Women's History and Ancient History

This collection of essays explores the lives and roles of women in antiquity. A recurring theme is the relationship between private and public, and many of the essays find that women’s public roles develop as a result of their private lives, specifically their family relationships.

Essays on Hellenistic queens and Spartan and Roman women document how women exerted political power — usually, but not always, through their relationship to male leaders — and show how political upheaval created o...