Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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In this thesis I analyze the reciprocal relationship between the farmer and the land, presented by Xenophon in his Socratic dialogue the Oeconomicus. I approach the text with an ecocritical...Show moreIn this thesis I analyze the reciprocal relationship between the farmer and the land, presented by Xenophon in his Socratic dialogue the Oeconomicus. I approach the text with an ecocritical perspective to shed new light on how Xenophon envisions and conceptualizes the natural world and the position of humankind within the natural world.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Catullus’s poetry is known for its freshness, for its potent mixture of sensuality, crude language and erudition, for its fast-and-loose playing with rules and norms both sexual and poetic. But how...Show moreCatullus’s poetry is known for its freshness, for its potent mixture of sensuality, crude language and erudition, for its fast-and-loose playing with rules and norms both sexual and poetic. But how ‘antinormative’ is Catullus really? How much of his play with ancient norms can a modern reader understand? And can modern creative translation serve as an analytical tool to interpret Catullus’s poetry? With Wiegman and Wilson’s (2015) approach to antinormativity in the field of queer studies as guide, this thesis looks at the norm as not just a static limit, but rather as a dynamic average that generates potential for change. Thus, the first chapter examines the presence of (anti)normativity, that is a dynamic movement between acceptance and rejection of the poetic and sexual norms of his time, in five of Catullus’s poems through close reading. The second chapter examines the question of creative translation, in the form of Isobel Williams’s oft-praised translation, which according to reviewer Ed Bedford (2021) manages to grasp Catullus’s meaning more astutely than almost any other translation. Williams’s chosen context for her translations, that of shibari, or Japanese rope bondage, provides a unique perspective on Catullus that forces her to make changes that both emphasize and hide nuances in the Latin. A close reading of Williams’s versions of the same five Catullan poems proves that her creative translation does indeed provide opportunities as an analytical tool, in opening our minds to interpretations of Catullus’s poetry we would not have thought of otherwise. So this thesis shows that both Catullus’s writing and Isobel Williams’s mode of translation can be called (anti)normative. Both authors engage in a dynamic movement of both acceptance and rejection, and it is precisely this movement that gives them strength.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Deze scriptie gaat over de dertiende Olympische ode. Deze ode wordt geanalyseerd aan de hand van een retorisch kader, namelijk de taken van de redenaar. Daarbij ga ik in op waar Pindarus zijn...Show moreDeze scriptie gaat over de dertiende Olympische ode. Deze ode wordt geanalyseerd aan de hand van een retorisch kader, namelijk de taken van de redenaar. Daarbij ga ik in op waar Pindarus zijn informatie vandaan haalt (inventio), hoe hij dit ordent (dispositio) en welke stilistische middelen hij gebruikt (elocutio). Door middel van deze analyse reflecteer ik op de vraag wat een retorische lezing van een pindarische ode bijdraagt aan ons begrip van Pindarus in het algemeen en deze ode in het bijzonder. Enerzijds concludeer ik dat Pindarus op het gebied van de inventio, dispositio en elocutio grotendeels hetzelfde wil bereiken en dat we een pindarische ode kunnen lezen als een tekst die behoort tot het genus demonstrativum. Anderzijds plaats ik de kanttekening of we niet een bepaalde lading verliezen als we de tekst alleen retorisch lezen, omdat deze lezing vooral functioneel is. Een poëtische tekst heeft namelijk ook esthetische functies. Mijn eindconclusie luidt dat een retorische lezing nuttig is omdat het verschillende aspecten een het licht heeft gebracht die in eerder onderzoek onder de oppervlakte zijn gebleven.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Seneca's tragedies contain quite a few horrifying scenes. Seeing such a spectacle, for instance a bloody ritual or a man chasing his offspring with an axe, would cause the spectator to experience...Show moreSeneca's tragedies contain quite a few horrifying scenes. Seeing such a spectacle, for instance a bloody ritual or a man chasing his offspring with an axe, would cause the spectator to experience horror and dread, logically speaking. However, the on-stage recipients of the horror have quite varying reactions to the scenes. This thesis aims to examine these scenes and the reactions to said scenes within a theoretical framework of 'delightful horror', which explains how horror can and should be enjoyed.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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This thesis is focused on determining the function of the Middle Kingdom funerary gardens found in Thebes at TT366 and near TT11. This is done through a comparative study using textual,...Show moreThis thesis is focused on determining the function of the Middle Kingdom funerary gardens found in Thebes at TT366 and near TT11. This is done through a comparative study using textual, archaeological and artistic evidence of gardens with different functions and contexts.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Julius Caesar beschrijft in de De Bello Gallico dat hij 430.000 Usipetes en Tencteri heeft gedood. Een enorm aantal slachtoffers dat in onze maatschappij al snel de stempel genocide zou krijgen. In...Show moreJulius Caesar beschrijft in de De Bello Gallico dat hij 430.000 Usipetes en Tencteri heeft gedood. Een enorm aantal slachtoffers dat in onze maatschappij al snel de stempel genocide zou krijgen. In de Romeinse tijd werd Caesar hier niet voor aangeklaagd, maar werd er een aanklacht ingediend tegen hem om het breken van officieuze internationale wetten. Dit laat al een verschil in perspectief zien tussen de Romeinse en onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek wil ik in kaart brengen wat het verschil is in perspectief van de Romein en van de moderne mens met betrekking tot de vele Germaanse slachtoffers in de veldslag tussen Caesar en de Usipetes en Tencteri in 55 v.Chr en hoe Caesar dit beeld heeft kunnen beïnvloeden door middel van het schijven van de Gall.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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The ideological demarcation of the Egyptian state boundaries, as expressed in the official iconography and ideological narrative, is a pivotal feature of the ancient Egyptian mindset. From the...Show moreThe ideological demarcation of the Egyptian state boundaries, as expressed in the official iconography and ideological narrative, is a pivotal feature of the ancient Egyptian mindset. From the Twelfth Dynasty onwards, this delineation of the Egyptian territory materializes itself in the solid man-made structures, which physically set the frontiers in the south and the north-east of the country. There have been little scholarly attempts, however, to investigate the borderlands in the region located immediately to the west of Nile Valley, in the area today broadly defined as the Western (or Libyan) Desert.The main aim of this thesis, therefore, is to reconstruct the functional parameter of the governing agents in Dakhla Oasis - the local governors and the military institution - so that the Middle Kingdom Western frontier could be defined within its performative framework. For this purpose, a corpus of the regular titles, attributed to these active agents, is studied and subsequently compared with the ones from the contemporaneous Southern Frontier in the Lower Nubia.Show less
