AWOL - The Ancient World Online

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

The Homeric Psychology of Parmenidean Meditation

John, Benjamin

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Greek and Latin

This dissertation interprets the journey of the youth (kouros) in Parmenides' proem as an idealized mythological representation of a meditative practice by analyzing its deployment of Homeric psychological terminology. The first chapter puts forth an interpretation of Homeric psychology in light of what we now call the autonomic nervous system and suggests that thumos corresponds roughly to the “fight or flight” response of the sympathetic arm and psuche to the “rest and digest” response of the parasympathetic arm. At death, I argue, characters pass from the “hot” end of that spectrum to the “cold” end as the psuche exits the body. The second chapter uses this Homeric psychological scheme to argue that the journey of the kouros in Parmenides' proem depicts in mythological terms a process of heating and immortalizing the mind by increasing the thumos. This in turn allows him to meet and understand the unnamed goddess that greets him beyond the gates of Night and Day. I argue that this journey involves an ascent (anabasis) of the thumos towards the light of the sun rather than exclusively a descent to the underworld (katabasis), a common interpretation in recent years. The third chapter builds on the psychological and mythological interpretations developed in the first two chapters and examines one aspect of a meditative practice behind the proem. I argue that the kouros would heat and immortalize his mind by “inhaling” (αμπνυτο) more “wind” (πνοιη) to increase his thumos as an initial purification to prepare for the ascent. This proposal finds support in later Greek representations of meditative breathing practices that involve inhaling hot pneuma in the Chaldean Oracles and the “Mithras Liturgy” as well as comparison with similar ideas about “heat-generating ascetic practices” (tapas) in some Indian sources. I conclude that archaic Greek sages may have used inhalation-emphasized breathing practices to stimulate the sympathetic arm of the autonomic nervou (open full item for complete abstract)
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Committee: Thomas Hawkins (Advisor); Sarah Iles Johnston (Committee Co-Chair); Benjamin Folit-Weinberg (Committee Member); Hugh Urban (Committee Member)

Eutrapelia: Humorous texts in Hellenistic poetry

But, Ekaterina

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Greek and Latin

“Eutrapelia: Humorous texts in Hellenistic poetry” provides a study of the literary humor in Hellenistic iambic poetry in the context of rapid political and cultural change in the Ancient Mediterranean of the third century BCE. This project clarifies several questions connected to the nature of humor in Hellenistic iambic poetry: how does humor function in the poetry and performance of the early Hellenistic era? In which contexts does it appear? Does it reflect the multicultural environment of Ptolemaic Egypt? How is humor connected to the recontextualization of generic conventions, both literary and performative? Does humor become an expression of transgression: political, religious, or social? To address these questions, I conduct several case studies focusing on fragments of poems by Greek writers of the third century BCE (Callimachus, Cercidas, Machon, and Herodas) that refer to the tradition of Greek iambic poetry, a poetic invective genre closely connected to comedy and ritual obscenity. In Chapter 1, I focus on the humorous representation of philosophers in Callimachus's Iambus 1 and argue that these representations play an important role in Callimachus's dialogue with Plato and contemporary philosophy, and, at the same time, reflect Callimachus's ideas about the role of intellectual working in Alexandria under the royal patronage. In Chapter 2, I analyze fragments of Cercidas of Megalopolis, politician and Cynic philosopher, and argue that Cercidas employs elements of Cynic teaching to problematize the political and social issues of his community. In Chapter 3, I conduct a study of several anecdotes attributed to the comic writer Machon and argue that the targets of these anecdotes mirror Machon's own professional fate. In Chapter 4, I analyze sexually oriented humor in Herodas's Mimiamb 6 and argue that in this poem, Herodas promotes an idea of the female origin of iambic poetry. For each of these case studies, I address linguistic features of humor by a (open full item for complete abstract)
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Committee: Benjamin Acosta-Hughes Ph.D. (Advisor); Tom Hawkins Ph.D. (Committee Member); Dana Munteanu Ph.D. (Committee Member)

