Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Mainz, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 390-404).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references.

Revision of Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 323-339) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [264]-274) and index.

Thesis--Université de Provence. / Includes indexes. Bibliography: p. 973-1005.

Although mythological monsters have rarely been examined in any collective and comprehensive manner, they constitute an important cosmic presence in archaic and classical Greek poetry. This thesis brings together insights from the scholarly areas of 'monster studies' and the 'sensory turn' in order to offer readings of the sounds made by monsters. I argue that the figure of the monster in Greek poetry, although it has positive attributes, does not have a fixed definition or position within the cosmos. Instead of using definitions of monstrosity to think about the role and status of Greek monsters, this thesis demonstrates that by listening to the sounds of the monster's voice, it is possible to chart its position in the cosmos. Monsters with incomprehensible, cacophonous, or dangerous voices pose greater threats to cosmic order; those whose voices are semiotic and anthropomorphic typically pose less serious threats. The thesis explores the shifting depictions of monsters according to genre and author. In Chapter 1, 'Hesiod's Theogony: The Role of Monstrosity in the Cosmos', I consider Hesiod's genealogies of monsters that circulate and threaten in the nonhuman realm, while the universe is still undergoing processes of organisation. Chapter 2, 'Homer's Odyssey: Mingling with Monsters', discusses the monster whom Odysseus encounters and even imitates in order to survive his exchanges with them. In Chapter 3, 'Monsters in Greek Lyric Poetry: Voices of Defeat', I examine Stesichorus' Geryoneis and the presence of Centaurs, Typhon, and Gorgons in Pindar's Pythian 1, 2, 3, and 12. In lyric, we find that these monsters are typically presented in terms of the monster's experience of defeat at the hands of a hero or a god. This discussion is followed by two chapters that explore the presence of the monster in Greek tragedy, entitled 'Centripetal Monsters in Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Oresteia' and 'Centrifugal Monsters in Greek Tragedy: Euripides and Sophocles.' Here, I argue that in tragedy the monster, or the abstractly 'monstrous', is located within the figure of the human being and within the polis. The coda, 'Monstrous Mimesis and the Power of Sound', considers not only monstrous voices, but monstrous music, examining the mythology surrounding the aulos and looking at the sonic developments generated by the New Musicians.

Le texte du Bellum ciuile n'a pas fait l'objet, en France, d'une nouvelle édition ou d'une traduction complète depuis celle parue à la CUF entre 1927 et 1930. Ce phénomène est d'autant plus surprenant qu'à la fin du XXème siècle et au début du XXIème siècle ont été réalisées des éditions en langue anglaise, allemande et italienne. La présente thèse tente donc de pallier ce manque en proposant une édition, une traduction et un commentaire du livre II de la Pharsale. Après une brève présentation des éléments d'introduction au texte qui touchent à l'auteur, à son œuvre ainsi qu'à des spécificités du livre II de la Pharsale, le premier tome de ce travail est consacré à l'histoire du texte de Lucain. Il apparaît que la tradition manuscrite du Bellum ciuile est complexe et qu'il n'est pas possible d'établir de stemma classant les manuscrits. Bien plus, la contamination manifeste de la tradition manuscrite ne signifie pas que l'état général du texte tel qu'il a été conservé est bon : au contraire, il existe de très nombreux passages obscurs dans le texte de Lucain. Le texte établi dans le présent travail ne repose donc pas uniquement sur la tradition directe de la Pharsale : il s'appuie également sur une vaste étude de la tradition indirecte et surtout sur la consultation des nombreuses conjectures qui ont été formulées pour tenter de mieux comprendre le texte de Lucain. Le texte latin et sa traduction sont suivis, dans un second volume, d'un commentaire linéaire. Celui-ci regroupe des discussions philologiques sur l'établissement du texte, mais aussi des considérations littéraires et stylistiques ainsi que des explications visant à éclaircir les allusions savantes du poète. / Lucan's epic has not been edited nor translated in France since Bourgery's edition published between 1927 and 1930. This fact is surprising considering that English, German and Italian scholars did such a work at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. These two present volumes try to compensate this lack in contemporary French scholarship by furnishing a new edition, translation and commentary of Bellum ciuile's book 2. The first volume begins with an introduction to Lucan, to his epic and to some of the distinctive features of book 2, followed by an history of Lucan's text transmission. Pharsalia's textual tradition is complex and it is not possible to make a stemmatic recension fo the manuscripts. Moreover, the obvious contamination of Lucan's tradition does not imply that we are facing a well transmitted text : quite the opposite, many lines of the Bellum ciuile are certainly corrupted. The text established in this work doesn't rely on nothing but manuscripts of Pharsalia : I used as well the indirect tradition and, most importantly, the numerous conjectures made since the 15th century to improve the understand of Lucan's text. In the second volume of this work, the Latin text and its translation are followed by a line by line commentary. It is composed by critical discussion about text establishment, comments about stylistics and explanations of all the allusions made by the poet.

