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Women in the Classical World: Image and Text
Information about women is scattered throughout the fragmented mosaic of ancient history: the vivid poetry of Sappho survived antiquity on remnants of damaged papyrus; the inscription on a beautiful fourth century B.C.E. grave praises the virtues of Mnesarete, an Athenian woman who died young; a great number of Roman wives were found guilty of poisoning their husbands, but was it accidental food poisoning, or disease, or something more sinister. Apart from the legends of Cleopatra, Dido and Lucretia, and images of graceful maidens dancing on urns, the evidence about the lives of women of the classical world--visual, archaeological, and written--has remained uncollected and uninterpreted.
Now, the lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched Women in the Classical World lifts the curtain on the women of ancient Greece and Rome, exploring the lives of slaves and prostitutes, Athenian housewives, and Rome's imperial family. The first book on classical women to give equal weight to written texts and artistic representations, it brings together a great wealth of materials--poetry, vase painting, legislation, medical treatises, architecture, religious and funerary art, women's ornaments, historical epics, political speeches, even ancient coins--to present women in the historical and cultural context of their time. Written by leading experts in the fields of ancient history and art history, women's studies, and Greek and Roman literature, the book's chronological arrangement allows the changing roles of women to unfold over a thousand-year period, beginning in the eighth century B.C.E. Both the art and the literature highlight women's creativity, sexuality and coming
of age, marriage and childrearing, religious and public roles, and other themes. Fascinating chapters report on the wild behavior of Spartan and Etruscan women and the mythical Amazons; the changing views of the female body presented in male-authored gynecological treatises; the "new woman" represented by the love poetry of the late Republic and Augustan Age; and the traces of upper- and lower-class life in Pompeii, miraculously preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Provocative and surprising, Women in the Classical World is a masterly foray into the past, and a definitive statement on the lives of women in ancient Greece and Rome.
Now, the lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched Women in the Classical World lifts the curtain on the women of ancient Greece and Rome, exploring the lives of slaves and prostitutes, Athenian housewives, and Rome's imperial family. The first book on classical women to give equal weight to written texts and artistic representations, it brings together a great wealth of materials--poetry, vase painting, legislation, medical treatises, architecture, religious and funerary art, women's ornaments, historical epics, political speeches, even ancient coins--to present women in the historical and cultural context of their time. Written by leading experts in the fields of ancient history and art history, women's studies, and Greek and Roman literature, the book's chronological arrangement allows the changing roles of women to unfold over a thousand-year period, beginning in the eighth century B.C.E. Both the art and the literature highlight women's creativity, sexuality and coming
of age, marriage and childrearing, religious and public roles, and other themes. Fascinating chapters report on the wild behavior of Spartan and Etruscan women and the mythical Amazons; the changing views of the female body presented in male-authored gynecological treatises; the "new woman" represented by the love poetry of the late Republic and Augustan Age; and the traces of upper- and lower-class life in Pompeii, miraculously preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Provocative and surprising, Women in the Classical World is a masterly foray into the past, and a definitive statement on the lives of women in ancient Greece and Rome.
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 22, 2013
Archaic Greece, classical Greece, the Hellenistic world (including Egypt, where the papyri survive better than records elsewhere), a little on Etruscans, republican Rome, imperial Rome. . . . a fair amount of ground.
And not evenly treated for the simple reason that information for some eras is sparser than for others. In archaic Greece, we have the statuary, some poetry, a few inscription, pottery showing them in mourning -- classical Greece has, for instance, all the philosophers and physicians propounding different theories of women's bodies, and the plays that show women in action. Andromache, for instance, chiding Hesione (Helen's daughter, and married to Andromache's owner) about her jealousy, and recounting how she had nursed Hector's bastards at her own breast rather than do him injury. The Spartan women vs. Athenian. The way that vases depicting weddings do not show bearded men in their late twenties marrying girls in their mid-teens but beardless youths of 19 or 20 with a maiden the same age. The way it was regarded as shocking for a woman to come to the doorway of her house to ask for news. Well, a wife. It also goes into the disreputable women of that era.
There was less of wives in the inner court in the Hellenistic period. Their greater religious dedications, and the women poets of the era.
