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This paper is concerned with Terence’s methods of commenting on dramatic conventions; this is mainly achieved through the exploitation and alteration of comic stereotypes. The discussion focuses on the representation of the stock character of the comic courtesan (meretrix) by Terence. The playwright presents this character in contradictory instances, altering in many cases what is considered to be a comic norm. Terence’s ‘innovation’ is already identified by the ancient commentary of Aelius Donatus. The paper argues that this multiple representation of the courtesan is a sophisticated technique of theatrical self-reference, suggesting that the ancient commentary of Donatus noted this instance, among others, as a case of the playwright crossing the boundary of dramatic illusion, by combining tradition with innovation, as well as comic exaggeration with naturalism.
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The biblical narrative known as novel of Joseph and Aseneth (J & A) can be considered as a literary testimony of Greek-speaking Judaism during Hellenism and the high Roman Empire. The Greek which characterizes J & A is related to the Septuagint, the Hellenistic translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which was accomplished in Alexandria around the third-second century BC. The textual evidence shows that J & A was preserved by Christian scribes centuries later than its hypothetical origins as a Jewish-Hellenistic text, that is, from the sixth century AD to the Renaissance. The versatility of the novel enhanced its rich reception in various cultural-religious backgrounds; as an ancient Greek-Jewish novel, J & A testifies to a fluid literary genre, open to different themes and interpretations. In this connection, Aseneth’s destiny is an emblem that subsumes the significance of the story throughout cultural environments. Indeed, Aseneth crosses the boundaries of ethnicity and religion, passing from being a pious idolater, the daughter of the Egyptian priest of Heliopolis, to a paradigmatic worshiper of the God of Israel, embodiment of virtues and intermediary between the divine and human spheres. This sense of the story may be best understood in the Jewish-Hellenistic background of Egypt under Ptolemaic/early Roman rule. However, the setting of the novel in the invented past of the biblical Patriarchs allows for further interpretations of the story, which transcend its literal-historical meaning; thus, the exegetical devices in J & A offered a fruitful terrain for further significant readings of the scenes and imagery of the novel in later Jewish, Christian, and possibly pagan environments.
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In sociology and anthropology there is a growing body of literature concerning boundaries, performance, and visibility. ‘Looking’ to the Minoan Palaces through these concepts makes it possible to move away from a formalized approach to the Minoan built-environment and create a more sensible approach in that it lets us focus on two crucial aspects, namely bodily movement in the form of processions and the visual experience of people. The function of images and built spaces was to create a meaningful environment that set the required structures for social interaction and communicated the ideologies underlying the reproduction of social reality and order. They strongly affected the lived-in world experiences and influenced every form of social interaction. This paper argues, based on a case study of Knossos, that the specific nature of the Palatial setting created a unique environment which was conductive to the production of asymmetric power relations and embodied normative notions of social power and authority. The use of the building in terms of regulating interaction and communication in the sense of crossing boundaries resulted in a conceptual understanding between ‘us’ and ‘them’. The presented evidence pleads for the acceptance that architecture and iconography are expressive media, whereby the builders exploit the layers of facade, interior and structure, as a medium for expression. Relying on this, the task of the Minoan archaeologist is to reverse the construction process and to re-construct – on the basis of an integrative approach – the social concepts of reality from Minoan architectural and pictorial artifacts.
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This paper will show some patterns between women in Greek mythology crossing both geographical and social boundaries, and that the consequences for these women are affected by their motives and influences for movement. My definition of crossing geographical boundaries is moving over land or sea to a new city, and my definition of crossing social boundaries is challenging the accepted standards of behaviour or moral views of society. The examples analysed here are women who travel with male heroes, either willingly or unwillingly. The paper discusses Cassandra, Andromache, Helen, and Medea. It demonstrates that a common consequence of these women crossing physical and metaphorical boundaries is that it results in death: either their own or the death of others. I argue that there is a link between Medea’s geographical movement and her actions in a cycle of transgression and travel, and that breaking „boundaries‟ is integral to her characterisation.