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
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
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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The legal and political position of the Jewish population of the Imperium Romanum is an oft-debated and exceedingly complex topic. After all, the attitude of the Roman state towards its Jewish...Show moreThe legal and political position of the Jewish population of the Imperium Romanum is an oft-debated and exceedingly complex topic. After all, the attitude of the Roman state towards its Jewish subjects varied substantially over the course of the Judeo-Roman relationship, ranging from explicit legal advancement in the form of honours and exemption from military service to open military conflict in the form of three Judeo-Roman wars. A number of scholars have attempted to resolve the apparently contradictory evidence, and form a generalized picture of ‘the’ attitude of ‘the’ Roman state towards ‘the’ Jews. While their descriptions of this Roman attitude vary strongly, they overwhelmingly assume that centralized Roman policy was ultimately what determined the experience of Jews throughout the Empire. This thesis will discuss how local circumstances influenced the legal and political treatment of the Jews in the Roman Empire, focussing on the case studies of Alexandria and Asia Minor. By studying the inception, contents and implementation of Roman legislation on Judaism, this thesis will argue that local factors were of fundamental importance to each of these three phases, and that intervention of the central government occurred primarily to deal with extraordinary circumstances. Thus, while local and interregional events were often connected, the existence of a single, coherent Roman policy towards Jews throughout the Empire ultimately cannot be proven.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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This thesis explores the polemical function of the Clarorum virorum epistolae (1514) and the Illustrium virorum epistolae (1519), two collections of humanist letters published in the context of the...Show moreThis thesis explores the polemical function of the Clarorum virorum epistolae (1514) and the Illustrium virorum epistolae (1519), two collections of humanist letters published in the context of the Reuchlin affair, a seminal intellectual debate waged on the threshold of the Reformation. It also addresses the question, of how the letter volumes contribute to our current understanding of the process of humanist support in the debate.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
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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This thesis investigates the treatise 'De resurrectione' of Pseudo-Justin as part of the resurrection debate around 180 CE: How it is related to the dominant intellectual discourse of Hellenistic...Show moreThis thesis investigates the treatise 'De resurrectione' of Pseudo-Justin as part of the resurrection debate around 180 CE: How it is related to the dominant intellectual discourse of Hellenistic philosophy and what its place is in the development of Christianity.Show less
