Theses and Dissertations from UMD

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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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2004 - 20083

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    Animal Similes and Gender in the Odyssey and Oresteia
    (2008-05-19) Braff, Johanna Leah; Doherty, Lillian; Classics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis offers an overview of a selection of the animal similes within the Odyssey and the Agamemnon. I examine the ways in which the animal similes, reverse similes, and overall character portrayal are depicted within each work. I argue that these tools are used in order to reflect the genres of the two works and how neither completely adheres to the expectations of the gender roles, that is, what is expected of the male and female characters. The gender roles are more stable in the Odyssey as Penelope relies on her homophrosune with Odysseus, while the Agamemnon captures the chaos that occurs when the female does not remain within the female sphere.
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    Fides in Julius Caesar's Bellum Civile: A Study in Roman Political Ideology at the Close of the Republican Era
    (2005-12-06) Barry, John Mannix; Eckstein, Arthur M; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In this dissertation, we show not only that Julius Caesar depicted his struggle with Pompey and the government of the Roman Republic as politically legitimate, but that he grounded this legitimacy primarily in notions of fides. Fides is a fundamental Roman notion. A man of fides always does the right thing of his own volition, not under pressure. Such a man might change his mind about what is right, but he would never pursue his private aims at the expense of the public interest. It is crucial at Rome to be seen this way. Caesar wishes to persuade his audience that he has been justified in taking unusual action--action that is outside the law and has not been authorized by the senate or the people--in defense of his claims. Caesar bases his political case on publica fides, that is, on the ideologically deep-rooted Roman notion that concern for the public welfare must be an official's paramount concern at all times. It should always take precedence over private and personal interests. My hypothesis in this dissertation is that not just in Caesar's BC but in the writings of Cicero, publica fides as a notion subsumes not merely the usual, but also some of the unusual actions that may be undertaken by public figures. We can infer from this that unusual, unauthorized, or unprecedented actions may sometimes be seen as legitimate at Rome if the people engaged in the activity are believed to be guided and motivated by publica fides. We show that Caesar defines the major political themes of the BC in 1.1-33. They can be summed up as follows: (1) Caesar's good fides vs. Pompey's bad fides; (2) the good fides of Caesar's friends vs. the bad fides of their Pompeian counterparts during the political crisis of December 50 and January 49 B.C.; (3) the good fides of Caesar's friends and commanders vs. the bad fides of their Pompeian counterparts once violence was involved; (4) the impact of both good and bad fides on the respective armies and on the civilian community in each theater of battle.
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    Identity, Community, and State Formation at Roman Palmyra
    (2004-04-28) Smith II, Andrew M; Holum, Kenneth G; History
    This is a study of identity, community, and the process of state formation in the Roman period at Palmyra, an oasis city in the Syrian desert, from the first to third centuries C.E. I address the key issue of cultural transmission and the development of an indigenous Palmyrene identity and community in the Roman Near East, as influenced by their pastoralist backgrounds and their contacts with Parthian and Roman powers. I examine these issues primarily through a re-evaluation of the local epigraphy in its urban context, complemented by examinations of the archaeology of the city and narrative sources. I demonstrate how the Palmyrenes managed to build a civic community that was distinctively Mediterranean in its makeup, and where a small elite dominated public affairs. I demonstrate how, despite increasing Roman influence over the city during the period of this study, the Palmyrenes retained their native identities in a communal setting, characterized by a cultural blend of Roman, Parthian, and indigenous habits.