Classics Commons^™

“Some Small Kiss From Your Sweet Lips”: Navigating Hierarchy In Eastern Roman Letters, Nicholas Elijah Raffington

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The presence of homoeroticism in the letters of elite Byzantine men was both the product of long-term literary developments and was employed for many purposes. As a medieval society which saw a unique level of social mobility, an individual’s connections and how they managed and negotiated them within the competitive elite milieu was of utmost importance to their relevance. Letters naturally emerge as a suitable literary genre to affirm and recognize relationships, to ask for favors, or introduce a new member to the group. As the evidence suggests, homoeroticism was employed within the male-centered world of business and politics as …

Wiring Attachment, Alexander K. Bacon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis began with a question: can diagrams create understanding, or only reflect it? Through paintings that layer automotive wiring schematics with family photographs, I explore how the human attachment system resists easy mapping. Using digital tools like Photoshop and scanning, alongside analog methods such as papier-collé and photo transfer, I examine how systems built for clarity—like wiring diagrams—contrast with the layered, often messy realities of human relationships. Drawing from attachment theory’s empirical foundation, rather than the metaphorical leanings of psychoanalysis, my work investigates how emotional bonds form, falter, and repair over time. Material loss and layering are not flaws, …

The Fifth (202-195 Bce) And The Sixth (170-168 Bce) Syrian Wars In The Dead Sea Scrolls: Implications For Understanding The Origin Of The Maccabean Revolt, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

The rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires fought six wars for control of the region known as Coele-Syria during the third and the second centuries BCE. These conflicts weakened both powers, allowing them to be conquered by the Roman Republic. For the Jews of Judea, the Fifth Syrian War witnessed increased conflicts in the country among its high priests regarding the nature of Hellenistic reforms and how to deal with the Seleucid Empire. These difficulties continued and led to the Maccabean Revolt at the conclusion of the Sixth Syrian War, which would eventually culminate in Judean independence from …

The Benefit Of New Perspective: An Analysis Of Postcolonial Adaptation, Sara L. Tilbe

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In our modern world, the concept of literary adaptation is not unheard of. Each release of a new, popular text comes with an underlying chance that it will likely be snatched up by Hollywood executives to be told through a cinematic setting. However, there is less fanfare when it comes to the topic of literary adaptation, particularly of famous texts that are deemed “classic” of the literary canon. Usually, any news of a literary adaptation of a classic book is meant with polarizing views from the general public. Some welcome the change, excited for what a new author can bring …

Senir A-10018/2025, Royee Assis, Mayar Harb

Favissa: Past Archaeological Excavation Reports

In March 2025, a salvage excavation (Permit No. A-10018/2025; map ref. 26345-70/79448-65) was conducted in an area designated for the development and expansion of Kibbutz Senir. The excavation was carried out on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the Upper Galilee Regional Council. The excavation was directed by R. Assis, with the assistance of M. Harb (field supervision), Y. Ya‘akobi (administration), V. Atrash (scientific consultation), and laborers from Kafr Sha‘ab.

Waking The Witch: Exploring Gender, Magic, And Power Dynamics In Ancient Rome, Diana Gibson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis explores the presence of witches and magic in the literature of the Roman Empire. The study ranges from the 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE, and relates the prevalence of female witches in the Roman literature to particularly turbulent social contexts, such as the fall of the Republic and the rise of Christianity. The piece considers the rhetorical nature of accusations of witchcraft, and how the concepts of magic and witchcraft themselves were defined and shaped by those in power to uphold imperial hegemony and structures of patriarchy. The project seeks to highlight a distinction between …

Phantasma, Grace Wright

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Ever since the infamous Ides of March, scholars have been debating the true psychology behind Brutus’s betrayal. The purpose of this project is to take a step back from the politicized motivations and explore the emotional, strenuous conditions of Julius Caesar’s assassination. This project will transform William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar into a novella with its central focus on the relationship dynamics between the key figures of Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius. The intention of the novella is to not only analyze the play through a critical queer lens, but to interrogate the themes of violence and desire that surround male relationships …

"A Changed Understanding Of Our Present": Moby-Dick As Prophetic Ecological Activism, Katie Ann Schini

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Moby-Dick: Or, The Whale is a classic of American literature, spanning multiple genres and remaining culturally relevant nearly 175 years after its original publication. Though on the surface Moby-Dick reads as an adventure story of a man who experiences the whaling industry firsthand, Herman Melville’s text continues to invite new generations of readership through the framework of the twenty-first century climate crisis.

