Research – Page 3

Oct 1

Money and Identity: The Socio-Political Power of Ancient Coinage and the Emergence of Greco-Bactrian Culture

Money and Identity: The Socio-Political Power of Ancient Coinage and the Emergence of Greco-Bactrian Culture
By Michael Pagano

Deep in the heart of Central Asia lies a civilization lost to time, a symbol of the interconnected nature of the ancient world near modern-day Afghanistan: the Kingdom of Greco-Bactria. For hundreds of years, this kingdom served as a hub of multiculturalism along the Silk Road. The taxation of luxury goods along the Silk Road and abundant natural resources allowed the Greco-Bactrians to fund massive initiatives to build hundreds of cities…

The Prosody of Latin S Impura Consonant Clusters in the Waltharius

Sep 24

Discentes

The Prosody of Latin S Impura Consonant Clusters in the Waltharius

The Prosody of Latin S Impura Consonant Clusters in the Waltharius
By Blake Lopez

Comprising the single most comprehensive account of the exploits of Germanic legendary hero Walther of Aquitaine, the Waltharius is a ninth or tenth-century CE Latin epic poem whose nearly 1500 dactylic hexameters offer a goldmine for the study of prosodic developments in post-Classical Latin poetic meter. In 1992, Edoardo D’Angelo tapped many of these veins in his Indagini sulla tecnica versificatoria nell’esametro del Waltharius, where he adroitly discusses and categorizes many instances of innovative vowel lengthening within the prosody of the poem…

Representations of Memnon in Archaic Greek Pottery

Aug 27

Discentes

Representations of Memnon in Archaic Greek Pottery

Representations of Memnon in Archaic Greek Pottery
By Maggie Yuan

Ancient Greek literary sources paint a complex picture of race and ethnicity, in which no consensus surrounding the parameters of identity exists. In particular, these sources differ in the way they portray Aethiopians; while some describe them as a “savage” people, others like Herodotus create an aura of mysticism around them (3.20-3.22). Material artifacts, such as pottery, only complicate this narrative further…

Analysis of a Surveyed Landscape: Euesperides, Cyrenaica

Aug 6

Discentes

Analysis of a Surveyed Landscape: Euesperides, Cyrenaica

Analysis of a Surveyed Landscape: Euesperides, Cyrenaica
By Josiah Canon DeSarro-Raynal

Lying on the northwest coast of Cyrenaica in modern Libya, Euesperides is an important archaeological site that has been the focus of extensive research through surveys and excavations since the mid-twentieth century. Demonstrated through the findings later explored in this analysis, the site offers an exceptional opportunity to reconstruct the physical appearance of a Greek city from the late-sixth century to the mid-third century BCE…

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad

Jul 23

Discentes

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad
By Garrett Lincoln Ashlock

Ever since Milman Parry’s foundational study on Homer’s use of traditional epithets, L’Épithète traditionnelle dans Homère (1928), scholars have recognized that Homer relied on an ancient deposit of epithetic formulae due to the form of his dactylic hexameter…

Jul 16

Discentes

Athens and Its Allies

Athens and Its Allies
By Daniel Stein

In March of 2021, Discentes published an article by Andrew Liu entitled “Athens: Cruel Imperial Power or Falsely Maligned?” It argued that the fifth century Athenian Empire was “a cruel imperial power” that maintained a “regime of control . . . based on fear and intimidation, not willing compliance” over subject peoples, concluding, “it is hard to argue that the Athenians were not a cruel and hated empire.”[1] This essay will take the opposing position. I argue that the Empire was not universally hated…

Plague, Climate Change, and the End of Ancient Civilizations

Jun 25

Discentes

Plague, Climate Change, and the End of Ancient Civilizations

Plague, Climate Change, and the End of Ancient Civilizations
By Daniel Stein

Periodically, civilizations collapse. Whether through war, disease, famine, or internal strife, complex societies can rapidly vanish, leaving the survivors to start a process of rebuilding that can take centuries. “A society has collapsed,” writes anthropologist Joseph Tainter, “when it displays a rapid, significant loss of an established level of social complexity”…

γνῶθι σαυτόν: A Reassessment of Plato’s Medical Metaphors, The ‘Self’ as a Scientific Subject of Ethics

Jun 11

Discentes

γνῶθι σαυτόν: A Reassessment of Plato’s Medical Metaphors, The ‘Self’ as a Scientific Subject of Ethics

γνῶθι σαυτόν: A Reassessment of Plato’s Medical Metaphors, The ‘Self’ as a Scientific Subject of Ethics
By Sheena McKeever

Cohered with empirical knowledge, Plato’s medical metaphors illuminate the physical and ethical constituents of the human being. His interrogative dialogues set out to identify personhood, to know thyself (γνῶθι σαυτόν). Plato places the person, as opposed to physical elements of the universe, at the center of his philosophy. As a scientific subject, the person provides access to understanding human nature. Plato imbues his dialogues with medical analogies that delineate the person systematically as a subject of ethics. His medical metaphors, highlighting a range of phenomena…

Women, Barbarians, and Gendered Xenophobia

May 21

Discentes

Women, Barbarians, and Gendered Xenophobia

Women, Barbarians, and Gendered Xenophobia
By Diotima Belmehdi

In Agesilaos, the Athenian historian Xenophon recounts that while attempting to rile up his troops against the Persians, King Agesilaos of Sparta did the following…

Apr 23

Discentes

Seth, a Dynamic and Enigmatic God

Seth, a Dynamic and Enigmatic God
By Will Byun

Multiple debates concern the true nature of Seth, Son of Nut. Since he is described as the god of confusion and disorder (te Velde, “Seth”), one may be tempted to compare him to Loki of Norse mythology, or even perhaps to Hermes of the Greeks, both notorious for being mischievous tricksters. However, Seth’s character is more complicated than this…

Discentes

Discentes

Penn's Classical Studies Publication

Category: Research

Money and Identity: The Socio-Political Power of Ancient Coinage and the Emergence of Greco-Bactrian Culture

The Prosody of Latin S Impura Consonant Clusters in the Waltharius

Representations of Memnon in Archaic Greek Pottery

Analysis of a Surveyed Landscape: Euesperides, Cyrenaica

The Anatolian Connection: Traditional Epithets of Apollo in the Iliad

Athens and Its Allies

Plague, Climate Change, and the End of Ancient Civilizations

γνῶθι σαυτόν: A Reassessment of Plato’s Medical Metaphors, The ‘Self’ as a Scientific Subject of Ethics

Women, Barbarians, and Gendered Xenophobia

Seth, a Dynamic and Enigmatic God

Subscribe By Email