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Full-Text Articles in History

Epictetus’ Enchiridion And The Influence On Women, Eloise C. Schell Apr 2020

Epictetus’ Enchiridion And The Influence On Women, Eloise C. Schell

Young Historians Conference

The Enchiridion, attributed to the ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus, has been interpreted in many ways since its creation nearly two thousand years ago. This research explores the ways in which Epictetus’ teachings in the Enchiridion, although not originally intended for women, have influenced women throughout history. Not only are the interpretations relating to gender different from the intended purpose of the text, but also the way that the Enchiridion has influenced women has changed over time. In some cases the Enchiridion was used to reinforce power differentials between genders and, in others, it was cited in support of female independence. …


The Influence Of Spanish Mines On Roman Victory In The Second Punic War, Fisher W. Ng Apr 2018

The Influence Of Spanish Mines On Roman Victory In The Second Punic War, Fisher W. Ng

Young Historians Conference

The idea that one factor can win a war seems preposterous, yet Rome’s acquisition of the Spanish mines turned the tides of the Second Punic War in their favor. While most scholars agree Rome’s conquest of the Spanish mines was a step in defeating Carthage, there is no consensus that the mines directly influenced the war. The accounts of ancient Roman historians Titus Livius and Pliny the Elder, as well as Greek historian Diodorus, attest to the unparalleled amount of precious metals the Spanish mines produced--treasure capable of stimulating Roman economy. Modern scholarship agrees controlling precious metals sources allowed Rome …


Galen: The Philosophical Physician, Chloe Sellers Apr 2018

Galen: The Philosophical Physician, Chloe Sellers

Young Historians Conference

Analyzing the works of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, this paper reveals the specific influences each of the three had upon Galen’s medical practice, asserting that the influence of philosophy was ultimately responsible for distinguishing Galen from his contemporaries. Drawing from various primary sources, including Plato’s “The Apology,” Timaeus and The Republic, as well as Aristotle’s Physics, and comparing them to Galen’s works, “The Art of Medicine” and “A Method of Medicine to Glaucon,” numerous similarities are revealed between the works of Galen and those of the philosophical trio. By evaluating these many connections among the works, as well as using …


Aristotle's Politics And Slavery In Ancient Athens, Krystyna D. Klucznik Apr 2018

Aristotle's Politics And Slavery In Ancient Athens, Krystyna D. Klucznik

Young Historians Conference

The relationship between Aristotle’s theoretical discussion of slavery in Politics and the reality of slavery in ancient Athens is complex and multifaceted. In tandem with Politics, which was my main primary source, I also drew on multiple pieces of secondary scholarship on both Politics and slavery in Athens to compare the two presentations of slavery. Additionally, I drew on the works of Euripides and Solon. In particular, my paper focuses on the process of manumission, the lack of social mobility afforded to freed slaves, and how slaves were viewed generally. A comparison of these sources reveals that there are significant …


The Pawn Of Rome: The Roman Infantryman, Nanyi R. Yang Apr 2018

The Pawn Of Rome: The Roman Infantryman, Nanyi R. Yang

Young Historians Conference

Even to this day, the Roman army stands out as one of the most successful military forces in human history. The widespread success of the Roman Empire was in large part due to its armies, who were able to meet challenges with flexible and effective troops. These armies faced all kinds of attacks, from the swift hit-and-run attacks of the Germanic tribes to the crushing cavalry charges of the Parthian Empire. Rome’s military might, however, was unrelenting. This paper focuses on the Roman soldier and how he was trained to be adaptable to the variety of enemies and obstacles he …


To What Extent Does Aristophanes’ Knights Reflect Greek Opinion Of Cleon And The Peloponnesian War?, Samuel M. Hinerfeld Apr 2018

To What Extent Does Aristophanes’ Knights Reflect Greek Opinion Of Cleon And The Peloponnesian War?, Samuel M. Hinerfeld

Young Historians Conference

This paper analyzes the similarities between the works of Greek Intellectuals like Thucydides and Plutarch, and Aristophanes’ representation of Cleon and the Peloponnesian War in his early comedy, Knights. Aristophanes satires of the Peloponnesian War were extremely popular among Athenian elite– despite this status, his early comedies failed to dissuade the Athenian Assembly from ushering the downfall of Greek power. While Aristophanes’ Knights was largely ineffective in swaying support for the conflict, it notably provides an accurate representation of the irrational nature of Athen’s demos under Cleon. Through this play, he portrays the Demos as dysfunctional and fickle–supporting policies in …


The Veiled Exploitation Of The Vestal Virgins, Lara Mclain Apr 2018

The Veiled Exploitation Of The Vestal Virgins, Lara Mclain

Young Historians Conference

This paper discusses the political dynamics of the Roman religious systems, specifically the Vestal Virgins. This work seeks to refute the commonly accepted understanding of the Vestal Virgins as an empowering, religious cult and build an understanding of the cult of Vesta as a political tool that was used by the Roman state to maintain power and traditional values. The location of the Temple of Vesta in the Forum, the political epicenter of the Roman Empire, serves as the foundation for this paper’s assertion that the Vestals were an essentially political tool. Livy’s description of Hannibal’s advance towards Rome and …


The Edict Of Milan And The Early Roots Of Christianity In The Roman Empire, Christopher J. Chow Apr 2017

The Edict Of Milan And The Early Roots Of Christianity In The Roman Empire, Christopher J. Chow

Young Historians Conference

With the Christian religion becoming so widely accepted and dominant today in the Western world, it is easy to forget the journey that the religion went through to reach its current state. It was once a heavily persecuted religion, yet it took the Roman Empire by storm and became the backbone to the Catholic Church. Christianity's spread was no accident. This paper will examine some of the factors regarding Christianity's early roots to identify what led up to its success in a heavily dominated Pagan culture.


What’S Your Temperament: The Humoral Theory’S Influence On Medicine In Ancient Greece, Riley Sebers Apr 2016

What’S Your Temperament: The Humoral Theory’S Influence On Medicine In Ancient Greece, Riley Sebers

Young Historians Conference

Prior to the birth of Hippocrates of Cos in 460 BCE, medicine in ancient Greece revolved around the gods and magic. During Hippocrates lifetime, he remastered an old practice called the humoral theory: an idea stating that every individual person has a unique balance of substances called humors in their body. The balance of these humors is what keeps a man healthy, and if a specific amount is disturbed, sickness sets in. This theory allowed physicians in ancient Greece to move away from dominantly using magic to treat illness and start using the humoral theory instead.


Slavery: The Main Ingredient To An Ancient Greek Polis' Military Dominance, Steven T. Tran Apr 2016

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.


The Rise And Fall Of Human Dissection In Hellenistic Alexandria, Ellie H. Barany Apr 2016

The Rise And Fall Of Human Dissection In Hellenistic Alexandria, Ellie H. Barany

Young Historians Conference

Classical and Hellenistic Greece were known to be a hub of scientific research. However, the potential for scientific discovery was limited by dominating religious beliefs. Advancements in the study of human anatomy were inhibited by religious taboos that prevented the practice of human dissection. These taboos took hold of Greek society, with a consequence of exile to anyone who violated them. The exception however, is in Hellenistic Alexandria under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kings, Soter and Philadelphus. This paper examines the factors under which the Greek scientist Herophilus was allowed to practice systematic human dissection, as well as the …


The Roman Army: Strategy, Tactics, And Innovation, Weiyi Zhou Apr 2015

The Roman Army: Strategy, Tactics, And Innovation, Weiyi Zhou

Young Historians Conference

The Roman Empire at its peak covered millions of square miles of ground, encompassing a vast variety of cultures of people. In order to ensure continued peace and stability in such a mammoth multiethnic empire, the Roman Army was forced to engage and repel a variety of foreign opponents utilizing different tactics across a wide spectrum of terrain, from Macedonian phalanxes on flat plains to Gallic barbarian hordes on forested ground. Simultaneously, the Roman Army also had to avoid compromising internal stability and maintain a force capable of putting down a large range of insurrectionist forces. Even today, with the …


Celtic Romanization: Cultural Assimilation Or Cultural Exchange?, Shawn Lee Apr 2015

Celtic Romanization: Cultural Assimilation Or Cultural Exchange?, Shawn Lee

Young Historians Conference

The rise of the Roman Empire created not only a military but also a cultural hegemony over colonized populations. While this interaction is often portrayed as a primarily unidirectional process of cultural assimilation, this may not be the case for Celtic peoples following their colonization in the mid first century BC. An examination of Roman perception of Celtic culture, perceived compatibility of Celtic culture, and mixed Romano-Celtic culture indicates that the cultural exchange between Romans and Celts was bi-directional.


The Dichotomy Of Pudicitia, Amber L. Harvey Apr 2015

The Dichotomy Of Pudicitia, Amber L. Harvey

Young Historians Conference

The lives of women in the Roman Republic were incredibly restricted and controlled by their male counterparts, yet key counters to this restriction are often overlooked, mainly that of a woman’s pudicitia. Pudicitia was a defining moral quality that encompassed state, familial, sexual, and other duties, a woman held in society. These qualities, are shown in the mythical Rape of the Sabines, and allow female participation in the Conflict of the Orders and the defiance of the Vestal Virgins. These allowances are countered by aspects of pudicitia that restricted rights and participation, ultimately yielding a system that paradoxically encouraged …


Christianity's Influence On Attitudes Toward Homosexuality In The Roman Empire, Jennie Jiang Apr 2015

Christianity's Influence On Attitudes Toward Homosexuality In The Roman Empire, Jennie Jiang

Young Historians Conference

Attitudes towards sexuality are deeply influenced by the intricate interplay between religion and social values. How do polytheistic and monotheistic societies differ in how they view sexuality? In the pre-Christian days of the early Roman Empire, polytheism fostered a remarkable tolerance toward both same-sex relations and various expressions of sexuality, as evident in social expectations, literature, and written law. In contrast, a closer examination of the Roman Empire’s transition from a polytheistic to Christian society in the 4th and 5th centuries reveals that the rise of Christianity corresponded with, and likely contributed to, increasingly strict attitudes towards homosexuality.


Livia's Power In Ancient Rome, Tori L. Allen Apr 2015

Livia's Power In Ancient Rome, Tori L. Allen

Young Historians Conference

When one thinks of the ancient Roman heroes, Caesar and Augustus come to mind. We picture Roman men on the front lines in culture and society, while the women are kept back and oppressed. And while women definitely faced obstacles in ancient Rome, it didn't stop them from making an impact. This paper argues that Livia, wife of Roman emperor Augustus, was able to secretly manipulate politics in Rome as a mother and a wife, as seen in honorific statues, Ovid's poetry, and honorific titles.


The Enigma Of The Spartan Woman, Jalena M. Post Apr 2015

The Enigma Of The Spartan Woman, Jalena M. Post

Young Historians Conference

Active in both social and economic spheres, Spartan women possessed much more mobility than their counterparts in Athens. In the areas of education, the arts, land ownership, marriage, and family life, the women of Sparta enjoyed a large amount of sovereignty when compared to other ancient societies. The absence of Spartan men during almost constant times of war necessitated women taking on more responsibility than they would have otherwise, but to what extent? This paper strives to characterize the unique role of the women of Sparta during the classical period of Greek history, especially as in contrast to their Athenian …


Power Structure, Nathaniel Klein Apr 2015

Power Structure, Nathaniel Klein

Young Historians Conference

By today's standards morally reprehensible subjects are difficult to examine, however, from a historical perspective topics such as infanticide offer insight into individual behavior, therefore reflecting societal norms. This paper explores the practice of infanticide used during the course of the 7th century BCE to reinforce the power structures of the period. Infanticide was far more than a simple way to dispose of unwanted offspring; it was a tool that was used by ancient Greek societies to maintain systems of control and promote social values upon which society depended.


Not All Were Created Equal, Sarah Cox May 2011

Not All Were Created Equal, Sarah Cox

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores the exceptional social, political and economic status afforded to women in Sparta by their society. Women were not simply relegated to the domestic sphere in Sparta, their responsibilities included managing both public and private affairs in the absence of their husbands, brothers and fathers. Their collective role in society allowed them to contribute to and serve their city state. It asserts that women in Sparta, unlike their contemporaries in other ancient Greek city states, had more opportunities to affect the overall impact of Sparta as a dominate military power.