My thesis compares classic mythology of cultures like ancient Greece to the mythology that has risen from the popular culture of contemporary western civilizations like America. While there are some differences, the two use the same archetypes that humanity has used for generations. In my work I use sculpture and photography to show their similarities and differences in form and story.

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Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and fill out the appropriate web form. / This manuscript of poems considers—as its title suggests—elements of mythology and the small town in No Man’s Land that rest in the middle, between the world of concept and the world of physical imagery. These middle-elements often embody the margin, watching the world as if the world’s innards are visible, and considering the infinite implications of the events that occur. These poems have an alliance with what is in between and always follow a muse, whether Kalliope or some whisper of the divine. It is through this lens, and in the borders, that these poems suspect meaning and create questions. / 2999-01-01T00:00:00Z

Serpent and dragon symbolism are ubiquitous in the art and mythology of premodern cultures around the world. Over the centuries, conflicting hypotheses have been proposed to interpret this symbolism which, while illuminating, have proved insufficient to the task of revealing a singular meaning for the vast majority of examples. In this dissertation I argue that, in what the symbolist Rene Guenon and the historian of religions Mircea Eliade have called ‘traditional' or ‘archaic' societies, the serpent/dragon transculturally symbolizes what I term ‘matter,' a state of being that is constituted by the perception of the physical world as ‘chaotic' in comparison to what traditional peoples believed to be the ‘higher' meta-physical source of the physical world or ‘nature.' What is called ‘nature,' I argue, is also considered in ‘Tradition' to be a perception of, from a certain state of consciousness, that aspect of existence that is called samsara in the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta, which Guenon equivalently describes, from a broadly traditional perspective in The Symbolism of the Cross, as "the indefinite series of cycles of manifestation." ‘Chaos,' according to Eliade in The Sacred and the Profane, is "the amorphous and virtual…everything that has not yet acquired a ‘form.'" The following elements have been useful in discerning the specified meaning of the serpent/dragon symbol: 1) Guenon's interpretation of the terminology of the ‘Hindu Doctrines,' as well as his interpretation of the ‘language' of traditional symbolism and the metaphysics that underlies it; 2) Eliade's interpretation of ‘traditional'/‘archaic' societies by means of his concepts of ‘chaos,' ‘creation,' Axis Mundi (‘World Axis'), and ‘Sacred and Profane'; and 3) the insights of various other researchers of serpent/dragon symbolism. Beyond purporting to resolve some of the mystery of the ancient and varied symbolism of the serpent/dragon, my dissertation strives, to a lesser degree, to serve two related functions: 1) informing the interpretation of the symbolic meanings of a wide variety of premodern artifacts and narratives and 2) providing a rough outline for a proposed prolegomenon to the study of the origination, and ancient human awareness, of the mentioned state of ‘matter.'

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-06-04T12:34:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Neemias Oliveira da Silva.pdf: 12742091 bytes, checksum: 41af331a98c1be3780516d060d7a6551 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-04T12:34:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Neemias Oliveira da Silva.pdf: 12742091 bytes, checksum: 41af331a98c1be3780516d060d7a6551 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This thesis proposes the investigation of the myth built regarding Spartacus figure, slaves revolution leader in Ancient Rome and the demystification of this character in contemporaneity. We also analyzed Spartacus uses and appropriations which from eighteenth century on became symbol of revolutions. Thus, Spartacus became part of the popular culture along the time, reviving the epic hero at the cinematographic work from Stanley Kubrick (1960). Resuming in the twenty-first century through the series Spartacus (2010 - 2013), from epic hero to hero of masses. The return of the mythic hero is seen as nostalgia, a hero's model that no longer exists. Based on this we studied how the cultural industry reinforces occidental beauty patterns based on a body model. The hero's body is muscled, considered virility synonym and sexual symbol. Technological and scientific advances contributed to disenchantment of myths, the super natural, demystifying the hero. New hero models were built, ordered and integrated to a globalized media. This way the sources analyzed were Spartacus series, classical and reference works. The methodology used consists on Spartacus iconography analysis as a cultural representative and product of mass culture. At last the fact that Spartacus series was chosen as audio visual source is justified by the symbolic form the body and hero are described as simulacra of contemporaneous man. Spartacus would unfold himself in his lots of myths: “Myths of Spartacus” / Esta tese tem como propósito investigar como se deu a construção do mito em torno da figura histórica de Espártaco, líder da revolta de escravos na Roma Antiga, e a desmistificação deste personagem na contemporaneidade. Também analisamos os usos e as apropriações de Espártaco, que a partir do século XVIII, fez-se símbolo de revoluções. Assim, ao longo do tempo, Espártaco tornou-se parte da cultura popular, revivendo o herói épico na obra cinematográfica Spartarcus de Stanley Kubrick (1960). E, ao ser retomado no século XXI, por meio do seriado Spartacus (2010-2013), passou de herói épico a herói das massas. O retorno do herói mítico é visto como saudosismo, um modelo de herói que não existe mais. Dessa forma, estudamos também como a Indústria Cultural reforça os padrões de beleza ocidental baseado em um modelo de corpo. O corpo do herói é musculoso, considerado sinônimo de virilidade e símbolo sexual. E com o avanço tecnológico e científico, ocorreu um desencantamento dos mitos e do sobrenatural, desfazendo o misticismo em torno do herói. Construiu-se novos modelos de heróis, encomendados e integrados a uma mídia globalizada. Neste sentido, as fontes analisadas foram o seriado Spartacus, obras clássicas e obras de referência. A metodologia utilizada consistiu na análise icnográfica de Espártaco como representante cultural e produto da cultura de massas. Por último, o fato do seriado Spartacus ter sido escolhido como fonte audiovisual, justifica-se pela forma simbólica em que o corpo e o herói foram abordados, como simulacros do homem contemporâneo. Com isto, Espártaco desdobrar ia-se em seus muitos mitos: “Os mitos de Espártaco”

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1998. / At foot of title: Its origins, development, rationale and implications with performance script, performance video, reviews, evaluation and potential as a therapeutic paradigm considered. "Offered in submission for a Doctorate of Philosophy in the School of Social Ecology, University of Western Sydney" Bibliography : leaves 268-275.

Teilw. zugl.: Oxford, Univ., Diss. / Includes bibliographical references and index

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral-- Universität Heidelberg, 1989). / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral-- Universität Heidelberg, 1989) / Includes index. Includes bibliographical references.

Thése-- Universit́e de Paris. / "Bibliographie"; p. [157]-163.