Titus Pomponius Atticus was a wealthy Roman citizen of the late Republic period who is now best remembered as a close friend of the orator Cicero. However, he is notable in his own right for a substantial personal impact on the literate sphere of the ancient world. He was a writer himself, as well as … [Read more…]
“I cannot live without books.” To Thomas Jefferson, reading was more than a hobby; it was his investment to the future, one of his loves in life. He enjoyed the classical epics and poems as well as reading the new mathematical and scientific happenings and the philosophies of ancient and modern thinkers. The Virginia native … [Read more…]
The Library of Hadrian is located in Athens, Greece and lies beyond the Roman Agora. An immense structure, the Library was funded by Emperor Hadrian in 132 CE. The incredible size of the structure paired with the amount of materials that were imported for its decoration – Phrygian marble from Asia Minor, alabaster from Egypt, … [Read more…]
The Odyssey and Aeneid are both epics about finding home and father-son relationships. Yet, unlike The Odyssey, which shows Telemachus as unsure and without the role model of his father Odysseus, the Aeneid shows Ascanius (Iulus) accompanying his father Aeneas and as always being confident in his qualities and abilities. Aeneas’ son is an essential … [Read more…]
Rowe Ware is considered to be much older than Sterns Creek Ware; however, the evidence at the site suggests otherwise. At the research excavation site, both Rowe and Sterns Creek ceramic wares were found. These ware types were found in the same excavation levels, which suggests a shared time period of use. This research project … [Read more…]
War is not just physical combat, but also an emotional struggle. After ten years of a physically and emotionally taxing war in Troy, Odysseus had another ten-year journey of extreme physical and emotional peril before he was able to complete his nostos—his journey home. Odysseus’ behavior throughout The Odyssey bears striking similarity with those who … [Read more…]
Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry. Learn what it takes to get a comic book from idea to print on some of the biggest entertainment titles and Eisner Award winning favorites in the world. Jessika Castillo-Rivera, ’14 Munster, … [Read more…]
Traditional Roman elegists, such as Propertius, typically used a male speaker that was a slave to love, passive and powerless at the hands of an indifferent lover. Sulpicia’s strong and assertive elegiac style stands out next to these impotent and passive male fellow elegists, which gave her a distinctly feminist voice in Augustan Rome. This … [Read more…]
Since antiquity malaria has been detrimental to the health of communities and therefore has had a major impact on society. It continues to have this impact today; the World Health Organization chose to focus on the disease as one of its eight Millennium Development Goals. Although in antiquity the disease was not understood as it … [Read more…]
Wagner’s work Parsifal is closely linked to antiquity and the epic tradition in its ambition and vision. While it is well-known that his Der Ring des Nibelungen was inspired in numerous ways by Aeschylus’ Oresteia, I contend that Wagner’s Parsifal has important connections with Homer, especially The Odyssey. Jessika Castillo-Rivera, ’14 Munster, IN Majors: Classical … [Read more…]
Throughout the Roman Empire, victorious Roman armies marched along the Triumphal Way in celebration, passing important monuments, like the triumphal arches specifically dedicated to victory. The arches were, however, much more than symbols of victory.
Poenulus, a comedy by the Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus (254-184 BC) tells the story of two sisters who were abducted as children from Carthage and then sold into prostitution. A young man falls in love with one of the sisters and, through a series of comedic mishaps, he helps overthrow their pimp and returns … [Read more…]
Roman historian Tacitus (56-101 AD) composed the Germania (98 AD), an ethnographical and historical description of the German peoples. The surviving, comprehensive study of the society was one of the earliest and most complete works of its kind. While it may seem an unlikely source to contain insights into the complexities of the Roman aristocracy, … [Read more…]
In book 6 of Lucan’s Civil War, Sextus Pompey attempts to foresee the result of the final battle between Caesar and Pompey the Great by consulting the necromancer Erictho. With the notable exceptions of Clauser and Masters, the scholarly opinion on Erictho is that she is the most powerful witch in the ancient world, capable … [Read more…]
A unique social hierarchy, based on a pyramid structure, characterized ancient Roman society. While elite men stood at the top, youth and upstanding women were in the middle, and slaves were at the bottom. In “Invading the Roman Body: Manliness and Impenetrability in Roman Thought,” Jonathan Walters argues that sexual roles were instrumental in producing … [Read more…]
In the final antistrophe of the last stasimon in Euripides’ Medea (1282-92) the chorus offers its best historical comparison to Medea: the doomed mother Ino. Some scholars argue that this comparison is ineffective – that Ino serves as a poor exemplum for Medea.
For being the most famous gladiator to ever live, there is a surprising dearth of information about the man called Spartacus. Yes, his slave rebellion against the Roman Republic in 73 B.C.E. and the managerial skills with which he conducts it are both documented and recounted multiple times by both Greek and Latin authors, but … [Read more…]
One of the most important but least studied formulaic patterns in the Iliad uses various combinations with tris (Greek for ‘three times’) and tetarton (fourth).
Homer’s epic Iliad is viewed most often as a tale of the triumph of Greek forces against the foreign Trojan enemy.
A close examination of the use of the Ancient Greek word eleos (pity) in Homer’s epic the Iliad reveals a concept of pity that is radically different from the traditional western Christian notion.
Drawing from material in Metamorphoses by Apuleius, this creative writing project centers on the romance between Eros, the god of love, and Psykhe, a mortal princess.
David Lodge is known most notably for his academia themed novels depicting the lives of English professors and his literary criticism. This foreign, hidden world to the general public is portrayed in Lodge’ s novels as a world of sex, intrigue, and English criticism.
When Odysseus returned home after twenty long years on the road, he found his home full of suitors who did not want to return home.
Herod the Great who ruled Judea from 40 until 4 B.C.E., built extensively and for many purposes, such as residences, assembly halls, fortresses, temples, and monuments. He often employed the latest technologies of his time period, and brought many styles and new forms of architecture and art to Judea from Roman and Hellenistic worlds.
Mystery cults are one of the most fascinating and yet generally misunderstood aspects of pagan religion.
The reign of Augustus (13BC-14AD) was a period of transition in Roman history.