Tegenwoordig worden personen die werkzaam zijn in de uitvaartbranche niet raar aangekeken door het werk dat ze uitvoeren. Het uitvoeren van werkzaamheden in de uitvaartbranche wordt gezien als werk...Show moreTegenwoordig worden personen die werkzaam zijn in de uitvaartbranche niet raar aangekeken door het werk dat ze uitvoeren. Het uitvoeren van werkzaamheden in de uitvaartbranche wordt gezien als werk dat nodig is en soms zelfs als het uitvoeren van de laatste wensen van personen. In het antieke Rome bestond dit beeld niet. De personen die werkzaam waren in de uitvaartbranche werden geweerd uit de gemeenschap en als ze de gemeenschap moesten betreden, werden ze verplicht om door middel van kleding en attributen anderen te waarschuwen voor hun komst. In dit onderzoek zal de oorzaak voor deze negatieve houding ten opzichte van uitvaartpersoneel worden vastgesteld. Hiernaast zal ook de sociale hiërarchie van het uitvaartpersoneel worden vastgesteld.Show less
This theses contains the basics of the Roman domestic religion of the first century b.c. and the first century a.d. The paper contains a lot of primairy sources as well as some archeological...Show moreThis theses contains the basics of the Roman domestic religion of the first century b.c. and the first century a.d. The paper contains a lot of primairy sources as well as some archeological evidence from Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia.Show less
This paper seeks to give a plausible range of population figures for second century A.D. Antioch in Roman Syria. The first chapter estimates the physical extent of the city and its suburbs. The...Show moreThis paper seeks to give a plausible range of population figures for second century A.D. Antioch in Roman Syria. The first chapter estimates the physical extent of the city and its suburbs. The second chapter studies the size and productivity of Antioch’s territory. On the basis of urbanisation rates, urban and rural population densities and ‘carrying capacity’ various scenarios are sketched to determine more and less likely figures. In the final chapter several ideas are considered towards explaining the population of Antioch and its hinterland.Show less
Does the way in which the state of Israel used its ancient history correspond with archaeological finds? Or were Masada and Bethar used for hero-making...
De mortaliteit in Rome tijdens de vroege keizertijd is onmogelijk kwantitatief in kaart te brengen, vanwege een gebrek aan demografische bronnen uit de oudheid. Aangezien de Romeinse mortaliteit...Show moreDe mortaliteit in Rome tijdens de vroege keizertijd is onmogelijk kwantitatief in kaart te brengen, vanwege een gebrek aan demografische bronnen uit de oudheid. Aangezien de Romeinse mortaliteit echter grotendeels gestructureerd werd door infectieziektes, is het door studie hiervan wél mogelijk om een kwalitatieve analyse te maken. De drie “great killers of antiquity” – malaria, tuberculose en buiktyfus – worden in deze scriptie daarom aan een onderzoek onderworpen. Aan de hand van historische kennis en hypothesen over de situatie in Rome enerzijds en moderne ideeën uit de medische wereld anderzijds, wordt een inschatting gemaakt van de invloed van deze drie ziektes op de Romeinse mortaliteit. Breed geaccepteerde ideeën over infectieziektes in Rome blijken niet voor alle ziektes in gelijke mate op te gaan. De rol van bevolkingsdichtheid, sociaaleconomische status en hygiëne verschilt sterk per besproken infectieziekte. Ook is het niet bij alle ziektes mogelijk om immuniteit te verwerven, waardoor immigranten niet per se in het nadeel waren, zoals soms wel wordt aangenomen. Het mortaliteitsregime in Rome was zeer verschillend van dat van ons; andere ziektes dan nu vormden de belangrijkste doodsoorzaken en de mortaliteit (vooral de kindersterfte) was zeer hoog. De rol van infectieziektes in de Romeinse mortaliteit is meer complex dan algemeen wordt aangenomen.Show less
The study of the relation between acculturation and identity in the Roman world has come a long way in the last couple of decades. The renewed emphasis on exploring discrepant experiences has...Show moreThe study of the relation between acculturation and identity in the Roman world has come a long way in the last couple of decades. The renewed emphasis on exploring discrepant experiences has enabled us to better appreciate the myriad ways in which the empire’s inhabitants where part of a single political continuum, yet each partaking in its ongoing creation on their own terms, adapting elements from their own cultural matrices in the face of imperial realities, duties, possibilities and limits. As a result - although we are somewhat freed from the overly simplistic paradigm of ‘Romanisation’ - studying the formulation of identity in the Roman Empire has become an ever more complex business. One discrepant experience which we are familiar with is the one lived by the author Lucian of Samosata. He was one of the main exponents of the cultural movement known as the Second Sophistic, a period of cultural revival and renewed self-awareness throughout the Greek east - now subjugated but unified by Rome. Like many of his contemporaries, his intimate attachment to Greek culture and its classical heritage did not exclude him from recognizing himself as a loyal and engaged citizen of the empire, enjoying the securities and chances the larger Roman world had to offer. That being said, his The Wisdom of Nigrinus remains one of Lucian’s more obscure works - in more ways than one. At face value, the words of his fictional philosopher could be viewed as those of a dissenter, forming a rousing anti-Roman pamphlet, a philosophical treatise that is potentially legible as a sophist’s rallying cry for Greek resistance against Roman rule and imperial society. However, considering Lucian’s notorious penchant for satire, the authoritative tone of the dialogue’s main voice doesn’t sit well with our expectations of the author. All things considered, the ambiguous Nigrinus dialogue yields important information about the state of the intercultural dialogue between Rome and the Greek east. At the same time, the dialogue stands as a testament to Lucian’s skill in imitating and experimenting with classical formats of literature, tying his reflections on high imperial society to the large repository of images of the classical world, creating a narrative universe in which contemporary satire is injected with a dose of cultural heritage that adds a sense of purpose and history to it. It is the general aim of this essay to map the multiple avenues available to construct a cohesive sense of identity within the Roman Empire in the second century C.E., specifically as they are explored by Lucian. Aside from evaluating the dialogue’s subject-matter, I have sought to dissect the lineage and effect of the form and style which Lucian has used in its composition. To this end, I have drawn from the various theoretical models that have been formulated in an attempt to reinvigorate the recent debate on Roman culture and the conterminous formulation of identity. In the same spirit of eclecticism displayed by influential scholars such as Jane Webster, Greg Woolf and Tim Whitmarsh, I have endeavoured to illuminate how its specific composition reflects its mixed literary heritage, to recognize the significance of the ways Lucian has chosen to comment on imperial culture and society, and in what sense his creative negotiation between cultures in literature reflects the ongoing transformation of imperial Roman culture in his day. In turn, Lucian grants us an opportunity to adjust our newest assumptions, and further refine our perception of Roman history.Show less