And then back a bit in time for what is known of Roman women, and Etruscans, even before it. And then onward through the women of republican Rome, and the legendary women. Such Lucretia and Verginia, whose stories were told of radical political changes. The temples dedicated to female Virtue in both the patrician and plebeian form (the plebeian one being founded by a woman whose patrician birth did not let her into the patrician one when she married a plebeian). The claim that plebeians were admitted to the office of consul because the wife of a plebeian resented that her sister's patrician husband had this honor. The notorious decline of morals with the times of upheaval near the end of the republic; Cicero received a letter of condolence on his daughter's life reminding him that she had enjoyed just about everything life had to offer, and then escaped the chaos of the times. Writings that seem to indicate that both men and women were avoiding having children because of the civil war -- having more soldiers for Rome, indeed, when it meant fighting in such battles. Through Octavia, unable to bring peace between her brother and Mark Anthony and living out her widowhood raising all his children, including those by Cleopatra.
More in the imperial era, from the imperial women whose fertility was used symbolically to represent the prosperity of the Empire, to the freedwomen whose tombs often showed them clasping hands with their husbands -- a symbol of marriage, and so of their freedom, since slaves could not marry. How Augustus tried to promote the birth rate by allowing women to legally emancipated by having three living children -- four if a freedwoman -- and how little it worked. Childbirth was too risky, and infant mortality too high.
Lots of stuff.
And not evenly treated for the simple reason that information for some eras is sparser than for others. In archaic Greece, we have the statuary, some poetry, a few inscription, pottery showing them in mourning -- classical Greece has, for instance, all the philosophers and physicians propounding different theories of women's bodies, and the plays that show women in action. Andromache, for instance, chiding Hesione (Helen's daughter, and married to Andromache's owner) about her jealousy, and recounting how she had nursed Hector's bastards at her own breast rather than do him injury. The Spartan women vs. Athenian. The way that vases depicting weddings do not show bearded men in their late twenties marrying girls in their mid-teens but beardless youths of 19 or 20 with a maiden the same age. The way it was regarded as shocking for a woman to come to the doorway of her house to ask for news. Well, a wife. It also goes into the disreputable women of that era.
There was less of wives in the inner court in the Hellenistic period. Their greater religious dedications, and the women poets of the era.
And then back a bit in time for what is known of Roman women, and Etruscans, even before it. And then onward through the women of republican Rome, and the legendary women. Such Lucretia and Verginia, whose stories were told of radical political changes. The temples dedicated to female Virtue in both the patrician and plebeian form (the plebeian one being founded by a woman whose patrician birth did not let her into the patrician one when she married a plebeian). The claim that plebeians were admitted to the office of consul because the wife of a plebeian resented that her sister's patrician husband had this honor. The notorious decline of morals with the times of upheaval near the end of the republic; Cicero received a letter of condolence on his daughter's life reminding him that she had enjoyed just about everything life had to offer, and then escaped the chaos of the times. Writings that seem to indicate that both men and women were avoiding having children because of the civil war -- having more soldiers for Rome, indeed, when it meant fighting in such battles. Through Octavia, unable to bring peace between her brother and Mark Anthony and living out her widowhood raising all his children, including those by Cleopatra.
More in the imperial era, from the imperial women whose fertility was used symbolically to represent the prosperity of the Empire, to the freedwomen whose tombs often showed them clasping hands with their husbands -- a symbol of marriage, and so of their freedom, since slaves could not marry. How Augustus tried to promote the birth rate by allowing women to legally emancipated by having three living children -- four if a freedwoman -- and how little it worked. Childbirth was too risky, and infant mortality too high.
Lots of stuff.
April 2, 2023
For my class Hist 337, Women in the Ancient World. This was the main textbook that we read throughout the semester. A good overview of women from ancient Greece to the later Roman empire, including Sparta, Pompeii, and the outer expanses of the Roman Empire, while also looking at topics from education, medicine, and sexuality. If you're interested in an overview of women from this time period and location, this is a great starting place.
April 25, 2018
I'm sure I wouldn't have picked this up if I weren't auditing a Barnard course on Women in Antiquity, but as an adjunct to the lectures I really enjoyed it.
December 18, 2014
Had to read this for sources to do with school, and it was relatively helpful in conveying how the Spartan women were portrayed in Ancient Greek (Which is my focus on the assignment)
So it was very helpful and interesting
So it was very helpful and interesting
May 20, 2018
I read selections from this for a class on women in the ancient world, so I didn't actually read it cover to cover. It has good info, easy to read, lots of references. Some portions had minimal info so outside research is still needed if you're looking for something specific.
Want to read
August 12, 2015I read the Roman half. Well written, well researched, and now I just need to read the Greek half!
January 21, 2016
A textbook for a Women in Antiquity Course, which I ended up finishing out of curiosity. It had a really nice, engaging presentation of the material, and helped spark some lovely conversations.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews