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Herennius Philo And The Dilemma Of Lexicography, Alec Smitten

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis seeks to explore De Diversis Verborum Significationibus, the surviving epitome of the lexicon of Herennius Philo of Byblos (ca. 64-148 CE). By placing Philo in the timeline of Greek lexica, his prescriptive style and desire for absolute correctness in speech stands out among other lexicographers, and raises this question: what is the purpose of a dictionary, to describe how words are used, or to define “correct” usage?

Caratacus, The Remembered Warrior: The Legacies Of Caratcaus In Roman Histories And The British Victorian Era, Isabella Kearney

Pomona Senior Theses

This study will explore the origins of the historical figure of Caratacus and analyze its reception in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. This work will begin by providing an overview of Caratacus’ context in the first century in Britannia. Then, looking at the reception of Caratacus, the study will chronologically analyze the portrayal of Caratacus in the ancient sources of Tacitus and Cassius Dio. As the first textual evidence of Caratacus, this will provide insights into Caratacus’ history and the origins of Caratacus’ transformation into an icon of Roman and British history. This work will then analyze the receptions of Caratacus …

On Translating Greek Lyric Poetry, Lucy Turnbull

Studies in English

No abstract provided.

This, Or Something Like It: Socrates And The Problem Of Authority, Simon Dutton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the intellectual practice of the Platonic character, Socrates, with emphasis on the presentation of dialectical engagement with authority. I argue that authority, conceptually and in practice, constitutes a serious problem for Socrates. On my reading, the problems of authority are indicative of an inappropriate understanding of the soul and the ailing condition of the sociopolitical practices of Athenian culture. I suggest that Plato’s Socrates is devoted to the personal and political improvement of his fellow citizens, and society at large, through dialectical engagement which seeks to undermine authority. I investigate Plato’s characterization of the …

Josephus's Blunting Of Amalek And Phinehas The Zealot In Jewish Antiquities: A Statement Against Nationalism, Jacob Inman

Studia Antiqua

No abstract provided.

The Rise And Fall Of South Carolina College, Robert D. Cathcart Iii

Senior Theses

Through a thorough examination of the underpinnings of Classical education, as well as the history of South Carolina College, it is clear that the classical system is superior to the later University system imposed upon the College during the Reconstruction period. Classical education began in the Greek philosophic schools, such as the Academy and the Lyceum, and was intended to enrich the soul of its students, as well as to equip them for leadership in the future. But the most important aspect of this education was its universality. It is highly ironic that the original concept of the University …

How (Not) To Organise Roman Textile Production. Some Considerations On Merchant-Entrepreneurs In Roman Egypt And The Ἱστωνάρχης, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe

Egyptian Textiles and Their Production: ‘Word’ and ‘Object’

For almost the last 100 years, various ancient historians have suggested that organisations comparable to the “putting- out” system existed in the Roman Imperial period. They are most commonly believed to have occurred in textile production. As early as 1913, Theodor Reil assumed that the production of textiles in Roman Egypt was organised through the putting-out system. This idea can subsequently be traced through more than a century to recent publications. However, as this assumption is rarely based on genuine source material, it seems appropriate to get to the bottom of this hypothesis. In this context, special attention will also …

In And Out Of Character: Socratic Mimēsis, Mateo Duque

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the Republic, Plato has Socrates attack poetry’s use of mimēsis, often translated as ‘imitation’ or ‘representation.’ Various scholars (e.g. Blondell 2002; Frank 2018; Halliwell 2009; K. Morgan 2004) have noticed the tension between Socrates’ theory critical of mimēsis and Plato’s literary practice of speaking through various characters in his dialogues. However, none of these scholars have addressed that it is not only Plato the writer who uses mimēsis but also his own character, Socrates. At crucial moments in several dialogues, Socrates takes on a role and speaks as someone else. I call these moments “Socratic mimēsis.” …

The Design And Implementation Of Aida: Ancient Inscription Database And Analytics System, M. Parvez Rashid

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

AIDA, the Ancient Inscription Database and Analytic system can be used to translate and analyze ancient Minoan language. The AIDA system currently stores three types of ancient Minoan inscriptions: Linear A, Cretan Hieroglyph and Phaistos Disk inscriptions. In addition, AIDA provides candidate syllabic values and translations of Minoan words and inscriptions into English. The AIDA system allows the users to change these candidate phonetic assignments to the Linear A, Cretan Hieroglyph and Phaistos symbols. Hence the AIDA system provides for various scholars not only a convenient online resource to browse Minoan inscriptions but also provides an analysis tool to explore …

Disbelieved Through Millennia: Cassandra As Woman Truth-Teller And Translator, Marissa Lewis

