This highly acclaimed collection, the first sourcebook on ancient women and now in its fourth edition, provides a unique look into the public and private lives and legal status of Greek and Roman women. The texts represent women of all social classes, from public figures remembered for their deeds (or misdeeds), to priestesses, poets, and intellectuals, to working women, such as musicians, wet nurses, and prostitutes, to homemakers. The editors have selected texts from hard-to-find sources, such as inscriptions, papyri, and medical treatises, many of which have not previously been translated into English. The resulting compilation is both an invaluable aid to research and a clear guide through this complex subject.

The brand new design of the fourth edition integrates the third edition's appendix and adds many new and unusual texts and images, as well as such student-friendly features as a map and chapter overviews. Many notes and explanations have been revised with the non-classicist in mind.

Its readings cover women's legal status, domestic conditions, health issues, and relations with other people. The emphasis throughout is not so much on what ancient writers thought about women, as on what women actually did, both within the home and outside it, from their intellectual achievements, benefactions, and religious roles, to humble jobs and acts of physical and moral courage.

Mary R. Lefkowitz is Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA.
Maureen B. Fant studied Classical Studies and Archaeology at the University of Michigan, USA, and is now a writer and editor living in Rome, Italy.

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
Acknowledgments
WOMEN'S VOICES
Female poets/Men's words in women's mouths
I.MEN'S OPINIONS
Praise/Invective
II.PHILOSOPHERS ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN
III.LEGAL STATUS IN THE GREEK WORLD
Crete/Athens/Amorgos/Sparta/Thera/Smyrna/Egypt
IV.LEGAL STATUS IN THE ROMAN WORLD
Early Rome/The Roman jurists/Roman Egypt
V.PUBLIC LIFE
Women's bravery in legend and history/Political life/Women's organizations/Inscriptions Honouring Benefactresses and Philanthropist
Victors
VI.PRIVATE LIFE
Correct behavior/Education of females/Intellectual life/Women and women/Women and men/Babies/Parents and children/The home/Celebrations/Epitaphs
VII.OCCUPATIONS
Apprenticeship/Self-employment and entrepreneurship/Prostitution/Women gladiators/The arts and entertainment/Skilled labour/Sales and services/Agriculture/Other records of women's employment
VIII.MEDICINE AND ANATOMY
Philosophers observe nature/Writings of practising physicians/Writings on medical matters by laymen/Case histories from epitaphs/Female medical practitioners
IX.RELIGION
Dionysus,Bacchus/Hera/Demeter,Ceres/Athena/Artemis/Aphrodite/Asclepius/Serapis/Vesta/Bona Dea/Isis/Witchcraft/Priestesses/Christianity/Late Pagan 'Saints'
ABBREVIATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONCORDANCE OF SOURCES
INDEX