Women Articles

It has always been recognized that women in the ancient world were considered only a little higher in value than the man’s cattle or plow and, sometimes, not even accorded that kind of respect. Examples of misogynistic attitudes toward women can be seen in certain works from Mesopotamia or Egypt but, in these cultures, women were generally respected... [continue reading]

Although the male citizen, with his full legal status, right to vote, hold public office and own property, may well have dominated Greek Society, the social groups which made up the population of a typical Greek city-state or polis were remarkably diverse. Women, children, immigrants (both Greek and foreign), labourers and slaves all had defined roles... [continue reading]

The roles of Athenian women in the fifth century B.C. were primarily those of wife and mother. The Athenians, in their patriarchal society, selected models for women based on the divine and heroic orders. The divine order subjected the female duties to their male counterparts. The heroic order depicted Penelope as the absolute role model for Greek-Athenian... [continue reading]

In this paper we present the story of the most famous ancient female mathematician, Hypatia, and her father Theon of Alexandria. The mathematician and philosopher Hypatia flourished in Alexandria from the second part of the 4th century until her violent death incurred by a mob in 415. She was the daughter of Theon of Alexandria, a mathematician... [continue reading]

Jewish women in the ancient Mediterranean lived side by side with communities in which women carried out religious functions, including ritual functions, for example, as high priestesses of the imperial cult and female functionaries in the Isis religion. Similarly, Christian women at this time acted as apostles, prophets, teachers, stewards, deacons, church... [continue reading]

In a favourite mythological motif of the Greeks, the Amazons fought many of the most celebrated Greek heroes and lived in independent societies on the fringes of the known world. These warrior women appear throughout Greek literature and art of every kind, defined by characteristics which differentiated them from ‘ordinary’ women: heroic capability... [continue reading]

For its time, the study and practice of medicine in Ancient Egypt was revolutionary. Primitive by today’s standards, physicians in Egypt nonetheless showed great initiative and impressive knowledge of the human body and its inner workings, as well as the treatment of illness and disease. Surgical intervention was never recommended, and the main treatment... [continue reading]

Representational artistic works were researched as visual evidence for the social, political, religious and economic lifestyles of the ancient Egyptian elite. The aims were to comprehend the status of elite women and to challenge the hypothesis that during the New Kingdom they enjoyed an increased social status in comparison to that of their predecessors... [continue reading]

In chapter 18 of  Hellenistic Egypt (2007, pp. 240-253), Jean Bingen discusses the cultural interactions between the native population of Egypt and its ruling minority of Greek-Macedonians and come to the conclusion that there is not much mutual acculturation between the two. The specific aspect of society and this proposed cultural dualism of Ptolemaic... [continue reading]

The Roman historian, Livy, wrote a comprehensive history of Rome during the reign of Augustus. The work, Ab Urbe Condita, spanned from the time of Aeneas, preceding the founding of the city by Romulus, until the reign of Augustus. In ancient times, Livy’s work was immediately praised and used as an authoritative text on the history of Rome, and... [continue reading]