Women and Masculinity

As a Classics major, I’ve read a lot of Ancient Greek and Roman texts (shocking, I know). Throughout all of them, I’ve been intrigued by the different depictions of women in antiquity. For my case study I want to look at women in Ancient Greek literature, such as plays and epics, and talk about how they are depicted. I especially want to look at femininity and masculinity, as often times a woman who is standing up for herself is described in a masculine way, I think looking at women in regards to masculinity and femininity in Ancient Greek literature can really reveal expected behaviors. This is by no means a new idea (as evidence by me finding a whole companion piece for women in various antiquities), but gender expression and depictions of gender always interest me.

Mossman, J. (2007). Women’s Voices. In A Companion to Greek Tragedy, J. Gregory (Ed.). doi:10.1002/9780470996676.ch22 

This article is, as the title suggests, looking at women in Greek Tragedy. Medea and Clytemnestra, two of my favorites, both fall into this category. Tragedy is interesting in that it can be freeing for women, though they may be the ones causing it to be a tragedy. However it, and other plays, can also be harder on women as we have seen in this class. The article talks about how it is important to discuss and understand women in tragedy, as there are lots of cultural aspect that can be learned from it.

Pomeroy, Sarah B., and Xenophon. Oeconomicus. Clarendon Press, 1994. 

Part of the Oeconomicus deals directly with Xenophon’s belief of how a household should be run. It reveals a lot of cultural expectations of women, while also showing an interesting power dynamic between husbands and wives.

Franco, C. (2012). Women in Homer. In A Companion to Women in the Ancient World (eds S.L. James and S. Dillon). doi:10.1002/9781444355024.ch4 

As Odysseus is sleeping his way across the Mediterranean, there are a good number of women in The Odyssey, and obviously there has to be at least one woman in The Iliad. Famously The Odyssey has the catalogue of women. The article discusses a number of aspects of women in Homer, ranging from the cultural realities to female agency and the response of men.