Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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One of the most intriguing plays of the Roman playwright Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BC) is his Pseudolus. In this play, the clever slave Pseudolus wants to help his young master Calidorus who is in love...Show moreOne of the most intriguing plays of the Roman playwright Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BC) is his Pseudolus. In this play, the clever slave Pseudolus wants to help his young master Calidorus who is in love with one of the prostitutes of the greedy pimp Ballio. Unfortunately, the girl has already been sold to another. Pseudolus therefore is left with only two options: 1) get enough money to buy the girl before the other buyer shows up; or 2) trick the pimp Ballio into giving him the girl. The lover’s problem instigates a performance full of deception, trickery and virtual cash flows. Pseudolus’ main occupation throughout the play is getting his fellow characters to trust him with money and belief (credere). Interestingly, this clever slave warns both his fellow characters and the audience that he is not to be trusted (caveant, ne credant mihi). The tension between this warning and Pseudolus’ actions which are the complete opposite of this warning, has serious consequences for the way the audience reacts to this play. For to enjoy a theatrical performance, it is necessary for the spectators to suspend their disbelief and temporarily take the theatrical world as a separate reality. This process can be stimulated by specific external stimuli created by the actors on stage. This concept is better known as dramatic illusion. Pseudolus’ warning does not only challenge the dramatic illusion, but also thematises it by naming three important factors within the play Pseudolus that are all connected to illusion: the audience; the producer of illusion (Pseudolus); belief and challenges to this belief (credere and cavēre). In all Plautine comedies, metatheatrical devices that challenge the dramatic illusion that was being portrayed can be found. Even more, as Plautine plays consist of quick shifts between the intradiegetical action and extradiegetical communication with the spectators, this dramatic illusion seems to be constantly under attack. The question then arises as to how a play that consciously challenges the illusion it is producing succeeds in keeping its audience involved in the play. Of all Plautine plays, Pseudolus is the most apt to answer this question, as the production and experience of illusion are thematised in the play. Pseudolus, as a producer of illusion, is asking for credit, while his audiences on and off stage are doubting whether to give him this credit or give heed to the warnings they receive. Moreover, the presence of metatheatrical comments justifies abstracting conclusions about audience experience from behaviour of characters that take on the role of audience-on-stage. On top of that, there is a doppelganger motif in the figure of Simia taking on the role of Harpax. This duplication of a performance within the play opens the possibility of looking for other doubles within and outside of the text. By exploring the way in which the three aforementioned factors (audience, producer, credere and cavēre) are connected in Pseudolus and establishing their relation to the parameters of the concept of dramatic illusion, this thesis contributes to a better understanding of the intricate ways in which dramatic illusion is undermined, stimulated, or played with in Plautus’ Pseudolus.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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In Vergil’s Aeneid, Aeneas finds himself in a situation in which he is being led by his fatum while being leader of the Trojans. It is up to him to on the one hand motivate the other Trojans to...Show moreIn Vergil’s Aeneid, Aeneas finds himself in a situation in which he is being led by his fatum while being leader of the Trojans. It is up to him to on the one hand motivate the other Trojans to follow his lead and to on the other hand motivate himself to follow the demands his fatum makes of him. Aeneas finds himself in three situations regarding his fatum: situations in which (1) he is openly forced by his fatum to behave a certain way and he has no choice but to submit, (2) gods and ghosts advise him on which path to follow, but he has some room to decide for himself how to react, and (3) he is free to choose his actions with little to no interference from his fatum. In the first kind of situation, Aeneas proves his worth as a leader by trying to take the time to set some form of hierarchy, to put the situation into his own perspective, and to thank the gods before taking action as required by his fatum. The second kind of situation allows Aeneas to really think about the consequences of all possibilities of action and to deliberate with others before acting. The final kind of situation truly shows Aeneas’ pius personality as a leader of the Trojans. Without force from his fatum, he want the others to know he is one of them and the honor of his father and his homeland weights heaviest when facing his own moral dilemmas.