Department of Classics & Archaeology
Maximilian Biezenski (MRP)
Supervisors: D.Lehoux
Stoics Against Coddled Minds: A New Angle on Stoicism’s Surging Popularity ()
Ancient Stoicism has enjoyed a steep rise in popularity in recent decades, both inside and outside of the academy. A few scholars have briefly offered reasons as to why, such as increased interest in virtue ethics, and the ease with which Stoic ethical maxims may be accessed and memorized through short, digestible quotations. This paper not only collects data on the observable phenomenon of Stoicism’s resurgence and current popularity and details the available, and plausible, arguments as to the cause, but it also argues for a new and significant part of the story. Stoicism’s popularity comes, in addition, as a reaction to current dominant values of extreme safety, that is, safetyism, the view that safety, both physical and emotional, is sacred and overrides all competing concerns. On analysis, the arguments of Stoicism are shown to be antithetical to the arguments of safetyism. Given that the current cultural popularity of Stoicism entirely regards the philosophy’s teachings on ethics and emotions, given the evidence of growing dissatisfaction with safetyism and the search by many for alternatives, and given Stoicism’s stronger philosophical position, I argue for a causal connection between Stoicism’s popularity and the distaste of many for safetyism.
Detailing safetyism, I draw heavily on the cultural diagnosis of Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, in their book The Coddling of the American Mind (2018). Some examples of safetyism include the creation of “safe spaces,” the concept of “microaggressions,” and the censorship of speech, which all seek to remove causes of distress rather than strengthen individuals. The authors argue that, though with good intentions, these practices and values do more harm than good. Arguing instead in favour of the practices of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which has direct philosophical roots in Stoicism, I utilize some of the author’s arguments in demonstrating Stoicism’s stronger philosophical position. Stoicism and CBT both operate on the premise that if emotional distress is caused by perception and judgment, then a remedy lies in altering perception and judgment. Furthermore, they both argue that we are strengthened by stress and challenge, not weakened. CBT is already widely successful in treating emotional distress, and many are finding that Stoicism, too, offers a preferable alternative system of values to those of avoidance and suppression of the external world. As a final consideration, I also investigate the question of why Stoicism is more popular among men.
Dakota Urban (Thesis)
Supervisors: R. Ascough & J.M. Carbon
Expressions of Diasporic Identity: Transcultural Language in Jewish-Greek Inscriptions ()
The diasporic Jewish experience is characterized by the dynamics of acculturation and enculturation, a twofold process entailing a degree of integration into the majority culture and at the same time a strong retention of the Jewish identity. The primary purpose of my thesis is to demonstrate how diasporic Jewish communities in the Graeco-Roman world adapted to different contexts in which they were the minority, while cultivating their identity within these contexts and making it accessible and receptive for non-Jews. To achieve this, I explore how transcultural language in Greek inscriptions expresses the Jewish identity in a manner fitting both the boundaries of Judaism and the larger societal framework of the Graeco-Roman world. By transcultural language, I refer to cross-culturally shared vocabulary that occurs in situations of cultural negotiation between diasporic Jews and their host culture. My thesis consists of two independent case studies which explore inscriptions from the Bosporus Kingdom and Asia Minor. In each case study I conduct an analytical investigation of transcultural terms - first within the term’s own functional capacity, then in reference to other relevant terms within the inscription. I then contextualize each term within a cultural and religious setting: a) Graeco-Roman society; b) Jewish theology; and c) outside of the Jewish-Greek dichotomy. In each circumstance the findings demonstrate a unique materialization of the diasporic Jewish experience. My research thereby contributes significantly to the growing scholarly focus on how cross-cultural interactions enriched ancient Jewish identity.
Katrina Johnston (Essay)
Supervisor: D. Lehoux
Challenging the Use of Ancient Greek and Roman Medical Information in Paul of Aegina's Epitome of Medicine
Paul of Aegina (c. 625-690 CE) was one of the foremost Byzantine medical authorities. His only surviving text, Epitome of Medicine, was written in seven books and instructed physicians on both surgical and non-surgical treatments. The Epitome addressed the remedy of ailments ranging from medical treatments for “persons bitten by a man” to surgical procedures to fix aneurysms. Indeed, Paul identifies nearly 600 plants and 200 animal products as helpful ingredients in recipes for pharmacological interventions. Paul’s medical ideas were extremely influential. His encyclopedia was originally published in Greek before being translated into several different languages. His techniques may be traced in the methodologies of later physicians including Rhazes (864-925 CE ) Albucasis (936-1013 CE) and Avicenna (980-1037 CE). It is also apparent that Paul relied heavily upon the works of ancient medical writers such as Galen (129- 216 CE) and Hippocrates (460-375 BCE) when he was compiling his Epitome. In this study, I explore classical influences on the surgical portion of Paul’s encyclopedia. I observed the techniques that remained the same, those that show an evolved medical understanding, and new procedures that appear in the text. This research strategy will elucidate how the growing compendium of medical knowledge affected the evolution of surgical techniques between antiquity and early Byzantium.
