'ORPHEIOI HYMNOI' The generic contexts of the Orphic Hymns
- Malamis, Daniel Scott Christos
- Authors: Malamis, Daniel Scott Christos
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Orphic hymns , Poetics Early works to 1800 , Hymns, Greek (Classical) History and criticism , Literary form
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327177 , vital:61088 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327177
- Description: Uncertainty surrounds the circumstances of Orphic Hymns’ composition and their intended use. Their author has substituted their own identity for that of the mythological poet and there is no certain reference to the extant collection in any ancient source. They are, in this sense, decontextualised. This study aims to make a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the hymns’ composition, and the original function they might have served, through an analysis of their poetic and generic contexts. Following a detailed survey of scholarship on the hymns, I reflect first on the collection as a unified text, the constitutive parts of the individual hymns and the methods they employ for addressing, describing and praying to the gods. I then study a select group of stylistic features that the hymns prominently display: their use of phonic effects, including etymological figures, of antithesis and symmetrical patterning, and their extensive repetition of poetic formulae. In each case I discuss the deployment and significance of these poetic elements within the collection and consider the intertextual parallels suggested by their recurrence in Greek literary texts of all periods. This analysis reveals the hymns’ engagement with an overlapping set of poetic traditions, including, most prominently, cultic hymns and oracles, gnomic poetry, the theological discourses of the Presocratic philosophers and, in particular, Orphic poetry in its many forms. It suggests moreover that the hymns engage deeply with the oral strategies of the earliest Greek poets, underscoring the conclusion reached by several recent scholars, that the extant collection is essentially performative and was intended to be recited and heard. I argue that the Orphic Hymns were not a unique text in their employment of the stylistic features studied here, but drew extensively upon earlier hymns composed in Orpheus’ name. I further consider, in the light of this argument, the bearing this study has on the unresolved questions of the hymns’ composition, whether by a single author or many, and the aims of the poet(s) who composed them. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literature Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
- Authors: Malamis, Daniel Scott Christos
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Orphic hymns , Poetics Early works to 1800 , Hymns, Greek (Classical) History and criticism , Literary form
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327177 , vital:61088 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327177
- Description: Uncertainty surrounds the circumstances of Orphic Hymns’ composition and their intended use. Their author has substituted their own identity for that of the mythological poet and there is no certain reference to the extant collection in any ancient source. They are, in this sense, decontextualised. This study aims to make a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the hymns’ composition, and the original function they might have served, through an analysis of their poetic and generic contexts. Following a detailed survey of scholarship on the hymns, I reflect first on the collection as a unified text, the constitutive parts of the individual hymns and the methods they employ for addressing, describing and praying to the gods. I then study a select group of stylistic features that the hymns prominently display: their use of phonic effects, including etymological figures, of antithesis and symmetrical patterning, and their extensive repetition of poetic formulae. In each case I discuss the deployment and significance of these poetic elements within the collection and consider the intertextual parallels suggested by their recurrence in Greek literary texts of all periods. This analysis reveals the hymns’ engagement with an overlapping set of poetic traditions, including, most prominently, cultic hymns and oracles, gnomic poetry, the theological discourses of the Presocratic philosophers and, in particular, Orphic poetry in its many forms. It suggests moreover that the hymns engage deeply with the oral strategies of the earliest Greek poets, underscoring the conclusion reached by several recent scholars, that the extant collection is essentially performative and was intended to be recited and heard. I argue that the Orphic Hymns were not a unique text in their employment of the stylistic features studied here, but drew extensively upon earlier hymns composed in Orpheus’ name. I further consider, in the light of this argument, the bearing this study has on the unresolved questions of the hymns’ composition, whether by a single author or many, and the aims of the poet(s) who composed them. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literature Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
The bastards of Euripides: illegitimacy in the Hippolytus, the Andromache, and the Ion
- Sülter, James Nicholas Edwin
- Authors: Sülter, James Nicholas Edwin
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Euripides , Euripides Criticism and interpretation , Euripides. Hippolytus , Euripides. Andromache , Euripides. Ion , Illegitimacy in literature , Tragedy History and criticism , Citizenship in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190030 , vital:44957
- Description: The Pericles Citizenship Law of 451 made citizenship contingent on an individual man having Athenian blood on both his father and mother’s side. Men with foreign mothers were denied any rights to the key institutions that conferred Athenian belonging, such as deme and phratry membership, as well as, of course, citizenship. When, however, the Peloponnesian War began in 431, the population of Athenian citizens was quickly diminished by military conflict and plague and they sought a solution to repopulate their numbers with as little change to the original law as possible. The result was an amendment in 429 allowing citizens with no living legitimate (γνήσιοι) heirs to legitimise their bastards (νόθοι) in their place. A year after this, Euripides wrote the Hippolytus, a play that deals very closely with the issues of bastardy, bastards’ place in the polis and the oikos, and their treatment by those who are legitimate. As the war went on, he proceeded to produce two other plays containing bastard characters, the Andromache (c.425) and the Ion (c.413), in which he similarly explored the consequences of illegitimacy. In all three plays his attitude towards bastards is overwhelmingly sympathetic and the way he chooses to present their situations suggests his disagreement with the arrogance and antipathy that continued to push many of these often very worthy individuals to the fringes of society. This thesis seeks to examine Euripides’ presentation of bastards through a close reading of the relevant texts, in order to understand how the plays reacted to the contemporary circumstances of and what comments they are making. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Sülter, James Nicholas Edwin
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Euripides , Euripides Criticism and interpretation , Euripides. Hippolytus , Euripides. Andromache , Euripides. Ion , Illegitimacy in literature , Tragedy History and criticism , Citizenship in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190030 , vital:44957
- Description: The Pericles Citizenship Law of 451 made citizenship contingent on an individual man having Athenian blood on both his father and mother’s side. Men with foreign mothers were denied any rights to the key institutions that conferred Athenian belonging, such as deme and phratry membership, as well as, of course, citizenship. When, however, the Peloponnesian War began in 431, the population of Athenian citizens was quickly diminished by military conflict and plague and they sought a solution to repopulate their numbers with as little change to the original law as possible. The result was an amendment in 429 allowing citizens with no living legitimate (γνήσιοι) heirs to legitimise their bastards (νόθοι) in their place. A year after this, Euripides wrote the Hippolytus, a play that deals very closely with the issues of bastardy, bastards’ place in the polis and the oikos, and their treatment by those who are legitimate. As the war went on, he proceeded to produce two other plays containing bastard characters, the Andromache (c.425) and the Ion (c.413), in which he similarly explored the consequences of illegitimacy. In all three plays his attitude towards bastards is overwhelmingly sympathetic and the way he chooses to present their situations suggests his disagreement with the arrogance and antipathy that continued to push many of these often very worthy individuals to the fringes of society. This thesis seeks to examine Euripides’ presentation of bastards through a close reading of the relevant texts, in order to understand how the plays reacted to the contemporary circumstances of and what comments they are making. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Religious pluralism: an analysis of its practice and effect in four historical examples
- Authors: Groves, Samuel Peter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Religious pluralism , Christianity and other religions , Freedom of religion -- History , Alexandria (Egypt) -- History , Athens (Greece) -- History , Alexandria (Egypt) -- Religion , Athens (Greece) -- Religion , Eusebius, of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea, approximately 260-approximately 340 , Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337 , Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337 -- Religion , Rome -- History -- Constantine I, the Great, 306-337 , Rome -- Religion , Jews -- Spain -- History -- Expulsion, 1492 , Spain -- History -- Ferdinand and Isabella, 1479-1516 , Spain -- Religion
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67709 , vital:29132
- Description: Despite the fact that religious freedom is considered a basic human right, provided for in the South African constitution, the practise of religious freedom is often denied in certain countries and discouraged in others. The goal of this thesis is to examine four historical examples in which religious freedom was practised or denied, and the effect this decision had on the countries or people concerned. The first example of Alexander's empire is a positive example of religious liberty. His practise of religious pluralism offered peace to the Greeks and Jews of Alexandria, and it prompted creative and intellectual pursuits that would have been impossible without religious freedom. The second example is of Paul the Apostle's approach to positive religious engagement, as recorded in Acts 17 of the New Testament. Paul models constructive religious debate as he engages with the Athenian philosophers. The third example is of Constantine's pursuit of unity through religious prescription. In his bid for one empire under one God, he created both a divided empire and a divided church. The final example is of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, who through the persecution of Jews and Muslims, caused the economic collapse of Spain and the division of the church within Spain. This thesis provides historical evidence that religious pluralism benefits humanity and it is my hope that it will encourage religious and political leaders to uphold religious pluralism for the good of society and for the good of religion.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Groves, Samuel Peter
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Religious pluralism , Christianity and other religions , Freedom of religion -- History , Alexandria (Egypt) -- History , Athens (Greece) -- History , Alexandria (Egypt) -- Religion , Athens (Greece) -- Religion , Eusebius, of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea, approximately 260-approximately 340 , Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337 , Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337 -- Religion , Rome -- History -- Constantine I, the Great, 306-337 , Rome -- Religion , Jews -- Spain -- History -- Expulsion, 1492 , Spain -- History -- Ferdinand and Isabella, 1479-1516 , Spain -- Religion
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67709 , vital:29132
- Description: Despite the fact that religious freedom is considered a basic human right, provided for in the South African constitution, the practise of religious freedom is often denied in certain countries and discouraged in others. The goal of this thesis is to examine four historical examples in which religious freedom was practised or denied, and the effect this decision had on the countries or people concerned. The first example of Alexander's empire is a positive example of religious liberty. His practise of religious pluralism offered peace to the Greeks and Jews of Alexandria, and it prompted creative and intellectual pursuits that would have been impossible without religious freedom. The second example is of Paul the Apostle's approach to positive religious engagement, as recorded in Acts 17 of the New Testament. Paul models constructive religious debate as he engages with the Athenian philosophers. The third example is of Constantine's pursuit of unity through religious prescription. In his bid for one empire under one God, he created both a divided empire and a divided church. The final example is of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, who through the persecution of Jews and Muslims, caused the economic collapse of Spain and the division of the church within Spain. This thesis provides historical evidence that religious pluralism benefits humanity and it is my hope that it will encourage religious and political leaders to uphold religious pluralism for the good of society and for the good of religion.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
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