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"In this book, Guy D. Middleton explores the fascinating lives of thirty real women of the ancient Mediterranean from the Palaeolithic to the Byzantine era. They include queens and aristocrats, such as the Pharoah Hatshepsut and the Etruscan noblewoman Seianti; Eritha and Karpathia, Bronze Age priestesses from the Aegean; a Pompeiian prostitute called Eutychis; the pagan philosopher Hypatia and the Christian saint Perpetua, from North Africa, as well as women from smaller communities. Middleton uses a wide range of archaeological and historical evidence, including burials and funerary practices, graffiti, inscriptions and painted pottery, handprints, human remains and a variety of historical texts, as well as the latest modern research. His volume weaves together the stories of real women, placing them firmly in the spotlight of history. Engagingly written and up-to-date in its scholarship, Middleton's book offers new insights for students and researchers in Ancient History, Archaeology and Mediterranean Studies, as well as in Women's History"--
List of contents
I. The Deep Past: 1. Women in caves; 2. A woman of Çatalhöyük; 3. A woman of Gozo; II. The Bronze Age: 4. Merneith; 5. Šimatum and Kirum; 6. The woman of Almoloya; 7. The priestess of Anemospilia; 8. Hatshepsut; 9. Puduhepa; 10. Eritha and Karpathia; 11. Hatiba; III. The Iron Age: 12. Naunakhte; 13. Herse; 14. Pkpupes; 15. Atossa; 16. The Princess of Vix; 17. Aristonice; 18. Neaira; 19. Phanostrate; IV. The Hellenistic and Roman Worlds: 20. Olympias; 21. Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa; 22. Terentia; 23. Mariamne; V. The Age of Empire: 24. Cleopatra Selene; 25. Eutychis; 26. Achillia and Amazon; 27. Perpetua; 28. Zenobia; 29. Hypatia; 30. Theodora.
About the author
Guy D. Middleton completed his PhD in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. He is the author of Understanding Collapse: Ancient History and Modern Myths (Cambridge University Press, 2017) and is Visiting Fellow at Newcastle University as well as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Summary
This book recounts the fascinating lives of thirty real women of the ancient Mediterranean from the Palaeolithic to the Byzantines. Accessible, engagingly written and up-to-date in its scholarship, it will be key reading for students and researchers in Ancient History, Archaeology and Mediterranean Studies, as well as in Women's History.
