Images of Women in Antiquity

The agenda and significance of women in antiquity has gained considerable attention in recent years. In this book diverse roles for and attitudes to women in ancient societies are explored: women as witches, as courtesans, as mothers, as priestesses, as nuns, as heiresses and typically as eranged. The shifting focus is variously economic, social, biological, religious and artistic. The studies cover a wide geographic and chronological range, from the ancient Hittite kingdom to the Byzantine Empires. This book has been brought thoroughly up to date with the addition of a new introduction and addenda to individual chapters.

List of Figures List of Plates Introduction Part One: Perceiving Women 1. Women: Model for Possession by Greek Daemons Ruth Padel, London 2. Exit Atossa: Images of Women in Greek Historiography on Persia Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Groningen 3. Women and Witchcraft in Ancient Assyria Sue Rollin, London Part Two: Women and Power 4. Influentional Women Mary R. Lefkowitz, Wellesley 5. The God's Wife of Amum in the 18th Dynasty in Egypt Gay Robins, Cambridge Part Three: Women and Home 6. Women and Housing in Classical Greece: the Archaeological Evidence Susan Walker, London 7. Women on Athenian Vases: Problems of Interpretation Dyfri WIlliams, London Part Four: The Biology of Women 8. Bound to Bleed: Artemis and Greek Women Helen King, London 9. Hitite Birth Rituals Jackie Pringle, London Part Five: Discovering Women 10. Celtic Women in the Early Middle Ages Wendy Davies, London 11. In search of Byzantine Women: Three Avenues of Approach Judith Herrin, London Part 6: The Economic Role of Women 12. Bridewealth and Dowry in Nuzy Katarzyna Grosz, Copenhagen 13. Infanticide in Hellenistic Greece Sarah B. Pomeroy, New York 14. Women and Wealth Riet van Bremen, London Part Seven: Women in Religion and Cult 15. Godesses, Women and Jezebel Peter R. Ackroyd, London 16. The Naditu Women of Sippar Ulla Jeyes, London and Copenhagen 18. Women in Early Syrian Christianity Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Greensboro, North Carolina Abbreviations Appendices, addenda and corrigenda Bibliography Index of Proper Names Subject Index