The Reception of Minoritized Translators of Classical Epic Poetry

The Reception of Minoritized Translators of Classical Epic Poetry
By Imaan Ansari

Translating without interpreting is nearly impossible. The primary factors affecting a translator’s decisions are the original work’s author, the author’s intended audience, and the audience receiving the translation upon publication. No translator is impartial; otherwise, all translations would be the same. For ancient literature, the progression by which translations are differently received throughout time can be understood through the prism of “Classical reception,” a phenomenon that also crafts the archetype of the accepted or ideal translator…

Romanus Graecisans: How The Emergence of Rome Impacted The Greeks

Romanus Graecisans: How The Emergence of Rome Impacted The Greeks
By Frederick Frostwick

The expansion of the Roman empire into the east under Augustus both represents the largest growth of the city’s power up to that point and reveals the issue of integrating the Greek-speaking colonies freshly under Roman rule. How the newly conquered Greeks identified their sense of ‘self’ and how their Roman overlords maintained rule of law in the region through a new language of diplomacy…

The Triumph of Life over Death

The Triumph of Life over Death
By Kailia Utley

Exploring the influence of Classical Antiquity on the Italian Renaissance in art pieces that commemorate the lives of prominent individuals such as the Emperors Constantine and Titus from the Roman Empire, and the humanist scholars Leonardo Bruni and Carlo Marsuppuni from the Florentine Renaissance.

Dido’s Ambiguous Depictions: Powerless or Empowered?

Dido’s Ambiguous Depictions: Powerless or Empowered?
By Caroline Pantzer

Did Roman audiences view powerful female characters of myth and literature in a dismissive, simplistic manner? Or did they understand and appreciate the complexity and ambiguity of such figures? In writing the Aeneid between 30–19 BC, Vergil places himself as an author within the epic tradition’s pre-existing “literary canon” of powerful, intelligent female characters…

Bull and Bull-Leaping Iconography: Knossos, Tell el-Dab’a, and Beyond

Bull and Bull-Leaping Iconography: Knossos, Tell el-Dab’a, and Beyond
By Anna Keneally

Since Arthur Evans’s discovery of the bull leaping mural at the Palatial Complex at Knossos in 1900, scholars have worked to understand the phenomenon of bull leaping, which has been documented widely, in some capacity, throughout the ancient Mediterranean basin. Through my research, I have identified patterns and parallels between many forms of bull leaping iconography, which suggests a greater interconnectivity and continuity of theme and style within these images…

Roman Matrons and Sexual Morality at the Convivium

Roman Matrons and Sexual Morality at the Convivium
By Erin Schott

Scholarly uncertainty abounds concerning Roman banqueting practices, but one of the largest gray areas is the role of women at feasts (convivia). Katherine Dunbabin and William Slater devote a single paragraph to women in their nearly thirty-page overview of Roman dining, describing the evidence as “minimal.” The lack of evidence available to reconstruct essential aspects of women’s lives, such as how they ate, is deeply problematic. It suggests that scholars might at least delve into what minimal evidence is available…

The Faces of Psyche

The Faces of Psyche
By Sophia Woo

The conception of gender is heavily influenced by the societal and cultural approaches to the term at a particular place and time. The Cambridge Dictionary defines gender as the socially constructed way of behaving and the expectations for certain groups of people in society, namely, men and women

A Compilation of Important Women From Roman History

A Compilation of Important Women From Roman History
By Matthew Breier

Ancient Roman society clearly demarcated male and female roles. Women were expected to act as dutiful daughters, wives, and mothers full of virtue, honor, and chastity. With unquestioned constantia (steadfastness), fides(loyalty), and pudicitia (sexual virtue), women spent their time in the home contributing to economic production and were not welcome in the political world…

Negative Ethnic Stereotyping and Punica Fides

Negative Ethnic Stereotyping and Punica Fides
By Brooke Boyd

Punica fides, literally meaning “Punic faith,” is a derogatory Roman idiomatic expression synonymous with treachery; it alludes to the stereotype that Carthaginians had an inborn ethnic flaw that gave them a propensity for disingenuousness and faithlessness. The expression probably stems from allegations that the Carthaginians caused the Punic Wars by breaking several treaties. However, extant literary evidence suggests that the phrase did not enter the Roman vernacular until several generations after the Third Punic War’s conclusion, long past the point when there were any Punici in North Africa at whom the slur might be directed, though other negative ethnic stereotypes about Punics existed throughout Roman history…

The Allied Perspective on Athenian Imperialism

The Allied Perspective on Athenian Imperialism
By Alex Larrow

The Delian League was a prominent institution during the fifth century BCE, as it encompassed most of the Aegean from 478 to 404. The dynamic between Athenian imperialism in the league and democracy at home is frequently discussed. Something less talked about though just as important, is the perspective of the other cities in the league. One difficulty surrounding this question is the absence of primary sources from the allied states; as historian Dominique Lenfant notes, all sources from the time of the league are Athenian…