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Akroterion
E-ISSN: 2079-2883
Akroterion is published annually by the Department of Ancient Studies, University of Stellenbosch, with the financial support of the Classical Association of South Africa. The journal publishes articles in English or Afrikaans aimed at the non-specialist, covering all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman civilization, but focusing especially on the influence and reception of the Classics.
| Publisher | University of Stellenbosch |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Annually |
| Coverage | Vol 45 Dec 2000 - current |
| Accreditation(s) |
Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) |
| Language | English/Afrikaans |
| Journal Status | Active |
| Collection(s) |
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The heart of the poet at the heart of his poem : the manner and purpose of Catullus’ identification with Ariadne in Poem 64
More LessThe essay competition is sponsored by the Classical Association of South Africa. This paper was judged to be the best student essay submitted to CASA for 2018.
In recent times, the longer poems of Catullus have been receiving renewed attention. Previously regarded as highly technical, impersonal works written to earn the poet the epithet of doctus in neoteric circles, there is now a greater tendency to see them as personal expressions of the Catullan persona1 in much the same way as it is accepted that his shorter, lyric poems do (Putnam 1961:165). In Poem 64, written in epic meter and dealing with epic heroes and their deeds, Catullus embeds deeply lyrical concerns relating to love, betrayal and grief at the very heart of his epyllion (Konstan 1993:71).
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The Roman colonization of Britain : two poetic insights
More LessDispossessing Britain
The poem draws on different translations of the description of the Battle of Mons Graupius by Tacitus the Roman historian. The account is found in Agricola, the eponymous biography of Julia’s father, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a Gallo-Roman military commander, pontiff and governor of Britannia. The battle took place in northern Britain in AD 83. Tacitus depicts the battle as ending resistance to the Roman conquest of Britain.
Saying goodbye to the Romans
Some 380 years after the battle of Mons Graupius, Roman withdrawal from the province of Brittannia was underway. This poem is set in 410, when Constantine 111 moved the last remaining legion out of Britain to confront uprisings in Gaul. The speaker is Ethelbert, a fictional clan leader.
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Selected letters to Samuel Whiteley by South African classicists
More LessThis article publishes for the first time a selection of letters written to Mr Samuel Whiteley by William Smail, Theodore Haarhoff, Kenneth White, and Henry Tillyard, between 1923 and 1971. These letters were preserved among the papers and books donated by Whiteley to the Classics department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (then the University of Natal), in Durban. The letters are set in their historical context and analysed. They illuminate the history of Classics in mid-20th-century South Africa in a very personal way.
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The iconography of sheep in the visual culture of the pagan paradise : an example of late antiquity in Antioch
More LessThe presence of certain animals in the iconographic programs of Late Antiquity is closely linked to different conditions. In our particular case, we propose to analyze a mosaic of the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam: a fat-tailed sheep (c. AD 475) from an early Christian Church near Antioch. Greek culture was strongly rooted in Antioch, and Roman visual culture had a strong influence on the artistic currents that reached the oriental city. These geographical and cultural factors, in addition to the iconographic program of Paradise, form a context of analysis that will allow us to identify how the presence of the sheep has evolved in the visual culture of Antiquity.
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Partly folksy, sometimes smirking : a new translation of Augustine’s confessions
More LessThe translator and poet Sarah Ruden published her new and in some ways quite original translation of Augustine’s Confessions in 2017. In a fighting introductory essay she explains her position which she characterises as maverick. She contrasts her own work against other translations, which she regards as more traditional. Ruden makes provocative claims about the allegedly conventional interpretations, which, relative to hers she argues, can work to obscure rather than convey what the Bishop of Hippo intended his contemporary audience to understand. This essay forms a reflection on her claims and sets some of her passages against the original Latin and those of other modern English translators. While Ruden’s is a welcome contribution to a well populated field of translations into modern languages, her claims and strategies are not found to be always entirely judicious.
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Thallus and Phlegon : solar eclipse in Jerusalem c. 33 CE?
More LessThe current investigation explores whether Thallus and Phlegon can continue to have relevance to the current historical Jesus debate. To assist in this process, apart from pertinent input from a range of contemporary scholars, the often quoted reference to an assumed solar eclipse that occurred at the time of Jesus of Nazareth’s crucifixion is critically examined in the light of current astronomical knowledge. The findings reveal the more likely historical context that is often overlooked by many scholars. As a result, only one conclusion is possible, namely any account of a total solar eclipse at any time during any activity in or around Jerusalem between 23 CE and 43 CE would have to be entirely and undeniably fictitious. In addition, even if one is naïve enough to countenance supposedly historical references to either Thallus or Phlegon, they tell the historian nothing that can authenticate either the life or ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
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E-ISSN: 2079-2883
© Publisher: University of Stellenbosch
E-ISSN: 2079-2883
© Publisher: University of Stellenbosch