Marie McMenamin (Essay)
Supervisor: G. Bevan
Detecting Change in High Temporal Resolution UAV Photogrammetry at Active Archaeological Excavations: International Field School Excavations at NI Stobi 2018
Photogrammetry is a common technique used in the documentation of archaeological excavations; it has been integrated into several sites since the early 20th century. Photogrammetry allows researchers to analyze and document important finds and structures. The cost of photogrammetry today has declined significantly since the early 20th century making it possible to perform daily RPAS photogrammetry over an active archaeological site. Most researchers today use photogrammetry to create orthophotos that can be traced with 2D line work, but the 3D data is essentially thrown out. This 3D data can provide valuable information using change detection. Photogrammetric change detection analysis is common when it comes to the protection of cultural heritage sites but is not commonly used on active archaeological sites. Using 3D data, we can compare Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) and Point Clouds, resulting in defined locus boundaries that can enhance the archaeological documentation. This study utilizes RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems) data gathered during an international field school at Stobi, an archaeological site in the Republic of North Macedonia, in 2018. Using two different programs, 3DM Analyst and CloudCompare, this project shows the subtle changes that occur on an active archaeological excavation. These programs have special features that allow the user to compare the data to calculate and visualize these differences. Information gathered from field journals and locus sheets assists in the analysis of the changes that occur within the locus boundaries. The 3D information gathered can provide important information in understanding how the excavation is proceeding and what the next steps are.
William Vanstone (Essay)
Supervisor: C. Zaccagnino
Male Homosexuality under the Julio-Claudian Dynasty
This paper explores the nature of Roman attitudes, both elite and non-elite, regarding male homosexuality under the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Through examining Roman laws, art, and literature from the period, these attitudes will be revealed and understood to the extent in which one can understand a past society through its history and artifacts. When exploring attitudes through art, special attention is paid to the Warren Cup, an intriguing artifact of uncertain provenance whose authenticity has been debated vigorously by contemporary scholars. The nature of Roman attitudes towards homosexuality is highly related to Roman social hierarchy and where one fell within that hierarchy. Depending on one’s status and the status of their partner, desires for emotional or sexual connections with members of the same sex and gender could be viewed as either perfectly normal and legitimate, or unusual and unmanly.
Bjorn Bols (Thesis)
Supervisor: F. Colivicchi
Wrestling's Grip on the Past: A Comprehensive Study of Ancient Greek Wrestling
Wrestling was the first non-running event added to the ancient Olympics in the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC. Wrestling continued to appear in Greek and Roman art and literature all the way until the end of antiquity, leaving behind a large cultural legacy over a period of a thousand years. This long history reflects a level of importance and prestige associated with the sport that is deserving of further study. By applying a modern and practical understanding of grappling sports to the descriptions and images from the ancient world, this research aims to illuminate further details about the ancient sport and its cultural function in Greco-Roman art and literature. Due to the similar general rule sets and lack of equipment, modern knowledge of wrestling can help inform details about ancient images and texts and correct misunderstandings and confusion between the modern and ancient sports. With its proven pervasiveness in Greco-Roman culture, wrestling can serve as a valuable nexus point to examine many aspects of ancient life, from art and entertainment, healthcare and philosophy, politics and class, and religion and war. This thesis will present its information in sections to discuss wrestling as it relates to a variety of different topics and artistic mediums. Through the analysis of wrestling in the context of myth, literature, art, and other modern interpretations, this work will aim to prove the importance of wrestling to Greek culture and identity in the ancient world and how a practical knowledge of wrestling techniques can help inform these subjects overall.
