Browsing by Author "Duke, Belinda Sheryn"

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    “Giving Up the Ghost in Ancient Roman Literature” A Comparative Discussion of the Ghosts in selected texts from Plautus, Virgil, Ovid, and Pliny the Younger
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Duke, Belinda Sheryn; Kotze, A.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Through an intensive comparative discussion of selected texts from Plautus, Virgil, Ovid, and Pliny the Younger, this thesis aims to bring forward insights into the ancient Roman understanding of death and the dead. The chosen works (Plautus’ Mostellaria, Books II and III of Virgil’s Aeneid, Books II and V of Ovid’s Fasti, and Letter 7.27 from Pliny’s Epistles) each feature a manifestation of the dead, or “ghost”. The introductory chapter establishes the definitions and approaches used in this thesis, the criteria for the selection of texts, and the rationale for my topic. The second chapter is a brief presentation of the existing scholarship on death in the Roman world. This includes a brief discussion of the Roman beliefs and rites concerning death, the concept of ghosts in the Roman culture, and a contextualization and summary of the selected texts. The third chapter compares and contrasts the selected works according to the Latin terminology used, the ways in which the featured ghosts are characterized in their approaches and interactions with the living, and the extent to which the overarching theme of Tragic Death and its supporting motif, Laying the Ghost to Rest, are present in these works. The insights into Roman thought about death and the dead that are found in this research are highlighted in the concluding chapter’s summary and reflection.