Description
Book SynopsisAn introduction to women and gender in the classical world that draws on the most recent research in the field
Women in Classical Antiquity focuses on the important objects, events and concepts that combine to form a clear understanding of ancient Greek and Roman women and gender. Drawing on the most recent findings and research on the topic, the book offers an overview of the historical events, values, and institutions that are critical for appreciating and comparing the life situations of women across both cultures.
The author examines the lifecycle of women in ancient Greek and Rome beginning with how young females acquired the gendered characteristics necessary for adulthood. The text explores female adolescence, including concerns about virginity, medical views of the female body, religious roles, and education. Views of marriage, motherhood, sexual activity, adultery, and prostitution are also examined. In addition, the author explores how women exe
Table of Contents
List of Figures xi
List of Charts xiii
List of Boxes xv
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Abbreviations xxi
Timeline of the Classical World xxv
Maps xxix
Introduction 1
1 Approaches to Women and Gender in Classical Antiquity 3
1.1 Ancient Greek and Roman Sources 4
1.2 Gender in Context: Social Identity in the Ancient World 8
1.3 Critical Approaches 9
1.4 Structuralism 10
1.5 Psychoanalytic Criticism 11
1.6 Feminist Criticism 12
1.7 Cultural Criticism 13
1.8 Conclusion 14
Questions for Review 14
References 15
Further Reading 15
Greece 17
2 Introduction to Ancient Greece 19
2.1 Greece in the Bronze Age: Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations 20
2.2 Iron Age 24
2.3 The Rise of the Polis in the Archaic Period 28
2.4 Athens and the Classical Period 31
2.5 Conclusion 35
Questions for Review 35
Reference 35
Further Reading 36
3 The Greek Family and Household 37
3.1 Oikos: Family and Household 38
3.2 Greek Domestic Space 39
3.3 Textile Production: Women’s Work 42
3.4 Growing Up Female in the Greek Family 47
3.5 The Ritual Activities of Girls 51
3.6 The Family in Ancient Sparta 53
3.7 Conclusion 54
Questions for Review 54
Reference 54
Further Reading 54
4 Female Adolescence in Greece 57
4.1 Medical Views of Female Adolescence 58
4.2 Aidos: Protecting Purity 59
4.3 Nausicaa: A Teenage Girl in a Heroic World 61
4.4 Choruses of Young Girls 61
4.5 Brides of Death 66
4.6 The Greek Wedding 69
4.7 Conclusion 73
Questions for Review 74
Further Reading 74
5 Greek Marriage and Motherhood 77
5.1 Pandora: The Ambiguity of Wives 77
5.2 Aphrodite: The Power of Female Sexuality 79
5.3 Virtuous Wives: Penelope and Alcestis 83
5.4 How to Train a Wife 86
5.5 The Legal Status of Athenian Women 87
5.6 Pregnancy and Childbirth 89
5.7 Mothers and Children 94
5.8 Conclusion 96
Questions for Review 96
Further Reading 97
6 Adultery and Prostitution in Greece 99
6.1 Eros Unbound 99
6.2 Helen: Archetype of Adultery 100
6.3 Adultery and Athenian Law 101
6.4 Desperate Housewives 104
6.5 Courtesans and Prostitutes 107
6.6 Conclusion 113
Questions for Review 113
Further Reading 113
7 Women, Religion, and Authority in Greece 115
7.1 Older Women 115
7.2 Women as Ritual Agents 118
7.3 Priestesses 118
7.4 Women‐Only Religious Festivals 121
7.5 Women and Funerary Ritual 124
7.6 Conclusion 128
Questions for Review 129
Further Reading 129
Interlude: Women in the Hellenistic World 131
8 Women in the Hellenistic World 133
8.1 The Rise of Macedon and Alexander the Great 135
8.2 Olympias: Mother of Alexander 136
8.3 The Spread of Hellenism 137
8.4 Women and Hellenistic Literature 138
8.5 Aphrodite and the Female Nude 141
8.6 Traces of Women in Hellenistic Egypt 143
8.7 Ptolemaic Queens: Arsinoe II 144
8.8 Ptolemaic Queens: Berenice II 146
8.9 Conclusion 149
Questions for Review 150
Reference 150
Further Reading 150
Rome 153
9 An Introduction to Ancient Rome 155
9.1 Roman Foundation Myth 158
9.2 The Early Republic 161
9.3 Expansion of Roman Rule 163
9.4 Roman Spectacles 164
9.5 The Collapse of the Republic 167
9.6 Julius Caesar 168
9.7 The Transition to Empire 169
9.8 Augustus and Imperial Rome 170
9.9 Conclusion 172
Questions for Review 172
Further Reading 173
10 The Roman Family and Household 175
10.1 Familia and Domus 176
10.2 The Family of Augustus 178
10.3 Roman Domestic Space 180
10.4 Lanificium: Women’s Work 182
10.5 Growing Up Female in the Roman Family 183
10.6 Girls and Roman Religion 188
10.7 Educating Girls 189
10.8 Conclusion 190
Questions for Review 191
Reference 191
Further
Reading 191
11 Female Adolescence in Rome 193
11.1 Pudicitia: Protecting Purity 194
11.2 Medical Views of Female Adolescence 196
11.3 Age at First Marriage 199
11.4 Adolescent Girls in Roman Religion 200
11.5 Virgo Docta 201
11.6 The Roman Wedding 203
11.7 Conclusion 209
Questions for Review 209
Further Reading 209
12 Roman Marriage and Motherhood 211
12.1 Marriage and Property 214
12.2 Divorce, Roman Style 215
12.3 Cultus: The Art of Self‐Fashioning 216
12.4 Managing the Household 218
12.5 Roman Views of Contraception and Abortion 220
12.6 Childbirth and Nursing 221
12.7 Mothers and Children 225
12.8 Conclusion 227
Questions for Review 228
Further Reading 228
13 Adultery and Female Prostitution in Rome 231
13.1 Clodia Metelli: A Woman of Pleasure 234
13.2 Women in Latin Love Elegy 236
13.3 The Augustan Law Against Adultery 239
13.4 Concubines 241
13.5 Female Prostitution 243
13.6 Conclusion 247
Questions for Review 247
Further Reading 247
14 Women and Public Life in Rome 249
14.1 Benefactors and Businesswomen 250
14.2 Female Political Protests 255
14.3 Women and Roman Religion 257
14.4 Priestesses 258
14.5 Matronal Cults 261
14.6 Women and Foreign Cults 263
14.7 Conclusion 264
Questions for Review 265
Further Reading 265
Glossary 267
Index 273
