From the second half of the third century BCE onwards, Rome was inundated with ‘non-local’ objects. The great Roman conquests of the period, like the sack of Syracuse in 211 BCE, brought objects... Show moreFrom the second half of the third century BCE onwards, Rome was inundated with ‘non-local’ objects. The great Roman conquests of the period, like the sack of Syracuse in 211 BCE, brought objects from all the conquered regions to the city of Rome. Among these objects was a vast number of ‘non-local’ statues that moved from the Greek world to Rome. In the city, they were put on display in public locations and became an integrated part of the Roman cultural environment and daily life. Such statues changed Rome on multiple levels – and this was also perceived as such by the Romans themselves.This dissertation investigates the introduction and impact of Greek statues in Republican Rome through an archaeological perspective. It attempts to study the appropriation of such ‘non-local’ statues, and the shock of the new that society experienced, from an object perspective, by analysing the biographies of some specifically selected individual statues. As such, this research explores how Greek statues became integrated into the city of Rome and how their appropriation was connected to change and innovation in Roman society. Show less
It has often been claimed that Greek literature of the Roman world is obsessed with the (classical) Greek past and detached from the real world in which it was written. This article, however,... Show moreIt has often been claimed that Greek literature of the Roman world is obsessed with the (classical) Greek past and detached from the real world in which it was written. This article, however, argues that Greek texts of the imperial period offer a fascinating glimpse of the polyphonic and multicultural world of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was characterized by globalization, migration, and mobility. While Greek was the lingua franca of a large part of the Mediterranean world, especially in the East, writers of Greek literature came from many different places and regions, flexibly moving in a triangular space between local, Greek, and Roman identities. Three different examples are discussed: an epigram by Crinagoras of Mytilene, a passage from Pseudo-Longinus’ On the Sublime, and Lucian’s interview with Homer in True History. In different ways, these texts construct intercultural dialogues, which invite the reader to perceive the world and its literature as more diverse than just Greek and Roman. Show less
Sinds 1 juli 2012 bestaat de mogelijkheid om aan de Hoge Raad prejudiciële vragen te stellen. Hij zal dit instrument kunnen gebruiken om zijn positie als rechtsvormer te versterken. De Hoge Raad is... Show moreSinds 1 juli 2012 bestaat de mogelijkheid om aan de Hoge Raad prejudiciële vragen te stellen. Hij zal dit instrument kunnen gebruiken om zijn positie als rechtsvormer te versterken. De Hoge Raad is niet de eerste rechter die over dit middel beschikt. De prejudiciële procedure kent belangrijke voorgangers op Europees niveau, die in deze bijdrage worden belicht. Show less
Between 1600 and 1660, the cultural life of the city of Florence has been associated almost exclusively with the ruling Medici family. This PhD thesis aims to change this view by showing that... Show moreBetween 1600 and 1660, the cultural life of the city of Florence has been associated almost exclusively with the ruling Medici family. This PhD thesis aims to change this view by showing that educated members of the Florentine patriciate contributed substantially to the cultural success of the Medici court and that their networks were responsible for many cultural innovations in Florence society. My main issue is to demonstrate the ways in which the patricians contributed to the cultural climate in Florence and to the cultural success and social representation of the Medici court, in the period 1600-60. I answer this by looking at their art patronage and collections, their brokerage activities, their cultural academies, their relations with Medici princes, their cultural exchange and the accompanying innovations and experiments, and finally their role in the cultural and sociopolitical representation of the Medici court. Show less
