Articles by Jeremy Swist
Sources et modèles des historiens anciens, 2, 2021
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The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music, 2023
This chapter focuses on ancient Sparta as a representative case for the general reception of clas... more This chapter focuses on ancient Sparta as a representative case for the general reception of classical antiquity in heavy metal music. The Spartans are the basis of songs and albums by dozens of bands across the globe: their last stand at Thermopylae is the most popular ancient battle in metal music and their king Leonidas is one of the most popular ancient figures. Their appropriation by metal bands is a product of their rise in popularity in popular culture since the premiere of the 2006 film 300, and as in pop-culture, their appeal resonates with political and nationalistic agendas, especially of Greek bands. Sparta’s wide appeal harmonizes with metal’s core ethos of hypermasculinity, the liberation of animal instincts, and the disruption of systems of conformity and control. As with other topics from the classical world, heavy metal music takes the Spartans from both ancient sources and modern media and remakes them in the image of its own counterculture, that of the few standing defiant against the many.
Metal Music Studies, 2022
Metal's pervasive (were)wolf motifs are key hermeneutics for the reception of classical antiquity... more Metal's pervasive (were)wolf motifs are key hermeneutics for the reception of classical antiquity by right-wing bands. Continuities of lupine themes and romanticization of Sparta and Rome exist between fascist Germany and Italy, contemporary far-right political and pagan organizations, and bands that combine these two subjects in a unique but consistent way. Also inspired by Nietzsche, Evola and social Darwinists, bands such as Der Stürmer, Kataxu and Spearhead trace their biological and spiritual ancestry to Sparta, emulating their lycanthropic militarism and racial terrorism. Bands such as Hesperia, Diocletian and Deströyer 666 utilize Roman wolf iconography to promote the destruction of civilization and return to 'natural' hierarchies. Like their fascist predecessors, these artists perpetuate patriarchal and racist distortions of both lupine behaviour and ancient Mediterranean civilizations. Such constructions nevertheless extend from the resonance of both wolves and classical antiquity with metal's common themes of transgression, hypermasculinity, elitism and nostalgia for premodernity.
Sources et modèles des historiens anciens, vol. 2, 2021
Late in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE), Lucius Annaeus Florus published a two-v... more Late in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE), Lucius Annaeus Florus published a two-volume, panegyrical history of the populus Romanus from Romulus’ foundation in 753 BCE to the Augustan settlement in 27. The work’s title in the manuscripts as Epitoma de Tito Livio, followed by Ronald Syme’s judgment of it as “pious and ecstatic, condensed Livy,” has caused Florus to be largely overlooked as an original author who carefully adapted his source material to his own political and social context over a century after Livy’s death. Building on the work of scholars such as L. Bessone and F. Giordano, I contribute to the rehabilitation of Florus by focusing on how his abridgment and rearrangement of Book 1 of Livy recreates the seven kings of Rome in the image of Hadrian’s imperial ideals, identity, and ideology. It can be shown that, much as Livy had arguably shaped the kings in reaction to Augustus’ program of associations with Romulus and his regal successors, so Florus responds to Hadrian’s own wilful associations with both Romulus and Augustus during his reign. To this end, Florus strips away or extenuates the complicated baggage Livy attaches to the first six kings in order to present them not only as exemplary rulers, but also as architects and stewards of a cosmopolitan populus Romanus, each reflecting certain aspects of Hadrian’s imperial program. These include the promotion of law and justice in place of unjust conquests, temperance of military aggression with strategy, large-scale building programs, patronage of Greek culture, access to high office by merit instead of pedigree, and the repudiation of Domitian’s despotic vices. All of these regal virtues presented at the beginning of Florus’ work are at the very end combined into the figure of Augustus, Hadrian’s conscious model.
What Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul?, 2021
Metal Music Studies, 2019
This article discusses the previously unexplored intersection of the reception of classical antiq... more This article discusses the previously unexplored intersection of the reception of classical antiquity in extreme metal with Satanic and anti-Christian themes. It is demonstrable that the phenomenon has roots in the genesis of extreme metal itself, especially in its inheritance from biblical and literary history of the associations between Satan and Roman emperors. As extreme metal evolved over the past three decades, that theme combined with the perception that imperial Rome had undertaken widespread and sustained persecutions of Christians, including spectacular executions for the sake of popular entertainment, throughout the three-century history of the early Church. This is despite the consensus of many modern historians that the Romans were largely tolerant of Christians and persecutions were brief, isolated, more humane, and cost much fewer lives than early Christian sources suggest. It is evident that metal artists inherit, and thereby perpetuate, a tradition manufactured by Christian sources that have largely been debunked; yet these artists depart from those Christian sources by denying the appeal of martyrdom and shifting sympathies to imperial Rome and its 'Satanic' emperors. Like Satan himself, these emperors function as symbols of masculine aggression and liberation of the passions from contemporary political and moral systems. Such anti-establishment sentiments, especially among Italian artists, can manifest in fantasies of a Roman Empire reborn. By their artistic license, extreme metal artists continue to reshape a literary and artistic legacy of the imperial Rome and constructions of persecution narratives developed over the course of the late antique, medieval and modern periods.
International Journal of the Platonic Tradition, 2018
This paper assembles evidence from the full scope of Julian’s writings that the emperor had a pro... more This paper assembles evidence from the full scope of Julian’s writings that the emperor had a pronounced interest in medicine and human health, which impacted both his rhetorical and real approach to political, philosophical, and religious problems. His initiatives aimed to promote doctors, medical research, and public health. He emphasized a holistic view of bodily and spiritual health in his version of theurgic Neoplatonism. Medical frames of reference also played an appreciable role in his anti-Christian program. Finally, he himself and others styled him as a physician-king on a divine mission to heal the Empire of the Christian disease.
Journal of Late Antiquity, 2017
The sophist Himerius composed a declamation (Or. 3) that imagines a prosecution of the philosophe... more The sophist Himerius composed a declamation (Or. 3) that imagines a prosecution of the philosopher Epicurus on the charge of impiety. This article interprets this fragmentary speech as a defense of Hellenic religion delivered during the reign of the emperor Julian. It argues that Epicurus as an opposing force to Platonic theology is used typologically by Himerius to represent Christianity as an antithetical force to traditional Hellenic religion and paideia, which Himerius saw as inextricably linked. It also suggests that Himerius' professional rivalry with the Christian sophist Prohaeresius prompted him to deliver this speech to appeal to the emperor Julian at Prohaeresius' expense. Or. 3 thus exemplifies how sophists could use declamations to respond to contemporary reality in a rhetorically powerful way.
Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 2017
In his rhetorical exercises that portray boorish critics denouncing educated speakers as sophists... more In his rhetorical exercises that portray boorish critics denouncing educated speakers as sophists and magicians, Libanius hints at the contemporary scene of Christian attacks on Hellenic paideia.
Phoenix, 2016
In Libanius’ Declamation 22 the orator Demosthenes pleads to remove the Altar of Mercy. This arti... more In Libanius’ Declamation 22 the orator Demosthenes pleads to remove the Altar of Mercy. This article contextualizes the declamation in Libanius’ later career, and argues that it consciously expresses his contemporary religious concerns and promotes the ideal Roman emperor as the steward of traditional religion.
Dans la 22ème déclamation de Libanios l’orateur Démosthène plaide en faveur de l'enlèvement de l'Autel de la Miséricorde. Cet article replace la déclamation dans le contexte des dernières années de la carrière de Libanios, et soutien qu'elle exprime consciemment ses préoccupations religieuses à l’époque et promeut l'empereur romain idéal comme étant le protecteur de la religion traditionnelle.
Presentations by Jeremy Swist
One of the most prolific forms of the reception of the ancient world is the popular music genre o... more One of the most prolific forms of the reception of the ancient world is the popular music genre of heavy metal. Hundreds of bands all over the world have contributed to a growing catalogue of thousands of songs, including dozens of concept albums, inspired by the history, mythology, philosophy, and art of the ancient Mediterranean. This phenomenon has increasingly drawn the attention of antiquity scholars working within the nascent field of metal music studies, who have noted how the genre’s predilection for themes of power, violence, monstrosity, liberation, and heritage make antiquity especially appealing for adaptation in music, lyrics, album artwork, music videos, stage performance, and merchandise. Most of this reception reflects that in popular culture, treating more familiar subjects like Medusa, Sparta, Alexander, Cleopatra, and Nero. Subjects from late antiquity appear less frequently—but the cases where they do are equally interesting and insightful, if not more so, into how profoundly metal artists can engage with both primary and secondary sources for ancient political and religious history. These cases include concept albums on the tragic heroism of the emperor Julian and general Belisarius, songs glorifying Diocletian’s persecutions and condemning Constantine’s conversion, and cover artwork meant to depict the Visigothic sack of Rome. For heavy metal, late antiquity is where the romanticized past collides with the dystopian present.
Metal has been a popular and dynamic medium for the modern reception of antiquity for over four d... more Metal has been a popular and dynamic medium for the modern reception of antiquity for over four decades, with thousands of songs composed by hundreds of bands across five contents covering a wide range of topics, from the Trojan War to the Fall of Rome and beyond. This vast and growing discography is consumed by hundreds of thousands of metalheads worldwide. Just these numbers alone scream for critical attention by scholars who straddle the fields of Metal Studies and Ancient Studies.
In this session we will discuss the makeup of metal’s current discography of songs and albums dedicated to ancient themes, including which topics are more popular than others and why. We will then consider the state of scholarship on this phenomenon, then contemplate future directions.
Thesis Chapters by Jeremy Swist
Dissertation defended April 24th, 2018, and deposited May 1st.
Papers by Jeremy Swist
Latham's Quarterly, 2022
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Journal of Late Antiquity, 2017
Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies, 2017
In his rhetorical exercises that portray boorish critics denouncing educated speakers as sophists... more In his rhetorical exercises that portray boorish critics denouncing educated speakers as sophists and magicians, Libanius hints at the contemporary scene of Christian attacks on Hellenic paideia.
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Articles by Jeremy Swist
Dans la 22ème déclamation de Libanios l’orateur Démosthène plaide en faveur de l'enlèvement de l'Autel de la Miséricorde. Cet article replace la déclamation dans le contexte des dernières années de la carrière de Libanios, et soutien qu'elle exprime consciemment ses préoccupations religieuses à l’époque et promeut l'empereur romain idéal comme étant le protecteur de la religion traditionnelle.
Presentations by Jeremy Swist
In this session we will discuss the makeup of metal’s current discography of songs and albums dedicated to ancient themes, including which topics are more popular than others and why. We will then consider the state of scholarship on this phenomenon, then contemplate future directions.
Thesis Chapters by Jeremy Swist
Papers by Jeremy Swist
Dans la 22ème déclamation de Libanios l’orateur Démosthène plaide en faveur de l'enlèvement de l'Autel de la Miséricorde. Cet article replace la déclamation dans le contexte des dernières années de la carrière de Libanios, et soutien qu'elle exprime consciemment ses préoccupations religieuses à l’époque et promeut l'empereur romain idéal comme étant le protecteur de la religion traditionnelle.
In this session we will discuss the makeup of metal’s current discography of songs and albums dedicated to ancient themes, including which topics are more popular than others and why. We will then consider the state of scholarship on this phenomenon, then contemplate future directions.
For this panel, we invite presentations that bring to scholarly attention some of the diverse forms of late antique reception from outside of traditional scholarship. How have this period’s figures, events, ideas, and fashions been represented for a diversity of contemporary audiences in both the recent past and the present? Do forms of reception perpetuate or challenge common assumptions about late antiquity? In what ways have they been used and abused in response to current events and issues? Can an appreciation of reception inform and enrich our own research, teaching, and public scholarship about late antiquity?
Key to the work of reception studies is not the question of “historical accuracy” so much as identifying the sources that mediate between historical subject and the later audience, and how those audiences of authors, artists, directors, journalists, and even scholars read those sources and create meaning for themselves. Reception theory also asks how the products of reception have influenced readings of the past, influences to which not even academics are immune. Furthermore, an openness to reception is often an openness to the voices and perspectives of those traditionally underprivileged and underrepresented in academia.
Papers may last no longer than twenty minutes and will be followed by five minutes for discussion. The session will conclude with an extended period of discussion on the topic between panelists and audience members. Please send questions and anonymous abstracts to Jeremy Swist ([email protected]). Abstracts of no more than 500 words, and without names, should be sent as an email attachment no later than March 1st, 2024. All submissions will be judged anonymously by two referees. Prospective panelists must be members in good standing of the SCS at the time of submission and must include their membership number in the cover letter accompanying their abstract. Please follow the SCS instructions for the format of individual abstracts: https://classicalstudies.org/annual-meeting/guidelines-authors-abstracts. Submitting an abstract represents a commitment to attend the 2025 meeting if the paper is accepted. No papers will be read in absentia, and the Society for Late Antiquity is unable to provide funding for travel.
Society for Classical Studies 156th Annual Meeting
January 2–5, 2025
PHILADELPHIA
Call for Papers for Panel Sponsored by the Society for Late Antiquity:
Modern & Popular Receptions of Late Antiquity
Organized by Jeremy Swist, Department of French, Italian, & Classical Studies, Miami University
The late antique world hasn’t captured the imaginations of modern audiences as much as Leonidas’ Sparta, Cleopatra’s Egypt, or Nero’s Rome. Its presence in the popular literature and media of the 20th and 21st centuries, however, was never nonexistent. Novels such as Graves’ Count Belisarius and Vidal’s Julian, films such as Teodora imperatrice di Bisanzio and Agora, and video games such as Age of Empires II and Total War: Attila exposed much of their audiences to late antiquity for the first time. Scratch the surface and there is much more to be found in popular and non-traditional media, including fiction, graphic novels, documentaries, visual art, fashion design, video and tabletop games, and popular music. Nor are late antique themes alien to contemporary discourses in journalism and public-facing scholarship: anxieties over the perceived collapse of empires, competing definitions of theology and religion, pandemics, and persecutions have all offered tempting parallels to (mis)translate from late antiquity to today.
For this panel, we invite presentations that bring to scholarly attention some of the diverse forms of late antique reception from outside of traditional scholarship. How have this period’s figures, events, ideas, and fashions been represented for a diversity of contemporary audiences in both the recent past and the present? Do forms of reception perpetuate or challenge common assumptions about late antiquity? In what ways have they been used and abused in response to current events and issues? Can an appreciation of reception inform and enrich our own research, teaching, and public scholarship about late antiquity?
Key to the work of reception studies is not the question of “historical accuracy” so much as identifying the sources that mediate between historical subject and the later audience, and how those audiences of authors, artists, directors, journalists, and even scholars read those sources and create meaning for themselves. Reception theory also asks how the products of reception have influenced readings of the past, influences to which not even academics are immune. Furthermore, an openness to reception is often an openness to the voices and perspectives of those traditionally underprivileged and underrepresented in academia.
Papers may last no longer than twenty minutes and will be followed by five minutes for discussion. The session will conclude with an extended period of discussion on the topic between panelists and audience members. Please send questions and anonymous abstracts to Jeremy Swist ([email protected]). Abstracts of no more than 500 words, and without names, should be sent as an email attachment no later than March 1st, 2024. All submissions will be judged anonymously by two referees. Prospective panelists must be members in good standing of the SCS at the time of submission and must include their membership number in the cover letter accompanying their abstract. Please follow the SCS instructions for the format of individual abstracts: https://classicalstudies.org/annual-meeting/guidelines-authors-abstracts. Submitting an abstract represents a commitment to attend the 2025 meeting if the paper is accepted. No papers will be read in absentia, and the Society for Late Antiquity is unable to provide funding for travel.
Via Università 12, Parma
Organizzazione:
Prof. Salvatore Puliatti (Università di Parma)
Prof.ssa Federica De Iuliis (Università di Parma)
[email protected]
Dott.ssa Francesca Zanetti (Università di Parma)
[email protected]
Dr. Nicola Zito
[email protected]
Comitato scientifico:
Prof. Salvatore Puliatti (Università di Parma)
Prof. Helmut Seng (Università di Francoforte)
Prof. Giusto Traina (Università del Salento, Paris-Sorbonne)
Dr. Nicola Zito