In Defense of Medea
In Euripides’ Medea (431 BCE), Medea’s wrath against Jason’s betrayal was so fierce that the phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” might […]
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Pithekoussai: Ancient Greek Colony of Nestor’s Cup
Europe’s First Greek Settlement: Pithekoussai Celebrated for its thermal springs and verdant landscapes, the volcanic island of Ischia—located in the Bay of Naples—harkens back to
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Demeter’s Daughters: Women of the Thesmophoria
In the indigo light of the early morning, wearing white robes and carrying torches, the pious women ascended the hill to the Thesmophorion (sanctuary to
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The Brutality of Citizen Wives
Thesmophoria, the feminine fertility festival, dedicated to the Goddess Demeter, was literally for women only. Citizen males of ancient Greece were unconditionally restricted from attending
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Unraveling the Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries conjures up mystical images of a dark and dangerous festival, befitting its name. Indeed, it was surrounded by such an aura of
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The Rape of a Goddess
Who were Demeter and Persephone and why did their myth resonate so strongly with women of ancient Greece? The story of Demeter, goddess of the
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The Triumphant Women of Sparta
It must have come as no surprise to the Greeks that the face, which launched a thousand ships, was of Spartan origin. After all, Spartan
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The Return of the Amazons
On the vast steppes of Eurasia, in an area the Greeks referred to as Scythia, lay the remains of a young woman approximately twenty to
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Cleopatra: The Goddess
Before she was a queen, she was a goddess. Born to the purple and weaned on pageantry, Cleopatra (69 BCE-30 BCE) was addressed as Thea
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A Pomegranate for Persephone
It is assumed with some authority that Western women living in the twenty-first century have more options in their reproductive lives than at any time
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