Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume i
- General Introduction: Violence in World History
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I The Origins of Conflict
- Part II Prehistoric and Ancient Warfare
- Part III Intimate and Collective Violence
- 14 Early Massacres: Mass Violence in Neolithic Europe
- 15 Gendered Violence in Iron Age and Roman Britain
- 16 Violence in Ancient Egyptian Society
- 17 Violence and the Mutilated Body in Achaemenid Iran
- 18 ‘Knocking Her Teeth out with a Stone’: Violence against Women in Ancient Greece
- 19 Gang Violence in the Late Roman Republic
- 20 Violence in Early Chinese History
- Part IV Religion, Ritual and Violence
- Part V Violence, Crime and the State
- Part VI Representations and Constructions of Violence
- Index
- References
18 - ‘Knocking Her Teeth out with a Stone’: Violence against Women in Ancient Greece
from Part III - Intimate and Collective Violence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume i
- General Introduction: Violence in World History
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I The Origins of Conflict
- Part II Prehistoric and Ancient Warfare
- Part III Intimate and Collective Violence
- 14 Early Massacres: Mass Violence in Neolithic Europe
- 15 Gendered Violence in Iron Age and Roman Britain
- 16 Violence in Ancient Egyptian Society
- 17 Violence and the Mutilated Body in Achaemenid Iran
- 18 ‘Knocking Her Teeth out with a Stone’: Violence against Women in Ancient Greece
- 19 Gang Violence in the Late Roman Republic
- 20 Violence in Early Chinese History
- Part IV Religion, Ritual and Violence
- Part V Violence, Crime and the State
- Part VI Representations and Constructions of Violence
- Index
- References
Summary
Attitudes towards what we term ‘domestic violence’ are hard to locate in the ancient Greek sources, but they do emerge in a variety of literary and artistic genres which span several centuries. This chapter explores some of the key evidence and, utilising anthropological theory, asks what kind of violent treatment women received at the hands of male relations, and why. Issues of honour and shame surface as key causes, and the chapter explores the fragility of male and familial codes of conduct and the consequences of their infringement. It becomes clear that the sources on violence towards women are not so infrequently encountered as to suggest that violence did not occur often, but show that violence towards women was so matter of fact that it barely deserved mention.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Violence , pp. 380 - 399Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020