Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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The main question answered in this thesis 'The figurability of theory. The philosophical significance of circularity in Parmenides’ is how circularity figures Parmenides’ doctrine and what its...Show moreThe main question answered in this thesis 'The figurability of theory. The philosophical significance of circularity in Parmenides’ is how circularity figures Parmenides’ doctrine and what its philosophical significance is. A significant and recurring notion in all three parts of the poem, circularity is employed as a didactic tool to demonstrate the theory to the audience, as a polemic notion to contrast his theory with the ones of his predecessors or the other section of his own poem (the δόξαι in case of the ἀλήθεια and vice versa), and as a reflective means to stress key aspects of his own theory. I employ notions from Marin’s semiotics of images, such as the deictic frame and the theoretical objects, having adapted them in order to make them fit for application to archaic Greek poetry rather than visual arts.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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After the death of Commodus in AD 192, the Roman Empire briefly descended into a tumultuous period where Emperors were murdered and civil wars were fought. But how tumultuous was this period,...Show moreAfter the death of Commodus in AD 192, the Roman Empire briefly descended into a tumultuous period where Emperors were murdered and civil wars were fought. But how tumultuous was this period, exactly? Could it be noted as a crisis? By examining how the numismatic and historiographic representations of the Emperors in the period AD 193 - 197 differ of those of Emperors in more peaceful time, this thesis discusses whether this period can be seen as a 'crisis'.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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The Latin dialogue "Octavius", written by Minucius Felix, is a unique early Christian text. The dialogue features a debate between a staunch pagan and a Christian. In order to settle the question...Show moreThe Latin dialogue "Octavius", written by Minucius Felix, is a unique early Christian text. The dialogue features a debate between a staunch pagan and a Christian. In order to settle the question at hand - which is better: paganism or Christianity -, the interloctutors adress many points, including various philosophies and their merits, the rumoured excesses of early Christian communities and the ridiculousness of paganism. The leitmotiv in this debate is "superstitio" versus "religio", and much of the dialogue deals with what exactly constitutes "superstitio" and "religio". This thesis analyses the varying layers and meanings of the word "superstitio" and to what use these meanings are put.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
Deze scriptie beschrijft de vriendschap tussen Cicero en Pompeius aan de hand van verschillende teksten: Laelius de amicitia, Commentariolum Petitionis en verschillende brieven uit de Ad familiares.
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis explores the interaction between pre-Socratic philosophy and the Prometheus Bound, a drama normally attributed to Aeschylus. My aim is to investigate the process whereby the dramatist...Show moreThis thesis explores the interaction between pre-Socratic philosophy and the Prometheus Bound, a drama normally attributed to Aeschylus. My aim is to investigate the process whereby the dramatist incorporates theoretical contents elaborated by early Greek philosophers that are in principle alien to his art. What role do such contents play when transposed onstage? And how does the tragedian contribute, through their re-elaboration, to the intellectual debates of his times? By examining the Prometheus Bound against some of the theological, ethical and epistemological notions of the pre-Socratics, this thesis aims at shedding new light on the interconnection between drama and contemporary philosophical speculation.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Cicero's portrettering van zogenoemde Populares en zijn gebruik van de term popularis zijn overheersend in de Republikeinse literatuur en daarom problematisch. Aan de hand van een analyse van de...Show moreCicero's portrettering van zogenoemde Populares en zijn gebruik van de term popularis zijn overheersend in de Republikeinse literatuur en daarom problematisch. Aan de hand van een analyse van de plaats van de term popularis en van omstreden Populares als de Gracchi bij de andere Republikeinse literaire bronnen wordt de rol die Cicero speelde in de (moderne) beeldvorming kritisch getoetst en in zijn gepolitiseerde perspectief geplaatst.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Current Word Order Analysis in Ancient Greek is not entirely satisfactory as it focuses on describing word order variation only in clauses, whereas in other parts of a sentence consisting of...Show moreCurrent Word Order Analysis in Ancient Greek is not entirely satisfactory as it focuses on describing word order variation only in clauses, whereas in other parts of a sentence consisting of multiple constituents there also appears variation in word order. Because of for example the occurrence of hyperbaton in these parts of the sentence, this variation seems meaningful and can possibly be described in the same terms as the variation in clauses. Therefore, in this thesis, it is proposed to apply the model not only to clauses but also to smaller segments of the text. Just like any other spoken language, the language of the messenger stories in Euripides can be segmented into Intonation Units (IU's). IU's are separated from one another by a pause or other prosodic feature such as pitch. Because of the lack of recorded data, IU-segmentation of ancient texts is in this thesis done by making use of the meter and of the syntactical segmentation criteria suggested by Scheppers (2011).Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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During his reign, Benito Mussolini used ancient Rome and the Roman Empire as models for his fascist ideology. In his Romae Laudes, translated into Latin by Vincenzo Ussani, Mussolini depicts...Show moreDuring his reign, Benito Mussolini used ancient Rome and the Roman Empire as models for his fascist ideology. In his Romae Laudes, translated into Latin by Vincenzo Ussani, Mussolini depicts ancient Rome from a fascist perspective. In this Latin text, allusions are made to Latin texts from antiquity, both at text level and at theme level. Thus, Mussolini makes a connection between the imperial and the contemporary Rome, and he consciously uses ancient Rome in order to propagate fascist ideology.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Deze scriptie bespreekt de functie(s) van de poëtische elementen in de taal van Antiphon 'Tegen de stiefmoeder'. De hypothese is dat deze een persuasieve functie hebben: ze helpen om de stiefmoeder...Show moreDeze scriptie bespreekt de functie(s) van de poëtische elementen in de taal van Antiphon 'Tegen de stiefmoeder'. De hypothese is dat deze een persuasieve functie hebben: ze helpen om de stiefmoeder neer te zetten als een ‘Klytaimestra’, een bewust en intentioneel handelende, en dus schuldige, moordenares van haar man. Het poëtisch idioom moet de jury in de stemming brengen om deze zaak als een 'Oresteia' te zien en te handelen zoals Athene; het frame van de Trachiniae moet de spreker echter buiten beeld zien te houden, omdat dit immers zijn argument verzwakt.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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The Ancient-Greek dialect known as Elean, spoken on the West of the Peloponnese, has always been difficult to be classified within the Ancient-Greek dialect system. On the basis of relative...Show moreThe Ancient-Greek dialect known as Elean, spoken on the West of the Peloponnese, has always been difficult to be classified within the Ancient-Greek dialect system. On the basis of relative chronology, I indicate that from a genetic point of view, it belongs to the Northwest-Greek dialect group.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
This thesis aimed at understanding better pilgrimage in antiquity, through the case study of Aelius Aristides. Through close reading of the Hieroi Logoi, an autobiography written by Aristides, I...Show moreThis thesis aimed at understanding better pilgrimage in antiquity, through the case study of Aelius Aristides. Through close reading of the Hieroi Logoi, an autobiography written by Aristides, I concluded that the initial working definition of pilgrimage should be adapted, which resulted in a new definition: "pilgrimage is travel towards a special place to make contact with the god, in order to give something to the god to get something in return which solves a problem the pilgrim has", furthermore I proposed some ideas for a new typology of pilgrimage, thus trying to understand better pilgrimage in antiquity.Show less