Honors Projects

This paper investigates two major characterizations of the mythological figure Cassandra, reading her in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Seneca’s Agamemnon as a woman truth-teller and translator. It develops a notion of translation as negotiation of discursive space and breaking open of boundaries, including boundaries between pairs of languages, experiences, times, and places. This sense of translation draws on the reception theory of Charles Martindale and privileges the discursive location of the translator as integral to their translation; a specifically female translator occupies different discursive spaces than her male counterpart due to the social experience of gender. In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Cassandra’s …

Co-Opted, Cults And The Classics: Highlighting The Magna Mater Cult In Rome, Janessa Reeves

Honors Projects

This paper argues for a more critical approach to classics, pushing for the de-sanctification of classical antiquity and deconstruction of ‘western civilization’ as a tool able to be co-opted by white supremacist agendas. In the latter part of the paper, I demonstrate what I hope this will look like through analysis of Roman reception of the Mother of the Gods cult, known in Rome as the cult of Cybele or Magna Mater, or the Phrygian cult, and how Roman reactions to the cult reveal xenophobic sentiments and toxic masculinity within the social fabric. Throughout this work, I engage with questions …

Rebranding The Classics: The University Of Mississippi, Maraea Cardner

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to analyze the current perceptions of the study of classics from an Integrated Marketing Communications perspective with the goal of realigning misconceptions with the contemporary ideology of those within the field. The field of classics is facing challenges stemming from misappropriation of the field itself, and there is a current debate about the decline in the number of classicists in the field and in the number of undergraduate students studying classics. Specifically, this thesis looks at the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi as a model for other like departments across the field to use …

The Poetic Function Of Imagination: The Parallel Process Of Poiêsis, Angela Carlson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the advent of Postmodernism, modern approaches to understanding the nature of things is being put into question. As the gap between objective and subjective realms of experiences is narrowing, there is an increased need for a more artful approach to science. This paper serves as my attempt to promote the field of Expressive Arts Therapy (ExATh) as a mode of poetic science for understanding the experience of ‘Being’ in the world. Through a critical review of the semantic development of the ancient Greek concepts poiêsis, noêsis, and aisthêsis, the imagination is identified as a function of alêthaic revealing, …

To “Converse With The Most Excellent Men”: Classical Education, Cultural Capital, And The Formation Of A Ruling Class In The Antebellum South, Katherine E. Aberle

Honors Theses

Caroline Winterer writes in The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in Intellectual Life, 1780-1910that “Next to Christianity, the central intellectual project in American colleges before the nineteenth century was classicism.” Classics had been the heart of education among social elites in Europe and North America at least since the Renaissance, but the tradition would have particular importance in the American South. From such early planters as William Byrd II to such founding fathers as Jefferson and Madison, to planters at the end of the antebellum period, knowledge of classical languages and the history of classical antiquity was a …

Material Culture And The Greek And Latin Classroom, Liane Houghtalin

Cultural and Philosophical Inquiry Articles

Responding to the new Standards for Classical Language Learning, this article emphasizes the importance of material culture to the study of Greek and Latin language and literature at every level, both K-12 and college. Using inscriptions on Greek vases and Roman coins as well as maps and house plans as examples, it demonstrates ways to insert material culture into the Greek and Latin classroom that will enhance a student’s knowledge of the language. It also shows how the use of material culture will help a class meet not only the Cultures goal of the new Standards, but also the Connections, …

Aeschylean Drama And The History Of Rhetoric, Allannah K. Karas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation demonstrates how the playwright Aeschylus contributes to the development of ancient Greek rhetoric through his use and display of πειθώ (often translated “persuasion”) throughout the Oresteia, first performed in 458 BCE. In this drama, Aeschylus specifically displays and develops πειθώ as a theme, a goddess, a central principle of action, and an important concept for his audience to consider. By tracing connections between Aeschylus’ innovations with πειθώ and later fifth and early fourth century conceptions of Greek rhetoric, I argue that Aeschylus plays a more important role in the development of practical principles and concepts of the …

The Sovereign Ideal: Views Of Rome In Athenian Inscriptions, Connor Q. North

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

This research examines the effect of discourse on the relationship between the ancient Roman and Athenian states through an analysis of each culture’s treatment of the most significant terms in that exchange. Athenian inscriptions frequently describe Romans and their Republic as friends and allies. Previous research has often dismissed these terms as euphemistic due to the difficulty of reconciling their equitable connotations with the highly asymmetrical power of Rome; however, this research argues on the basis of (IR) Constructivism that discourse played a constitutive role in ancient politics. It concludes that the Athenians’ handling of this discourse had a …

The Influence Of Hellenism On The Literary Style Of 1 And 2 Maccabees, Dimitra S. Fellman

Young Historians Conference

The Jewish people living within Hellenistic Greece experienced great freedoms, and many assimilated into the non-Jewish societies around them. Yet, under the Seleucid King Antiochus IV in the 2nd century BCE, the Jewish people experienced oppression and persecution, which has been chronicled in the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. At a glance, these books appear opposed to the blending of Hellenistic culture and society into surrounding Jewish communities, but a deeper analysis of both texts reveals that the authors depended on Hellenistic constructs to effectively tell their story. This paper explores the degree to which the authors of 1 …

Conceptualizing Greek Textile Terminologies: A Databased System, Kalliope Sarri

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

One of the major challenges in costume and textile research is dealing with the vast number of terms related to textiles and garments, especially because similar terms are found in different languages and dialects, in various regions and over long periods of time, where they have survived in a complicated network of linguistic and cultural interrelations. There have been many attempts to collect textile terms in glossaries as parts of costume studies or as parts of museum archival projects. These glossaries however are usually limited to specific topics, geographical areas, languages, and time periods.

Creating a diachronic and global costume …

Textile Terminologies, State Of The Art And New Directions, Salvatore Gaspa, Cécile Michel, Marie-Louise Nosch

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The first published volume dedicated to the diachronic study of ancient textile terminologies gathered contributions on Semitic and Indo- European studies based on texts dated mainly to the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC.1 It provided a rich body of data and the first steps in elaborating a methodology of how to analyse textile terminologies and technologies according to various categories. Yet, it also highlighted the problems that were encounter in such studies. For example, some areas such as Greece, Italy, Anatolia and Italy are rich in texts providing numerous textile terms but do not yield many ancient textiles, which can …

Remarks On The Interpretation Of Some Ambiguous Greek Textile Terms, Stella Spantidaki

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The study of written sources of the Classical period (5th and 4th centuries BC) reveals the existence of a very rich vocabulary related to textile production. There are terms referring to materials, tools, manufacture and decoration techniques, colours, people and places related to textile manufacture. Many terms are quite clearly defined, while others present major difficulties in their interpretation. Usually these concern terms for tools, such as κερκίς (pin beater or shuttle) and ἡλακάτη (distaff or spindle) or terms describing fabrics with some kind of decoration. Among the decorative terms, some refer to specific decorative techniques, such as κατάστικτος (embroidered) …

Tunics Worn In Egypt In Roman And Byzantine Times: The Greek Vocabulary, Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The principal element of the fashion in clothing introduced in Egypt with the arrival of the Romans was a tunic made of two rectangular pieces of fabric sewn together. Such a tunic either would leave the arms naked, or cover the arms to the elbow (fig. 1). This fashion changed with the turn of the 2nd and 3rd century AD. At this time, in addition to the tunics without sleeves, the inhabitants of Egypt started to wear tunics with ‘true’ sleeves – long or short, wide or tight – inspired by the Eastern fashion: the manner of making the tunics …

Χιτών – Δαλματική – Μαφόρτης – Σύνθεσις: Common And Uncommon Garment Terms In Dowry Arrangements From Roman Egypt, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

With regard to ancient textile terms, dictionaries could potentially generate a false sense of security. Their formal accuracy might let us think that we are, without doubt, provided with the term that corresponds perfectly with a particular expression from an ancient Greek and/or Latin document. However, translations in dictionaries are almost exclusively based on reading and interpreting ancient literary sources and tend to neglect documentary evidence. But documentary sources, such as papyri, are a valuable and unique resource for research, referring to manifold aspects of social and economic history. Above all, they offer an insight into the minutae of individual …

Classics And Rockefeller Center: John D. Rockefeller Jr. And The Use Of Classicism In Public Space, Jared A. Simard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation situates the mythologically-inspired artwork of Rockefeller Center in the classical education of its sole proprietor, John D. Rockefeller Jr. I argue that his extensive classical education at the Browning School and Brown University led to an adult interest in the Classics. Through extensive, original archival research at the Rockefeller Archive Center and the Rockefeller Center Archive Center, I demonstrate that this interest was expressed through his philanthropy of prestigious institutions such as the American Academy in Rome, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the excavations of the Athenian Agora. Colonial Williamsburg and Versailles are also …

Slavery: The Main Ingredient To An Ancient Greek Polis' Military Dominance, Steven T. Tran

Young Historians Conference

Spartan and Athens' victories against the Persians and their eventual military dominance cannot be attributed to military strategy or government alone. The social acceptance of slavery provided the foundation for Greek poleis' social and economic spheres, leading to the development of slave deployment during the Persian Wars and Peloponnesian War. An in-depth analysis of Classical Greece slavery shows that its prevalence is much greater than what previous historians have thought, and more notably, that it was one of the most massive slave usage in history, allowing for the development of a dominating western world.