Mystery Cults and the Polis of Athens: A Reading of Bakchai and Frogs

This work is dedicated to a comparative study of Euripides’ Bakchai and Aristophanes’ Frogs (also “the plays”) in their religious, historical and political context and in particular in their connection with mystery cults. Aristophanes had his comedy Frogs performed at the Lenaia festival in the winter of 405. The son of Euripides had his father’s tragedy Bakchai produced at the Great Dionysia at some point after Euripides’ death, possibly in the spring of the same year 405. The two plays have several points in common: the protagonist, the god Dionysos; they are both rich in themes, motifs and images connected with the initiation cults of Dionysos (in Bakchai) and those of Demeter (in Frogs); the choruses have the same role on stage as they have in their cultic reality in the theatre, worshippers of the deity; the two plays were awarded the first prize. This thesis is dedicated to exploring the plays in their Athenian religious and socio-political context, a theme largely ignored by classical scholars. By estimating the number of mystic initiates in Athens at the end of the fifth century the thesis shows that mystic initiates were a sizable part of the population and therefore of theatre audiences, likely to be sensitive to the plays’ mystic and civic content and able to influence public opinion. It examines the way Athenian audiences perceived the impact of public poetry and drama performances and shows that their effect on audiences was associated with a religious experience; it follows the thread of mystic and civic values in the perception of ancient writers before and during the Peloponnesian War and 2 evaluates the role of those values in the development of Athenian political consciousness during the fifth century; it analyses the political atmosphere in Athens in the period the plays were written, after the restoration of democracy in 410 and on the eve of the restoration of oligarchic rule by the Thirty that was followed by open stasis and the civic reconciliation of 403. This thesis proposes a new interpretation of the texts of the plays to evidence the relevance of their religious content in the political conditions Athens found itself in. The two plays delivered a message to the polis that was inspired by mystery cults, a message at the same time religious, ethical and political: the reconciliation of the polis’ social, religious and political conflicts through the acceptance of mystery cults and of their rituals

Discovering Neverland: São Tomé e Príncipe and the development of the agricultural heritage of a multi-ethnic population

The history of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) shows that the development of the roças, agriculturally based structures of colonial time, form a heritage linked to STP’s human development. Different agricultural products have characterized the historical periods of migration, slavery, creolism, and gender emancipation up to the present day; agricultural products and ethnic contamination make STP unique with the culture-nature relationship providing a useful tool for a better understanding of its historical roots. The essay argues that STP’s sustainable development could be fostered through agro-food geographical indications (GIs), which directly link territories, peoples, and traditions. GIs could lead to improvements in the export price of some of STP’s cocoa and coffee and, at the same time, increasing the cultivation of a number of other crops, especially indigenous fruits. The breeding of inland species, such as São Tomé bees, could also foster a multi-faceted approach to territorial development, including eco-tourism

Dynamics of riverbeds and sandbody formation

This dissertation starts with an introduction to the subject matter and an overview of some of the existing work in this field, followed by an explanation of the motives for developing a highly simplistic model of a river system, and a more detailed summary of the work done on it. The second chapter contains a description of the model developed, along with an explanation the choices made, and an overview of both the ways in which the result might be expected to resemble a real system, and how it might differ. This is followed by a description of the behaviour of this model in the region of linear behaviour, where it can be studied analytically, and then of the development of a simulation designed to extend the research into the non-linear regime. The fifth and sixth chapters go over the results obtained from this simulation, making comparisons where possible with physical systems. The fifth chapter covers naturally occurring examples: beaches and braided rivers, while the second is devoted entirely to a more detailed comparison with one specific experiment whose conditions are in some ways close to the simulation's. This reveals a number of resemblances. The chapter after this covers an alteration of the model that attempts to remedy the limitations imposed by the initial use of periodic boundary conditions, by allowing sediment to be created or destroyed in a controlled manner. It also describes the new aspects of linear behaviour resulting from this change, particularly the sharp transition that exists between erosional and depositional behaviour. Chapter eight extends this discussion to the non-linear behaviour, and the extent to which the two are similar. The last chapter summarises the ground covered, and outlines a number of possibilities for future use and improvement of the model

Prince Scipion Borghèse. De Pekin à Paris. La moitié du monde vue d'une automobile en soixante jours.

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