Women and the Ancient Mediterranean Sea, 6th-1st Centuries BCE

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2020-11-17

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Abstract

Women have often been relegated to an afterthought in the annals of classical history, by their contemporaries and later scholars. Unearthing the scant information available about them has become easier due to the surge of digital humanities and a greater interest in women’s lives. I took an interest in this topic after realizing the lack of information that had been gathered about the interaction of historical women and the sea in ancient Greece. In this thesis I will gather the evidence that informs our understanding of ancient women and how they functioned within a male-dominated sea. My goal is to present the lives of women who have often been overlooked in the context of maritime history and to present a more comprehensive view of ancient Greek maritime culture. I will also discuss contemporary theories about the lives of ancient women, such as the works of Sarah Pomeroy, and how the evidence from the maritime world corresponds to and challenges some of these beliefs. My analysis will rely primarily on evidence from Greek texts and artifacts from archaeological excavations. The main portion of the information will be from ancient texts including histories, plays, contracts, and inscriptions.

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Women, Mediterranean, Archaeology, Ancient Greece, Greek, Artemisia, Hydne, Hydna, Nymphs, Arsinoe II, Nike, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, maritime, Teuta

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