Women's Life in Greece and Rome - 4th Edition by Mary R Lefkowitz & Maureen B Fant (Paperback)

About the Book

Many notes and explanations have been revised with the non-classicist in mind.

Book Synopsis

The essential collection of source materials on the lives of women in the ancient world.

Now in its fourth edition, this highly acclaimed sourcebook examines the public and private lives and legal status of Greek and Roman women. The texts represent women of all social classes, from public figures remembered for their deeds (or misdeeds), to priestesses, poets, and intellectuals, to working women, such as musicians, wet nurses, and prostitutes, to homemakers. The editors have selected texts from hard-to-find sources, such as inscriptions, papyri, and medical treatises, many of which have not previously been translated into English. The resulting compilation is both an invaluable aid to research and a clear guide through this complex subject.

Building on the third edition's appendix of updates, the fourth adds many new and unusual texts and images, as well as such student-friendly features as a map and chapter overviews. Many notes and explanations have been revised with the non-classicist in mind.

Review Quotes

"New documents, new translations, and new illustrations make this revised, fourth edition a richer and more illuminating resource."

- Judith P. Hallett, University of Maryland, College Park, author of Fathers and Daughters in Roman Society: Women and the Elite Family

"Recommended."

"The fourth edition not only offers a wealth of new material, but new translations and illustrations. The book is also more user-friendly for students in important ways, with more comprehensive identifications of the sources in the table of contents and individual headings, and with notes at the end of each chapter. I look forward to using the textbook in my course."

- K. Sara Myers, University of Virginia, author of Ovid's Causes: Cosmogony and Aetiology in the Metamorphoses

"This pioneering collection has been updated with new materials, new translations, and a wealth of references to further reading. It demands to be used not only in gender and women's studies courses but in every ancient history and civilization class."

- Emma Dench, Harvard University, author of Romulus' Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian

About the Author

Mary R. Lefkowitz is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, at Wellesley College. She is the author of Women in Greek Myth and Lives of the Greek Poets. Maureen B. Fant studied classics and archaeology at the University of Michigan and is now a writer and editor living in Rome, Italy.