Description
While the men of Classical Athens were fighting wars and producing great works of art, what were the women doing? According to some of the male writers of the period, they were at home, making babies and wool; others thought they were likely to be visiting their friends and partying till the small hours. This text investigates the many contrasting images of Athenian women which the Classical Age produced. Taking as its starting point women in the Parthenon sculptures, it examines two levels of feminine experience: the human and the divine. The interplay between women’s religious prominence and their domestic obscurity is discussed in relation to the young citizen women who lead the procession; while the great goddesses represented in the frieze are studied in terms of their relationships with human worshippers and, on a symbolic level, with the mythological females, such as the Amazons, who appear in the metopes. Finally, the book turns to a third aspect, looking at the women who do not appear in the Parthenon sculptures -- the prostitutes, slaves and alien women who make a vital economic and ideological contribution to the Athenian achievement.
Women in Classical Athens by author Sue Blundell. Published by Bristol Classical Press. This book has a 13 digit ISBN number 9781853995439 and a 10 digit ISBN number 1853995436.