Georgia Landgraf (Thesis)
Supervisor: C. Zaccagnino
Domestic Depictions: Women of the Home in 5th-Century Attic Vase Painting
Mortal women in the Ancient Greek world are generally understudied when compared to their male counterparts. This is partially due to a lack of information from antiquity and a lack of interest from modern scholars. Second wave feminism acted as a catalyst in the study of women in academia, however, larger scale studies of women on Attic vase painting were not seen widely in major scientific journals and books until the 1980s. This thesis attempts to fill in this gap in knowledge through the examination of women depicted in domestic space on 5th-century Attic vessels. This wide time span allows for the evaluation of the changing attitudes towards women as related to historical events within Athens over the century. Through the study of a selection of vessels from the Beazley Archive Pottery Database (BAPD), scenes of mortal women were divided into seven major types: marriage preparations, childcare, household labour, women at leisure, music, a warrior’s departure, and funerary practices. The scenes on these vases are also compared to grave stele of the fifth century due to their similar iconography. Representations of women on the 5th-century vases do not necessarily show the daily lives of the average Athenian housewife, but rather express the important socio-political role women played for both the oikos and the polis serving as a symbolic motif of Athenian prosperity. The iconography of vessels such as these allows for modern viewers to understand the ancient societal expectations placed upon Athenian women throughout the turbulent political context of the fifth century.
Laurence Bouchard (Major Research Paper)
Supervisor: B. Reeves
Reassessing the Presence of Women at Humayma in a Regional Context Across the Nabataean and Roman Cultures ()
First recognized by scholars as an important area of study in the 1970s, research on the female presence and experience in antiquity has grown to become a major area of scholarship in classical studies and archaeology. However, notwithstanding this important rise in popularity, delving into questions of gender and inquiries pertaining to the life of ancient women remains to this day a laborious enterprise due to the androcentric nature of the field. Academics have indeed long slighted the subject of antique females altogether, limiting their mention of a feminine presence to heavily stereotyped mythological or literary characters and to a few, often controversial, historical figures. Moreover, as the surviving written accounts mostly recall the point of view of the Greek and Roman elite, the study of gender and women’s presence in antiquity also remained for the longest time confined to the Greek and Roman states, thus leaving aside any other ancient civilization. Over the last two decades, this prejudiced literary-based view started to be challenged by members of the scholarly community who turned to the analysis of material culture to fill in those historical and regional lacunae.
In an attempt to further this line of inquiry, this research paper will address how the presence of ancient women can be substantiated by the material evidence uncovered in archaeological contexts using examples from the site of Humayma, an antique desert settlement in southern Jordan that witnessed and thrived through a large spectrum of occupation. Focusing on the material record associated with the Nabataean and Roman cultures uncovered at the site while also taking into account relevant finds from other similar contexts, this research paper will offer an overview of the ways in which inscriptional, skeletal and artefactual evidence can attest to the presence of ancient females in an antique Near Eastern settlement. More specifically, several types of written documents, inscriptions, epitaphs, graffiti, skeletal remains, grave goods, as well as different categories of artefacts associated with a feminine presence will be discussed in order to offer a more holistic approach to the analysis of women’s presence at the site of Humayma, thereby shining a light on the female experience in the ancient Near East.
Annabeth Deakin (Major Research Paper)
Supervisor: F. Colivicchi
Shedding Light on Caere’s Ceramic Oil Lamps: Typological Analysis and Discussion ()
Throughout Queen’s University’s 2013-2015 excavations at the Etruscan and Roman city of Caere, numerous Roman ceramic oil lamps were found in the Vigna Marini-Vitalini, the modern name for one area located within the city’s urban centre. This project aims to input these lamps into their respective typological classifications in order to relate them to the overall chronology of the site, specifically in correlation with their contexts, and with a focus on the Roman period of occupation.
To investigate this, the paper provides a historical background to Caere, during the ancient period, and an overview of the excavations conducted on the site. Next, there is a brief introduction to the study of lamps, and how typologies work as a methodology. Then the paper will examine the archaeological data to understand the lamp’s archaeological contexts by analyzing their deposition, with a subsequent typological discussion. Thus, this compiled research will shed light on the material culture of Caere during the Roman period and provide broader discourse on the techniques of pottery production and distribution during the late Roman Republic to early Imperial periods.
