Classics Commons^™

Let's Play A Lovegame: How College Hookup Culture Came To Be, How It Functions On A University Campus, And The Greek Organizations That Perpetuate It At Butler University, Ella Gray Tucker

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

“Let’s Play a LoveGame” examines how hookup culture functions, is perpetuated, and impacts students on a college campus. By understanding the historical context of its creation, I analyze the multitude of factors that aided it to evolve into what it is today. Although hookup culture is considered part of the undergraduate “college experience”, it is negatively impacting students' mental well-being and their understanding of romantic relationships. With Butler University as my case study, I have come to find that Greek Organizations within the National Panhellenic Conference and Interfraternity Council hold events that enable hookup culture to permeate Greek row which …

What Bombs Cannot Occupy: Memory, Heritage, And War In Ukraine, Dalton D. Conden

The Penguin Review

Air-raid sirens have become part of the daily soundscape in Ukrainian cities. They interrupt meals, classes, conversations, and sleep. When they blare, people gather what they can and move quickly sometimes to shelters, sometimes to basements, sometimes nowhere at all. Families lock their doors without knowing whether they will ever turn the key again. Children carry backpacks filled with whatever seemed important in the moment: a photograph, a stuffed animal, a book pulled hastily from a shelf. Around them, buildings that once anchored everyday life—churches, museums, historic neighborhoods— have been damaged or destroyed.

In The Eyes Of Empires: Depictions Of Ancient Illyria, Maeve Quinlan Miller

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Illyria, called Illyricum under Roman governance, was an area in the ancient Mediterranean which extended across the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. Situated north of Greece, west of Macedon, and across the ocean from Rome, Illyria occupied a critical place in the world, and yet it remains underdiscussed in scholarship. The sources that have survived into the modern era come from non-Illyrian voices, like Livy from Rome, Polybius, a Greek historian, or Arrian, who took great lengths to record the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Without affiliation or deep understanding of Illyrian ways, places like Rome, Greece, and Macedon …

A Crown In Death: An (Expanded) Dramaturgical Approach To The Trojan Women Of Euripides, Stephanie Lester

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

In the action-packed, visually-oriented market for modern media, some may assume a 2,400-year-old Greek tragedy to be slightly past its expiration date, especially if it features little to no action onstage like in Euripides’ The Trojan Women. However, it is important to remember that literature is lost when the world fails to cherish it, so if a text survives that long, it may be worth another cursory glance. In this case, that glance involved a full dramaturgical study featuring qualitative script analysis of multiple translations of The Trojan Women with related texts to explore context, themes, common literary devices, and …

Imagined Empires: Roman And Chinese Constructions Of One Another In Antiquity, Elizabeth S. Tsang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines how the Roman and Han Chinese empires conceptualized one another during the first centuries CE, despite never establishing sustained direct contact. It argues that mutual perceptions were shaped less by firsthand experience than by mediated reports, commodities, and the political interests of intermediaries. The study proceeds in four parts. The first explores how Roman authors employed the ethnonym Seres to frame China as a land of wonder, wealth, and alterity. The second analyzes the Chinese designation Da Qin, showing how it projected Han imperial ideals outward by casting Rome as a mirror-image polity. The third turns to …

A Reconstruction Of The Homeric Tradition In Early Greece, Aidan F. Hoey

Student Theses

This thesis discusses the centuries-long historiographical debate that is known to us as the Homeric Question. The identity of Homer, the authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the dating from when the Homeric epic poems were composed, the Homeric diction, and the historicity of the Trojan War has puzzled scholars since Antiquity. Only by the twentieth century, scholars Milman Parry and Albert Lord proved that the Iliad and Odyssey were orally composed. How the written form of the Homeric epic poems came about has become even more of a historiographic puzzle than it has been previously. Building off the …

