Greek and Roman Literature by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
The early lyric poetry of Tyrtaeus, a 7 th century BC poet, celebrates the military ethos of Arch... more The early lyric poetry of Tyrtaeus, a 7 th century BC poet, celebrates the military ethos of Archaic Sparta. A "Spartan writing for other Spartans," Tyrtaeus glorifies the collective spirit of duty necessary to create the communal mindset necessary for a cohesive, effective hoplite phalanx. Tyrtaeus accomplishes two things with his poetry: he redefines the notion of arête [excellence; virtue] away from the aristocratic, Homeric ideal of the individual warrior-hero. For Tyrtaeus, an authentic arête comes from the actual group battlefield experience of the hoplite soldier. Secondly, we know that the Spartan agōgē required training in oratory and rhetoric. We get to read in Tyrtaeus what it meant to be a "speaker of words" as a Spartan warrior. Tyrtaeus poetry gives us insight into some of the rhetorical tropes and methods employed by the Spartan hoplite phalanx-a rhetoric that was at times reflective, could instill "enthusiasm," and always on the move.
Examines Sophocles' play "Oedipus the Tyrant" within the context of 5th century BCE Greece. The i... more Examines Sophocles' play "Oedipus the Tyrant" within the context of 5th century BCE Greece. The interplay of Fate, Free Will, and Character plays out in a well-defined, predetermined universe, within the norms of Greek warrior society ethos.
This paper offers a close reading of Tacitus's Annales 14:29-30 by applying the principles of Rom... more This paper offers a close reading of Tacitus's Annales 14:29-30 by applying the principles of Roman historical thinking, rhetoric and oratory. [Woodman 1988; Wiseman 1979] The Boudiccan episode is consistent with the Neronian hexad's overall theme and parallelism: the death of Agrippina, because of Britannicus, the turns the Roman court into a "funereal community" (Agr. 6.27.1, quoted by Krebs (2010), leads to an otherworldly encounter with the Fury-like intercursantibus feminis [running women in between] dressed in veste ferali [funeral clothes], an encounter at the furthest outpost of the Empire, Britannia. These details are absent in his earlier Agricola, 14.3. Tacitus's artistry at work in the Annales' account as he heightens the episode's drama in three ways: the remoteness, strangeness, and "solitariness" of Mona; the "ambiguously exemplary" Suetonius Paulinus, our protagonist, a skilled military man but "rumored" to be motivated by personal glory and a competitive rivalry, Corbulo, "hero" of Armenia; and finally, now isolated in the remotest part of the Empire, Suetonius confronts a diversa acies from hell, armis virisque, suggested by the Vergillian echo and the water-crossing. This foreboding visit to an "Otherworldly" space introduces T.'s audience to the gravis clades in Britannia. Following quickly from Nero's "audacious and flagrant" scelus uxoris-the murder of Agrippina-the encounter with Druids on Mona adds a supernatural dimension to T.'s "dark" geography: on this "island beyond an island" resides Agrippina's vengeful fury: Boudicca's revolt is Agrippina's revenge. The introductory campaign against the Druids in Anglesey foreshadows what befalls Suetonius later on.
Overview lecture on Boethius' "Consolation of Philosophy"
Roman Architecture by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
"The Eumachia Building: An Imitatio of Augustan Rome" argues that the traditional "wool trade" id... more "The Eumachia Building: An Imitatio of Augustan Rome" argues that the traditional "wool trade" identification of the building is mistaken. The priestess, Eumachia had sponsored the building as part of a "public munificence" campaign to gain favor and fame on behalf of the family. Given the site's prime location and massive scale, the monument connects the regional colonia of Pompeii to Rome in several ways. The epigraphy contains two dedicatory inscriptions tied to religion at Rome-the worship of Concordia and Piety. The decoration includes a doorframe with Ara Pacis-like acanthus scrolls, while the statue of Eumachia evokes the traditional Roman matron. Through the architecture, the provincial elite remained connected to the initiatives and ideologies of the Augustan regime.
Hadrian's Pantheon Varius multiplex multiformis; ad vitia atque virtutes quasi arbiter genitus, i... more Hadrian's Pantheon Varius multiplex multiformis; ad vitia atque virtutes quasi arbiter genitus, impetum mentis quodam artificio regens, ingenium invidum triste lascivum et ad ostentationem sui insolens callide tegebat; continentiam facilitatem clementiam simulans contraque dissimulans ardorem gloriae, quo flagrabat. Epitome de Caesaribus, 14.6 He was diverse, manifold, and multiform; as if a born arbiter with respect to vices and virtues, by some artifice he controlled intellectual impulse. He adroitly concealed a mind envious, melancholy, hedonistic, and excessive with respect to his own ostentation; he simulated restraint, affability, clemency, and conversely disguised the ardor for fame with which he burned. Emperor Hadrian, described above as "varius, multiplex, multiformis", subscribed to a uniquely Greco-Roman intellectual ideal of the well-educated, aristocratic and cosmopolitan "philosopher-king" (paideia). During his 20-year reign, he traveled extensively throughout the Empire-with three major journeys-effectively "de-centering" the running of the Empire from the city of Rome. He was the first Roman emperor to wear a full beard, in imitation of the Greek style. Indeed, Hadrian was so enamored with Greek culture, he was called graeculus ("the Little Greek"). Hadrian was a "global citizen", with a cultural consciousness that fused the political with the cultural, the Greek with the Roman, evident through his building program throughout the Empire ("he built something in almost every city" HA, 19.1) Hadrian was not a mere observer of other cultures, but he visited, studied, and absorbed them, especially those in the East; his Villa at Tivoli, for example, is an architectural "travelogue" of sorts that reproduce some of the buildings and artifacts he observed during his travels through the provinces.