Emily Croft (Major Research Paper)
Supervisor: C. Zaccagnino
Duplicating Drapery: Examining Painted Imitations of Hanging Textiles in Roman Italic Contexts ()
Within Pompeian-influenced Roman mural decoration, the motif of the hanging textile was consistently popular from the Second Style through to the Fourth Style. The following work is the result of the analysis of a catalogue of 42 examples of painted imitations of curtains, tapestries, and drapes within primarily Italic religious and domestic contexts. Following a discussion on the production of physical textiles and the state of modern scholarship on painted imitations, the main body of work is comprised of the comparison of the two subsets of imitation curtains, i.e. realistic and stylised examples, among their grouping. When analysed both separately and as a whole, the catalogue produces meaningful trends in pigment colour, decorative elements, as well as placement and function within the overall scheme of their respective walls. This study subsequently focuses on the settings in which textile imitations are found, particularly within the domestic contexts of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Raphaelle Walsh-Beauchamp (Thesis)
Supervisor: C. Zaccagnino
An Investigation of Nineteenth-Century Archaeological Evidence for Roman Britain and its Contemporary Reception within British Society ()
This project will analyze nineteenth-century archaeological records for Roman-British sites and policies involving artefacts and museums. I will use findings to form connections between archaeological activity during the Victorian period and contemporary British thought on Britain’s past, racial hierarchies, and imperialism. Particularly pertinent to this study is the way in which Britons used their perceived Roman past to justify the expansion and maintenance of their empire. This period of archaeological excavation was a unique time in which science and storytelling intermingled to create a picture of Britain’s past. The sudden increase in finding the remains of Roman Britain was attributed to the demands of urbanization during the nineteenth century. Thus far, Victoria Hoselitz’s work Imagining Roman Britain: Victorian responses to a Roman past (2007) is the only study I have come across to utilize a similar approach to that of my project in order to draw conclusions about British culture during the Victorian period. In order to complete my research, I have consulted nineteenth-century excavation reports by various British antiquarians. In addition, rare, published works and physical remains at various institutions, including the British Library and the British Museum, have been consulted.
Anton Strachan (Major Research Paper)
Supervisors: F. Colivicchi; C. Zaccagnino
A Cistern System at Caere ()
Over the course of the 2013-15 Queen’s University excavations at the Etruscan city Caere, a complex water storage system was uncovered in the Vigna Marini Vitalini, within the central urban area. Connecting to two cisterns is a system of tunnels, pipelines, basins, and wells. This study examines the archaeological data and aims to gain a better understanding of how the system functioned as well as its chronology, especially in how it relates to the rest of the urban site. This study will provide a clearer picture of the cistern system, shed light on the use of this area of the city, and aid in identifying further areas of investigation and excavation at the site.
Kasuni Jayathilake (Major Research Paper)
Supervisors: F. Colivicchi; C. Zaccagnino
Idealizing the Nude Venus: An Exploration of the Classical Tradition in the Italian Renaissance Art ()
The figure of nude Venus that was a popular theme in the ancient Greco-Roman art also had its continuous presence in the European art during the Renaissance. While the iconography of the Venus portrayals produced during the Renaissance was loaded with aspects of the Classical tradition, they were also characteristic for timely and contextual innovations. This paper explores the use of the nude Venus figure from antiquity to the 16th century Italian Renaissance art with special reference to Titian’s Venus and the musician series and Lavinia Fontana’s Isabella Ruini as Venus. In existing scholarship adequate emphasis has not been laid on the Classical tradition in the chosen case studies, and the paintings need to be interpreted in relation to Neoplatonism and the Renaissance concepts of beauty, music, and conjugal love where applicable. The study reveals that while the nude Venus was idealized in antiquity as an icon of beauty, sensuality, and a matronly persona in both everyday life as well as in the funerary context, her role expanded beyond that during the Renaissance. She was perceived, in addition to her traditional spheres of activity, as an embodiment of harmony between the beauty of the female body, nature and music both with and without restraint.
Anthea Morgan (Major Research Paper)
Supervisors: F. Colivicchi; C. Zaccagnino
Etruscan Dance as Represented in Tomb Paintings: A Dancer’s Perspective
Etruscan dance imagery featured in the tombs of Tarquinia, now a UNESCO heritage site, and of other Etruscan sites has never been studied from the perspective of a professional dancer nor from the perspective of analysis of depiction of movement in its broader context. This research was conducted by a former dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and a Classics M.A Classical Studies and Archaeology student, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the Etruscans through their dance language, a language that in funerary context was intended to endure. The study required a preliminary discussion of the issues with realism in the representation of dance and the use of images for the study of ancient dance cultures. The methodology developed to describe the dance figures is a blend of methods from Classical scholarship and from professional dance. The analysis of the dataset has revealed continuities and changes, with a number of changes (position, attire, types, configurations) occurring in the period between c. 510 and 470 BCE and particularly between c. 510 and 480 BCE, a phase of transformation for Etruscan society in general.