In this thesis, I position Moby-Dick as a text that can be used to understand our modern society’s current dispositions of ecological grief. My thesis operates at the intersection of three main literary critical theories: ecocriticism, affect, and …

The Medea Effect: The Binary Terror Of Women Existing In The Liminal Space, M. Nance

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the Medea character as a liminal figure. Taking a metaphorical approach to Victor Turner’s ideas on liminality, this study will deconstruct different binary oppositions—villain/victim, agent/object, Dionysian/Apollonian. The Medea character does not fall neatly to one side of these binary oppositions; therefore, this thesis argues that Medea instead inhabits the space between the binary oppositions in the realm of the liminal. The thesis then analyzes the same binary oppositions within a survey of theatrical and non-theatrical texts that feature characters that embody archetypes that originated within the Medea character—the she-devil, the murderous mother, …

Fans In Ancient Egypt: Iconographic And Contextual Study Of Fans In The Predynastic, Old, And Middle Kingdoms, Nadra Zaki

Theses and Dissertations

A variety of fans existed throughout ancient Egyptian history. They had several forms and were made of different materials. They appear in two- and three-dimensional representations, as well as in texts. They relate to royalty and high officials and also feature in domestic settings, both out- and indoors. Fans were used for creating breeze, and providing shade in real life, and also during the journey to the afterlife, where they combined physical and metaphysical protection. Several names were associated with fans, depending on their functions, both in the secular and sacred world.

Earlier studies have either generally examined fans …

The Enduring Enigma Of Tom Bombadil: From Riddlic Styling To Metaphorical Encounter, Derek Simon

Journal of Tolkien Research

Conversationalists and critics alike continue to take delight in Tom Bombadil, yet remain perplexed by his enduring enigma. Interpretive positioning appears to be determined by the semantics of the term enigma deployed and how it intersects with any of the several textual standpoints adopted. The primary contention of this article is that the enigma is intentionally both a riddle (noun) and a riddling (verb). Reading the enigma through literary features of the Old English riddle-song can yield an alternate interpretation of Tom Bombadil that has received scant attention in critical commentary. In support of this contention, I propose to read …

Tiberias: Glass Finds And Production Debris, Yael Gorin-Rosen

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Around 300 glass fragments, along with glass industry waste, were found in the Tiberias excavation. About half were diagnostic and represented several periods: Early Roman, Late Roman to early Byzantine, Byzantine to late Byzantine and Early Islamic. Nine vessels and a stirring rod are illustrated and discussed, while others are mentioned in the text. The glass artifacts discovered during the excavation correspond to well-known types from Tiberias and its surrounding areas, as well as from a broader distribution. Most were likely produced locally, as evidenced by workshop debris found in this and other excavations in Tiberias, and supported by written …

Tiberias: Remains Of An Early Islamic Buff Ware Pottery Workshop, Yardenna Alexandre

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

A small four-square excavation carried out in an area outside the Ottoman city wall of Tiberias exposed the remains of an Early Islamic pottery workshop, built over earlier Byzantine-period walls. The building remains included parts of small rooms, pits and a tiled-floor installation. The overlying accumulations and thick ashy layers contained numerous sherds of Buff Ware vessels, including glazed bowls, partially fired plain vessels, decorated sherds, clay molds, kiln bars and basalt polishing tools. All these finds indicate that the site was an Abbasid–Fatimid period Buff Ware pottery workshop.