Rhetoric: Ancient and Modern: Course Materials by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
Detailed breakdown of Charles Darwin's rhetorical strategies employed in his "Origin of Species"
Early British Cultural History by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
16th CENTURY WESTERN EUROPE
16th century Western Europe found itself in the grip of profound cul... more 16th CENTURY WESTERN EUROPE
16th century Western Europe found itself in the grip of profound cultural upheaval which left women and men feeling that civilization had lost its bearings, leaving them with a profound sense of disorientation. This upheaval was driven by four "revolutions" which are (in chronological order)
:- Geographical - The Discovery of the New World
- Religious - The Protestant Reformation
- Cosmological - Re-centering of the universe
- Political - The "realpolitick" of Machiavelli
Celtic from the West" is a model of Celtic origins put forward by Oxford archaeologist Barry Cunl... more Celtic from the West" is a model of Celtic origins put forward by Oxford archaeologist Barry Cunliffe and University of Wales linguist, John Koch (Cunliffe and Koch, 2012). Place name data can identify and "map" a heavy density of Celtic-speaking peoples in prehistoric NW Europe while historical linguistics data suggest a Celtic language origin several centuries earlier -possibly in the Early Bronze Age -predating the emergence and spread of the Halstatt/LaTene cultures in NW Europe. Archaeological evidence looks at the distribution pattern of jadeite axes, megalithic tombs, Bell Beaker burials, etc., and shows the successive stages of a shared "Atlantic Late Bronze-Age/Early Iron Age cultural zone." A sophisticated, trade-and-exchange network along the Atlantic façade of Western Europe, starting in the Late Bronze Age, ~5000 through 800 BCE would require a lingua franca to enable the transmission of complex cultural ideas and social systems; Celtic-speaking communities therefore emerged from the original Proto-Indo-European speakers who settled along the Atlantic coast in the late Neolithic .
Presentation that traces the rise of a distinct, insular "British-Romano" art form during the Rom... more Presentation that traces the rise of a distinct, insular "British-Romano" art form during the Roman era, 43 CE - 410 CE. Art works illustrate how the indigenous British culture exercised a much stronger influence over the Roman - and why the term "British-Romano" seems discomfiting at first.
The purpose of this paper is to argue that the most significant and frequently cited sources pres... more The purpose of this paper is to argue that the most significant and frequently cited sources present us with two King Arthurs: an "historical" Arthur, a Romano-British war-hero in post-Roman Britain, and a "mythic" Arthur, who operates in the larger context of Indo-European mythology. The character and legend of Arthur, steeped in chivalry and romance, owes itself to the relatively modern works inspired by Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia. However, underlying the god-like persona is a mortal man, not quite tangible, who, according to the earliest Latin and Welsh evidence, was most likely a Romano-British war leader, fighting Anglo-Saxons and Picts in Northern England (then Wales) in the sixth century AD. Despite persistent research and investigation, the exact identity of Arthur is elusive.
Overview of earliest Old English poem as described by Bede.
A brief overview of the origins of Old English.
An overview of the Exeter Book manuscript, its elegies and riddles.
An attempt to answer the question a) why did Anglo-Saxon Christian scribes around the year 1000 d... more An attempt to answer the question a) why did Anglo-Saxon Christian scribes around the year 1000 decide to write down oral legends of Scandinavian warriors; b) why did individuals work to preserve and transmit the text through the centuries; c) why has recent popular culture embrace the Beowulf narrative - with at least 5 motion picture adapatations since 1999.
Though there are no major "canonical" literary works during this period in England, there are a n... more Though there are no major "canonical" literary works during this period in England, there are a number of short poems that provide "snapshots" of intense linguistic, sociopolitical, and literary change during this period. They include:
- The Peterborough Chronicle's Rime of King William
- The Anglo-Saxon poem, Durham
- The First Worcester Fragment
- The "earliest" Middle English lyric, "ic an witles fuli wis"
- The early Middle English "masterpiece," The Owl and the Nightingale
A survey of these works will allow us to see Middle English and Middle English poetry as a convergence of evolving native English forms with Continental influences.
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Greek and Roman Literature by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
Roman Architecture by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
Rhetoric: Ancient and Modern: Course Materials by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
Early British Cultural History by STEVEN A WILLIAMS
16th century Western Europe found itself in the grip of profound cultural upheaval which left women and men feeling that civilization had lost its bearings, leaving them with a profound sense of disorientation. This upheaval was driven by four "revolutions" which are (in chronological order)
:- Geographical - The Discovery of the New World
- Religious - The Protestant Reformation
- Cosmological - Re-centering of the universe
- Political - The "realpolitick" of Machiavelli
- The Peterborough Chronicle's Rime of King William
- The Anglo-Saxon poem, Durham
- The First Worcester Fragment
- The "earliest" Middle English lyric, "ic an witles fuli wis"
- The early Middle English "masterpiece," The Owl and the Nightingale
A survey of these works will allow us to see Middle English and Middle English poetry as a convergence of evolving native English forms with Continental influences.
16th century Western Europe found itself in the grip of profound cultural upheaval which left women and men feeling that civilization had lost its bearings, leaving them with a profound sense of disorientation. This upheaval was driven by four "revolutions" which are (in chronological order)
:- Geographical - The Discovery of the New World
- Religious - The Protestant Reformation
- Cosmological - Re-centering of the universe
- Political - The "realpolitick" of Machiavelli
- The Peterborough Chronicle's Rime of King William
- The Anglo-Saxon poem, Durham
- The First Worcester Fragment
- The "earliest" Middle English lyric, "ic an witles fuli wis"
- The early Middle English "masterpiece," The Owl and the Nightingale
A survey of these works will allow us to see Middle English and Middle English poetry as a convergence of evolving native English forms with Continental influences.