Rachel Morihovitis (Thesis)
Searching for a ‘Working-Class Hero’ in Greek Old Comedy ()
The attitudes towards work and labour in antiquity vary based on lens and scholar, ancient or modern. This project aims to make new connections between the realms of Labour Studies and Classics through the examination of ancient literature, with a focus on the fifth century BCE. Specifically, it examines a selection of the comic poet Aristophanes’ works in order to determine whether or not a ‘working-class hero’ existed within them. Additionally, it explores what impact, if any, this character type may have had on ancient theatregoers, and how the working-class hero lines up with a staple of Old Comedy, the comic hero.
In order to investigate this, context is key. This project first provides relevant vocabulary, both in English and Greek, with definitions specific to this body of work. Following this are examples of paid labour in antiquity. This project finds that there is ample evidence of paid labour across industries in the fifth century BCE, both in public and private spheres. In the former, the surviving records provide far more exact wage information, and while the latter is not as specific, it still indicates some sort of compensation for work.
This project finds that there is a connection between working-class heroes and Old Comedy. The parallels between working-class and comic heroes are numerous, and appear in more than one Aristophanic play. The poet’s protagonists were almost always average, everyday men, pushing back against power structures in order to make change for the better. In addition, there is reason to believe that the audience felt a connection to the comic hero as a working-class hero. Through analysis of specific scenes, Aristophanic patterns and tropes, as well as the results of competition, it becomes clear that spectators likely would have related to the contents of the plays. This study demonstrates that, through examining Old Comedy from a labour-based lens, there are clear connections between these two vastly different disciplines.
Emma March (Thesis)
Supervisors: F. Colivicchi; K. Olson, Western University
A Comparison of Ancient Roman Justice Systems and Canadian Indigenous Justice Systems: Approaches to Crime and Punishment ()
Canadian law is legally pluralistic and combines common law, civil law, and Indigenous legal traditions. Roman law has contributed largely to both the Canadian common law and civil law traditions while Indigenous law has developed from its own belief system and history. Conflict has arisen within Canada’s criminal system with respect to Indigenous offenders due to the retributive nature and positivistic approaches of both the common law and civil law systems in the face of the restorative methodology found in Indigenous approaches to crime. The retributive approach is largely reflective of the legal ideology developed by the Romans and their methods for punishing crime. However, Rome had many different periods of law and the history of Roman law before the classical period has largely been ignored in legal scholarship. By contrasting the two systems, I argue that criticism for Indigenous law as being largely custom is misplaced and that Indigenous law derives force from similar sources of law found in the Roman system. Moreover, I argue that the overincarceration and representation of Indigenous individuals within the Canadian criminal system is partially the result of differences in core values resulting from separate histories and customs. The Canadian criminal system may benefit from adopting smaller organizational structures in order to provide more personal services as is seen in Indigenous systems. Furthermore, the Canadian criminal law system needs to incorporate further aspects of Indigenous law into its structure which represent traditional Indigenous values in order to encourage reconciliation and help heal Canada’s Indigenous peoples. However, this presents difficulties given the sizeable population of modern cities and the needs of administering justice over a large population.
Meaghan Cosby (MRP)
Supervisor: C. Zaccagnino
Tiberius' Politics and Propaganda Through the Analysis of some Works of Art
This paper aims to examine the different aspects of the images related to emperor Tiberius’ politics and propaganda. This will be done by examining coins, the decorative program of his villas at Sperlonga and Capri, the Boscoreale Cup depicting Tiberius, the so-called sword of Tiberius, the Grand Camée de France, and the Gemma Augustea. Along with these pieces of archaeological evidence, primary sources (literary and inscriptions) have been examined to understand what messages Tiberius wanted to deliver to the empire. Based on the evidence, I believe that Tiberius wanted to stress especially his relation to Augustus and the Julio-Claudians, maintaining this dynastic line, and stressing his disappointments and the values he believed in through the means of Greek mythological tales.
Briar Bennett-Flammer (MRP)
Supervisor: R. Ascough
Commandeering a Symbol of God: Reevaluating the Use of the Chi-Rho in Roman Britain as a Sign of Imperial Authority ()
The Chi-Rho (☧), or Christian monogram, is one of the most common religious symbols in Christian art. Traditional archaeology has considered the presence of a chi-rho to be an indicator of a Christian artifact, as a result of a long-standing association with the figure of Christ. As a result, artefacts adorned with the chi-rho have been consistently used as evidence for Christian activity in Roman Britain. An association with imperial figures, however, has created a need to question the validity of these assumptions in certain contexts. After his “Divine Revelation” Emperor Constantine adopted the chi-rho as his personal sign of military triumph and political authority, giving the symbol dual functions representing both religion and imperial power. In Britain, Constantine’s many personal and military connections may have increased the chi-rho’s imperial role. The symbol appears in the province as architectural decoration, graffiti, and on objects as original ornamentation. When this material evidence is reevaluated with consideration for function, context, potential as a religious and/or secular artefact, and the purpose of the chi-rho as part of the objects’ decoration, the Romano-British chi-rho is demonstrated to be a symbol with an ambivalent nature. While in some cases the symbols are religious and/or ritual in function, often the chi-rho is clearly used as an imperial emblem on objects associated with the administrative system, the military, or those displaying fealty to the imperial family.