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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This MA thesis attempts to detect as much as possible democratic and undemocratic features in the Laws of Plato. At the next stage there is a comprehensive analysis on how and why these features...Show moreThis MA thesis attempts to detect as much as possible democratic and undemocratic features in the Laws of Plato. At the next stage there is a comprehensive analysis on how and why these features could be characterized as democratic or undemocratic. In the end of the thesis there is a concise comparison of Magnesia with democratic Athens and also with Callipolis, the ideal society from the Republic of Plato. Finally there is an attempt to decribe the political color of Magnesia.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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In his lecture course on Ovid's Epistula Sapphus (1481) Angelo Poliziano (1454-1494) shows himself to be a driven and original scholar, who is concerned with the restoration and revival of ancient...Show moreIn his lecture course on Ovid's Epistula Sapphus (1481) Angelo Poliziano (1454-1494) shows himself to be a driven and original scholar, who is concerned with the restoration and revival of ancient texts. In his examination of Sappho's letter Poliziano handles many different subjects: (correct) commentary practice, the rhetorical analysis of the effects of poetry, the history and poetry of Sappho, and the theory of the Greek rhetoricians Demetrius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Each time an innovative approach and constructive use of tradition define his method. His notes functioned as a medium for advancing classical scholarship, and especially the study of Greek literature.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Hoe denkt de geschiedschrijver Herodotus over de Atheense democratie? Om deze vraag te beantwoorden heb ik gekeken naar het staatsvormendebat (Hdt. 3.80-84) waarin Perzische edellieden debatteren...Show moreHoe denkt de geschiedschrijver Herodotus over de Atheense democratie? Om deze vraag te beantwoorden heb ik gekeken naar het staatsvormendebat (Hdt. 3.80-84) waarin Perzische edellieden debatteren over wat de beste staatsvorm is: democratie, oligarchie of monarchie. Vervolgens kijk ik in hoeverre deze argumenten worden bevestigd dan wel weerlegd door de gebeurtenissen in de rest van de Historiën, met name de uitweidingen over Athene en Sparta. Hieruit kunnen we concluderen dat Herodotus weliswaar niets ziet in de monarchie (tirannie), maar ook erg sceptisch is over de democratie, omdat deze staatsvorm zeer veel kwalijke kenmerken deelt met de tirannie. Het volk gedraagt zich immers ook vaak als een soort tiran, zoals we zien in Herodotus' beschrijving van de Atheense geschiedenis, waarin de volksvergadering keer op keer slechte (vaak door geldzucht) ingegeven beslissingen neemt, zonder dat het hierover rekenschap hoeft af te leggen. Uiteindelijk doet de precieze staatsvorm er minder toe, meent Herodotus, dan het feit dat er een ordenend principe is, een nomos, zoals Sparta die kent, die de driften van de mensen en de machthebbers intoomt.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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This thesis explores the understudied work Latium (1671) by the German Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680). Rather than focussing on the accuracy of its content, it provides insight in the...Show moreThis thesis explores the understudied work Latium (1671) by the German Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680). Rather than focussing on the accuracy of its content, it provides insight in the reasons that motivated its coming into existence. By contextualizing this work in the antiquarian, Jesuit, scientific, political and religious traditions in the seventeenth century, this study addresses questions that are central to the field of classical reception studies.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Iedere lezer vormt een bepaald verwachtingspatroon bij het lezen van een tekst. Soms poogt de schrijver echter doelbewust om de lezer te hinderen in het vormen van een correct verwachtingspatroon....Show moreIedere lezer vormt een bepaald verwachtingspatroon bij het lezen van een tekst. Soms poogt de schrijver echter doelbewust om de lezer te hinderen in het vormen van een correct verwachtingspatroon. In hoeverre is er in de Cena Trimalchionis van Petronius sprake van (de)stabilisatie door al dan niet te spelen met dit verwachtingspatroon?Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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In 1444 schrijft Enea Silvio Piccolomini (*1405 - †1464), de toekomstige paus Pius II die deze functie zal uitoefenen van 1458 tot zijn dood in 1464, de 'Chrysis'. De 'Chrysis' is een Latijnse...Show moreIn 1444 schrijft Enea Silvio Piccolomini (*1405 - †1464), de toekomstige paus Pius II die deze functie zal uitoefenen van 1458 tot zijn dood in 1464, de 'Chrysis'. De 'Chrysis' is een Latijnse komedie die sterk geënt is op de komedies van Terentius en Plautus. In deze masterscriptie zal ik de intertekstualiteit tussen enerzijds de komedies van Terentius en Plautus en anderzijds de 'Chrysis' onderzoeken aan de hand van de literatuurtheorie van Gérard Genette. Hierbij richt ik me in het bijzonder op zijn theorie van transtekstualiteit, een begrip dat Genette definieert als "tout ce qui le [texte] met en relation, manifeste ou secrète, avec d'autres textes" ("all that sets the text in a relationship, whether obvious or concealed, with other texts").Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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How do you kill a hero? The deaths of Sherlock in the 19th century, and that of Eline Vere in Louis Couperus’ Eline Vere in the early 20th century stirred the hearts of their audiences to such a...Show moreHow do you kill a hero? The deaths of Sherlock in the 19th century, and that of Eline Vere in Louis Couperus’ Eline Vere in the early 20th century stirred the hearts of their audiences to such a degree that people actually believed an actual person had died. In present popular culture, the death of a protagonist can still have a profound impact. Lord Eddard Stark’s death, the main protagonist in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones, comes rather unexpected and the very unorthodox way of killing the characters in the rest of this series has become a meme on the internet. The death of Brian the talking dog in the sit-com Family Guy (season 12, episode 6) even led to protest and Facebook pages to get him back into the series. Patroclus’ death is considered to be “terrifying”, and to have “great psychological depth” Janko (1992, p. 312). Together with Sarpedon’s death before and afterwards Hector’s, it is claimed by De Jong (2012, 13-15) to be the central death scene in the Iliad. With the modern examples in mind, the question arises how the narrator of the Iliad conveys the emotional charge these deaths have. To investigate how the audience is involved in their deaths, the study of immersion will be applied. This thesis will deal with the emotional involvement in the death scenes of three heroes: Sarpedon, Patroclus, and Hector. These deaths are knitted together. Patroclus kills Sarpedon, and against Achilles’ wishes, he rushes to the Trojan walls. There he is killed by Hector. In return, Hector is killed by Achilles to avenge his fallen friend Patroclus. Elements of Sarpedon’s death are repeated in Hector’s. Sarpedon is the leader of Troy’s allies, and second to Hector. In both scenes, Zeus deliberates on their deaths. In all killing scenes there are a dialogue, spoliation of armour, and threat of mutilation. There is a fight for Sarpedon’s, and Patroclus’ corpse; Hector’s is claimed by Achilles, and the Greeks only run around his body. The central question of this thesis will therefore be how these death scenes relate to each other and to other deaths in the Iliad. In order to substantiate judgments like “terrifying”, this research will assess scenes with the deaths of minor and major heroes. It can be expected that the former are less immersive than the deaths of major heroes that have a crucial role in the plot. Scene 6.1-24 will be assessed for minor heroes. Passage 16.394-867, Sarpedon’s and Patroclus’ deaths, and 22.90-404, that of Hector, are examined as examples of the deaths of major heroes. I will argue that visual and sensory immersion is present in most deaths, but that emotional immersion is used mostly in passages important to the development of the story. The continuation of the same mental space will be shown to be an important feature of visual immersion in death scenes. Allan, De Jong, & De Jonge (2014) have already argued for the immersive style of Homer’s epic. This thesis will add to this claim that, when larger stretches of narrative are taken under scrutiny, it is revealed the Homeric narrator does not just use these immersive elements at random: there is logic to his choices.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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In 1444 schrijft Enea Silvio Piccolomini, de toekomstige paus Pius II, de Chrysis, een komedie in het Latijn waarin hij duidelijk teruggrijpt op Terentius en Plautus. In deze scriptie staat de aard...Show moreIn 1444 schrijft Enea Silvio Piccolomini, de toekomstige paus Pius II, de Chrysis, een komedie in het Latijn waarin hij duidelijk teruggrijpt op Terentius en Plautus. In deze scriptie staat de aard van de verwijzingen naar de Romeinse komedies centraal, geanalyseerd aan de hand van de literatuurtheorie van Gérard Genette om op die manier antwoord te geven op de vraag of de Chrysis uiteindelijk bedoeld is als een vrijblijvend of een literair werk.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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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
