T. H. M. Gellar-Goad | Wake Forest University (original) (raw)
Papers by T. H. M. Gellar-Goad
![Research paper thumbnail of Appendix to World of Wordcraft (in Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, vol. 14 [2015])](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/34843156/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Blackwell's Companion to Terence, 2013
In contrast to the comedies of Menander and Plautus, in Terence sacrifice is wholly absent. Sacr... more In contrast to the comedies of Menander and Plautus, in Terence sacrifice is wholly absent. Sacrifice was an important part of ancient Roman domestic life. Yet Terence neither stages nor mentions any ritual whatsoever. Terence deliberately and thematically erases sacrifice from his plays and, in doing so, highlights the instability of his plays' domestic relationships -- and perhaps those of his audience as well. Terence focuses intensively on the relationships of family members, who are, in Rome, always allied by the practice of domestic cult. To eliminate sacrifice -- an important element of domestic life -- shows that Terence sees the Roman family as formally dysfunctional.
Plautus marks the title character of Epidicus as a special, over-the-top instance of the seruus c... more Plautus marks the title character of Epidicus as a special, over-the-top instance of the seruus callidus stock type by associating him throughout the play with various religious roles of increasing importance. Through claims made by the character himself and other characters talking about him, Epidicus is progressively figured as sacrificial victim, sacrificer, embalmer, auspex, Agamemnon, and son of Vulcan. This "program of sacralization" is original to Plautus and unique to this play, a much more developed extension of the kinds of religious imagery that characterize other powerful Plautine serui callidi; it exemplifies how Plautus uses ritual imagery and religious associations to reflect power relations between characters and theatrical authority of dominance of the seruus callidus over the play as a whole, and it gives special attention to the significant and unparalleled extent of Epidicus' role in reuniting the play’s long-separated citizen family.
In the two comic mini-series Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Hercules: The Knives of Kush (2008 a... more In the two comic mini-series Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Hercules: The Knives of Kush (2008 and 2009, published by Radical Comics), in which Hercules leads a small contingent of Greek mercenaries, Steve Moore creates a tension in the Hercules character between violent, vengeful rage on the one hand and both tactical forethought and even moral reservation on the other. We argue in this paper that such tension not only reflects apparent contradictions among ancient versions of Herakles/Hercules familiar to Moore but also underscores Moore's grim portrait of the Greek mythic age, a portrait thematically marked by betrayal and cruelty.
Ancient comedy is best taught with performance activities. In the Wake Forest University general... more Ancient comedy is best taught with performance activities. In the Wake Forest University general-education course Greek & Roman Comedy, students assigned to small-group adaptations of Aristophanes and Plautus have of their own accord chosen to use their performances to interrogate and explore gender patterns and ideologies in the plays and in their own societies -- with plenty of voluntary cross-dressing along the way.
Book Reviews by T. H. M. Gellar-Goad
Blackwell's Companion to Terence, 2013
In contrast to the comedies of Menander and Plautus, in Terence sacrifice is wholly absent. Sacr... more In contrast to the comedies of Menander and Plautus, in Terence sacrifice is wholly absent. Sacrifice was an important part of ancient Roman domestic life. Yet Terence neither stages nor mentions any ritual whatsoever. Terence deliberately and thematically erases sacrifice from his plays and, in doing so, highlights the instability of his plays' domestic relationships -- and perhaps those of his audience as well. Terence focuses intensively on the relationships of family members, who are, in Rome, always allied by the practice of domestic cult. To eliminate sacrifice -- an important element of domestic life -- shows that Terence sees the Roman family as formally dysfunctional.
Plautus marks the title character of Epidicus as a special, over-the-top instance of the seruus c... more Plautus marks the title character of Epidicus as a special, over-the-top instance of the seruus callidus stock type by associating him throughout the play with various religious roles of increasing importance. Through claims made by the character himself and other characters talking about him, Epidicus is progressively figured as sacrificial victim, sacrificer, embalmer, auspex, Agamemnon, and son of Vulcan. This "program of sacralization" is original to Plautus and unique to this play, a much more developed extension of the kinds of religious imagery that characterize other powerful Plautine serui callidi; it exemplifies how Plautus uses ritual imagery and religious associations to reflect power relations between characters and theatrical authority of dominance of the seruus callidus over the play as a whole, and it gives special attention to the significant and unparalleled extent of Epidicus' role in reuniting the play’s long-separated citizen family.
In the two comic mini-series Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Hercules: The Knives of Kush (2008 a... more In the two comic mini-series Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Hercules: The Knives of Kush (2008 and 2009, published by Radical Comics), in which Hercules leads a small contingent of Greek mercenaries, Steve Moore creates a tension in the Hercules character between violent, vengeful rage on the one hand and both tactical forethought and even moral reservation on the other. We argue in this paper that such tension not only reflects apparent contradictions among ancient versions of Herakles/Hercules familiar to Moore but also underscores Moore's grim portrait of the Greek mythic age, a portrait thematically marked by betrayal and cruelty.
Ancient comedy is best taught with performance activities. In the Wake Forest University general... more Ancient comedy is best taught with performance activities. In the Wake Forest University general-education course Greek & Roman Comedy, students assigned to small-group adaptations of Aristophanes and Plautus have of their own accord chosen to use their performances to interrogate and explore gender patterns and ideologies in the plays and in their own societies -- with plenty of voluntary cross-dressing along the way.