Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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This thesis is meant to shed some light on the subject of the benben-stone. To find an answer to the research question 'Can the benben-stone be perceived as a pareidolia?', the nature of the benben...Show moreThis thesis is meant to shed some light on the subject of the benben-stone. To find an answer to the research question 'Can the benben-stone be perceived as a pareidolia?', the nature of the benben-stone is discussed. The original benben-stone as well as the later versions are examined and pareidolias and simulacra within Egyptology are reviewed.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
This thesis deals with the reception of Hesiod's Typhonomachy in books 1 and 2 of Nonnus's Dionysiaca. Through a thematic approach, describing three central themes as well as the character Typhoeus...Show moreThis thesis deals with the reception of Hesiod's Typhonomachy in books 1 and 2 of Nonnus's Dionysiaca. Through a thematic approach, describing three central themes as well as the character Typhoeus himself and the context of the story within both the Theogony and the Dionysiaca, this thesis will analyse the ways in which Nonnus used Hesiod's Typhonomachy as a source for his own version of that story.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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The Abdication Scene in the Syriac Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was influenced by George of Pisidias' In Restitutionem, the only major contemporary testimony to Heraclius' restoration of the...Show moreThe Abdication Scene in the Syriac Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was influenced by George of Pisidias' In Restitutionem, the only major contemporary testimony to Heraclius' restoration of the Cross to Jerusalem in 630 C.E. The importance of Jerusalem and the centrality of Golgotha, the presentation of an idealized Christian emperor who is in conformity with the image of his righteous predecessors, the crown-Cross motif, as well as the subject of the Eschaton, are all crucial themes present in George's poem and which appear to have been adopted by the author of Pseudo-Methodius. Furthermore, the theological framework and the Byzantine imperial ideology within which Heraclius and the Byzantine Empire functioned, is also apparent in the Abdication Scene. This paper breaks from the traditional approach to explaining the scene on the basis of earlier Syriac texts such as the Alexander Legend and the Cave of Treasures. Although these older arguments have their strong points, they are based on the idea that a Syriac composition of the seventh century, must have received its influences from earlier Syriac sources. It does not allow for the possibility of external influences. Furthermore, these arguments attempt to show how themes and motifs found in earlier Syriac works, such as the centrality of Golgotha in the Cave of Treasures, are genuinely Syriac, when in fact they are to be found throughout early Jewish and Hellenistic writings. Thus, contrary to the previous assumptions made, this paper shows through a comparative analysis of the respective texts, that the pivotal scene in the Syriac Apocalypse was directly influenced by the poetical testimony to the restoration of the Cross.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
Childhood to Adulthood: A Rite of Passage in the New Kingdom The primary rites of passage in ancient Egypt are funerary rites. However, it is possible to see some rites of passage from childhood...Show moreChildhood to Adulthood: A Rite of Passage in the New Kingdom The primary rites of passage in ancient Egypt are funerary rites. However, it is possible to see some rites of passage from childhood into adolescence and further into adulthood. This rite of passage was a process rather than a specific instance. This process includes a period of separation, a period of transition and a period of incorporation. Many of these were not clearly documented. In this thesis, the following questions are addressed: Are there any rites of passage from childhood into adulthood during the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt? If so, was there a distinct age or age range that these rites occurred during? Were these rites celebrated publicly as a ceremonial rite or privately?Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
closed access
Study of the verbal system in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Primarily focusing on the reader effects of alternation between QTL-YQTL forms as well as long yaqtulu and short yaqtul forms in the poetic...Show moreStudy of the verbal system in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Primarily focusing on the reader effects of alternation between QTL-YQTL forms as well as long yaqtulu and short yaqtul forms in the poetic syntax.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
Several Greek tragedies revolve around the exposure of corpses and the conflict this creates between characters who support or oppose this lack of burial. Such a conflict is often between a ruler...Show moreSeveral Greek tragedies revolve around the exposure of corpses and the conflict this creates between characters who support or oppose this lack of burial. Such a conflict is often between a ruler who outlaws the burial to punish an enemy and an individual or citizen who tries to protect the body of a loved one from mutilation and dishonour. The opposition of the individual can be construed as a direct challenge of the authority of the ruler. In this thesis, burial conflicts in Sophocles’ Antigone, Sophocles’ Ajax and Euripides’ The Suppliant Women are therefore analysed as power struggles to answer the question why the conflicts arise in the first place and what role power plays in their resolution or escalation. This is done by systematically looking at the motives and justifications of the characters throughout the plays to see how they influence the outcome of the narrative.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
After the conquest of Egypt by the Roman Empire many political, cultural and social changes occurred. Egyptian society underwent a process of transformation that had already begun in the last few...Show moreAfter the conquest of Egypt by the Roman Empire many political, cultural and social changes occurred. Egyptian society underwent a process of transformation that had already begun in the last few centuries with the government of foreign rulers. These changes affected the identity of many individuals, both Egyptians and foreigners living in the country, and left their mark on the material culture. In this study is analysed for the first time the collection of Graeco-Roman stucco masks from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. These funerary masks become an object that provides valuable information about the ethnicity and identity of their owners, belonging to the new elites. This analysis will be performed by an indirect observation of the objects, through photographs. Stylistic comparisons will be made with other masks from other collections. These comparisons may provide evidences that in some cases can lead to the proposal of relative dating. At the same time, this analysis will put forward interpretations about the possible identity of some of the masks’ owners.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
closed access
The Egyptian fortresses in Lower Nubian for the time of the Middle Kingdom were one of the most impressive ancient Egyptian architectural monuments. Unfortunately, currently most of them are lost...Show moreThe Egyptian fortresses in Lower Nubian for the time of the Middle Kingdom were one of the most impressive ancient Egyptian architectural monuments. Unfortunately, currently most of them are lost under waters of the Aswan High Dam. Therefore any new research is based on the previous archaeological report. This thesis focuses on the architecture of the internal buildings inside the fortresses. Is also brings a new look at the ancient Egyptian fortification through their comparison with the Roman fortification. The Roman fortifications are much more know and better preserved. This comparison was possible thought the similar nature of both ancient armies. The thesis also deals with a smaller fort Wadi al-Hudi, which is often claimed to be a smaller version of the Nubian fortresses.Show less
