Women's Influence on Classical Civilization

This volume explores how women in antiquity influenced cultural spheres usually thought of as male, such as politics, economics, science, law and the arts. It addresses particularly the question of how far culture, as it is traditionally defined, means male culture and the extent to which this culture was actually created and perpetuated by women. It is shown that women, through marriage and motherhood, tended both to perpetuate traditional male values and to make significant contributions of their own to this male culture. Each of the twelve essays in the collection focuses on a particular aspect of ancient culture and seeks to elucidate women's involvement in it.