Sue Blundell

This very readable book gives as good a look as possible at the position of women in Archaic and Classical Athens. As women's writings from this time haven't survived, the author looks at legal documents, literature and sculpture as ways of understanding women's lives. At the same time, she is careful to note that her sources, with the single exception of Sappho, are male and biased. The concluding pages on the Hellenistic era make one wish she hadn't decided to stop her story with the rise show more of Macedonia. show less

This is a short and lucid introduction to women's lives in Athens during the classical period, using sculpture (including the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum), pottery and writings as starting points to different aspects of women's lives.