He's A Pirate: Greco-Roman Pirates In The Eastern Mediterranean, Nathan Hill

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

For as long as people have traveled by sea, pirates have looked to rob and steal from them. This danger was especially true for travelers in Ancient Greece and Rome. While many ancient sources mention pirates, it is usually just in passing. However, even those few small references allude to a far more important role in history. Through the use of the ancient written sources, inscriptions, and archeological evidence, it becomes apparent that the pirates were an integral part of local economies and politics. Many city-states employed their own sailors in piratical raids against their enemies in and out of …

Herman Melville’S Bartleby And A Critique Of The Market Revolution, Emma Williams

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Emma Williams ’25, History and English major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Steven Smith, History

Mythic Arcana - A Tarot And Mythology Guidebook, Kiya Whitaker

English Student Scholarship

Mythic Arcana is part of my senior thesis show and the culmination of my writing and design journey at the college. It is a creative spin on the Major Arcana tarot deck and features mythological characters from around the world. Tarot is used for spiritual guidance, and the Major Arcana cards represent the Soul’s journey from naivety and vast potential (starting with 0, the Fool) to success and fulfillment (ending with 21, the World).

Enjoy this celebration of our world's rich and diverse cultures. Immerse yourself in enchanting art and storytelling. Allow this work to bring you to the past, …

The Ascent Of The Balthi: The Emergence Of Visigothic Kingship In Late Antiquity, William Deloach

Tenor of Our Times

The first four centuries of the First Millennium AD witnessed the rapid development of political infrastructure among the Gothic people. Emerging from Scandinavia, Gothic group consolidated into more nuanced political confederations by the third century. Challenges to these power structures, both internal and external, became the catalyst for further consolidation. The adaptations of the third and fourth centuries resulted in the emergence of a more easily recognizable political unit: the Visigoths under a Balthi monarchy. These challenges, and forthcoming adaptations, places the Goths within the tradition of the Late Antique world. Late Antiquity, therefore, should not only be thought to …

Race And Greek Mythology: An Analysis Of A Racialized Hierarchy In Literary And Artistic Depictions Of The Line Of Io In Archaic And Classical Greece, Angie Pierre

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Following the emergence of the Greek alphabet in 8th century B.C.E, Greece produced literary works which demonstrated contemporary beliefs, customs, and practices. Additionally, pottery during this era began to be more expressive. The use of geometric shapes and imagery from Egypt were later used to create stories and induce emotions in pottery. Following the Archaic period, the Classical era has produced a plethora of literary and artistic material that expands on material from the Archaic era while simultaneously providing commentary on its own period. While not in a consistent manner, an underlying theme within the art and literature of the …

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

History & Classics Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Limitation For Liberty: A Commentary On Federalism And The Tenth Amendment, Riley Banker

Senior Honors Theses

The concept of Federalism is essential to the very survival of the United States. However, recent decisions by the Supreme Court have illustrated attempts by the federal government to expand its authority and undermine the balance of power created by Federalism. This thesis will explore the concept of Federalism to demonstrate how it can best be protected. First, this thesis will address the origins of Federalism. Second, it will show how the principles of Federalism are manifested within the founding documents of the United States. Finally, this thesis will analyze current events including Supreme Court cases to demonstrate a concerning …

Spiritual Chemistry: The Theosophic Roots Of Newtonian Alchemy, Jeffery Tucker

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The popularization of mathematics in the Modern Era and the subsequent proliferation of technologies have created a cultural environment in which the meaning of 'science' is often assumed to be self-evident. Philosophically, this presumptive consensus derives many of its arguments from Popperian criteria, which seek to delineate the critical differences between 'science' and 'non-science.' These demarcations imply that 'science' is an empiric reality, discoverable in both its methods and qualities. Although Kuhnian relativism has attenuated the robustness of these assertions, the fact remains that many individuals purport to have an intuitive ability to state definitively, "This is science." Such claims …

On History As Such And Historical Practice, Drew Mecham

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In his essay "On History Again," Thomas Carlyle asks: "Were there no brave men, thinkest thou, before Agamemnon?" Carlyle probably sought to reference the idea that history is incapable of uncovering the past completely: the documents simply fail to create a full image of the past that we desire. It seems that his answer to his question would be that yes, there were brave men before Agamemnon, but they are lost to us. He reaffirms this point later: "The Life of Nero occupies some diamond pages of our Tacitus; but in the parchment and papyrus archives of Nero's generation how …

