystery. Characters embody morality tales, …

Landscape And Lore: River Acheron And The Oracle Of The Dead, Lashante St. Fleur

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In order to explore the cultural relationships between people, landscape, memory and ritual, this master’s thesis focuses on the Acheron River in Epirus, Greece, long believed to harbor an entrance into Hades, the Greek underworld. Various entrances into the chthonic, or subterranean land of the dead, are peppered throughout Greece, with each tied to their own local myths, legends, folklore and cults. According to those traditions, Hades could be accessed from several terrestrial rivers thought to be connected to Oceanus, the primordial world-encompassing river surrounding all of creation. Flowing forth from River Ocean were all above- and underground rivers and …

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 …

A Bridge Between Earth & Sky: How The Natural World Shaped The Civilizations Of Ancient And Early-Modern Persia, Sophia Cabana

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project seeks to investigate the ways in which nature shaped the culture of ancient Persia through technology, architecture, agriculture, and art. Furthermore, this project investigates how the symbols and mentalities of ancient Persia were carried forward into the early-modern period. Achaemenid Persia and Babylon are studied as societies which influenced one another and combined to create the foundation of Persian culture as it is currently understood, which then combined in later centuries with other Middle Eastern and Central Asian cultural movements to produce the Safavid and Mughal Empires. The Safavids and Mughals imitated and revived Persian culture in order …

Recovering Abiquiú’S Lost Church Records, Samuel E. Sisneros

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

In early 2016, an elderly couple came into UNM’s Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections determined to donate six hide-covered books to the archives. They confessed they did not know their contents and that even though the books were in the care of the family for many years, they thought UNM would be a suitable place for them to be preserved and studied. I immediately realized that these antique books were the long lost baptismal, marriage and burial registers (1777-1861) from the Mission Church of Santo Tomás Apóstol de Abiquiú and that the rightful repository for them was the …

Nevenka Vazgec, Marija Maracic, Josipa Karaca

SICANJE

No abstract provided.

Leaves Of The Bodhi Tree From East To West: The Symbol Of The Sacred Fig Tree In Ancient India, Southeast Asia And Contemporary Contexts, Amanda J. Spradling

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the depiction of the Bodhi Tree, a common Buddhist symbol. Bodhi tree simply means tree of enlightenment and Buddha Shakyamuni reached enlightenment while in meditation beneath the particular tree species of ficus religiosa, or sacred fig. Though the sacred fig tree, as a native tree to India, has historically held significance, today it is principally known for its association with the Buddha, particularly his single most important life event, his enlightenment.

Tree worship and its universal practice is well understood and many studies of the Bodhi Tree explore its associated pilgrimage site, Bodh Gaya, and monument, the …

The Evidence For Sodom’S Location, David C. Taylor Jr

David C Taylor Jr

No abstract provided.

Lessons For Life, Andrew Becker

Best Integrated Writing

Andrew’s paper is well structured, and it clearly shows his interaction with the material he chose to read and displays his beginning personal journey in understanding Zen Buddhism. The rewrites and editing of the paper he composed brought him closer to what he was trying to say. The final version of his writing and editing process exhibits the discipline a first-year student can master. Those who research the brain tell us that when a student makes the type of personal connection that Andrew has with the academic material the student remembers the material studied long after the class has ended.

The Struggle Within, Robert Puthoff

Best Integrated Writing

In The Struggle Within, Bob seeks to understand basic teachings for Hindus in The Bhagavad Gita and then ambitiously seeks to apply some of those lessons to his own life as a college student. Bob is one of the few students who chose to read The Bhagavad Gita, which speaks to his ability to challenge himself academically; in addition, he also uses one of the class’s textbooks to help him decipher key elements of the story. Bob’s leap from The Bhagavad Gita into his own life experience is a tribute to his ability to look at his life and to …

Best Integrated Writing 2018 - Complete Edition

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. The journal is published annually by the Wright State University Department of English Language and Literatures.

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.

Spaces For Deposition Of Offerings In Early Byzantine Churches: Possible Sacristies At Golemo Gradište, Konjuh, Carolyn S. Snively

Classics Faculty Publications

This paper is primarily a presentation of two recently excavated rooms in the 6th c. Episcopal Basili-ca at the site of Golemo Gradište, village of Konjuh. The location and furnishings of the spaces raise the possibility that they were used for the deposition of offerings, such as bread and wine for the Eucharist, by members of the congregation as they entered the church. Gifts of bread and wine immediately move the discussion into issues of liturgy. In order to set the church and these specific rooms in context and to avoid entanglement in difficult liturgical issues, some background will be …

An Excerpt From The Latin Ladies, Julia Gomez-Cambronero

Best Integrated Writing

In this excerpt, Gomez-Cambronero offers an editorial about the effect of U.S. involvement in Central America’s politics on the children of the region. It also contains Gomez-Cambronero’s essay on a poem by Rubén Darío.

Best Integrated Writing 2017 - Complete Edition

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. The journal is published annually by the Wright State University Department of English Language and Literatures.

The Origins And Identity Of Roman Mithraism, Charles R. Hill

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

This thesis is a reassessment of scholarship concerning the origins of the cult mysteries of Mithraism in its Roman form during the Imperial Period. While much has been published in the debate over the cult’s true origins, we are still left without a satisfactory answer. The present work is an attempt to reconcile some of the arguments posed in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries with those of the later 20^th and 21^st centuries, focusing mostly on the cult’s art and iconography in Mithraea, the central spaces of Mithraic worship. First will be a summary of …

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 20^th 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 20^th century. I discuss pre-historical …

A Reflection On God And Sex: What The Bible Really Says, Howard Wagner

Best Integrated Writing

Wagner uses humor and honest self-appraisal to discuss the contrast between his burgeoning academic knowledge of the Bible and what he had been previously taught, and he determines that faith is an ongoing process.

In Search Of God’S Path, Ann Brake

Best Integrated Writing

Brake weaves personal response and critical analysis into a discussion of Sikhism from the perspective of a western observer.

Shiva As Nataraja Vs. Mahamaya And Buddha Dakini: A Comparision Study, Angelina Mclaughlin

Best Integrated Writing

McLaughlin uses a course textbook, personal observation, and scholarly sources to compare a Tibeto-Chinese gilt bronze statue made during the Quing dynasty in the 18^th century with a bronze figure of the Hindu god, Shiva created in the 11^th or 12 century.

Best Integrated Writing 2016 - Complete Edition

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. The journal is published annually by the Wright State University Department of English Language and Literatures.