This edited volume builds upon a well-established tradition of scholarly works that since (at least) the 1990s have investigated Antiquity through gender-informed readings. The professed aim of the volume, namely the revision of gender roles and constructs (ix), is surely not a novelty in the scholarly landscape of classical and, more broadly, cultural studies. What is original and worthy of praise is the variety of approaches and disciplines, as well as historical periods and geographical areas, which are characteristic of the volume. As outlined by the editors in the foreword (ix–xii), contributions to the volume range from the Iron Age to various aspects of Graeco-Roman culture, to the medieval, the modern and the contemporary reception of the figure of Mary Magdalene. Extremely eclectic in its approaches, the volume suggests various ways to tackle gender stereotypes, including archaeological analysis, literary criticism and theory, and epigraphic evidence. Along with this variety of approaches, the success of the book is linked to its inclusivity in terms of languages and scholarly traditions. The coexistence of chapters in English, Spanish, French and Italian makes the volume particularly suitable to address a broad international readership, who can benefit from the clear and sufficiently explanatory abstracts in English at the beginning of each chapter.
Gema Negrillo Pérez’s chapter on female burials in the necropolis of Baza is particularly exemplary of how the volume challenges gender stereotypes. Focusing on the tomb of the so-called ‘Dama de Baza’, Negrillo Pérez shows how the presence of weapons in female burials leads us to re-evaluate the role of women in Iron Age societies from the Iberian Peninsula. While historians have mostly denied the attribution of these burials to women, Negrillo Pérez takes into consideration aspects such as the dimensions of bones and height to confirm the most recent studies maintaining that females, not males, were buried in these tombs. Moreover, the weapons found in these burials should not necessarily be connected to the importance of these women’s husbands or fathers but are evidence of their own prominent role within society.
Taking a different approach, Yukiko Saito’s chapter on the Iliad focuses on the colouristic epithets of Hera and Thetis. After observing that stereotypically feminine colours (such as white) are also applied to men in the Iliad (25), Saito demonstrates that the epithet ‘white-armed’ emphasizes Hera’s cunning, intelligence and agency. Similarly, Thetis’ epithet ‘silver-footed’ often appears at crucial moments within the Homeric poem, thus marking her narrative agency. Far from being an articulation of their traditional, and gendered, functions as wife and mother, the bright colours characterizing Hera and Thetis point out their active role in the poem.
Moving from sight to hearing, and from one Homeric poem to the other, Chiara Cappanera investigates the differences between male and female singers within the Odyssey. While male singing comes from the gods (or divine entities like the Muses) and is an expression of divine power, female singing is deceitful, threatening for the political and social order, and quasi-demonic, as demonstrated by figures such as Calypso, Circe or the Sirens. This significant difference creates a binary opposition between male and female songs within the Homeric poem, which articulates androcentric and patriarchal conceptions.
Concerning the Roman world, M. Cristina De la Escosura Balbás’ chapter is worthy of mention. De la Escosura Balbás focuses on Roman inscriptions from Carthago Nova, a major city in the province of Hispania Citerior (on the Iberian Peninsula). The increase in the number of inscriptions featuring female names during the first century BC suggests that women acquired progressively more independence within their family and society. While in many cases women’s names appear alongside those of men, a good number of inscriptions report only female names, which suggests that women from the Imperial age had, in some cases, the opportunity to represent themselves.
Finally, in the last chapter of the volume, Patricia González Gutiérrez pointedly demonstrates how conceptions of gender binarism throughout the centuries have been built upon the biological distinction between the female and male body, which was in turn rooted in ancient medical theories. For instance, Aristotelian theories depicted the female body as lacking in something compared to the male body, while also constructing women’s behaviour as being strongly affected by their genitalia, particularly the uterus. These conceptions have influenced western culture, contributing to the formation of patriarchal and heteronormative societies.
Taken together, the contributions to this volume offer the reader a broad spectrum of effective ways to challenge gender stereotypes, both in past and present societies. Scholarship focusing on the ancient world is not new to similar deconstructions of traditional conceptions of gender(s). Yet the variety of disciplines, approaches and historical periods makes this volume a good read for students and researchers who are interested in constructions and deconstructions of gender identities in Antiquity, and beyond.
