The god Seth was depicted in both zoomorphic and bimorphic form. In zoomorphic form he was depicted as a canine-like animal with a down curved muzzle, upright squared-off ears and an erect tail, whilst in bimorphic form he was portrayed as a human male with the head of the Seth animal. Although much has been written on the mythology of Seth and identification of the Seth animal, no in-depth research has been undertaken regarding the variations that occur in his images over the dynastic period of Egyptian history. This thesis looks at the variations in the images of Seth and how he was represented in temples, tombs, written texts and in personal adornment. A comparison of the variations of his component parts leads to a comprehensive understanding of the different forms employed and allows the questions to be answered of whether there was ever a fully defined standard representation or if each image was an individual interpretation of a loosely defined theoretical form. Additionally, the study of the use of the zoomorphic and bimorphic Seth images within the Nile Valley and Western Desert oases provides the further understanding of the form of the proscription against Seth.

This thesis details the development of fora in Rome and Pompeii in order that our understanding of these spaces as 'centres' accounts for their changing relationship with the city, between the third century B.C. and the second century A.D. It is a diachronic study of spatial practice and the representation of space, based on archaeological evidence for infrastructures of movement and textual evidence for the articulation of spatial concepts. Having asserted the importance of movement in shaping the perception of space in antiquity, this thesis details the changes to the physical disposition, the management of access, and the representation of fora. It concludes that while the centrality of the Forum Romanum was related to its potential for through movement, access was increasingly restricted in the late-first century B.C. This changing disposition of public space informed the development of the imperial fora, which in turn informed the development of fora outside of the city of Rome. Fora changed from shortcuts to obstacles in the city; from spaces of movement through to spaces of movement to. This represents a fundamental redefinition of their relationship with the city of which they were a part, and of their 'centrality' in both practice and representation.

The research presented in this thesis applies Thomas Luckmann’s theory of invisible religion to three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture (festivals, household and personal items, and communication with the dead and with gods). The intention is firstly to address the four key issues that have arisen as a result of previous research into personal religion in ancient Egypt, secondly to determine whether ordinary ancient Egyptians possessed individual religiosity, and thirdly to establish whether the three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture considered can be viewed as examples of invisible religion. With regards to the four key issues, this research concludes: there was a link between individual religiosity and state religion; the intimacy of ordinary ancient Egyptians’ emotions relating to individual religiosity varied; individual religiosity was not a phenomenon of the lower classes; individual religiosity was not an innovation of the New Kingdom. In addition, it is shown that ordinary ancient Egyptians did possess individual religiosity but that each person would have created, maintained, engaged with, and internalised the universe of meaning (as described by Luckmann) to a different extent. Finally, this research concludes that the three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture considered can be viewed as examples of invisible religion.

The late New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period (1215-650 BC) have been, and continue to be, interpreted as periods of decline and dramatic change within ancient Egyptian history. This thesis challenges such views through an analysis of those interpretations and the evidence used to support them. In so doing I have evaluated if these periods do reflect a decline from previous periods and if the changes were as all-encompassing as previously suggested. In order to carry out this evaluation three key processes have been examined through detailed analysis of related datasets. These will establish the complexity of the periods, and the potential for nuance within specific datasets which is masked by the current descriptions. Reference has also been made to cross-cultural comparisons and ethno-archaeological theories as many of these processes have been identified in other societies and discussed outside Egyptology. This has led to some clarity regarding the complexity of the periods, recognising the extensive level of continuity and possible explanations for the changes visible, and thus an alternative to the 'simplistic' interpretation of decline and decay.

This thesis investigates the metics, or resident aliens, in democratic Athens and how they affected ideas of identity, with a particular focus on the fourth century BC. It looks at definitions of the metics and how the restrictions and obligations which marked their status operated; how these affected their lives and their image, in their own eyes and those of the Athenians; how the Athenians erected and maintained a boundary of status and identity between themselves and the metics, in theory and in practice; and how individuals who crossed this boundary could present themselves and be characterised, especially in the public context of the lawcourts. The argument is that the metics served as a contradiction of and challenge to Athenian ideas about who they were and what made them different from others. This challenge was met with responses which demonstrate the flexibility of identity in Athens, and its capacity for variety, reinvention and contradiction.

While the growing body of literature on the relationship between feminist theory, classical myth, and classical scholarship has contributed to an understanding of general scholarly trends, there has not been a sustained examination of the relationship between feminist scholarship and classical receptions. Furthermore, the field of classical reception studies focuses almost exclusively on male authors and widely ignores female voices. This thesis addresses these lacunae through detailed discussions of the Ovidian receptions of four women writers active between 1950 and the present: Sylvia Plath, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Josephine Balmer, and Saviana Stănescu. The thesis tracks the ‘difference made’ by feminist scholarship on their varied receptions, and the ways in which recurrent concerns in their engagements prefigure, echo, or explicitly draw upon feminist theory and feminist Ovidian scholarship. This thesis poses the argument that women’s classical receptions offer a critical tool to advance feminist classical scholars’ attempts to ‘reappropriate the text’, by reclaiming female narrative authority from the male poet and interpellating the ‘resisting reader’. This diverse, yet characteristically feminine, Ovidian tradition challenges existing reception traditions based upon male practitioners alone, and reawakens the political and aesthetic critique at the heart of Ovid’s poetry.

