women

History

Women in Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, part 3

Diogenes Laertius’s main intention was to write biographies of male philosophers[1]. However, his writings also reveal, sometimes unintentionally, women’s roles and attitudes to women in ancient times. His anecdotes and longer exploratory writing include references to wives, daughters, slaves and courtesans. He quoted from wills and letters, and also from hearsay. The general themes include misogyny, as explored in part 2, but he also gave examples of respectful behavior towards… Read more

History

Women in Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, part 2

Study of Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers[1] gives us tantalizing snippets of information about women of whom we might never have heard. He tells us of nameless women, wives, daughters and courtesans. He wrote, for example, that Timon had a wife and son, but we are told nothing about them. Eudoxus had three daughters, but we are told only their names, Actis, Philtis and Delphis. In the first… Read more

History

Women in Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, part 1

Diogenes Laertius Diogenes Laertius wrote in Greek in Anatolia in the third century CE. The piece of writing that has survived to this day is his Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, which is a compilation of biographies. He described philosophical thought, and gave biographical details, genealogies, and quotes from letters and wills. He gives us anecdotes, and he wrote his own poetry about his subjects. Wikipedia reports that he has… Read more

Travel

Troy: Myth and Reality, The British Museum | Part 3: Thoughts on the book and the exhibition

Detail from Filippo Albacini: The Wounded Achilles. 1825. From the Devonshire Collections, Chatsworth The book Villing, A. et al. 2019. The BP Exhibition: Troy: Myth and Reality. London: Thames & Hudson/The British Museum. The British Museum’s “Troy: Myth and Reality” exhibition is its major tourist attraction for Spring 2020. It covers the stories of the myth, the archaeology of Troy, and the reception of the story. The book that accompanies… Read more

Visiting Scholars

Open House | Persian epic and the embedding of a song of lament, with Olga M. Davidson

We were pleased to welcome back Olga M. Davidson, Boston University, for a discussion on ‘Persian epic and the embedding of a song of lament’. The event took place on Thursday, September 19 at 11 a.m. EDT, and was recorded. You can watch the event on our YouTube channel, or in the frame below. In connection with this discussion, you might like to read her article “Women’s Lamentations and the… Read more