Electra and Clytemnestra: Foils in the Liminal Realm
By Ashley Koca
The relationship between the characterizations of Clytemnestra and Electra in Aeschylus’ Oresteia can be visually synthesized through an Archaic shield dating back to 570 B.C. (see fig. 1). The shield itself embodies a combination of…
Twin Venuses: a Diachronic Approach
By Achilleas A. Stamatiadis
Plato’s Symposium, composed around 385 BCE, is about the nature of love. Pausanias, the second speaker in the dialogue, distinguishes between two aspects of the goddess Venus…
Demonstering: A Postcolonial Reading of Aeneid 3, & The Practice of Humanizing Monsters in Ancient Literature By Anna Coopey Introduction Virgil was a witness to colonization and imperialism. He grew up in Mantua, and experienced, as a young man, the results of the civil wars where Augustus’s allies carved up the land for themselves. […]
In the Courts: The Rhetoric of Athens and Today
Rhetoric’s Precedence over Evidence in Classical Athenian Courts
By Lauren Davis
I. Introduction
To many modern audiences, the charm of Ancient Greece lies in its image as an overflowing fountain of artistry and expression, the pantheon they worshipped a lingering memory of their magnificence. Their culture is, in some aspects, timeless—American architecture, literature, and language all a reflection of this ancient world. Yet even this highly romanticized view of our predecessors barely begins to skim the surface of how deeply embedded the arts were in daily life, particularly in the Classical Athens of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E….
Carro cura carere
Re-evaluating the Roman Carrus
By David Picker-Kille
I. Introduction
As an aspiring classical archaeologist with an interest in Roman land transport, the recent groundbreaking discovery of the four-wheeled “chariot” at the Villa Giuliana north of Pompeii has highlighted for me the presence of an issue of translation between English and Italian that parallels a phenomenon of increasing influence and focus within my research of ancient Roman vehicle types and their corresponding Latin terminology…
Aphrodisias
A Case Study in Costing Late Antique Circuits
By Christopher Williams
I. Introduction
Throughout Late Antiquity, spoliated material became a more common feature in many building projects across the Roman Empire. While it is often assumed that this increase in spolia is linked with economic degradation, this may not be the case…
Athens: Cruel Imperial Power or Falsely Maligned?
An Analysis of Greek Perceptions of Athenian Hegemonic Behavior
By Andrew Liu
I. Introduction
The Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea is read by many as a clear repudiation of tyranny and empire—the victory of free peoples against a foreign behemoth intent on the subjugation of all as vassals of the Great King in Persia. The Athenians played a leading role in this defeat of the Persians, and the unpopularity of the Spartan leader Pausanias helped position Athens as the leading city-state taking the war to Persia (Rhodes 24)…
Acting Onstage and Off
An Analysis of the Role Theatrical Performances Played in Nero’s Popularity
By Lily Nesvold
I. Introduction
Tyrant, murderer, debauchee, monster, rapist—just a small selection of the dreadful words that have been used for thousands of years to characterize Nero and his controversial reign. There is no doubt that Nero committed some truly horrific acts, of which perhaps the most unconscionable was the assassination of his mother, Agrippina. But has Nero been unfairly deemed a bad emperor, detested by all in his time…
Statues that Speak
5th-Century Greek Sculpture as Symbolism for Classical Age Ethos
By Millie Huang
I. Introduction
The Classical Age in Greece (510-323 BC) witnessed many monumental changes in Greek society, including the end of aristocratic culture and the spread of democracy in Athens. Qualities such as egalitarianism, rationality, and austerity became prevalent, and it is said that much of Western artistic thought, on such topics like politics, philosophy, and literature, were derived from this age…
Constantine as Liberator
An Evaluation of the Self Representations of the Emperor through Eusebius’ Life of Constantine and the Arch of Constantine
By James Nycz
I. The Conversion of the First Christian Emperor…?
The Western Roman emperor is lying on his deathbed. The previous emperor, Diocletian, had famously split the highest office among four with two senior and two junior emperors to ensure a political balance. But this balance is threatened by the impending power vacuum given that the current emperor in the west, Constantius, is approaching his final hours…