This study examines the development of artillery used in and around the Latin East during the period of the crusades. It begins with an examination of the broader historiography of medieval artillery, an overview of the spread of swing-beam siege engines (trebuchets) across Europe and the Levant in the Early Middle Ages, and the mechanical physics that govern such machines. From these foundations, the development and significance of the engines are investigated. Incorporating as much textual and archaeological evidence as possible, the use of artillery by Frankish and Muslim forces is examined on a case-by-case basis. With an appreciation of the power of these machines, the influence of artillery on the design of twelfth- and thirteenth-century-fortifications is analysed. Both Frankish and Muslim forces were familiar with the traction trebuchet by the end of the eleventh century. While these engines remained relatively light throughout the period of the crusades, the counterweight trebuchet appears to have been introduced by the end of the twelfth century. Initially rather primitive and little stronger than the traction variety, these engines developed fairly quickly. The appearance of new vocabulary for identifying these engines in the early thirteenth century indicates their increasing strength and physical evidence from the middle of the century confirms that they had become much more powerful by the start of the Mamluk period. Although counterweight trebuchets appear to have grown steadily throughout the thirteenth century, these had a relatively limited impact on the design of most fortifications. Trebuchets, large and small, were an important part of Frankish and Muslim siege arsenals in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but even the largest were not effective breaching engines by the time the Franks were pushed out of the Holy Land.

This thesis will provide a sustained analysis of the relationship between the Rhetorica ad Herennium and its context in early first century BCE Rome. Over 250 examples in the Rhetorica ad Herennium illustrate the text’s rhetorical theory, but in so doing they also provide a significant insight into the history, law, and politics of this period. As I demonstrate, these examples show the preoccupations and perspectives of orators who were not necessarily from the political elite. They illustrate what could and could not be discussed in speech, and the modes of oratory that were encouraged by the author – popularis or not. The author’s focus on forensic oratory also has important implications for understanding the use of the law and legal knowledge. An important strand of this thesis is to compare the examples in the Rhetorica ad Herennium to those of Cicero’s contemporary De Inventione. Although the two texts have often been treated as a pair, there are differences between the two. The contrasts are noteworthy in themselves, but they also emphasise the independence of the author of the Rhetorica ad Herennium and the potential to adapt theories and approaches as necessary. This is also an educational text, and the way it is constructed relates closely to its audience. I argue that the post-Social War context of the Rhetorica ad Herennium is key to understanding this audience, who may include newly enfranchised Italians using the Roman legal system for the first time. By recontextualising the Rhetorica ad Herennium, it becomes clear that it is a very different text to the De Inventione in many ways. By highlighting these differences, I show that the work can stand alone as an object of enquiry and serve as a rich source for Roman Republican historians.

Perek Helek, the last chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin in the Babylonian Talmud (BT), is unusual in consisting almost entirely of aggadah (non-legal material). The present study is a source and literary analysis of six units ('sugyot') from the chapter, which are almost continuous over ten pages of Talmud. The 'sugyot' relate to specific groups and individuals who, according to the Mishnah, are denied a place in the World to Come. They cover subjects in the books of Genesis, Numbers and Samuel. Comparisons with the Tosefta, Palestinian Talmud and midrashim suggest that the BT is less concerned with the World to Come than Palestinian sources are. Rather, it focuses on the wrong-doing of the groups and individuals and issues of justice and authority. The BT also includes vivid stories which appear to be Babylonian in origin and are often self-mocking. My findings also suggest that the 'sugyot' based on passages in a given biblical book (Genesis or Numbers) have more elements in common than 'sugyot' based on the same mishnah but derived from a different biblical book. In conclusion I discuss the possible implications of my findings for the more general question of how the chapter was edited.

The thesis draws together for the first time in print a comprehensive list of Roman temporary camps in Britain, drawn from published and archival sources. This material is presented as a corpus at the end of the volume. Following the introductory chapter, which outlines the scope of the work, the history of the development of study into the subject is reviewed in detail, examining the contributions made by both terrestrial and aerial archaeologists. Thereafter the evidence provided by the classical sources is examined and an attempt is made to trace the origins and subsequent development of the Roman military camp. The issue of definition forms the subject of the next section and it is argued that greater clarity than exists at present is required to allow these sites to be adequately addressed. This leads to a statement of the current state of knowledge in the subject, with a review of the central themes and arguments, and it is proposed that the role of terrestrial archaeology, and in particular excavation, has become unfairly undervalued. To support this contention a close study of the evidence provided by excavation is undertaken, leading to a call for renewed efforts through this medium, as a means of both supplementing and complementing the information obtained through the medium of aerial reconnaissance. Three case studies are then presented, utilising the methodological approaches championed in the preceding chapter. The thesis culminates in a critique of the existing knowledge base which concludes that while healthy, the subject is capable of significant advances of knowledge, some of which may best be achieved by recourse to a more balanced approach using all applications available to the discipline.