This volume gathers brand new essays from some of the most respected scholars of ancient history, archaeology, and physical anthropology to create an engaging overview of the lives of women in antiquity. The book is divided into ten sections, nine focusing on a particular area, and also includes almost 200 images, maps, and charts. The sections cover Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia, Cyprus, the Levant, the Aegean, Italy, and Western Europe, and include many lesser-known cultures such as the Celts, Iberia, Carthage, the Black Sea region, and Scandinavia. Women's experiences are explored, from ordinary daily life to religious ritual and practice, to motherhood, childbirth, sex, and building a career. Forensic evidence is also treated for the actual bodies of ancient women.

Women in Antiquity is edited by two experts in the field, and is an invaluable resource to students of the ancient world, gender studies, and women's roles throughout history.

About the Author
Stephanie Lynn Budin is an ancient historian with a focus on ancient Greece and the Near East. Her published works include Artemis (2015), Images of Women and Child from the Bronze Age (2011), The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity (2008), and The Origin of Aphrodite (2003), as well as numerous articles on ancient religion and iconography. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and bunnies. Jean MacIntosh Turfa received her Ph.D. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and Latin from Bryn Mawr College, USA. She was a consultant for the Kyle M. Phillips Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where she is currently a Consulting Scholar.

Reviews

"Women in Antiquity is an extremely useful compilation which is intended to be, without doubt, a reference book for all those with an interest in well-written ancient history spanning all its complexity, a must that cannot go missing from any library."

- Agnes Garcia-Ventura, Universita degli Studi di Roma, Italy

"For Budin and Turfa, the 'Ancient World' takes off in the east in Mesopotamia, runs around both shores of the Mediterranean, and ends in Iberia in the west. In a sense, it covers the areas reached, ruled, or influenced by the Roman Empire ... What we have are 74 (!) crisp chapters, each written by a specialist, many of whom are sharing with us the results of their own latest research and excavations ... Summing up Women in Antiquity, I don't care how familiar you think you are with any of these cultures, there will be plenty new to learn."

- Judith Weingarten, review on 'Zenobia: Empress of the East' at http://judithweingarten.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/where-are-real-women-of-ancient-world.html

"Women in Antiquity is an extremely useful compilation which is intended to be, without doubt, a reference book for all those with an interest in well-written ancient history spanning all its complexity, a must that cannot go missing from any library."
- Agnes Garcia-Ventura, Universita degli Studi di Roma, Italy

"For Budin and Turfa, the 'Ancient World' takes off in the east in Mesopotamia, runs around both shores of the Mediterranean, and ends in Iberia in the west. In a sense, it covers the areas reached, ruled, or influenced by the Roman Empire ... What we have are 74 (!) crisp chapters, each written by a specialist, many of whom are sharing with us the results of their own latest research and excavations ... Summing up Women in Antiquity, I don't care how familiar you think you are with any of these cultures, there will be plenty new to learn."
- Judith Weingarten, review on 'Zenobia: Empress of the East' at http://judithweingarten.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/where-are-real-women-of-ancient-world.html

"This valuable collection of papers reveals the multifarious ways ancient women participated at all levels of their societies. Of particular value is, first, its inclusion of cultures usually overlooked in other collections of essays (the Celtic, Scandinavian, Hittite), second, its temporal spread from the early Bronze Age well into the Iron Age, and, third, its focus on archaeological realia, documents, inscriptions and the like, rather than on male-authored literature for male-audience consumption. This collection of papers is an essential library resource for programs in gender studies, ancient studies, and archaeology."
- Judith Lynn Sebesta, University of South Dakota (USA) in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Since the volume spans a plethora of different cultures, it consequently and unavoidably treats topics that are shared among them. This allows for an interesting comparison between different cultures, time periods and geographical regions offering valuable insights into the particular topic, which is after all the intention of the series. It comprises an important contribution to archaeology in general and more specifically to the archaeology of women"
-Christina Aamodt, AWE

"Each of the articles in this huge volume presents a distillation of work done on the role and status of women in a particular time and place in antiquity. Particularly welcome given the huge contemporary interest in Women's Studies and in view of the current "Me-Too" movement, the book provides a rich compendium of studies on the history of women and their roles. It will provide a useful resource to those engaging with the issue."
-Lisbeth S. Fried and Ruth Scodel, University of Michigan, Journal of the American Oriental Society

Book Information
ISBN 9780367277437
Author Stephanie Lynn Budin
Page Count 1110
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 2050g