In Pythagorean Women, classical scholar Sarah B. Pomeroy discusses the groundbreaking principles that Pythagoras established for family life in Archaic Greece, such as constituting a single standard of sexual conduct for women and men. Among the Pythagoreans, women played an important role and participated actively in the philosophical life. While Pythagoras encouraged women to be submissive to men, his reasoning was based on the desire to preserve harmony in the home. Pythagorean Women provides English translations of all the earliest extant examples of literary Greek prose by Neopythagorean women, shedding light on their attitudes about marriage, the home, music, and the cosmos. Pomeroy sets the Pythagorean and Neopythagorean women vividly in their historical, ecological, and intellectual contexts, illustrated with original photographs of sites and artifacts known to these women.

A book about Pythagorean women is sorely needed and long overdue. Pomeroy rectifies that situation and could fill large gaps not only in the social history of Pythagoreanism but more generally in the history of the lives of these women, including their intellectual lives. -- Pamela Gordon, University of Kansas

About the Author
Sarah B. Pomeroy is Distinguished Professor of Classics and History Emerita at Hunter College and the Graduate School at the City University of New York. Her book Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity is widely recognized as the definitive book on the topic.

Reviews
In this book Pomeroy translates and critiques all the extant writings of female followers of Pythagoras, nearly all of which have been ignored or sidelined by male scholars... a very valuable addition to the literature. -- Clifford Cunningham Sun News Miami A delight to read... This look at the female followers of Pythagoras in ancient times is a very valuable addition to the literature. -- Clifford Cunningham Sun News Miami One could hardly hope for a better guide to this subject. Choice Pomeroy's highly informative and carefully argued book touches on significant elements of the Neopythagorean women authors. It is a welcome addition to the literature, opening up much fertile ground for future work. -- George Lazaroiu Journal of Research in Gender Studies [Pythagorean Women] will be a major impulse for future scholars to study these texts and their authors. -- Kai Broderson Bryn Mawr Classical Review



Book Information
ISBN 9781421409566
Author Sarah B. Pomeroy
Format Hardback
Page Count 200
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 431g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 19mm