Women in Ancient Greece A Sourcebook

The study of women in the ancient Mediterranean world is a topic of growing interest among classicists and ancient historians, and also students of history, sociology and women's studies. This volume is an essential resource supplying a compilation of source material in translation, with suggestions for further reading, a general bibliography, and an index of ancient authors and works. Texts come from literary, rhetorical, philosophical and legal sources, as well as papyri and inscriptions, and each text will be placed into the cultural mosaic to which it belongs. Ranging geographically from the Greek mainland and the communities along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, to Egypt and the Greek West (modern day southern Italy and Sicily), the volume follows a clear chronological structure. Beginning in the eighth century BCE the coverage continues through Archaic and Classical Athens concluding with the Hellenistic era.

Introduction / The Archaic Period / 1. Where it All Began: Women in Hesiod / 2. Aphrodite and Demeter: Goddesses in the Homeric Hymns / 3. Women Divine and Mortal in the Homeric Epics / 4. Women and Gender in the Melic and Lyric Poets / The Classical Period / 5. The Lived Experiences of Girls and Women / 6. Women and Property / 7. Foreign Women / 8. Prostitutes / 9. Girls and Women and Religion / 10. Gender Performed on the Athenian Stage / 11. Dorian Girls and Women / 12. Women and the State in Plato and Aristotle / 13. Warrior Women / 14. The Female Body / The Post-Classical Period / 15. Women in the Hellenistic Era / Select Bibliography / Index of Ancient Authors and Works / General Index.