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Women in Classical Antiquity: From Birth to Death / Edition 1 - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Women in Classical Antiquity: From Birth to Death / Edition 1

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An 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 exercised authority and the possibilities for their civic engagement. This important resource:

  • Explores the formation of classical women's social identity through the life stages of birth, adolescence, marriage, childbirth, old age, and death
  • Contains information on the most recent research in this rapidly evolving field
  • Offers a review of the life course as a way to understand the social processes by which Greek and Roman females acquired gender traits
  • Includes questions for review, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary of key terms

    • Written for academics and students of classical antiquity, Women in Classical Antiquity offers a general introduction to women and gender in the classical world.

    ISBN-13: 9781118413524

    Media Type: Paperback

    Publisher: Wiley

    Publication Date: 08-27-2019

    Pages: 320

    Product Dimensions: 7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

    Laura K. McClure, PhD, is Professor of Classics in the Department of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her diverse research interests include Athenian drama, the study of women in the ancient world, and classical reception. Her publications include books on the representation of women in Athenian drama and the courtesan in the Greek literary tradition.

    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