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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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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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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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
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
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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The thesis argues that the language of Aeneas Tacticus, writer of the earliest Greek manual on warfare, can be better understood when studying it as a 'technical treatise', accordingly written in a...Show moreThe thesis argues that the language of Aeneas Tacticus, writer of the earliest Greek manual on warfare, can be better understood when studying it as a 'technical treatise', accordingly written in a technical register.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
An analysis of Bernard of Clairvaux's (1090-1153) use of the word ordo in the Apologia ad Guillelmum abbatem. It is argued the Apologia should be read in the context of the contemporary religious...Show moreAn analysis of Bernard of Clairvaux's (1090-1153) use of the word ordo in the Apologia ad Guillelmum abbatem. It is argued the Apologia should be read in the context of the contemporary religious debates of the eleventh and twelfth century. The word ordo is discussed in relation to the development of the cistercian order.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
When the god Dionysus arrives in Thebes with a band of Asian worshippers, he throws the city into complete disorder. By expelling all female citizens of Thebes to Mount Cithaeron, he puts in motion...Show moreWhen the god Dionysus arrives in Thebes with a band of Asian worshippers, he throws the city into complete disorder. By expelling all female citizens of Thebes to Mount Cithaeron, he puts in motion several developments that this thesis examines from the perspective of group dynamics. What happens when a new group arrives somewhere and attracts other members? What are the mechanisms at work in and dangers arising from certain groups? And what happens to the behaviour of people who are emphatically not part of the group? This thesis centres around these questions. By looking at different aspects related to the group of Theban women, who go through a radical transformation after Dionysus’ arrival, and by applying insights from modern social psychological theory, I argue that Euripides has intended to convey more universal truths about the workings of social groups and to invite the spectator to reflect on certain mechanisms in his own reality.Show less
