Classics
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/72
2024-03-21T14:37:43ZGreeks in the Opera House: The Appropriation of Greek Tragedy in Opera
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16654
Greeks in the Opera House: The Appropriation of Greek Tragedy in Opera
2024
Bezett, Scott Mitchell
This thesis presents the idea that composers and librettists of opera have primarily turned to Greek tragedy in order to legitimise developments within the operatic genre, despite the significant anachronisms involved in their conception of Greek tragedy itself. In particular, we see the relationship between the two become of particular concern when operatic producers have sought to redefine the nature of music drama. The prestige of the ancient artform in academic and artistic circles since the Renaissance has lent it an enormous potency as a means of legitimisation in opera, but its appropriation by operatic producers inevitably leads to a recontextualization of the ancient artform for the time it is being produced. This thesis seeks to bring to light these recontextualizations and explore the factors that produced them, thus embracing not only the reception of ancient tragedy in opera but themes from European cultural history more broadly.
The thesis presents three case studies that explore three key moments in operatic history where Greek tragedy was appropriated as a means of legitimising developments in the idea of music drama. The first case study explores how Greek tragedy was used by the earliest operatic producers, the Florentine Camerata, in order to legitimise the idea of entirely sung drama; the second study explores how Gluck and his librettists appropriated Greek tragedy in order to legitimise their desire to curb the perceived excesses of Metastasian opera seria and thus conceived of a new relationship between music and drama in opera; while the final case study explores the appropriation of Greek tragedy in the aesthetic theories of Richard Wagner and their subsequent manifestation in Der Ring des Nibelungen.
2024-03-20T00:22:07Z‘Solving’ the Paradox of the Odyssean Ethiopians’ Twin Dual Localization: The Narrative Significance of Literary Spatiality
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16529
‘Solving’ the Paradox of the Odyssean Ethiopians’ Twin Dual Localization: The Narrative Significance of Literary Spatiality
2024
Gordon, Joel
This paper considers the narrative significance of localization in Homer’s Odyssey, in particular singular places that are associated with multiple spaces (identified here as dual localization). Our reading posits that spatial features hold narrative significance and, once uncovered, this resolves ‘problematic’ issues that may arise from spatial paradoxes. The chosen case study is the Odyssean land of the Ethiopians with its twin dual localization: (1) it is located simultaneously at the eastern and western peripheries of the world while also located singularly ‘with Poseidon’; and (2) this peripheral localization contrasts with a later ‘real world’ setting in Egypt/North Africa. While this people’s localization has been the subject of prior study, this paper presents a novel analysis: these localizations serve a characterizing function which, in turn, relates to the thematic function of Menelaus’ embedded narrative as foreshadowing the primary narrative of Odysseus’ nostos.
2024-01-28T23:01:27ZCartography vs. word-painting: Eschatological topography and the Grove of Persephone
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16421
Cartography vs. word-painting: Eschatological topography and the Grove of Persephone
2018
Gordon, Joel
2023-11-27T23:27:43Z"In the grim darkness of the far future there is only…" Rome? Ancient Greece in Warhammer 40,000
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16420
"In the grim darkness of the far future there is only…" Rome? Ancient Greece in Warhammer 40,000
2023
Gordon, Joel
2023-11-27T23:18:35ZOur Mythical Childhood Survey Entry for Prisoner Zero (Series, Season 1, 26 Episodes, by Joshua Campbell, Jason Haigh-Elllery, Gary Russel)
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16412
Our Mythical Childhood Survey Entry for Prisoner Zero (Series, Season 1, 26 Episodes, by Joshua Campbell, Jason Haigh-Elllery, Gary Russel)
2018
Gordon, Joel
Our Mythical Childhood Survey is an electronic tool within the project Our Mythical Childhood... The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture in Response to Regional and Global Challenges. This project studies the reception of Classical Antiquity as a cultural experience – a mirror of transformations across the world and the key to understand their trajectories.
This record was created by Joel Gordon for the Prisoner Zero (Series, Season 1, 26 Episodes) by Joshua Campbell Jason Haigh-Elllery, and Gary Russel.
2023-11-23T01:20:29ZAgis III: Revelations and Relegations - A Thematic and Contextual Analysis of Agis III's Rule and Revolt in the History of Alexander
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16136
Agis III: Revelations and Relegations - A Thematic and Contextual Analysis of Agis III's Rule and Revolt in the History of Alexander
2023
Rhys, Maurer
This project aims to re-examine the historical significance of Spartan King Agis III, who ruled from 338-0 BCE, during the time of Alexander the Great’s extensive campaigns in Asia. Despite Agis III’s attempts to revolt against Alexander and his many appeals for assistance from various Greek city-states and the Persians, these events are scarcely mentioned in historical records. The prevailing narrative constructed by primary sources and scholarly works have since depicted Agis and his war in a negative light, characterised as a futile endeavour that resulted in the loss of lives and the decline of Sparta’s relevance. This thesis seeks to challenge this negative perception by conducting contextual and thematic analyses of influential aspects of the Classical world that are relevant to Agis III’s campaign and the transitional period introduced by Alexander in the dawn of the Hellenic Age. The topics examined in relation to Agis’ rule include the role of Spartan kingship from 399-338 BCE, the prevailing Greek sentiment toward Agis’ revolt and the Macedonian incursion, and the responses of various parties to Agis’ war. Through these analyses, it becomes evident that Agis’ conflict against Macedonia was one of the last instances of a coordinated and unified ‘Greek’ response to a foreign invasion. The significance and scale of this conflict have been downplayed in the historical narrative due to the influence of pro-Alexander traditions. By approaching the sources and scholarship on Agis’ rule without the bias of excessive admiration for Alexander, a more comprehensive chronology of Agis’ revolt can be established. This revised perspective not only provides a foundation for future scholarship, but also offers a unique viewpoint on the transformative era initiated by Alexander, free from the glorified narrative that often shapes our understanding of the Hellenic period. Ultimately, it allows Agis III to be recognised with a legacy more fitting for a Spartan King.
2023-09-18T21:13:39ZRoman Glass Vessels in the Otago Museum
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/16066
Roman Glass Vessels in the Otago Museum
2023
MacManus, Andy
In the basement of the Otago Museum is a collection of ancient Roman glass which has been hidden away in boxes, ignored for decades. This research explores some of the Roman glass items to more fully understand their journey prior to their acquisition by the museum, but also to investigate the original contexts and uses of these items.
2023-09-13T01:34:13ZProblems of staging in Terence and their value as evidence for adaption of the Greek original
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/15139
Problems of staging in Terence and their value as evidence for adaption of the Greek original
1994-08-06
Standfield, Ruth
2023-03-31T00:40:05Z