As part of the VIDI 'Cultural innovation in a globalising society: Egypt in the Roman world', this research explores manifestations of Egypt in the material culture of Augustan Rome. This period... Show moreAs part of the VIDI 'Cultural innovation in a globalising society: Egypt in the Roman world', this research explores manifestations of Egypt in the material culture of Augustan Rome. This period was a crucial turning point for the urban landscape of Rome, which was characterised by cultural diversity. Previous studies focus primarily on Greek influences on the development of Augustan material culture, while Egypt remains neglected or simply categorised as exoticism or Egyptomania. This research, in contrast, set out to investigate whether or not __Egypt__ constituted an integral part of Augustan material culture during this period. By comprising for the first time a comprehensive and interpretative overview of manifestations of Egypt in Augustan Rome __including public monuments, paintings, and architectural elements as well as pottery, gems, and jewellery from private contexts__ a wide variety of case studies could be conducted, among which object reappraisals as well as new finds and contextual analyses were featured. By focusing on the archaeological data, this study demonstrates that Egypt was not an exotic Outsider in Rome, but constituted a remarkably diverse part of Roman material culture and the Augustan urban landscape, and was integrally part of the inherently flexible Augustan material culture repertoire. Show less
This dissertation compares divination in ancient Greece to divinatory practices in Republican Rome and Neo-Assyrian Mesopotamia. Divination is the human production and interpretation of signs which... Show moreThis dissertation compares divination in ancient Greece to divinatory practices in Republican Rome and Neo-Assyrian Mesopotamia. Divination is the human production and interpretation of signs which were thought to have come from the supernatural – the signs could be concerned with past, present or future. The process of divination consists of three elements: homo divinans, sign and text. These three elements are systematically compared, after which divination is discussed in its relation to time and uncertainty.********************************************************************************Commercial edition available at Brill Publishers, ISBN 978-90-04-25239-4 (hbk) ; 978-90-04-46422-3 (pbk); 978-90-04-25630-9 (e-book)https://brill.com/view/title/24193 Show less
The thesis presents a new perspective on Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (ca.1580-1651), who is nowadays only famous for his works for theorbo and lute, his remarkable output of vocal music of all... Show moreThe thesis presents a new perspective on Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (ca.1580-1651), who is nowadays only famous for his works for theorbo and lute, his remarkable output of vocal music of all genres being still mostly neglected from musicologists and performers. The thesis aims to change the perception of the composer via three different angles: A reconstruction of his life and career with a substantial amount of new biographical information builds one pillar of the book, whereas in the second part his vocal works are approached and contextualized as prototypes of radical „stile novo“ in Roman characteristic. The last third is dedicated to questions about basso continuo and Roman performance practice in Kapsperger’s lifetime, dealing also with the composers’ own material on continuo as fount of inspiration for continuo players of all instruments.*************Important notice from the author:Further research after finishing the PhD has unearthed important new archival material. Some of my hypotheses have been strongly confirmed, but some chapters of the biographical part of this thesis are not valid any more. Please find an updated version of Kapsperger’s biography here:https://www.lim.it/en/essay/5964-giovanni-girolamo-kapsperger-9788855430470.htmlVienna, the 14th of November 2020Anne Marie Dragosits Show less
While the sculpted object is so obviously carved from hard and lifeless marble, at the same time it has the capacity to conjure up a seemingly living presence of soft, undulating flesh, dramatic... Show moreWhile the sculpted object is so obviously carved from hard and lifeless marble, at the same time it has the capacity to conjure up a seemingly living presence of soft, undulating flesh, dramatic movements, and fluttering draperies. As its apparent life is persistently obscured by its materiality and its materiality denied by hints of life, sculpture challenges the beholder, is cause for confusion or frustration. This was no less the case in seventeenth-century Rome—in fact, the double character of sculpture and the manner in which the beholder coped with this was a central issue in contemporary discussions of art. This study explores the complicated interaction between beholder and sculpture in seventeenth-century Rome, asking how we may understand the manner in which the beholder engaged the sculpted object. Two lines of inquiry are adopted to approach this problem. In the first place a poetic discourse is reconstructed and analyzed, which, in the way it persistently thematizes the beholder’s intricate interaction with the sculpted object, provides a set of central concerns occupying contemporary beholders. And secondly, insights from modern-day psychology are applied to gain further understanding of the way in which beholders dealt with the complicated nature of sculpture. Show less
