Greek Bastardy in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods

Zusatztext Bryn Mawr Classical Review Klappentext Societies are defined at their margins. In the ancient Greek world bastards were often marginalized, their affinities being with the female, the alien, the servile, the poor, and the sick. The study of bastardy in ancient Greece is therefore of an importance that goes far beyond the subject's intrinsic interest, and it provides insights into the structure of Greek society as a whole. This is the first full-length book on the subject, and it reviews major evidence from Athens, Sparta, Gortyn, and Hellenistic Egypt, as well as collating and analysing fragmentary evidence from other Greek states. Dr Ogden shows how attitudes towards legitimacy differed across the various city states, and analyses their developments across time. He also advances new interpretations of more familiar problems of Athenian bastardy, such as Pericles' citizenship law. The book should interest historians of a wide range of social topics - from law and the economy, to sexuality and the study of women in antiquity. Zusammenfassung Sperm and machismo in Sparta, the belief that it is possible to have two biological fathers, and "womb strife" between half-siblings - these are among the fascinating insights about Greek attitudes towards sex and society revealed in this study of illegitimacy in the Greek world.

Product details

• Authors: Daniel Ogden, Daniel (Lecturer in Ancient History Ogden, Ogden Daniel
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.01.1996
• EAN: 9780198150190
• ISBN: 978-0-19-815019-0
• No. of pages: 444
• Series: Oxford Classical Monographs; Oxford Classsical Monographs; Oxford Classical Monographs
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; European History, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Marriage & Family, HISTORY / Europe / General, Ancient Greece, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Ancient / Greece, Sociology: family & relationships, Social and cultural history, Ancient History, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Sociology: family and relationships