The Learned Gentlemen With The Copies Of Blackstone: Law And Power In Moby-Dick And Blood Meridian?, David Salzillo '24

History & Classics Student Scholarship

David Salzillo ’24, American Studies and History major

Memories In Stone: Family History Research In The Western Pyrenees, Paul Woodbury

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

I stood in a small grove of trees, which afforded a respite from the misty rain. Streams of fog crept along the valley walls and covered the village of Aydius in foamy white waves. I admired the engravings decorating the lchante household- the heartfelt expression of a peasant farmer and shepherd. I would never have imagined that my internship and study abroad would culminate here, reading my ancestor's memoirs chiseled in stone. Yet here I was, thousands of miles from home, alone in a foreign country, away from the pristine comfort of the regional archives, reading Joseph lchante's legacy carved …

Foreword, Taylor Rice

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Last year I had the distinct privilege of serving as an editor for this fine publication. As the year was brought to a close, Elise Peterson, last volumes Editor-in-Chief, asked me if I would like to stay on with the 7hetean and be its next Editor-in-Chief. I readily agreed, though I was not convinced I was fully qualified. Elise left big shoes to be filled.

The Tree Of "Bitter Fruit": Why Anarchism Failed In Transylvania, Richard Bruner

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Today, the word "anarchy" conjures images of bombs, anti-government protests, and chaos. Achough that may be the modern perception of anarchy, the image did not begin like that. The term has existed for ages, only evolving toward its modern connotation during the nineteenth century. The Greek meaning of the term is "contrary to authority or without a ruler." Anarchy existed as a loose term for the lack of government, or to describe chose who opposed government-often with a derogatory meaning attached to it. Then, in the 1840s Jean-Pierre Proudhon adopted the term to describe his political and social philosophies. Simply …

The Death Of Meriwether Lewis, Matthew W. Hamilton

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In the early morning hours of October 11, 1809, two shots rang out at Grinder's Stand on a wilderness road known as the Natchez Trace in Tennessee. Immediately following the shots, Mrs. Grinder heard a loud "thud" in the adjoining room and a man cry out, "Oh, Lord!" Mrs. Grinder became an eyewitness to a tragic scene. From a concealed location in her kitchen, Mrs. Grinder, with possibly one or two others, watched the traveler who had arrived the previous evening. He appeared to be wounded. As the stranger stumbled about the property he asked for water. Mrs. Grinder, whose …

Preface, Emily Brann West

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

For only the second time, this year's Thetean has been solely produced by our staff It has proven to be an interesting and occasionally difficult journey, but we are satisfied with the outcome, and we hope you will be as well. We received over 70 submissions this year, a record-breaking number, and so we decided to indulge ourselves by including eight, rather than the customary five, papers in this edition. We found these papers to be interesting, thought-provoking, and enlightening; they cover a broad range of topics, and the authors worked diligently on them. We thank them for their efforts.

Preface, Scott Ashton

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Last year Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for history students, awarded the Best Chapter Award in our division to the Beta Iota Chapter at Brigham Young University. Such a distinction is a tribute to the active participation of the chapter's members and to the quality of students and professors in the History Department at BYU. The Thetean, the official journal of the Beta Iota Chapter, showcases the scholarly research of some of these students.

"History Ceases To Exist": Gettysburg And The American Memory, 1865 To 1985, Gary Daynes

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

John Brinkerhoff Jackson, the foremost historian of American landscapes, concluded his essay "The Necessity for Ruins" by stating that for most modern Americans "History ceases to exist." By this, Jackson did not imply that Americans have no interest in the past, for each year millions flock to historic sites. Rather, for Americans, the past is a plaything serving no purpose beyond bolstering their national self image.

