Publications

40 jaar I, Claudius
The BBC series I, Claudius, after the novels y Robert Graves, is now 40 years old and the performance of the cast still stands, even if the style now seems out of date. It came at a time when Hollywood had completely given up on antiquity, and sparked a decade of historical miniseries. But I, Claudius was not entirely without predecessors itself. Despite talk of a remake, no other film or series has attempted to enter this territory since.
Hermeneus 89.3 July 2017 ISSN 0165-8158

Wat te doen met de doden na de strijd? Een vergelijking tussen de Griekse oudheid en nu
by Reinier Wels en Welmoet Wels
Ancient Greek attitudes towards the treatment of the war dead seem to resemble some of our modern feelings and international regulations: Maiming is sinful and proper burial service should be performed for the individual (Homer’s Iliad is not a good reflection of the actual recorded pratice among the Greeks). Yet our standards are not universal, and both now and then the motives behind these rules was not always one of kindness and respect but also move calculated on ensuring loyalty.
Hermeneus 88.2 April 2016 ISSN 0165-8158

De oudheid in de film
When historians, classicists, and archaeologists watch movies set in ancient times, they often resort to pointing out the historical inaccuracies. But is that really the most productive way to look at the treatment of the past? An alternative approach is to see the difference as something interesting in itself. In over a century, there have been many different perspectives: In the 1910s, classical subjects lent the new motion picture houses legitimacy; and Italy’s imperial ambitions were reflected in its silent film output, e.g. Cabiria (1914) and Scipione l’Africano (1937). Hollywood too was attracted to the Roman empire, but at the same time often cast it as the villain. A non-Roman example is the new meanings given to Aristophanes’ comedy Lysistrata during the 1960s. While almost always widely inaccurate, movies are best considered as a new chapter in the long reception of the past.
Hermeneus 87.4 September 2015 ISSN 0165-8158

Cleopatra in de film
Cleopatra has appeared in fiction films for over a century. During that time, her fictional persona has never stopped changing, and, due to film maker’s selective representations, we should regard that fictional Cleopatra as a seperate identity from the real historical queen of Egypt. She has been the subject of several Hollywood blockbusters of epic proportions, portrayed as a villainous femme fatale, or as a woman simply trying to save her country and her own life. Parallel to that she serves as a stock character in various smaller films and television series. Her continued her presence on the big and small screen in many different qualities testifies to her lasting legacy on our imagination.
This article accompanies the following exhibition: http://www.rmo.nl/english/current/exhibitions/hollywood%​27s-egypt
RoMeO Magazine 13 Autumn 2012 (nr. 34) ISSN 1387-0254

‘Romans go home!’ Ambivalentie en het Astérixmodel
For the general public, history is not a neutral thing. We all have certain expectations and images that we have been learned to expect. This study examines the colonial aspects of the Roman empire in European cinema, as opposed to the dominant line of toga movies from Hollywood. There aren’t actually that many movies that depict the conquest of European countries (even if that term may be anachronistic), but the comedies that do, tend to show a clear pattern wherein the perceived national ancestors are the sympathetic underdogs, who face the more advanced Roman world. Sometimes the use of national history is prompted by a crisis, such as the Fiddlers three or Carry on Cleo or The Goodies – Rome antics. Life of Brian and Chelmsford 123 reach a point where it becomes clear that the Britons are no better than the Romans. All said and done it is with anachronisms that we construct this image of Europe.
Leidschrift 24.3 December 2009 ISSN 0923-9146