Recommended by Mary Beard as one of the BBC History Magazine's Books of the Year
Classical stories about women who wield power, from the Amazons to Dido to Cleopatra
A Penguin Classic
Recommended by Mary Beard as one of the BBC History Magazine's Books of the Year
Classical stories about women who wield power, from the Amazons to Dido to Cleopatra
A Penguin Classic
There is no other anthology that brings together similar stories of ancient women in power. These women threaten male power by stepping into the roles traditionally held by men. They command armies, exercise sexual autonomy and even dominance, speak in public, issue laws, and subject others (even masculine heroes and citizen men) to their control. All of these stories were written by men, and none of them can be read as affirmations or celebrations of women in power. They are instead misogynistic tales that aim to shore up masculine authority by exposing the consequences when women rather than men wield it.
The sexist attitudes voiced in these stories continue to justify women's exclusion from power in our contemporary world. Yet despite the fear and suspicion the male authors direct toward these women, we can find much to admire in their tales, from the coordinated action of the women of Aristophanes's Assemblywomen, to Dido's questioning of the male value system that leads Aeneas to abandon her, to the righteous anger of Boudicca against sexual violence by men in power, to the successful resistance of Amanirenas against Rome's colonial expansion. Read differently, these tales testify to the long history of women in power and help us forge new paths for female empowerment.
By:
Various
Edited by:
Stephanie McCarter
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 196mm,
Width: 130mm,
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 243g
ISBN: 9780143136361
ISBN 10: 0143136364
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 10 December 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
ELT Advanced
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction by Stephanie McCarter Suggestions for Further Reading WOMEN IN POWER Part One: The Woman-Run State The Amazons Strabo, Geography 11.5.1–4, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 2.45–46, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarter Herodotus, Histories 4.110–118, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4.16, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Plutarch, Theseus 26–28, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 1.574–674, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarter Quintus Curtius, History of Alexander 6.5.24–32, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Female Revolution Aristophanes, Assemblywomen, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarter Part Two: Mythical and Legendary Queens Semiramis, Queen of Babylon Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 2.4–20 (selections), translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Omphale, Queen of Lydia Ovid, Heroides 9.53–118 (Deianira to Hercules), translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Ovid, Fasti 2.303–358, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Hypsipyle, Queen of Lemnos Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.607–914, translated from the Greek by Aaron Poochigan Statius, Thebaid 5.1–498, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Dido, Queen of Carthage Vergil, Aeneid Selections, translated from the Latin by Robert Fagles Book One (1.314-756) Book Four (all) Book Six (6.450-476) Ovid, Heroides 7, translated from the Latin by Erika Zimmermann Damer Lavinia, Regent of Lavinium Livy, The History of Rome 1.3, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Part Three: Historical Queens Artemisia I, Queen of Caria Herodotus, Histories Selections (7.99, 8.67–69, 8.87–88, 8.100–103), translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Salome Alexandra, Queen of Judea Josephus Selections, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarter Jewish War 1.107–119 Jewish Antiquities 13.428–432 Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt Lucan, Civil War 10.53–171, translated from the Latin by Matthew Fox Cassius Dio, Roman History 50.4–5, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Plutarch, Antony 25.3-27.5, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes[MOU1] Pliny the Elder, Natural History 9.119–121, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Vergil, Aeneid 8. 675–731, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Horace, Odes 1.37, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Propertius, Elegies 3.11, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Cassius Dio, Roman History 51.14, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Amanirenas, Queen of Kush Strabo, Geography 17.1.54, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni Tacitus, Annals 15.31–35, translated from the Latin by Christopher M. McDonough and Paige Graf Tacitus, Agricola 16.1–2, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Cassius Dio, Roman History 62.3–7, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes Zenobia, Regent of Palmyra Historia Augusta, “The Thirty Pretenders” 30, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarter Notes
Stephanie McCarter (translator) is a professor of classical literature at the University of the South in Sewanee. She has published translated work on Horace and has written for The Sewanee Review, Eidolon, Electric Literature, and The Millions.
Reviews for Women in Power: Classical Myths and Stories, from the Amazons to Cleopatra
“A refreshing change to read a collection of vivid ancient texts that tell of powerful women, some legendary, some real” —Mary Beard
