{"id":{"repo_id":"texas","oai_identifier":"oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3159"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/texas/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3159","repository":{"repo_id":"texas","name":"University of Texas","base_url":"https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Dealing with dvinity in De rerum natura","abstract":"Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura has as one of its main goals the extermination of traditional conceptions of the gods, but gods pervade the poem in a variety of roles, beginning with the very first line, invoking Venus. This report seeks to analyze the ways in which Lucretius exploits popular notions of the divine while remaining true to both his Epicurean beliefs and his anti-theistic agenda, as well as the reasons behind these decisions. We begin with an exploration of the role of the poetic medium in this situation, followed by a close examination of the entire proem. Lucretius’ negative views about religio are brought to light and are contrasted with his supportive views regarding religious metaphor, partly through an investigation into Lucretius’ representation of Epicurus as divine. The final section of this report identifies some of the same dynamics at play in Lucretius in modern atheistic discourse and draws more general conclusions about the nature of anti-theistic discourse in a world dominated by theistic assumptions.","abstract_html":"Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura has as one of its main goals the extermination of traditional conceptions of the gods, but gods pervade the poem in a variety of roles, beginning with the very first line, invoking Venus. This report seeks to analyze the ways in which Lucretius exploits popular notions of the divine while remaining true to both his Epicurean beliefs and his anti-theistic agenda, as well as the reasons behind these decisions. We begin with an exploration of the role of the poetic medium in this situation, followed by a close examination of the entire proem. Lucretius’ negative views about religio are brought to light and are contrasted with his supportive views regarding religious metaphor, partly through an investigation into Lucretius’ representation of Epicurus as divine. The final section of this report identifies some of the same dynamics at play in Lucretius in modern atheistic discourse and draws more general conclusions about the nature of anti-theistic discourse in a world dominated by theistic assumptions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Van Eimeren, Kenneth Steven"],"institution":"University of Texas at Austin","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Classics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Nethercut, William Robert, 1936-"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["White, Stephen A."],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05","date_published":"2011-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:02Z","subjects":["Lucretius Carus, Titus--De Rrrum natura","Atheism","Gods","Venus (Roman deity)","Epicurus"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3159","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Nethercut, William Robert, 1936-"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["White, Stephen A."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Van Eimeren, Kenneth Steven"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2011-07-20T20:52:40Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-07-20T20:52:40Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011-05"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Classics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Texas at Austin"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Lucretius Carus, Titus--De Rrrum natura","Atheism","Gods","Venus (Roman deity)","Epicurus"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3159"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura has as one of its main goals the extermination of traditional conceptions of the gods, but gods pervade the poem in a variety of roles, beginning with the very first line, invoking Venus. This report seeks to analyze the ways in which Lucretius exploits popular notions of the divine while remaining true to both his Epicurean beliefs and his anti-theistic agenda, as well as the reasons behind these decisions. We begin with an exploration of the role of the poetic medium in this situation, followed by a close examination of the entire proem. Lucretius’ negative views about religio are brought to light and are contrasted with his supportive views regarding religious metaphor, partly through an investigation into Lucretius’ representation of Epicurus as divine. 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This report seeks to analyze the ways in which Lucretius exploits popular notions of the divine while remaining true to both his Epicurean beliefs and his anti-theistic agenda, as well as the reasons behind these decisions. We begin with an exploration of the role of the poetic medium in this situation, followed by a close examination of the entire proem. Lucretius’ negative views about religio are brought to light and are contrasted with his supportive views regarding religious metaphor, partly through an investigation into Lucretius’ representation of Epicurus as divine. The final section of this report identifies some of the same dynamics at play in Lucretius in modern atheistic discourse and draws more general conclusions about the nature of anti-theistic discourse in a world dominated by theistic assumptions."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3159"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:subject":["Lucretius Carus, Titus--De Rrrum natura","Atheism","Gods","Venus (Roman deity)","Epicurus"],"dc:title":["Dealing with dvinity in De rerum natura"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Classics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Texas at Austin"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:02Z"}