Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Statius' Thebais biedt een schat van informatie over de karakters van de zeven hoofdrolspelers, die optrekken tegen Thebe. De helden zijn stevig geworteld in de literaire traditie door onder andere...Show moreStatius' Thebais biedt een schat van informatie over de karakters van de zeven hoofdrolspelers, die optrekken tegen Thebe. De helden zijn stevig geworteld in de literaire traditie door onder andere de tragedies van Euripides en Aeschylus. In deze scriptie wordt onderzocht hoe hun karakters worden neergezet in de Thebais en hoe deze karakters (symbolisch) worden beschreven in de catalogus van boek 4.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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In this thesis I have explored the three different perceptions on Peregrinus that are discernible in De Morte Peregrini in order to find out how it is possible that one man contained so many...Show moreIn this thesis I have explored the three different perceptions on Peregrinus that are discernible in De Morte Peregrini in order to find out how it is possible that one man contained so many personas. Previous research on Peregrinus has often focused on either Peregrinus’ Christianity or on Peregrinus’ cynicism, but a combined approach offers a fuller understanding of Lucian’s invective by showing that Lucian – in both cases – adheres to a similar strategy to satirize the opposing view. In addition, this thesis has adopted a literary approach to De Morte Peregrini. Most existing literature on De Morte Peregrini has focused on the content of Lucian’s narrative, but not so much on its literary nature. By reading De Morte Peregrini in its polemical context, this thesis has shown that the authenticity of Peregrinus’ Christianity and Cynicism is not as ridiculous as Lucian presents it.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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This paper explores the evolution of the profession ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil and the connection to the decline in the presence of the profession of the ‘haruspex’ or bārû. The focus of the discussion...Show moreThis paper explores the evolution of the profession ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil and the connection to the decline in the presence of the profession of the ‘haruspex’ or bārû. The focus of the discussion lies during the late Neo-Assyrian period to the Arsacid period and the end of cuneiform documentation (674 BCE -75 AD). The extant cuneiform record of the bārû and ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil were used to exemplify scribal development and the melding of divinatory traditions. Social network analysis was employed to show how Neo-Assyrian divinatory scholars in the court of Nineveh interacted with each other. Furthermore, social network establishes how they interacted at court and what they advised on and to whom. Secondly, the evidence of Neo-Babylonian and Late-Babylonian scholars using the titles of bārû and ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil and their text corpus were compared. This was assessed to determine the change and shift of the evolution of the divinatory disciplines. It was determined that the different facets of divination were combined by scholars during the first millennium and celestial divination, replacing extispicy as the preferred method of divination. The aim was to show how transmission analysis can facilitate the perception of the decline and emergence of scholarly titles. The intent was to uncover community interaction and the criteria for the evolution of the divinatory profession. By the end of cuneiform documentation many of the practices of the bārû were combined into the practice of the ṭupšar Enūma Anu Enlil, however this varied between different cities in both the title and the mode of scholarly interpretation.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Migration is timeless: people leave their native country with different motives to settle themselves elsewhere. Scenes that unfold from such events have occasionally been taken to the stage in the...Show moreMigration is timeless: people leave their native country with different motives to settle themselves elsewhere. Scenes that unfold from such events have occasionally been taken to the stage in the genre of Greek tragedy, in the so-called ‘suppliant tragedies’. In such tragedies, the acceptance of newcomers is discussed in terms of ἱκετεία and ξενία, two social institutions of ritual acts through which ancient Greeks could accept newcomers in their social community. Yet, both social institutions evoke different associations in regard to the people involved in the acceptance of a newcomer. In order to understand this combination of both social institutions in Greek tragedy, I would like to analyse it as a means of framing. This thesis, then, investigates the ways in which the arrival and acceptance of newcomers is framed in the following Greek suppliant tragedies: Aeschylus’ Supplices, Sophocles’ Oedipus Coloneus and Euripides’ Heraclidae and Supplices.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
This thesis provides an examination of the representation of gender roles in the Salmacis and Hermaphroditus scene in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid thoroughly plays with gender roles and expectations...Show moreThis thesis provides an examination of the representation of gender roles in the Salmacis and Hermaphroditus scene in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid thoroughly plays with gender roles and expectations of gender roles in the scene. The scene is examined in the light of intertextuality with other stories in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Odysseus' speech to Nausicaa in Homer's Odyssey and several similes.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
