Unsung Heroes: Women in the Ancient World

Who were the unsung heroes? Seldom seen and rarely heard, in the hyper patriarchal ancient world, the only women written about were those who were maligned. This anthology of twenty-five articles finally places ancient women front and center. The essays range from historical to mythological--although in the ancient world the boundaries between fact and fiction were not always clear-cut. Through extensive research and detailed analysis, Mary Naples has unearthed women's stories chronologically beginning from the dawn of ancient Greece to the last vestiges of the Roman Empire. Some questions the essays deliberate are the following. Were the Amazons mythological or historical? Does Cleopatra deserve the slander the Roman chroniclers heaped upon her? Further afield, did the ancient Israelites worship a female deity in the name Asherah. In other words, did God have a wife? These questions and many more are considered, deliberated, and fully referenced.