Research Articles (Ancient Studies)

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Browsing Research Articles (Ancient Studies) by Author "Claassen, Jo-Marie"

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    Fronto Avus : the tale of a grandfather
    (Stellenbosch University, Department of Ancient Studies, 2007) Claassen, Jo-Marie
    This paper examines some examples from the correspondence of the secondcentury rhetor, the Romanised African M. Cornelius Fronto, in particular letters that relate to the death of his grandson, drawing conclusions about Fronto as grandfather and as a person who had sustained previous bereavements. His attitude to his daughter Cratia2 and son-in-law Aufidius Victorinus receives special attention. The question of why Fronto seems to favour Victorinus over his own daughter when both are plunged into grief is addressed. It seems that in the grief of the younger man the older relives the agonies of his own youth, when he and his wife lost a series of children before bringing up Cratia as an only child.
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    'n Klassikus se ontleding van N.P. Van Wyk Louw se Germanicus as 'n beeld van mag en onmag
    (LitNet Akademies, 2017) Claassen, Jo-Marie
    Hierdie artikel ondersoek die mate waarin N.P. Van Wyk Louw se Germanicus (1956) sy hoofbron, ’n werk van die Romeinse geskiedskrywer Tacitus, vernuwend aanwend, met klem op sy uitbeelding van mag en onmag. Die vraag of die drama nie bloot ’n klakkelose vertaling is nie, word ondersoek, met ’n kort samevatting van sy inhoud, gevolg deur ’n bespreking van Louw se personasies en ’n ontleding van die wyse waarop hy Tacitus se gegewens gebruik of aanpas. Tersaaklike sekondêre bronne word deurgaans erken, maar die hooffokus bly op Louw se teks. Louw se herinterpretasie van aspekte van die gebeure word in minstens één geval deur ’n argeologiese ontdekking gestaaf. Louw se uitbeelding van historiese figure word uitgewys as ’n poging om iets nuuts uit die gegewens oor hulle lewens te skep, eerder as om bloot Tacitus se interpretasie weer te gee. Aandag word gegee aan die verskil tussen die antieke en die moderne geskiedskrywing en Louw se toepassing van Tacitus se gegewens op ’n heel ander genre, naamlik versdrama. Louw se generiese spel word toegelig uit sy eie uitsprake oor die rol van intertekstualiteit in die skep van “iets nuuts”: hy het ’n bepaalde greep uit die Romeinse geskiedenis gekies om drie temas vernuwend te verbeeld. Van drie oorheersende temas in die drama steun slegs die eerste sterk op Tacitus: die idee dat magshebbers deur hul magsuitoefening gekorrumpeer word, met gepaardgaande wreedheid, maar dat hulle ook magteloos is om daaraan te ontsnap. Die tweede tema, onmag, word verder ondersoek uit aanhalings uit driftige monoloë deur verskeie onderdanige karakters wat die bewussyn van hul magteloosheid teenoor hul oorheersers uitspel. Sodanige konfrontasies is skaars histories juis, maar word dramaties bevredigend as tekenend van Louw se boodskap bevind. Die derde tema blyk eweneens histories onwaarskynlik, naamlik die karakter Germanicus se vlugtige profetiese blik op die koms van ’n nuwe (Christelike) bedeling. Louw se eie politieke siening word hierna ontleed. Oor die vraag of Germanicus enigsins as ’n eietydse “politieke dokument” beskou kan word, word bevind dat dit beide eietyds én tydloos is: Louw se beskouinge van mag en onmag is eweseer op die politiek van die hede as op politieke omstandighede van sy eie tyd van toepassing.
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    “Living in a place called exile” : the universals of the alienation caused by isolation
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2003-08-01) Claassen, Jo-Marie
    Although various aspects of Ovid’s emotional reactions to exile have been researched, there has so far been no extended practical study that places the emotional content of his works into a new political context. In this respect Ovid’s voicing of his experiences can serve to illuminate the experiences of latter-day exiles. This article attempts to establish, by literary means, a picture of the alienation attendant upon exile and its sublimation. For this purpose the poetry of Ovid, as well as that of certain modern authors, is used as illustration. There are many parallels between the Rome of the turn of our era and the South Africa of previous decades: exile was a political weapon in both. Themes reflecting alienation in Ovid’s poems are universal, and still valid in situations of exile today. Ovid’s portrayal of his own exiled persona is used to draw a psychological profile of the experiences of alienation during such exile. This profile may be termed the “universals of alienation”, which is applied to the exile or imprisonment of the victims of contemporary political upheaval. The extent to which the verbalisation of such alienation serves to heal such a wounded soul is explored.
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    Word pictures : visualising with Ovid
    (Classical Association of South Africa, 2013) Claassen, Jo-Marie
    Ovid verbally portrays three different modes of ‘seeing’. In the Metamorphoses readers mentally ‘watch’ his various protagonists seeing or being seen. In the elegiac poetry readers are often induced to share the field of vision of his protagonists. In Amores 3.2 and Ars Amatoria 1.135ff., readers ‘look’ with the lover and his mistress during ‘a day at the races’, virtually becoming both protagonists. In the exilic poems Ovid is sole viewer. ‘Something he saw that ruined him’ looms large in his imagination. The exile begins to rely solely on mental vision, ‘seeing’ the sights of Rome, conjuring up distant friends into his presence. Readers ‘see’ the lonely exile being comforted by his own inner vision.