Both in Egypt and Hatti the renewal of kingship through festivals played an important role. This raises the question if there are similarities and/or differences between the two. An earlier...Show moreBoth in Egypt and Hatti the renewal of kingship through festivals played an important role. This raises the question if there are similarities and/or differences between the two. An earlier comparison was drawn by Volkert Haas (Haas 1994) when he briefly compared the Egyptian Heb-Sed and the Hittite Purulliya. A comparison between these renewals of kingship can help us understand this concept in a broader sense, especially, since limited interdisciplinary research has been done concerning this topic. For this study a comparative approach will be taken, which looks for similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Hittite Festival. With the help of data originating from previous work on the Purulliya and the Heb-Sed. This is accompanied by archaeological, textual, and iconographical sources that are related to the festivals. The Egyptian side has a vast richness of sources and material. However, the sources from Hatti are largely textual. This discrepancy of sources poses a problem to this research. Thus, the comparison itself focusses on the underlying aspects of the festivals, rather than detailed aspects of them. Early results of this MA research involve the separate festivals and early stage comparisons between the two. They include a comparison on the core reasons for celebrating both the festivals. This comparison is accompanied by the general rules for celebrating each festival. Using these results, an early conclusion on festivals involving renewal of kingship between Egypt and Hatti is drawn.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
closed access
This thesis begins with an overview of the relationship between the Apis bull and different Egyptian dynasties over time, before using this analysis as the foundation for the analysis of the...Show moreThis thesis begins with an overview of the relationship between the Apis bull and different Egyptian dynasties over time, before using this analysis as the foundation for the analysis of the relationship between the Apis bull and the Ptolemaic dynasty, looking at how the Ptolemies treated the cult and invested in it, as well as what they received in return, suggesting some potential reasons and motivations for the things seen.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
The inclusion of ‘Eduba’ literature which decrees rules or ideals for scribes in the Old Babylonian scribal curriculum is clear evidence that compositions served more than a pedagogical purpose....Show moreThe inclusion of ‘Eduba’ literature which decrees rules or ideals for scribes in the Old Babylonian scribal curriculum is clear evidence that compositions served more than a pedagogical purpose. This thesis investigates the possibility that a moral agenda was involved in the construction of the Old Babylonian scribal curriculum by analysing the most commonly attested literary texts at school sites to see if any common themes regarding proper behaviour emerge.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
under embargo until 2025-10-15
2025-10-15T00:00:00Z
Treaties and military oaths indicate the practices and procedures Hittites followed in the taking of oaths and the invocation of curses. The normative belief existed that a treaty and a military...Show moreTreaties and military oaths indicate the practices and procedures Hittites followed in the taking of oaths and the invocation of curses. The normative belief existed that a treaty and a military oath could be considered a promise, and the curse following the promise was a guarantee that the promise would be kept as the gods were invoked as guarantors.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
The authenticity of the iconoclastic post-scriptum to Epiphanius of Salamis' Epistula ad Joannem has been hotly debated since the 8th century. This essay re-evaluates the arguments for and against...Show moreThe authenticity of the iconoclastic post-scriptum to Epiphanius of Salamis' Epistula ad Joannem has been hotly debated since the 8th century. This essay re-evaluates the arguments for and against the authenticity, and concludes that the post-scriptum is genuine.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
The Amarna Period is one of the most controversial times in Egyptian history and is characterized by significant political, economic, religious, artistic and administrative changes. The most...Show moreThe Amarna Period is one of the most controversial times in Egyptian history and is characterized by significant political, economic, religious, artistic and administrative changes. The most notorious controversy to modern eyes concerns Akhenaten's religious reforms and his vision of a ""monotheistic"" theological system. These reforms led to a conflict between Atenism -the new religion- and traditional Egyptian beliefs. A matter that remains uncertain is how Atenism affected the conception of the afterlife during that period. The influence of the Aten's cult on the funerary art was crucial, and under Akhenaten's reign, many traditional funerary scenes, such as references to the Netherworld are absent. Additionally, the absence of Osiris, who was the central pylon of the traditional mortuary ideology, is a crucial modification that has spurred many interpretations concerning the way that afterlife was conceived after the pharaoh's reforms. Thus, the main focus of this thesis is to designate the conception of the Netherworld during the Amarna Period in the light of the absence of traditional funerary iconography and inscriptions.Show less