Human ageing is accompanied by characteristic metabolic and endocrine changes, including altered hormone profiles, insulin resistance and deterioration of skeletal muscle. Obesity and diabetes may themselves drive an accelerated ageing phenotype. Untangling the causal web between ageing, obesity and diabetes is a priority in order to understand their aetiology and improve prevention and management. The role of biological ageing in determining the risk of obesity and associated conditions has often been examined using mean leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a marker of replicative fatigue and senescence. However, considering phenotypes which represent different domains of biological and functional ageing as exposures for obesity and related traits could allow the elucidation of new understudied phenotypes relevant to cardio-metabolic risk in the wider population. This PhD considers the causal role of (1) hand grip strength (HGS), a marker of overall strength and physical functioning, and (2) resting energy expenditure, an indicator of overall energy metabolism and the major component of daily energy expenditure, in cardio-metabolic risk. I also characterise a new and readily-quantifiable marker of age-related genomic instability, mosaic loss of the Y chromosome (mLOY). Observational evidence implicates each of these phenotypes in cardio-metabolic conditions and intermediate phenotypes. However, it is not possible to infer causality from these observational associations due to confounding and reverse-causality. Mendelian randomisation offers a solution to these limitations and can allow the causal nature of these relationships to be investigated. Using population-based data including UK Biobank, this thesis presents the first large-scale genetic discovery effort for each trait and provides new biological insight into their shared and separate aetiology. I used identified variants to investigate the bidirectional causal associations of each trait with cardio-metabolic outcomes, intermediate phenotypes and other related traits such as frailty and mortality. In total I identified 16 loci for hand grip strength, 19 for mLOY, and one signal for REE. I have shown that HGS is likely to be causally linked to fracture risk, and I have identified the important shared genetic architecture between mLOY, glycaemic traits and cancer. I have also demonstrated that at least one known genetic variant contributing to obesity risk acts partially via reduced REE. Overall the findings of my PhD contribute to our wider understanding of the aetiological role of ageing processes in metabolic dysfunction, and have implications for both basic science and translational applications.

In my thesis, I analyse the current German political drama. However, the term political drama or theatre is difficult to define in general. In my work, I understand the concepts of political drama / theatre in the narrower sense, follow the engaged, appellative, left-wing (anti-capitalist) oriented the- atre of E. Piscator and Brecht, and at the same, in the broader sense, as socio-critical drama / theatre, i.e. relating to the problems of today's "polis" (city, state) and following mainly the tradition of new German and Austrian folk plays. In contemporary German political drama, the two trends outlined in the introduction can be traced. In their works, the first line (left-wing appellative) is followed mainly by playwrights and directors F. Richter and R. Pollesch, the other line (socio-critical) by D. Loher, O. Bukowski, T. Walser, or M. von Mayenburg.

Critical studies and creative works in the Sesotho novel have made some of the important contributions in Sesotho literary history in particular, and African literary history in general. However, such contribution has been dictated by a particular history and an ideology. The world-view in literary practice that emerged from that history is the one that tends to divorce literature, literary study and language from society. Consequently, this study identifies this practice as a problem that needs to be addressed. This study argues from this perspective that literature, literary study and language should be re-established as integral parts in a manner that pedagogical practice would translate into positive social practices. To realise this ideal the study approaches the study of the Sesotho novel from the perspective of literary production. The theory of literary production insists that literature is a form of social production. This argument becomes even more pertinent to the study of the novel, which is viewed as having profound elements of realism that mirror society. A consideration of the Sesotho novel as a form of literary production that is linked to other forms of social production immediately leads to the question of the development of the Sesotho novel. The possibilities that are identified include external influence and internal evolution in the development of the Sesotho novel. These possibilities also have a bearing on the study of the Sesotho novel in particular and the study of the African novel in general. In order to pursue the argument to its logical conclusion, the development of the Sesotho novel is divided into three periods: 1900-1930; 1930-1960 and the 1960s- 1990s. Each of these periods demonstrates a particular ideological leaning that is akin to the material conditions of each period. Taking this trend as a pattern in the development of the Sesotho novel, this study advocates an approach that links literature and literary studies to society. / African Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)