Classics

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    A Contemporary Cartoon Epic: Classical Reception and Homeric Epic in Bone by Jeff Smith
    (2017) Weissman, Hannah; Sigelman, Asya C.; Stevens, Ben
    This thesis explores the connection between ancient epic and contemporary comics using Bone by Jeff Smith as a case study. The theoretical framework of the paper draws from reception studies to frame comparisons between Bone and ancient epic. The paper explores the genre of epic, using ancient and contemporary scholars to produce a working definition of the genre. It creates a distinction between whether works fall into the epic genre and whether works are themselves epics. Then, it compares the formal elements of Homeric epic with comics and investigates key similarities between the two media. There are five main categories that define whether a work is an epic: content (addressed in the discussion of genre), performativity, perspective, use of character types, and seriality. Finally, it applies the connections from the previous chapters to two comic adaptations of the Homeric epics, Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower and The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. This study lays a foundation for looking at comics as epic, and thus opens up the idea of epic for a broader range of reception studies.
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    A Feminist Exploration of the Mother-Daughter Relationship in Euripides’ Elektra
    (2023) Pak, Celine; Farmer, Matthew C.
    This paper engages with two Black feminist theorists, Audre Lorde and Saidiya Hartman, in order to identify a liberatory methodology with which one can create a positive reading of Elektra and Clytemnestra, the two central female figures within Euripides’ Elektra. The paper focuses particularly on the effects of language and narrative on one’s perceived reality, and attempts to center each woman’s words, even as their words and narratives affect one another. In doing so, the final goal of the paper is to look at the mother-daughter relationship between the two characters as a whole, and the tragic effects of that relationship that inundate the play.
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    A Slippery Matter: Reproduction and a Radical Hierarchy of Gender in the Apocryphon of John
    (2018) Eduardo Espinoza, Cristian; Edmonds, Radcliffe G., III, 1970-
    In this thesis I argue that the “Gnostic” text the Apocryphon of John expresses a radical hierarchy of gender previously unexplored in this manner. It is unique even among its fellow “Gnostic” texts and its high valuation of androgyny at the top of this hierarchy is an unexpected extension of the via eminentiae method of describing an ineffable God. By analyzing the series of reproductions within its narrative, I argue that the shifts in the gender of its characters is a manifestation of the ontological slippage involved in the very process of reproduction. I also argue that its language of consent serves as an anti-slippage mechanism. My findings lead me to also assert a new understanding of the Divine Triad instead of its traditional configuration.
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    Actual infinity and pure calculation : the legacy of Archimedes through the Palimpsest of Codex C
    (2011) Bergbower, Emily Anne Smith
    The Archimedes Palimpsest, otherwise known as Codex C, contains two new treatises of the great mathematician and mechanical engineer, Archimedes of Syracuse. The first treatise, The Method of Mechanical Theorems, was read in part by J.L. Heiburg in 1906, but its critically important proposition 14 was first read in the last decade using modern imaging techniques. Proposition 14 indicates that Archimedes knew certain principles of infinite summation, calculated with actual infinity, and foresaw modern Set Theory. These are critical concepts to the development of calculus and advanced mathematics, and they also undermine the nature of what historians of science have long believed of ancient Greek mathematics. The second treatise found in the palimpsest is the Stomachion in which Archimedes relies on a 14 piece tangram puzzle to perform pure calculations and use combinatorics. The content of these two treatises create a new and more developed role for Archimedes within the history of science as they show him to be both the father of calculus and the father of combinatorics. This paper assesses the content of these treatises, their importance within the history of science, and how they alter our perception of Archimedes.
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    Aeneas in the New World: Reshaping the Interpretive Motif in Barlow's Columbiad
    (2010) Carroll, Thomas Eliot; Mulligan, Bret
    Barlow's Columbiad evokes Virgil's Aeneid by using the motifs of revelation and interpretation to explore the role of the past in informing the present. Virgil creates an opposition between Aeneas, who receives prophecies and signs but is prevented from interpreting them by his shock and fear, and his father Anchises, who interprets the prophecies and guides the Trojans. Aeneas learns to use his father's interpretive ritual but must utilize this technique to craft forward-looking interpretations and lead his people into the unknown, in order to fulfill his destiny. This combination of traditional ritual with a progressive outlook reflects symbolically the new political circumstances of Virgil's Rome. In the Columbiad, Columbus views scenes from early American history, and presents Hesper with the problems and criticisms he sees in the nation's development, relying on Hesper to explain them. Through their intermittent dialogue, the two advocate cyclical and linear models of historical development, respectively. Hesper's interpretation of mankind's progressive improvement prevails, reflecting Barlow's vision of post-revolutionary America as distinct from and improving upon its Old World predecessors. The two epics' common motif reveals the complexity of Columbus' character and reinforces Barlow's democratic message.
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    “An age of genealogy”: The Auctoritas of Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis and Its Influence on Narratives of Trojan Ethnogenesis in Late Medieval Europe
    (2014-09-16) Richard, Katharine R.