Digitizing Delphi: Educating Audiences Through Virtual Reconstruction, Kate Koury

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Implementing a 3D model into a virtual space allows the general public to engage critically with archaeological processes. There are many unseen decisions that go into reconstructing an ancient temple. Analysis of available materials and techniques, predictions of how objects were used, decisions of what sources to reference, puzzle piecing broken remains together, and even educated guesses used to fill gaps in information often go unobserved by the public. This work will educate users about those choices by allowing the side-by-side comparison of conflicting theories on the reconstruction of the Tholos at Delphi, which is an ideal site because of …

Postmodern Philosophy And Its Influence On Modern Museum Theory And Development, Mauri Liljenquist

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

History legitimizes its role in society through the benefits it provides for the public. The idea of history in the ivory tower, while it appeals to some historians and scholars, can never be sufficient to justify the field. Instead it is what emerges from the ivory tower and how that product influences and affects the outside world that determines the value of historical endeavors. The dissemination of history to the public is one of the most significant aspects of the profession. Accuracy and integrity in research and writing are the primary responsibilities of the historian. Following these, the next most …

Iconoclasts And Counter Terrorism Against State Organized Terror: A Study Of Perspectives In Nigerian History And Drama, Adebisi Ademakinwa, Saheed Bello

International Review of Humanities Studies

The paper assesses the issue of terrorism as a social reality present in the Nigerian state from its origination and the questions treated by the paper among others include: what dimensions did the occurrences of terrorism take on Nigerian socio-political sphere? What are the counter measures taken by individual and groups in dealing with state organized terrorism? What are the dimensions state organized terrorism take in the modern Nigerian state? Lekan Balogun‟s Ogun Skugga is used primarily while other literary works are used to supplement. The paper argues that the state organized terrorism was a surreptitious method of coercion adopted …

Judging The Body: Disability, Class And Citizen Identity—A Case Study From An Ancient Greek Lawcourt, Justin L. Biggi

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

This paper aims to showcase how one person's disabled identity—that of the unnamed defendant of the legal speech Lysias 24, who was accused of faking his disability to obtain social security payments—interacted with wider conceptions of citizen identity and citizenship in 5^th century BCE Athens. This paper brings a much-needed intersectional approach to the speech: by viewing the speaker's disabled identity as shaped by his economical status (and vice-versa), this in turn shapes the way we can interpret his experience of citizen identity, as well as his sense of belonging to a citizen body. Recent approaches in critical theory …

Redefining Female Power And Influence In The Early Roman Empire, Jacqueline Elia

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Jacqueline Elia ’23
Majors: History and Classics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melissa Huber, History and Classics

Women are often absent from the ancient Roman literary historical record. Jackie’s research turns to the inscriptional, archaeological remains to add to our larger understanding of the lives of women in the Early Roman Empire. Through a series of case studies on the public contributions of women in cities around the Empire, including GIS maps to track the visibility of female benefactions, Jackie convincingly shows that women in the Early Roman Empire possessed more agency and societal influence than the literary history records.

The Formation Of A Hellenic Identity: The Impact Of Herodotus On The Ancient Greek And The Reception Of His Histories, Conor James

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The ethnic identity of the ancient Greek is a complicated idea that developed over hundreds of years unbeknownst to the communities that would one day be identified as ‘Hellenes.’ The advent of the polis in the Archaic era was followed by nearly three hundred years of rapid development within the scattered communities of ancient Greece before conflict with the Persian Empire necessitated inter-polis cooperation. This phenomenon prompted a movement in which the aspects of life that were once viewed as mere similarities between different societies were clung to and presented as proof of a common ethnic identity that called for …

Redefining Roman Women: Powerful Benefactresses & Patrons Of The Early Roman Empire, Jacqueline Elia

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

The history of the Roman Empire has thus far been largely dominated by male narratives. With ancient literary sources predominantly having been written by and for wealthy male audiences, a dangerously limited scope of the Roman Empire has been perpetuated as marginalized groups such as women have been left out of the historical record. Despite what mainstream history has been led to believe by authors such as Livy and Tacitus, Roman women were not simply one-dimensional, domestic creatures who acted as passive witnesses to male dominance. Rather, middle-elite women throughout the empire frequently existed outside the bounds of the domestic …