Women in Antiquity: New Assessments

by Richard Hawley (Editor), Barbara Levick (Editor), Dr Barbara Levick (Editor)

The study of gender in classical antiquity has undergone rapid and wide-ranging development in the past. The contributors reassess the role of women in diverse contexts and areas, such as archaic and classical Greek literature and cult, Roman imperial politics, ancient medicine and early Christianity. Some offer detailed interpretations of topics which have been widely discussed since the 1960s whilst others highlight recent areas of research. This study reflects and expands on existing scholarly debates on the status and representation of women in the ancient world, focusing on methodology, and suggesting areas for future research and improvement.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

292 pages, Hardcover

First published October 19, 1995

About the author

Richard Hawley is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a member of the Hellenic Institute. Specialising in gender, identity, and rhetoric in Greco-Roman culture, he has published widely and teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research explores gender construction, ancient (auto)biography, and epideictic rhetoric in authors like Plutarch, Lucian, and Dio Chrysostom. He is currently completing a monograph on gender in ancient sources and a commentary on Plutarch’s Banquet of the Seven Sages. Hawley also supervises research on the reception of the classical world in popular culture and education.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this for a book club begun by some of my Art History peers, where we each read books in our own area of interest and report back to the group. This is a collection of articles, and so far I have found the first four quite insightful. The authors not only address issues of the NeoClassical lens and Freud, but also questions of gender and sexuality then and now. Also, the authors explore the trouble of reading myth as a cultural marker. So far, the book seems to present a very succinct and relevant collection.

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I paused my journey through this anthology in order to focus on Rachel Kousser's newest book.