Poetic Health: Literary and Medical Traditions in Apollonius' Argonautica

Erez, Yelena

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Greek and Latin

This dissertation examines the role of ancient medicine in Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica as a fundamental component of the work's narrative structure. I use the writings of Empedocles, the Hippocratic physicians, Aristotle, and Herophilus to expand upon and develop a more nuanced understanding of the medical references which previous scholarship has identified. The first chapter provides historical context for the interdependence of medicine and poetry in the Hellenistic period. The second chapter explores the intersections of medical and literary traditions in the characterization of the hero, Jason. The third chapter untangles Apollonius' nuanced understanding of contemporary medicine through analysis of Medea's lovesick distress. The fourth chapter explores the invisible threats of medical miasma and spontaneous generation in the final book of the Argonautica. I interpret the use of medical terminology not as a way for the poet to display his erudition in the history of medicine, but as an intentional representation of varying interpretations of health, healing, and the body.
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Committee: Benjamin Acosta-Hughes (Advisor); Jackie Murray (Committee Member); Mark Fullerton (Committee Member); Dana Munteanu (Committee Member)

Sword Arm of the Demos: The Military Contributions of the Athenian Elite

Green, Derek

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, History

Traditionally, scholars of Classical Athenian history have assumed that the Athenian demokratia organized itself for war around the principle of egalitarianism. My dissertation, which focuses on the military contributions of the elite, marks a significant departure from this view by arguing that this is decidedly not the case. In fact, I argue that the elite were so dominant in every aspect of war-making that warfare under the demokratia was primarily an elite concern. Not only did wealthy Athenians serve more frequently in the ranks, but they did so in a larger number of capacities. The liturgies of elite citizens funded both the individual triremes and in many cases, entire military expeditions. Athenian armies and fleets were led by the most elite citizens, who also dominated debates over matters of war and peace in the ekklesia. This elite domination did not undermine the sovereignty of the demos as a whole, however, as the demos was able to keep its elite members in line due to strict accountability measures. Significantly, these accountability measures, which were vital to the demokratia, were enforced almost exclusively by the elite. This decidedly inegalitarian approach to warfare has a broader significance when it comes to understanding the very nature of demokratia itself. I argue that, when we consider both the inequalities that we see at work when the Athenians made war with better known inequalities, such as the non-inclusion of women in politics and the widespread use of slave labor, this shows that demokratia was built on different principles than modern democracy and did not share modern concerns about inequality. The broader significance of this realization, I argue, is that future studies of demokratia should be more careful about delineating the differences between demokratia and democracy before hazarding comparisons.
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Committee: Greg Anderson (Advisor); Kristina Sessa (Committee Member); Anthony Kaldellis (Committee Member)

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Infant Feeding Practices in Roman Italy: A Study of Weaning Variation and its Relationship to Physiological Stress During Infancy and Early Childhood

Oldershaw, Leigh

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Anthropology

Weaning is a central factor in both infant morbidity and mortality in archaeological populations. While a relationship between weaning and physiological stress has been established in many living populations, the degree to which weaning is associated with infant stress is highly dependent upon living conditions, food availability, and nutritional quality. As such, the impact of weaning on infant health cannot be assumed in archaeological samples. The aim of this research is to use high-resolution longitudinal weaning profiles to explore variation in weaning timing and its impact on physiological stress in one historic complex society, specifically Imperial Roman Italy. Individual weaning timelines for 52 ancient Romans from the Lazio and Marche regions of Italy are reconstructed using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) based analyses of Sr/Ca and, to a lesser extent, Ba/Ca signal intensity (concentration) ratios within dental enamel. Weaning timelines are compared to the timing of accentuated lines, histologically observable physiological stress markers in enamel. Timing of both weaning and accentuated lines are examined to determine the relationship between weaning behavior and stress in infancy and early childhood. Results indicate that early infant feeding practices were highly variable, with infants being exclusively breastfed, exclusively bottle fed – likely with herbivore milk – and fed with a combination of breastmilk and herbivore milk. Counter to expectations, exclusive breastfeeding was not associated with fewer accentuated lines in enamel when compared to bottle feeding or mixed feeding, although the weaning period in general was associated with higher frequencies of accentuated lines when compared to exclusive breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and mixed feeding prior to the onset of weaning. Exclusive breastfeeding was also not associated with improved mortality rates. Interestingly, feeding behavior between sites varied (open full item for complete abstract)
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Committee: Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg (Advisor); Douglas Crews (Committee Member); Mark Hubbe (Committee Member); Clark Larsen (Advisor)

