Age, Gender and Status in Macedonian Society, 550-300 Bce - (Intersectionality in Classical Antiquity) by Elina M Salminen

About the Book

Provides large-scale analysis of age, gender and status in Macedonian society

Book Synopsis

Building on the largest sample of Archaic to Hellenistic burials from Macedon synthesized to date, this work provides new insight into the society that gave birth to Philip II and Alexander the Great. An intersectional focus on gender, age, and status reveals the lives of Macedonians only rarely discussed, from non-elite men to women and children. Through quantitative analysis and case-studies, the reader gets a view of the complexity and nuance of a society sometimes reduced to mighty warriors and fierce royal women. Change over time is also discussed, introducing depth into the historical narrative that is largely limited to the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. Finally, the book addresses the promise and challenges of applying intersectionality, a framework that is immensely fruitful but which was developed for contemporary contexts, to archaeological contexts.

Review Quotes

Richly equipped with tables and images, [this book] is a thought-provoking, fascinating, and inspiring contribution to the current scholarly archaeological and historical debate about Macedonian society, burial practices, and belief in the afterlife, while providing an important approach and a fresh look on non-elite Macedonian society. While clearly written for a scholarly audience, it may also attract the attention of anyone deeply interested in the history of Macedonia.--Sabine Müller, Philipps-Universität Marburg "BMCR"

In this ground-breaking study Elina Salminen explores the dynamics of Macedonian society in the crucial period leading up to the kingdom's emergence as a major power in the eastern Mediterranean. By bringing together evidence of burials and their accompanying assemblages from a wide range of sites and viewing the material through the lens of mortuary and social theory, Salminen is able to reveal Macedonian society in unprecedented breadth and detail.--Lisa Nevett, University of Michigan

About the Author

Elina M. Salminen, PhD, is the Associate Director for Humanities Initiatives at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research has focused on what the mortuary record can teach us about the living in general, and about Macedonians in particular. She is an archaeologist and has worked extensively across Greece, with a focus on the archaeology of ancient households at Kastro Kallithea and Olynthos. In her current work and research, she continues to think deeply about the resonances of the ancient world in our modern communities, with a particular interest in how we can teach about the past in a way that empowers students in the present.

University of California, Santa Barbara