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Women and Weasels: Mythologies of Birth in Ancient Greece and Rome
If you told a woman her sex had a shared, long-lived history with weasels, she might deck you. But those familiar with mythology know better: that the connection between women and weasels is an ancient and favorable one, based in the Greek myth of a midwife who tricked the gods to ease Heracles’s birth—and was turned into a weasel by Hera as punishment. Following this story as it is retold over centuries in literature and art, Women and Weasels takes us on a journey through mythology and ancient belief, revising our understanding of myth, heroism, and the status of women and animals in Western culture. Maurizio Bettini recounts and analyzes a variety of key literary and visual moments that highlight the weasel’s many attributes. We learn of its legendary sexual and childbearing habits and symbolic association with witchcraft and midwifery, its role as a domestic pet favored by women, and its ability to slip in and out of tight spaces. The weasel, Bettini reveals, is present at many unexpected moments in human history, assisting women in labor and thwarting enemies who might plot their ruin. With a parade of symbolic associations between weasels and women—witches, prostitutes, midwives, sisters-in-law, brides, mothers, and heroes—Bettini brings to life one of the most venerable and enduring myths of Western culture.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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206 people want to read
About the author
Maurizio Bettini
86 books41 followersMaurizio Bettini (1947), classicista e scrittore, insegna Filologia classica all'Università di Siena. Autore di saggi di argomento filologico, metrico e linguistico, i suoi interessi vertono soprattutto sulla antropologia del mondo antico, disciplina a cui ha dedicato svariati volumi. A Siena ha fondato, assieme ad altri studiosi, il Centro "Antropologia e Mondo antico", di cui è direttore.
È autore di romanzi e racconti e collabora alle pagine culturali di "la Repubblica".
È autore di romanzi e racconti e collabora alle pagine culturali di "la Repubblica".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 4, 2022
WEASELS. WEASELS. THIS ITALIAN MAN REALLY WROTE 200+ PAGES ON WEASELS.
I read and took 16 pages notes on this entire book today (or... yeasterday). I should have started and finished it a while ago but it's done. I'm shaking. I've been sipping tea that I used mircowave water for hours ago and ate my soondubu dinner. I haven't stayed so late at the Library since my freshman year.
This book was an absolute joy (stunning translation work too). The writing is AMAZING. I have never known any academic work to use so many metaphors (Relating the mythos surrounding weasels as a Folia (of music) and then refering to the weasel as a constant leitmoteif! Whoa!). I imagine this book was a labor of love but the author clearly had fun putting it together.
Bettini has the sweetest concluding paragraph.
"With this we must bid farewell to our Rescuer. In the Conclusion of the book, we will see other variants of Alcmene’s story that turn up unexpect-edly in far distant lands. These variants are so similar to the stories that we have already seen that we will have no trouble at all recognizing the notes of La Folia; but the weasel will not be there. Our mischievous little animal now exits stage right, leaving only humans to play the Rescuer—but it will still seem to us that we see it from time to time, slipping out from under the bed of the Woman in Labor."
I read and took 16 pages notes on this entire book today (or... yeasterday). I should have started and finished it a while ago but it's done. I'm shaking. I've been sipping tea that I used mircowave water for hours ago and ate my soondubu dinner. I haven't stayed so late at the Library since my freshman year.
This book was an absolute joy (stunning translation work too). The writing is AMAZING. I have never known any academic work to use so many metaphors (Relating the mythos surrounding weasels as a Folia (of music) and then refering to the weasel as a constant leitmoteif! Whoa!). I imagine this book was a labor of love but the author clearly had fun putting it together.
Bettini has the sweetest concluding paragraph.
"With this we must bid farewell to our Rescuer. In the Conclusion of the book, we will see other variants of Alcmene’s story that turn up unexpect-edly in far distant lands. These variants are so similar to the stories that we have already seen that we will have no trouble at all recognizing the notes of La Folia; but the weasel will not be there. Our mischievous little animal now exits stage right, leaving only humans to play the Rescuer—but it will still seem to us that we see it from time to time, slipping out from under the bed of the Woman in Labor."
March 7, 2018
Cons: Highly academic
Pros: It's about weasels
Also, I was shocked to discover this book was written by a 70 year-old man. I honestly think this is the first time I've read anything that could be shelved in the "women's studies" section that wasn't written by a woman.
