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hawkwing_lbBooks 2009: 53
53. Roger Just, Women in Athenian Law and Life, Routledge, London and New York, 1989.
I've never been entirely immune to romanticising (certain aspects of) the past. Well, right now Classical Athens is leaving the sourest of sour tastes in my mouth.
Just's book is very well organised. He moves from the legal and social position of Athenian women - mainly astai: one of the flaws I found with this book was the lack of examination of the position of metic women and slaves, except in very broad outlines - to the image of women as portrayed in male literature and philosophy. Where it is good, it's very good: as a discussion of the image and ideology of women in Athens, it's very clear, and makes good arguments.
Just's thesis is that to the dominant (male) Athenian ideology, women were seen as external to the rational, civilising forces of the polis: that they were characteristically arational, cowardly, susceptible to rule by the passions rather than manly and civilised reason. He also lays out very clearly, and argues cogently, for their lives being restricted under law and by social norms. They linked kinship groups together and provided for the continuance of the polis without ever being fully part of said polis: every woman was subject to the rule of her kyrios, variously translated as 'guardian', 'lord' and 'master', a male relative by blood or by marriage.
The book has a number of flaws, however. I was disappointed to find it treated 'citizen' women to the exclusion of any other class. It failed to discuss change (or lack thereof) over time: it treats only the Classical period and does not define this very strictly. It does not seek to reconstruct the lived experience of women: it is, indeed, a Classicist's book, relying primarily on the literature, without reference to archaeology, which might cast more light on women's lives. This is rather a large disappointment to me, since I truly love books that integrate archaeological and literary evidence to advance different theories.
But no matter. I have new reasons to detest Classical Athenians, and that's all that matters to me. I never liked the buggers anyway.
Tomorrow I go to London, and thence to Silchester. I won't be back for a month, and will probably be very very intermittent in these here internets in the meanwhile. Anything groundbreaking, email. Otherwise, see you when I get back! :)
53. Roger Just, Women in Athenian Law and Life, Routledge, London and New York, 1989.
I've never been entirely immune to romanticising (certain aspects of) the past. Well, right now Classical Athens is leaving the sourest of sour tastes in my mouth.
Just's book is very well organised. He moves from the legal and social position of Athenian women - mainly astai: one of the flaws I found with this book was the lack of examination of the position of metic women and slaves, except in very broad outlines - to the image of women as portrayed in male literature and philosophy. Where it is good, it's very good: as a discussion of the image and ideology of women in Athens, it's very clear, and makes good arguments.
Just's thesis is that to the dominant (male) Athenian ideology, women were seen as external to the rational, civilising forces of the polis: that they were characteristically arational, cowardly, susceptible to rule by the passions rather than manly and civilised reason. He also lays out very clearly, and argues cogently, for their lives being restricted under law and by social norms. They linked kinship groups together and provided for the continuance of the polis without ever being fully part of said polis: every woman was subject to the rule of her kyrios, variously translated as 'guardian', 'lord' and 'master', a male relative by blood or by marriage.
The book has a number of flaws, however. I was disappointed to find it treated 'citizen' women to the exclusion of any other class. It failed to discuss change (or lack thereof) over time: it treats only the Classical period and does not define this very strictly. It does not seek to reconstruct the lived experience of women: it is, indeed, a Classicist's book, relying primarily on the literature, without reference to archaeology, which might cast more light on women's lives. This is rather a large disappointment to me, since I truly love books that integrate archaeological and literary evidence to advance different theories.
But no matter. I have new reasons to detest Classical Athenians, and that's all that matters to me. I never liked the buggers anyway.
Tomorrow I go to London, and thence to Silchester. I won't be back for a month, and will probably be very very intermittent in these here internets in the meanwhile. Anything groundbreaking, email. Otherwise, see you when I get back! :)