Alexandra Elvidge (MRP)
Supervisor: R.D. Griffith
The Function of Exile in Euripides’ Medea
Exile is a principal theme of Euripides’ 431 BCE production of Medea, with Medea and Jason forced from their homelands and living by the hospitality of a tyrant in Corinth. This project seeks to fill the gap in present scholarship by exploring how Medea and Jason’s actions are influenced by their exile. I evaluate the impact of exile on the individual by outlining first, the legal and political ramifications of banishment in fifth-century Athens, and second, the portrayal of exile in the Archaic and Classical literary tradition. Travel in the ancient world was clearly dangerous. This danger was exacerbated for the exile who, living in a foreign state without the benefit of the laws and civic customs of their homeland, was devoid of any rights, security, or status. The exile therefore depended upon a host, in a form of ritualized protection known as ξενία, which would provide him with tenuous security and a modicum of freedom. Medea and Jason both live in such precarious circumstances: Jason relies on the protection of ξενία through Creon, while Medea must rely on the private sphere of her husband’s οἶκος, both of which are sacrificed by the end of the tragedy. While her status as a woman and a foreigner deprives Medea of civic rights, being an exile without host protection threatens the security of her person. Meanwhile, Jason’s exile eliminates the rights and privileges he had held as a Greek male citizen, and I therefore argue that his choice to marry into a ruling Corinthian family is motivated by his desire to regain his civic autonomy. This project acknowledges the profound and multifaceted impact of exile on the individual and explores how the widely held scholarly interpretations of Medea and Jason’s actions acquire further complexity and nuance when the characters’ exile is given due consideration.
Alexander Moore (MRP)
Supervisor: C. Zaccagnino
The Art of Storytelling: Epic and Tragedy in Ancient Greek Vase Art
The purpose of this study is to survey the narrative scenes present on Ancient Greek red-figure vases of the 5th to 4th centuries BCE in order to discern whether or not there is any correlation between the genre of said narratives and iconographical convention. The study will utilize primarily the methodology outlined by Mark Stansbury-O’Donnell, analysing the various compositional elements of each narrative scene and the overall iconographic convention of which the various selected narratives are a part. The study will compare and contrast the two most prominent narrative genres of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, epic and tragedy.
Francesca Rousselle (Thesis)
Supervisor: A.F. D'Elia
Art for God's Sake: An Augustinian Defense of Theatre ()
In City of God Augustine refers to the theatre as a “pestilence” on the morals of the Roman people. Further, he devotes a large portion of the third book of the Confessions to outlining his own sinful experiences with the theatre and a Platonic attack on the poetical arts. From these passages in his two most famous works it would be reasonable to see theatre as incompatible with an Augustinian worldview. However, by expanding upon O’Connell’s Art and the Christian Intelligence in St. Augustine, Smith’s “Staging the Incarnation: Revisioning Augustine’s Critique of Theatre”, and Drever’s “Entertaining Violence: Augustine on the Cross of Christ and the Commercialization of Suffering”, this study shows that a complete condemnation of the theatre cannot be sustained in light of the wider Christian framework within which Augustine operates. This thesis begins by examining the similarities between Plato and Augustine’s critiques of theatre on both ethical and ontological grounds. Having established that the basis of their attack lies in three elements: imitation, the emotions, and material images, an exploration of Augustine’s views on material creation, the Incarnation, Resurrection, and human persona shows that neither the emotions nor material images can be condemned on the Platonic assumption that their natures are inherently corrupting; in fact, both of these are shown to be moral goods that, while liable to corruption because of the Fall, are innately good. Given that they are moral goods, it becomes possible to make room in Augustine for the possibility of a ‘redeemed theatre’ where the mimetic imitation inherent to the theatrical arts is not a moral hindrance but a devotional aid. Indeed, Augustine’s use of theatrical elements in his own writing points to the efficacy of this method of evangelization.