Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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Throughout history people have tried to explain phenomena that were abstract to them, attributing to these events all kinds of reasons ranging from physical to supernatural ones. A system of shared...Show moreThroughout history people have tried to explain phenomena that were abstract to them, attributing to these events all kinds of reasons ranging from physical to supernatural ones. A system of shared beliefs and norms develops, guiding and explaining to them how to act and respond to all kinds of events, among which is death. How people behave after a death has occurred varies widely across cultures. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of death held in ancient Mesopotamia and to try to find answers of how it came to be. The first two chapters are dedicated to providing an overview of the Mesopotamian concept of death. The remaining chapters of the current study analyse certain facets of the concept of death which can be traced back to environmental factors. The facets included are: the realm of death, examining its portrayal, location, hierarchy, and type of government; death and burial; the concept of death related to everyday life.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
Were ancient Greek habitual drunks considered mentally ill? This thesis attempts to answer whether ancient Greek drinkers who did not drink according to the drinking rules of the social group they...Show moreWere ancient Greek habitual drunks considered mentally ill? This thesis attempts to answer whether ancient Greek drinkers who did not drink according to the drinking rules of the social group they belonged to (and did so in an excessive fashion) were viewed as behaving in a pathological way from a socio-cultural point of view (to stress: not from a bio-medical one). The study heavily depends on research from the social sciences that focuses on the social function of alcohol consumption, mainly Douglas 1987, and concludes by saying that in ancient Greece certain social conditions that are crucial for a a socio-cultural pathology of problematic drinking to develop were absent in ancient Greek society. Therefore, it appears as improbable that a socio-cultural pathology for 'problematic drinking' was already conceptualised in the ancient Greek world. The aim of the thesis primarily was to contribute to the field of Classics that studies ancient mental illnesses and to attempt to provide more information on the ancient Greek mind and social world. However, the findings also underline that alcoholism, the modern pathology for problematic drinking, should not be perceived as a universal concept, but as a relative one that depends heavily on the current milieu of the modern world.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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In 1573, the Spanish humanist Juan Latino wrote the Latin epic Austrias carmen, commissioned by the inquisitor Pedro de Deza. This is one of many literary celebrations of the Holy League victory...Show moreIn 1573, the Spanish humanist Juan Latino wrote the Latin epic Austrias carmen, commissioned by the inquisitor Pedro de Deza. This is one of many literary celebrations of the Holy League victory over an Ottoman fleet in the 1571 naval battle of Lepanto. This thesis deals with the work's depiction of the Ottomans: both its more generalised depiction of the Ottomans as a people, and its depiction of a specific Ottoman character, the admiral Ali Pasha. While at first glance, the work appears to paint the Ottomans in a hostile light, some scholars have argued that it also contains scenes that are more empathetic, even sympathetic to the Ottoman 'enemy'. By considering the epic's depiction of the Ottomans in light of its classical intertexts and other contemporaneous Western European responses to the Ottoman Empire, this thesis seeks to nuance this claim. I argue that the work uses many of the tropes of contemporary anti-Ottoman rhetoric, while having less in common with more 'positive' contemporaneous Western European evaluations of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, I aim to demonstrate that the epic's 'sympathetic' passages on the Ottomans tend to have a strong European, and particularly Spanish imperial, bias: any sympathy hinges on Ottoman characters' acceptance of, or submission to, a Spanish imperialist worldview. Finally, I will connect the epic's depiction of the Ottomans to its depiction of the Spanish 'Moriscos' - the part of the Spanish Islamic population that had been forcibly converted to Christianity. The epic links them to the Ottomans, and the recent suppressed revolt of 'Moriscos' in Granada to the battle of Lepanto, thereby presenting these people as an internal enemy of Spain. Here, the epic may show the influence of Latino's patron Deza, who played an important role in the violent repression of the revolt.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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In this thesis, Guido delle Colonne's Historia Destructionis Troiae will be analysed anew. Scholars have often assessed the work and its author very negatively: they claimed the work had no moral...Show moreIn this thesis, Guido delle Colonne's Historia Destructionis Troiae will be analysed anew. Scholars have often assessed the work and its author very negatively: they claimed the work had no moral message, that it was badly written, and that Guido was very misogynistic in his depiction of women. In this thesis, the Historia will be analysed intertextually to show that Guido was not a bad translator of the French Roman de Troie (his main point of focus), but that he played with his pre-text to create an original work of history with its own moral aims and messages. In the second chapter, a case study of the character of the Amazonian queen Penthesilea will show how learned and complexly constructed the work actually is. Penthesilea questions the traditional gender norms, showing that not all women are bad in Guido's work. By transcending these gender norms, she is able to question a social construct that is even more important to reform in Guido's eyes: chivalry and its intricate connection with warfare. Guido wishes to show that chivalry has no place in warfare and that eventually, war brings destruction and misery upon all. While reading this work, the reader is constantly invited to delve further into the material and extract valuable moral lessons from it.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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This thesis examines the role of Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) in relation to the goddess Hathor, as found in Hathoric festivals in the New Kingdom. Theories from the fields of psychology...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) in relation to the goddess Hathor, as found in Hathoric festivals in the New Kingdom. Theories from the fields of psychology and anthropology are introduced to establish a working definition of ASCs and to give an overview of the terminology in use for ASCs in contexts of religion. Various types of ancient Egyptian sources are discussed, such as myths, hymns, temple and tomb decoration, love poems and dream reports. The sources provide insight into the occurrence of ASCs, their role and their connection to the goddess Hathor.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
