Eta Sigma Phi: The Next Generation

This paper analyzes and reevaluates both the grammatical interpretation and the conceptual significance of the adverb λάθρῃ (literally “secretly”) as it occurs in line 372 of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, a passage which describes Hades’ giving of the pomegranate seed to Persephone in the underworld. Many possible translations have been previously offered, such as “secretly,” (Sikes, 1904), “stealthily” (Foley, 1994), and “surreptitiously” (West, 2003), with the idea that Persephone was unaware that Hades was giving her the fruit.

‘The best poem by the best poet,’ as John Dryden called Vergil’s Georgics, continues to offer a rich harvest to lovers of Latin literature, but still defies all efforts of oversimplification and does not yield its meaning to facile interpretations.

An analysis of the greetings used by Demea and Syrus in Terence’s Adelphoe shows that both characters go beyond the bounds of Roman propriety when it comes to forms of address, in ways that reveal their character. Knowing what kinds of greeting are normal in Roman comedy and what exactly is polite or impolite helps clarify how characters and character interactions should be understood. In the Adelphoe, the slave Syrus diverges from expected behavior by using overly familiar language with superiors and even by insulting Demea.

The Arch of Titus served as an essential component of the Flavian program for political propaganda aimed at legitimizing the rule of their dynasty. This has often been noted in the scholarship, as has the innovative use of lifelike relief sculpture to further this objective. However, the manner in which these two elements work together has not been adequately appreciated or emphasized.

The French Revolution, beginning in 1789, represented the end of an intellectual period that accepted social divisions as a natural aspect of life. French philosophers, along with many other European nations, conceptualized this as a tripartite system consisting of the church, the nobility, and the peasantry. There was no specific term for this system at the time, but the disillusioned revolutionaries coined the term Ancien Régime as they overthrew it and established the First Republic in the 1790s.

In this paper, I investigate a particular use of myth in Plato’s dialogues by considering the myths of the swansong and the song of the birds of the Procne myth from Phaedo and the cicada myth from Phaedrus. Examining the position of these myths in the dialogues and their innovative presentation reveals how story and song complement philosophical discourse and amplify it by refreshing and stimulating the intellect to pursue truth.

Spectating a sport is a full body experience. Today, the crack of two colliding football helmets is as thrilling as any visually spectacular catch; know the rumble a roaring rally car rolls through your chest is as electric as the speed; consider a sweet, sinking swish, the scent of the seventh inning stretch, and even the breathless silence of an eighteenth golf green. These features of sport scenes construct the spectator’s experience, and while the visuals of a game might be the most extensive, they are not always the most fascinating.

The topics of gender and sexuality in Pseudo-Lucian’s The Ass and its corresponding Latin text, Apuleius’s The Golden Ass, have been extensively studied and written on. However, most of this research utilizes these texts to better understand different forms of gender and sexuality within the Roman Empire. I argue that within Pseudo-Lucian’s The Ass these representations communicate more to us about the “normative” masculine perception of gender and sexuality than they do the perspectives of the women and non-normative men presented throughout the narrative.

The Trial of the Stepson, from Book X of Apuleius’s Metamorphoses, is one of many instances in the text depicting administration of justice. While other justice scenes in the text, such as the risus trial in Book III, have received much scholarly attention, this case is often neglected in analyses of Apuleius. This paper analyzes the Trial of the Stepson, both its connection with other stories in the novel and its parallels with the establishment of the Areopagus from Aeschylus’s Eumenides.

In many of Rembrandt’s depictions of mythical themes, he humanized the fantastical. Through realism and austere symbology, Rembrandt innovated classical narratives. Three of Rembrandt’s late works highlight the apex of Rembrandt’s study of the complex emotion underlying the mythical characters of Lucretia and Callisto. Both women were rape victims immortalized in moments of shame.