Kefar Veradim: An Intermediate Bronze Age Communal Burial Ground In Western Upper Galilee, Edwin C.M. Van Den Brink

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Between 2016 and 2018, three brief salvage excavations conducted northwest of Kefar Veradim uncovered twenty rock-cut shafts leading into multiple burial chambers dating to the Intermediate Bronze Age, as well as five associated rock-cut basins of purportedly mortuary function. These tombs are part of a burial ground extending along a rocky spur overlooking Naḥal Yeḥiʻam. At least ten of the identified underground burial chambers, which were of two different types and originally sealed with flat stone slabs, had been robbed in antiquity. The remaining tombs could not be explored due to significant interference from the ultra-Orthodox burial society Atra Kadisha.

Ḥorbat Ḥanut: The Glass Vessels / חורבת חנות: כלי הזכוכית, Yael Gorin-Rosen, Ruth E. Jackson-Tal

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The glass assemblage unearthed in burial caves, refuse pits and trial trenches at Ḥorbat Ḥanut is represented by thirty vessel fragments, as well as glass beads strung in a gold necklace and glass production refuse. These finds can be divided into two chronological groups, spanning from the second to the fifth century CE. The collection of glass artifacts found in this excavation, as well as in other excavations at the site, illustrates the wide range of uses for glass vessels and objects in daily life and burial contexts from the mid-Roman to the Byzantine periods. It also provides insight into …

Ḥorbat Ḥanut: Remains From The Roman To The Ottoman Periods On The Outskirts Of The Settlement / חורבת חנות: שרידים מהתקופות הרומית עד העות׳מאנית בשולי היישוב, Anat Beck-Nachtigal, Etan Ayalon

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Ḥorbat Ḥanut uncovered remains from the Roman to the Ottoman periods, and especially from the Roman, Byzantine, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. These include burial caves, pit graves, caves, olive presses, refuse pits, water cisterns, quarries and other installations typical of the outskirts of a settlement. The site's location on the western fringes of the Samarian Highlands, alongside main roads, provided its inhabitants with economic and settlement advantages, ensuring a mixed economy that included field crops, vineyards, olive groves, pasturing, production of raw glass and glass vessels, and stone quarrying. Despite the site's location in a distinct Samarian …

‘En Shaddud: Elemental Composition Of Two Metal Weapons, Yonah Maor, Yotam Asscher

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The elemental composition of two weapons from Middle Bronze Age I burials at Tel Shaddud was analyzed by X-ray fluorescence. Both the spearhead and the ‘duckbill’ axe head were arsenic-copper alloys but differed in their minor components. The axe head contained more lead, probably added to improve casting properties due to its complicated shape. The spearhead contained iron as a minor component.

‘En Shaddud: Early Bronze Age Settlement, Middle Bronze And Iron Age Burial Remains And A Hellenistic Farmstead At The Foot Of Tel Shaddud, Karen Covello-Paran, Tali Kan-Cipor-Meron

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This study presents findings from excavations at the foot of Tel Shaddud, focusing on settlement and burial patterns across various historical periods. Evidence from the Early Bronze I layer reveals the initial settlement characterized by stone-paved floors and extensive habitation extending towards the nearby spring of ‘En Shaddud. The Middle Bronze I tombs uncovered indicate a cemetery below the tell, containing artifacts that reflect burial practices consistent with warrior traditions in the region. Notably, the analysis of burial offerings indicates continued cemetery use into the Iron Age. Hellenistic remains suggest a transition to agricultural use, with well-constructed farmstead features emerging …

An Outspoken Woman In A Man's World: A Commentary On Seneca's Medea, Julia Eckholdt

History & Classics Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Faculty Perceptions Of A Humanistic Classical Education, Nils Ivan Borquist

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the descriptions of experiences for faculty members at classical education curriculum academic institutions at the PreK-12 school level. The descriptions of experiences were defined as phenomenal experiences of faculty through the subjective lens. The theory guiding this study was the humanistic learning theory of education as it focuses on self-directed and self-evaluative classwork as well as the common use of canonical works to cultivate a desire for students to learn and study great texts for their entire lives. The Central Research Question asked “How do faculty at classical education institutions …