Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity

New
Paperback
1994
$13.61

What did women do in ancient Greece and Rome? Did Socrates' wife Xanthippe ever hear his dialogues on beauty and truth? How many many women actually read the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides? When pagan goddesses were as powerful as gods, why was the status of women generally so low? Why, in traditional histories, is half the population effectively invisible? This unique and important book spans a period of 1500 years - from the fall of Troy to the death of Constantine. It examines all the available evidence - literary and archaeological - and reconstructs the lives of women from all classes of society.

Synopsis

What did women do in ancient Greece and Rome? Did Socrates' wife Xanthippe ever hear his dialogues on beauty and truth? How many many women actually read the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides? When pagan goddesses were as powerful as gods, why was the status of women generally so low? Why, in traditional histories, is half the population effectively invisible? This unique and important book spans a period of 1500 years - from the fall of Troy to the death of Constantine. It examines all the available evidence - literary and archaeological - and reconstructs the lives of women from all classes of society.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: First Edition in this form
Publisher: Pimlico
Published: 05 May 1994
ISBN 10: 0712660542
ISBN 13: 9780712660549
Book Overview: 'The classic, groundbreaking account of women's lives in Greece and Rome... The first treatment of women in the ancient world reflect the critical insights of modern feminism'. Mary Beard, Times Literary Supplement

Media Reviews

The classic, groundbreaking account of women's lives in Greece and Rome... the first general treatment of women in the ancient world to reflect the critical insights of modern feminism -- Mary Beard From Pandora to the Lemnian women who slaughtered their husbands for saying they stank, from Solon's state-controlled brothels, the scabrous writing of Juvenal, the transvestite peculiarities of Spartan marriage...attitudes and anomalies are explored which remain valid paradigms to this day... A scholarly and deeply fascinating study -- Christopher Wordsworth Observer Professor Pomeroy's standpoint is clearly that of a reasoned and enlightened sympathy with women's aspirations. Scholars will find the book indispensable and readers will find it both instructive and enjoyable -- Hugh Lloyd-Jones

Author Bio

Sarah B. Pomeroy was born in New York City and educated at Barnard College and Columbia University. She has lived in England and several other European countries and has taught at a number of universities, including Vassar College and Columbia. Her books include, Women in Hellenistic Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra, Women's History and Ancient History, Women in the Classical World: Image and Text and Xenophon: Oeconomicus: A Social and Historical Commentary.