    In the twelfth through fourteenth centuries, the Trojan War became an increasingly popular time for many elite European families to locate their founding ancestors; Trojan origins provided the justification for the rule of these influential families. This sudden surge in Trojan ethnogenesis required medieval authors to use certain, authoritative primary sources: these sources were the Ephemeris Belli Troiani of Dictys Cretensis and the De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius, supposed eyewitness accounts to the events of the Trojan War. In this paper I suggest that the writers of the Ephemeris and the De Excidio called upon ancient forms of historical writing as well as a deliberately sparse style in order to present their works as entirely authentic. I explore the ways in which medieval writers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth and the anonymous Gawain poet employed these primary sources to construct and criticize, respectively, the use of Trojan ethnogenesis to promote the idea of translatio imperii. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Department of Latin at Bryn Mawr College May
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    Amazons in the Amphora: Traces of the Defeated Other in Wonder Woman Comics
    (2010) Pollack, Lara; Roberts, Deborah H.; Mulligan, Bret
    References to the Amazons, a mythical race of warrior women, are widespread in ancient literature. They were generally represented as a defeated Other in their relations with the Greeks, reaffirming the patriarchal nature of Greek society. Amazons have also been received into modern literature, with the most prominent example being Wonder Woman, a comic book character created by William Marston in the early 1940s. Wonder Woman has generally been hailed as a feminist icon. The widespread representation of bondage and other sadomasochistic elements throughout the Wonder Woman comics, however, argue that she and other female characters are still represented as a defeated Other, retaining traces of the misogyny widespread in ancient accounts of Amazons.
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    An American paradox : the legacy of classical Roman republicanism, libertas, and slavery in American ideology
    (2016) Andrew, Sarah T.
    In an attempt to uncover how the Founders of America conceptualized liberty and society in the creation of their own Republic, I will explore the meaning of liberty in the Roman Republic and its relationship to the functioning of the government in a slave holding society. This work will build off the theories of several Republican Scholars who trace classical republicanism to its origination in the Roman Republic.1 These scholars define liberty in the negative sense, as non-domination, and identify the promotion and protection of that liberty as the goal of Republicanism. They further understand that equal rights, participation, and a system of checks and balances in the government can best achieve the goal of liberty.
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    An Old Tale Sung Again: Hadestown as Reception of Classical Myth
    (2023) Crocket, Maria Rose; Sigelman, Asya C.
    In this thesis I argue that the 2019 Broadway musical Hadestown is a work of classical reception and I will analyse how it uses the myths of Orpheus & Eurydice and Hades & Persephone to create a story reimagined for modern audiences. Through this paper I will chart the progression of these two myths over time to show how they were distinct in their earliest tellings and were drawn together over time, first through connections in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and then Hadestown tying them together even more. I then move into an analysis of the musical, showing the ways that it entwines the myths together through the storylines of the two main couples and looking at how aspects from the ancient tradition of the myths were included and expanded upon in this modern retelling. This paper also includes a discussion of the power of poetry/song, both in the ancient tradition (looked at specifically in Ovid’s version of the Orpheus myth), along with how this theme appears in Hadestown through both the figure of Orpheus and the story being told through the form of a musical.
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    Anacreon’s love poetry: redirecting the ball of Eros
    (2011) Carter, Rachel Leigh
    Critical opinion about Anacreon’s poetry has changed since Smyth penned his damning evaluation in 1900. Anacreon, indeed, is allowed to be one of the more clever poets of archaic Greece. Still, if we except Bowra’s deep appreciation of his poems, it is probable that one will encounter more recent critics finding something lacking: “there is in his [Anacreon’s] love poetry virtually none of the passion and earnestness that we find in Sappho or Catullus.” However, I agree with Bowra that Anacreon’s particular poetics are something innovative for Greek poetry, “both lyrical and witty, both passionate and fanciful.” Anacreon’s detractors find fault with his poetry in comparison to other poetry, particularly that of his immediate predecessor Sappho. I hope to show in this paper that a comparison of the erotic verse of Anacreon and Sappho can yield a different outcome than a reading of Sappho as superior and Anacreon as inferior. Instead, I hope to examine the genius that lies in both poets and show how the two poets approach love poetry in a fundamentally different way. I will make this comparison using two main texts: Anacreon 358 and Sappho 31. In each poem, the narrator encounters their beloved bestowing favors on someone other than the narrator. Although the poetic scenarios are similar, each author treats them differently and in doing so reveals the way in which poetry processes and mediates erotic disappointment. By bringing in additional fragments as needed, I will show that Sappho’s erotic verse creates spaces and extends time for internal, personal reflection, and within her poems examines the emotions and reactions involved in love.
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    Analyzing the Aeneid and its Translations with Topic Models and Word Embeddings
    (2022) Langen, Carter; Kuper, Charles; Grissom, Alvin
    We review new advances in word embeddings and apply them to cross-lingual literary analysis of Latin and English translations of Latin. We introduce word embeddings, summarize the developments to them that allow them to be trained from small data, on morphologically rich languages, and cross-lingually in detail. We also review Latent Dirichlet Allocation, and Polylingual Topic Models. We then use these models to analyze Vergil's Aeneid and the John Dryden, John Conington, and Theodor Williams translations into English.
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    An archaic agrarian cult centre in the Roman Forum
    (2015-07-28) Barton, Tabatha
    In this paper, I discuss the emerging building program in the Roman forum during the 6th century BCE. This program came with the rise of urbanization and was part of a greater religious culture in archaic Latium. In particular I argue that the monuments in this program represent an archaic cult centre focused on the propitiation of agrarian gods, emphasizing the importance of agriculture to the people of archaic Rome. To make that argument, I present the archaeological and literary evidence followed by a discussion. I will begin with an overview of the material and dating from the Roman forum and then compare this evidence to material from other Latial sites, Lavinium and Satricum. I next present the literary and archaeological evidence for each monument. Then I discuss the monuments as a whole and their role in the topography of festivals. Lastly, I discuss the gods associated with these monuments. I conclude by connecting this cult centre to the rising urbanization and economy of archaic Rome, emphasizing the importance of agriculture.
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    Becoming a resisting reader : enacting and enabling a feminist reading of women in Livy
    (2011) Slavitt, Hannah Chloe
    In Rescuing Creusa: New Methodological Approaches to Women in Antiquity both Marilyn Skinner and Phyllis Culham struggle with what it means to be a feminist scholar of classical sources. The problems faced by a feminist scholar of the classics are daunting and manifold. The classical texts we read are misogynistic, the societies we study are patriarchal and the scholarly framework and critical methodologies that are most widely accepted either cannot or choose not to see women and female characters in their own right. Both women, while giving credit where it’s due, struggle with the structure and sustainability of the broad survey work feminist scholars have tried to do. The traditional methods cannot work for the study of women in ancient society and classical literature because, while trying to adhere to the innately empiricist bias in mainstream scholarship, feminist scholars are actually forced to rely more on speculation. If we can get scholarship to value literature as a truly valid, if not comprehensive, source then feminist textual readings, close literary analysis in the most traditional sense, can have a chance of reinvigorating feminist scholarship. While literature cannot present us with the factual truth that historians usually crave, it can provide invaluable insight. We must then become Judith Fetterly’s resisting reader; we must appreciate the text, approach it with respect and then, only then, should we provide a critical and informed evaluation of the text as it relates to women and feminism.
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    Blowing in the Wind: The Effect of Translation on Ecclesiastes' Breath Motif
    (2015) Kohrman-Glaser, Eliana; Sigelman, Asya C.
    This thesis discusses the translation of the Septuagint Ecclesiastes as an example of the most literal style of translation in the Septuagint. By examining the breath motif in the Hebrew text of Ecclesiastes and evaluating how the Greek translation preserves or fails to preserve its components, it is possible to analyses the merits of this translation style in maintaining a motif created by repeated words and images. I find that this literal translation style is the most effective way to translate such a text, and should not be dismissed simply because it reads awkwardly.
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    Boy or god : the vacillating role of the divinity of Antinous
    (2015-07-28) Tenpenny, Rachel Elizabeth
    Antinous is a figure of Roman history known to all. His name is practically infamous. The young boy and beloved of Hadrian became a god upon his death, and that's where his life really took off. The most fascinating mystery about Antinous is his vacillating role throughout history including the various and manifold critical reception of him. Considering that he was a young boy who did not live past twenty years of age at the most, the sheer immovable permanence of his image is astounding. From the oracular Egyptian god to the Victorian homosexual icon to the modern god of homosexuality, Antinous has concretely proven his h'1d immortality. In a way, Antinous has become a sort of "blank slate" god, who has/syncretisms and various incarnations thrust upon his identity. All these variations make it hard to discover who the "true" Antinous really is, if there even is one. Ultimately, throughout history Antinous was transformed into the god or icon that a particular people needed at a particular time.
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    Canine Connections: Perceptions of Dogs and Dog Symbolism in Homer and Hesiod
    (2023) Neuschotz, Alexander J.; Mulligan, Bret
    This thesis traces the discussion of dogs in Homer and Hesiod first from a narrative point of view, including their role in what I call canine-based tonal transitioning, wherein they draw the focus away from any preceding dominant emotion or theme in order to establish a tone that is consistent with episodes to follow; their narrative significance; their capacity for foreshadowing; and their reflective properties. These reflective properties naturally lead into a treatment of dogs in the context of moral judgements, including the role of gender on which aspects of dogs are emphasized in human comparisons, and a consideration of the use of canine traits in insults and compliments. In particular, this thesis considers the consequences of Pandora, the first woman, being said to have a “bitchy” mind. Lastly, this thesis combines the preceding discussions, along with other observations, in the formulation of my Canine Manifold Theory, which develops a holistic picture of dogs in antiquity by tracing patterns between differing but locally-consistent portrayals.
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