Illuminating the Abyss: The Divine Underworld in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Knodel, Rachael

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Greek and Latin

This dissertation re-examines the gods Hades and Persephone as they are portrayed in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Though the poem is nominally dedicated to Demeter, Persephone's story propels the remainder of the narrative. Historically, scholarship on this poem has focused on the relationship between the narrative and cult activity; instead, my dissertation relies on a close reading of the text, in unison with comparative texts, feminist readings, and narratological theory. With these tools, I demonstrate how the characters of Hades and Persephone evolve through the story and how this has been overlooked in previous scholarship. Persephone, for example, is often read as a victim and never beyond that. I build upon feminist readings to show how Persephone's roles are vital to the interpretation of the poem. She is first portrayed as a naive παρθενος (maiden), who becomes περιφρων (wise) by the time the narrative returns to her story. My study of Hades begins by pushing against the notion in scholarship that he is an inherently negative deity. I show that there are biases in our studies of this god which are unfounded and based instead on modern perspectives. By reading these characters in this way, I highlight previously unrecognized moments of the poem; for example, I read the opening flower-picking scene as an epiphany of Hades and Persephone as consenting to the consumption of the pomegranate seed. This project proposes an alternative way to read the Hymn but does not negate or remove the value of other approaches to the text. I focus on the narrative itself and its historical, social, and mythological background to better comprehend the ways the ancient audience likely understood this story, especially regarding Hades and Persephone. I accomplish this by prioritizing the narrative of the poem and the use of narratological theories. This project is, therefore, a narratological-feminist reading of and commentary on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
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Committee: Sarah Johnston (Advisor); Harriet Fertik (Committee Member); Tom Hawkins (Committee Member); Fritz Graf (Committee Member)

Archaeology in Greece Online / Chronique des fouilles en ligne

[First posted in AWOL 30 November 2009. Updated 13 October 2026]

Archaeology in Greece Online / Chronique des fouilles en ligne

Editorial project
Archaeology in Greece Online combines the Chronique published annually in the BCH by the French School at Athens, and Archaeology in Greece published as part of the annual Archaeological Reports by the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies and the British School at Athens (which continues to appear in print in a new review format).
The project is managed jointly by the French School at Athens and the British School at Athens: data processing is divided by region and reflects the traditions, history and research foci of the two schools. Texts are thus either in English or in French, but the search engine draws on the entire database regardless of language.

Collaborators
The Chronique team of the French School at Athens consists in 2026 of Véronique Chankowski (School Director), Guillaume Biard (Director of Studies in Antiquity and Byzantine Studies), Catherine Bouras (editorial secretary), and Louis Mulot (Developments). Entries on Cyprus are written by Sabine Fourrier (CNRS). The drafting of entries is regularly entrusted to scientific members of the School. For the British School at Athens, the team consists of Rebecca Sweetman (School Director), Georgios Mouratidis (Assistant Director), and Kostis Christakis (Knossos Curator).

Past collaborators : Laurianne Sève, Amélie Perrier, Julien Fournier, Arthur Muller, Directors of Studies in Antiquity and Byzantine Studies, Alexandre Farnoux, Dominique Mulliez (Directors) , Catherine Aubert, Publications assistant, Catherine Morgan, John Bennet, Directors, Robert Pitt, Chryssanthi Papdopoulou, Michaeol Loy, assistant directors.
General Information
The inclusion of material in Archaeology in Greece Online does not constitute its formal publication.
The EfA and the BSA cannot supply copies of illustrations here reproduced to which they do not hold copyright.

Website
This website has been entirely redeveloped during the year 2018 at the EfA by Louis Mulot (Software engineer) and G. Bejjaji (trainee in the IT department).

The site has been tested with different browsers (for computers, phones and tablets) in their most recent versions, supporting actual HTML standards. It is strongly recommended that you update your browser to avoid problems with display, animation, content management, and security.
Refer to the official site of your web browser for more information.