Book Series Women of the Past, vol. 2

Elite Women in Hellenistic History, Historiography, and Reception

Borja Antela-Bernárdez, Marc Mendoza (eds)

  • Pages: 172 p.
  • Size:156 x 234 mm
  • Illustrations:2 b/w, 2 col., 1 tables b/w., 1 maps color
  • Language(s):English
  • Publication Year:2024

  • € 70,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-61106-8
  • Hardback
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  • ISBN: 978-2-503-61107-5
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BIO

Borja Antela-Bernárdez is Full Lecturer of Ancient Greek History at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (since 2005). He wrote books and papers on Alexander the Great and other topics: the Hellenistic World, Historiography, Gender, and Classical Reception in Cinema. Co-Director of the journal Karanos. Bulletin of Ancient Macedonian Studies, IP of the Project "History of Conflict in Antiquity".

Marc Mendoza completed his PhD with a dissertation focused on cases of irreligious behaviour during Alexander's reign. His main research fields so far have been Alexander the Great, the Diadochi and early Hellenistic Central Asia, but he has also published papers on Achaemenid deportations, modern reception, and Catalan historiography. He is the secretary of Karanos: Bulletin of Ancient Macedonian Studies.

Summary

The Hellenistic world, with its many new cultural trends and traditions, has often proved a challenging period for scholars. In the wake of changing political, religious, cultural, economic, and social conceptions and practices, gender roles and notions also underwent significant change, leading to the emergence of strong female figures. Up to now, however, no major encompassing research work on elite Hellenistic women has been published. This volume aims to fill this historiographical gap by gathering together contributions covering a wide range of geographical, chronological, and cultural backgrounds. While mostly focused on royal women, the chapters included here also seek to provide readers with an accurate and diverse description of the female experience in the Hellenistic period. The contributors to this book, both renowned scholars and new voices in the discipline, together advocate for a fresh approach that goes beyond the often problematic approaches of earlier historiography and provides a new understanding of elite women in the period.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Power of Names, Women, and the Aeacid Dynastic Image
Elizabeth D. Carney

2. Oh, Heaven is a Place on Earth. Imperial Paradigm and Local (Female) Agency in Late Achaemenid and Early Hellenistic Bactria: A Model of Paradise Politics
Marco Ferrario

3. The Wives of Lisymachus. A Study of Dynastic Relations
Branko F. van Oppen de Ruitter

4. Polygamy and Queenship under Antiochus II. The King’s Wife Laodice I and the basilissa Title (or the Lack Thereof)
Altay Coşkun

5. Queenship in Pergamon. Public Agency and Dynastic Image
María Dolores Mirón

6. The Dream of Queen Māyā in Gandhāran Art
Ashwini Lakshminarayanan

Index of Names and Places