The Late Bronze Age presents a peak in the cultural interactions between the different empires of the Eastern Mediterranean. Both bulk goods and small quantities of luxury products were exchanged...Show moreThe Late Bronze Age presents a peak in the cultural interactions between the different empires of the Eastern Mediterranean. Both bulk goods and small quantities of luxury products were exchanged between the kings and the local elite over long distances. In April 2019, one of these luxury products was discovered at the Cypriot site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos. This was an Egyptian calcite-alabaster drop jar incised with geometric and floral decorations. This master's thesis places this unique find in a broader context by undertaking a detailed comparative study of all the decorated calcite-alabaster drop jars discovered in Egypt, the Levant, and Cyprus. By doing this, the function, value, and role of the calcite-alabaster drop jar throughout the Eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age will be proposed. For all the calcite-alabaster drop jars discovered in Egypt, the Levant, and Cyprus, the shapes, decorations, find contexts, and associated finds will be described in detail. Furthermore, a closer look will be taken at the faience and bronze drop jars, the iconographical representations, textual sources, and results of the residue analyses of the preserved remains inside of several drop jars. In Egypt, drop-shaped ceramic vessels were starting from the First Intermediate period commonly used as storage jars. This drop shape was starting from the New Kingdom adopted for smaller vessels produced in more precious materials, such as calcite-alabaster, bronze, and faience. The find of these drop jars in a rich variety of contexts, not only in Egypt, but also throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, makes this group of objects exceptional. Eight calcite-alabaster drop jars were discovered in Egypt, originating from mainly royal and elite tombs buried with a variety of other precious objects. In addition to the calcite-alabaster drop jar discovered at the short-lived trading settlement of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, three calcite-alabaster drop jars were unearthed in the royal palace at Megiddo and in a rich tomb in the Kharji cave at Beirut. The finds of the drop jars in a variety of contexts throughout the Eastern Mediterranean constitute of compelling evidence for the function and value of the calcite-alabaster drop jar in Egypt, the Levant, and Cyprus, and its role in the diplomatic exchanges.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
Since the 1990s the field of phenomenological Landscape Archaeology has gained more traction in Egyptology. Since then it has been used to illuminate the experienced landscape(s) of the ancient...Show moreSince the 1990s the field of phenomenological Landscape Archaeology has gained more traction in Egyptology. Since then it has been used to illuminate the experienced landscape(s) of the ancient Egyptians. This thesis seeks to critically examine this approach and further illuminate the experienced landscape in ancient Egypt, specifically its role in religion. To this end, the author poses three primary research questions: 1) Did landscape influence the conception of places of power? 2) Do landscape associations change over time, and if they do: how do they change? 3) Did Egypt’s physical landscape influence conceptions of the landscapes of the afterlife? The sources reveal that the Egyptians experienced the landscape as embodied and meaningful. Iconography and text also support the notion of locations in the landscape which were infused with meaning beyond the mundane. These places of power sometimes held a strong relation with the surrounding landscape. In certain cases it is likely that a landscape-induced hierophany was the direct cause for their inception. Yet, it is difficult to ascribe a single coherent characteristic to these locations. Egypt’s physical landscape did not only influence experiences of religious awe, but also influenced the conception of landscapes of the afterlife. The afterlife reflects a bucolic ideal of Egypt’s physical landscape. Some scholars have proposed specific referents for the landscapes of the afterlife, but it seems imprudent to attribute such specific Vorlage-landscapes to these religious ideas. Phenomenological Landscape Archaeology allows us to further investigate landscape experience in ancient Egypt. Yet, a recurring issues in the implementation of phenomenological Landscape Archaeology is the over-excitement of Egyptologists to attribute a meaning to landscape features which has little or no support in the extant sources. This treacherous pitfall stems from the inability to acknowledge the difference in spatial conceptualisation between us and the ancient Egyptians, and the all-too-easy assumption that our views of extraordinary geomorphology are similar to those of the ancient Egyptians. Therefore, this thesis warns against all-too-quick attributions of the influence of landscape on the inception and meaning of religious locales.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
2021-09-25T00:00:00Z
The status and political organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC) is a controversial topic. On the one hand the king of Alashiya ‘Cyprus’ is mentioned as an equal to the...Show moreThe status and political organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC) is a controversial topic. On the one hand the king of Alashiya ‘Cyprus’ is mentioned as an equal to the Egyptian King in the Amarna Letters. Various texts from Egypt, Hatti and Ugarit reveal the increasing activity of the island in the trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean area and its dominant role as a copper supplier. On the other hand, the archaeological data inside the island display a society with simple socio-economic structures. The few signs of economic intensification, surplus manipulation and craft specialization are not enough to prove the “supremacy” of a certain elite or even a king. The current study aims to investigate these data, identify the urban and administrative centers of Late Bronze Age Alashiya and to reconstruct the networks within the island and the Eastern periphery. The results of this survey will reveal possible hierarchy among the urban sites and attempt to clarify the political organization of Late Bronze Age Cyprus. Did the 'King of Alashiya' truly exist?Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
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
