Women in Antiquity
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News and updates about the course are posted here.
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
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Welcome to Week 11!
15 November 2025
This week we’re starting with the Romans, whose approach to gender we’ll be discussing over the next three weeks.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. The Roman perception of the maiden and the matron is very distinctive. What stands out to you about how the Romans understood the responsibilities of the maiden to Roman society? How does it fit in with the ideas of gender we’ve studied so far? Also, the stories from Livy give women symbolic importance to the survival of Rome. What do you think these stories are telling us?
I’m looking forward to hearing your takes on the gender roles of men and of women in Roman society. See you Tuesday!
Archive
Proposal responses are posted
10 November 2025
I’ve finally completed my responses to all the proposals I have received. They are posted as PDFs on the My Grades page, and attached to the email version of this announcement.
There were some great topics and perspectives this year, and I am really looking forward to diving into your interpretations of gender in the ancient world. I tried to provide some guidance based on the content and direction of your proposals, including some thoughts on scope, examples, and relevant sources. This is not the end of what sagacity I have to offer, of course. Come by my office hours and have a gab about how you want to approach your position paper.
I'm still missing a couple of proposals. If you get one in to me soon, I’ll give you feedback and suggestions. I want to help everyone out, and I’ll be giving general advice in our class meetings, but it’s hard for me to help guide your particular research project if I don’t have your proposal to start from.
The researching and writing of the paper itself always involves adjusted expectations. If you decide to change your thesis during this process, just go ahead and write your paper that way. If you want to change your topic, though, I would like you to send a new proposal so that I can discuss it with you.
Remember, the position paper is due Monday, Dec. 8—that’s soon, when you factor in the time you need to set aside to research your subject, plan your approach, write your paper, and review your arguments to make sure they hit their mark. Make your schedule for the next few weeks NOW so you can get this paper and all your other work done and still be prepared for finals.
Welcome to Week 10!
9 November 2025
This week we’re exploring the story of the Hebrews.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. This is one of those cases where the backstory goes a long way in shedding light on specific and distinctive cultural norms. We’ve already seen how the Sumerians, the Egyptians, and the Greeks had different norms and values about women, mortality, and so on. But they all had two things in common: a homeland, and pagan gods that were rooted in the natural forces of that homeland. With the Hebrew tribes, we see cultural norms defined by exile, war, oppression, and more exile, and an ethnic and religious identity reshaped around a monotheistic god, rejecting paganism and any commonality with pagan peoples.
What do you think most affects their ideas about the role of women? What strikes you about the story of Esther? What kinds of women stand out in the stories preserved in Hebrew and Jewish history?
Looking forward to hearing your reactions and insights. See you Tuesday!
Quizzes #4 and #5 grades and markups posted
3 November 2025
The grades and markups for Quizzes #4 and #5 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for these quizzes, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Welcome to Week 9!
2 November 2025
This week we’re talking about Egypt, a very different place from the cultures we’ve explored so far.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. There’s a lot to discuss this week. Was Hatshepsut a fluke, or did she really represent something about women in Egypt? What do you think was most important in making Hatshepsut accepted as a ruler? Was her damnatio memoriae—her successor’s destruction of her legacy—about female inheritance, or was something else going on?
The articles give us a few more vantage points to talk about gender in Egypt. What do think we can say about how different things were for women in Egypt, and why?
Please note: Concerning the reading from Roehrig, there’s a “Note” button that gives some advice about approaching this book. It’s long, but it’s mostly pictures, and the tl;dr is: read the six articles, which are shorter than they seem, and skim the rest, which is mainly inventory. Look out for pictures that strike your imagination. What images of Hatshepsut stand out for you the most?
Looking forward to discussing this with you. See you Tuesday!
Welcome to Week 8!
25 October 2025
This week we’re talking about understanding gender in classical Athens through the mortal women presented in literature (as opposed to mythology), and toward that end we’re looking at two of the most potent female figures in all of Greek drama, Antigone and Medea. Both women are larger than life in very different ways. I really want to hear what you all thought while reading these plays.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What is it that Antigone is fighting for, do you think? What is Medea fighting for? What are the conflicts in these two plays really about, do you think? What insight can we derive from the memorable endings? Do Antigone and Medea have anything in common? What did you react to while you were reading these plays?
The play Medea is particularly shocking because of what she does and how it ends. Given what Pomeroy talks about and all our previous discussions, what do you think Euripides was trying to say to his fellow Athenians by telling this story? Let me know what you think about all of this.
Looking forward to discussing this with all of you. See you on Tuesday!
Welcome to Week 7!
19 October 2025
This week we’re trying to take a closer look at the nonpublic side of gender in classical Athens.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What role do you think the hetairai really played in Athenian society? Why do you think we focus on them when discussing Athens? What’s your sense of how the Athenians dealt with private sexual conflicts within and between families—what situations stand out to you?
We’re also looking this week at Bacchae, in which a group of women rip a man apart. Why is he, Pentheus, ripped apart in particular? What is this story showing us—empowerment? Retribution? Male pig-headedness (or lion-headedness)? The Bacchic craze was something the Greeks valued—what was its importance, do you think? Within the play, what do you think Dionysos was trying to accomplish? What do you think Euripides was trying to accomplish in telling this story?
We’ve also got a little scene from the Adonis Festival. Is this just a bit of frivolity involving women checking out hot guys (a bit of reversal in Greek literature, but not unheard-of—remember Nausicaa and the beauty-enhanced Odysseus); or is there something more to the telling of this story?
Looking forward to your discussions and reactions. See you Tuesday!