Pros: It's about weasels
Also, I was shocked to discover this book was written by a 70 year-old man. I honestly think this is the first time I've read anything that could be shelved in the "women's studies" section that wasn't written by a woman.
September 3, 2018
Wow. This book is ... so much more than it seems. So much more than the title suggests. My head is so filled with knowledge and also tangents I want to research further.
Book content warnings:
cissexist/lesbophobic text
goes into the really misogynistic mindset of the times
The first thing you have to know if you're interested in reading this book is that it's extremely academic! The language, the information, etc. It's all tailored to a scholarly audience. I think it took me about thirty minutes to read 5 pages and retain all the info.
The book is centered around one myth: the myth of Alcmene's birth to Heracles/Hercules (I'm not really versed in Greek Mythology; sorry if this site isn't completely trustworthy). The basic story goes that Zeus got Alcmene pregnant (with Heracles), and he announced to everyone that Alcmene would give birth that day to a son who would rule everyone around him. Jealous Hera tried to prevent Alcmene from giving birth until the next day (thus changing Zeus's "prediction"), but a weasel - or a woman named Galanthis/Galanthias tricks her or her "minions", so that Alcmene does indeed give birth to Heracles on the announced day (and Galanthis/Galanthias is punished by being turned into a weasel).
Whew. Greek myths are ... weird like that. There are so many different versions and variations on one single core story. Which is why there can be one huge, academic text on one single myth!
This book goes into the roles of each character in the myth, how women were treated in Ancient Greece, how weasels were seen and regarded back then, and how the role of midwives and midwifery has changed throughout the years. - And this is just the VERY tip of the iceberg. I can't even tell you how in-depth this book gets.
If you're interested either in weasels or the way women were treated in ancient Greek or Roman cultures -- or even in midwifery, this book is a definite must read. But you have to devote a ton of time to it.
Book content warnings:
cissexist/lesbophobic text
goes into the really misogynistic mindset of the times
The first thing you have to know if you're interested in reading this book is that it's extremely academic! The language, the information, etc. It's all tailored to a scholarly audience. I think it took me about thirty minutes to read 5 pages and retain all the info.
The book is centered around one myth: the myth of Alcmene's birth to Heracles/Hercules (I'm not really versed in Greek Mythology; sorry if this site isn't completely trustworthy). The basic story goes that Zeus got Alcmene pregnant (with Heracles), and he announced to everyone that Alcmene would give birth that day to a son who would rule everyone around him. Jealous Hera tried to prevent Alcmene from giving birth until the next day (thus changing Zeus's "prediction"), but a weasel - or a woman named Galanthis/Galanthias tricks her or her "minions", so that Alcmene does indeed give birth to Heracles on the announced day (and Galanthis/Galanthias is punished by being turned into a weasel).
Whew. Greek myths are ... weird like that. There are so many different versions and variations on one single core story. Which is why there can be one huge, academic text on one single myth!
This book goes into the roles of each character in the myth, how women were treated in Ancient Greece, how weasels were seen and regarded back then, and how the role of midwives and midwifery has changed throughout the years. - And this is just the VERY tip of the iceberg. I can't even tell you how in-depth this book gets.
If you're interested either in weasels or the way women were treated in ancient Greek or Roman cultures -- or even in midwifery, this book is a definite must read. But you have to devote a ton of time to it.
November 7, 2017
Interesting, but clearly meant for a scholarly audience. Was a little more detailed than I was looking for, and it also seemed to kind of lose focus at points. Still, a lot of the information was cool to learn about.
June 14, 2019
Quirky, brilliant and educational. Worth getting ahold of (not so easy).
The author knows alot about childbirth, weasels, women, nurse-midwives, lay midwives , Greek and Roman mythology, and cultural attitudes around women and birth.
The author knows alot about childbirth, weasels, women, nurse-midwives, lay midwives , Greek and Roman mythology, and cultural attitudes around women and birth.
October 22, 2025
HOW I LOVE LA MITOLOGIA GRECA!!!
ovviamente era un libro per un esame ma mi sono divertita a leggerlo (tranne i passaggi sporadici in cui mi veniva voglia di spararmi perchè divagava troppo)
ovviamente era un libro per un esame ma mi sono divertita a leggerlo (tranne i passaggi sporadici in cui mi veniva voglia di spararmi perchè divagava troppo)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews