Rediscovering Homeric Women

New Books on Heroines in Myth

This post is a continuation of my substack on the Iliad. All proceeds from the substack are donated to classics adjacent non-profits on a monthly basis. Last year this substack provided over $2k in charitable donations. Don’t forget about Storylife: On Epic, Narrative, and Living Things. Here is its amazon page. here is the link to the company doing the audiobook and here is the press page.

Over the past few years, while I have been working on this substack, my interests have fallen into three broad categories: how the whole of the epic we have integrates earlier performance traditions and forms into its capacious presentation; how the epic reflects an understanding of trauma and the importance of empathy; and how to recuperate the experiences and interpretive impact of diverse audiences through re-reading and interpretation today.

On many occasions, I have characterized a range of approaches to Homeric epic as “supply side poetics” for focusing on poetic intention or composition and structure without reference to audience engagement or influence on the shape of the performance. This problem is exacerbated by the history of Homeric scholarship which was, until the last quarter of the 20th century, dominated by men from rather specific backgrounds. Over the past few years, I have begun to think that methods for modeling how diverse audiences responded to Homeric epic.

In her book, Warriors’ Wives, Emma Bridges expresses some pessimism about being about to do so:

“A key point of context to note here is that the Homeric epics and Athenian tragic plays were produced by male authors and performed by men. The performers of epic poetry were rhapsodes–professional reciters who performed to the accompaniment of an instrument–and the action on stage in Athens were all male. Similarly, ancient evidence suggests the Athenian theatre audiences were predominantly, if not exclusively male….Therefore, although these texts depict a range of female experiences in wartime contexts, undeniably, they represent male perspectives on women’s behavior and associated assumptions about gender roles. As a result it is impossible to assert that we can access authentic female experiences and voices by reading these texts” (12)

Of course, one of the strengths of Emma’s book is that despite acknowledging this methodological difficulty, she goes on to show that we can talk about relationships, psychology, and the limited agency granted to women in epic poetry. In her Mythica: A New History of Homer’s World, Through the Women Written out of It, Emily Hauser takes a different approach to the problem by retelling the stories of the women in epic, centering their experiences.

Over the past two versions of my myth course, I have started given lectures on heroic women, shifting the way I talk about figures of myth, so I was really happy to see Emily’s book when it first came out. But Emily’s approach is deeper–she sees a connection between the depiction of Homeric women and historical women outside the poem. Her work, then, is broadly recuperative: ‘In looking at the women of the past, I am setting out to dig deeper, to keep challenging and refining the way we think, acknowledging that, in exploring the variety and complexity of women’s experiences, there will always be more to learn” (13).

She continues on her next page with an expansion

“I am bringing women to the foreground, but neither am I idealizing or generalizing them, pretending that they were always powerful or always extraordinary or always the same. Instead, I’m arguing, above all, that women’s experiences deserve to be examined in all their diversity, that every voice deserves to be heard. But I’m also suggesting that we can find interesting moments at the boundaries, where at some points ancient women were more powerful or more complex than we thought, and others where they came up against constraints– all the while exploring how the conversation around gender, the ebb and flow of power and the accounts that make it into the history books have echoed down the ages. In other words, what I’m arguing is that Homer’s women are the jumping-off point to investigate a bigger picture, that they’re ‘good to think with’ – that they can push us to reflect on gender, on ourselves, on how we’ve interpreted the past, in new ways”(14)

Emily’s book splits into two parts, combining readings of the epics, myth, and information from archaeology to tell stories about women in war (the Iliad) and women at home (the Odyssey). She focuses in each chapter on what we can say about individual heroines based on their social roles. Mythica is essential reading for anyone interested in myth, but even more so for those who want to start thinking about how our stories have been shaped by silence and exclusion.

Hauser’s book shares space with a growing body of scholarship and literature opening space in the past to restore the voices and bodies that we have lost. I think it works well with other scholarly books like Lilah Canavero’s Women of substance in Homeric epic (2018) or Cristina Franco’s Shameless: The Canine and the Feminine in Ancient Greece and Emma Bridges Warriors’ Wives. At the same time, Emily’s sensibility as a writer of fiction makes this work more creative and experimental, making it good to read alongside Margaret Atwood’ Penelopiad, Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls, and Madeline Miller’s Circe, or The Song of Achilles.

Here’s a link to purchase the book!

A Short Bibliography on women in Homer

Aguilar Fernández, Rosa María. “Las mujeres de Odiseo.” Χάρις διδασκαλίας: studia in honorem Ludovici Aegidii = homenaje a Luis Gil. Eds. Aguilar, Rosa María, López Salvá, Mercedes and Rodríguez Alfageme, Ignacio. Madrid: Ed. de la Universidad Complutense, 1994. 199-207.

Arthur, M. B.. “The divided world of Iliad VI.” Reflections of women in antiquity. Ed. Foley, Helene Peet. New York: Gordon & Breach Science Publ., 1981. 19-44.

Beye, Charles Rowan. “Male and female in the Homeric poems.” Ramus, vol. III, 1974, pp. 87-101.

Bridges, Emma. Warriors’ Wives: Ancient Greek Myth & Modern Experience. Oxford. 2023

Canevaro, Lilah Grace. Women of substance in Homeric epic: objects, gender, agency. Oxford: Oxford University Pr., 2018.

Christensen, Joel P.. “Revising Athena’s rage : Cassandra and the Homeric appropriation of « nostos ».” Yearbook of Ancient Greek Epic, vol. 3, 2019, pp. 88-116. Doi: 10.1163/24688487-00301004

Cox, Fiona and Theodorakopoulos, Elena, editors. Homer’s daughters: women’s responses to Homer in the twentieth century and beyond. Classical Presences. Oxford: Oxford University Pr., 2019.

Davidson, Olga. “Women’s lamentations and the ethics of war.” Donum natalicium digitaliter confectum Gregorio Nagy Septuagenario a discipulis collegis familiaribus oblatum. Eds. Bers, Victor, Elmer, David, Frame, Douglas and Muellner, Leonard. Washington (D. C.): Center for Hellenic Studies, 2012. non paginé.

Delana, Alice & KATZ Phyllis B.. “Women in the worlds of Homer.” New England classical newsletter & journal, vol. 18, no. 4, 1990-1991, pp. 10-14.

Doherty, Lillian Eileen. “ a feminist narratological reading.” Texts, ideas and the classics: scholarship, theory and classical literature. Ed. Harrison, Stephen J.. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Pr., 2001. 117-133.

Dué, Casey. “ similes and traditionality in Homeric poetry.” The Classical Bulletin, vol. 81, no. 1, 2005, pp. 3-18.

Farron, Steven. “The portrayal of women in the Iliad.” Acta Classica, vol. XXII, 1979, pp. 15-31.

Fletcher, Judith. “Women's space and wingless words in the « Odyssey ».” Phoenix, vol. 62, no. 1-2, 2008, pp. 77-91.

Franco, Cristina. 2012. “Women in Homer.” In A Companion to Women in the Ancient World, edited by Sharon L. James and Sheila Dillon, 55–65. London.

———. 2014. Shameless: The Canine and the Feminine in Ancient Greece. Translated by Michael Fox. Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Fuhrer, Therese. “Teichoskopia : female figures looking on battles.” Women and war in Antiquity. Eds. Fabre-Serris, Jacqueline and Keith, Alison M.. Baltimore (Md.): Johns Hopkins University Pr., 2015. 52-70.

Fulkerson, Laurel. “ gender and transgression in Odyssey 22.465-72.” The Classical Journal, vol. 97, no. 4, 2001-2002, pp. 335-350.

Fulkerson, Laurel. “ remorse and the opacity of female desire.” Emotion, genre and gender in classical antiquity. Ed. Munteanu, Dana LaCourse. London: Bristol Classical Pr., 2011. 113-133.

Gaca, Kathy L.. “Ancient warfare and the ravaging martial rape of girls and women : evidence from Homeric epic and Greek drama.” Sex in antiquity : exploring gender and sexuality in the ancient world. Eds. Masterson, Mark, Rabinowitz, Nancy Sorkin and Robson, James. Rewriting Antiquity. London: Routledge, 2015. 278-297.

García Sánchez, Manel. Las mujeres de Homero. Monografías del SEMA; 1. Valencia: Pub. Universitat de València, 1999.

Ghiano, J.. “Las mujeres en la Iliada.”.

Heinrichs, Johannes. “« Royal » women in the Homeric epics.” The Routledge companion to women and monarchy in the ancient Mediterranean world. Eds. Carney, Elizabeth D. and Müller, Sabine. Abingdon ; New York: Routledge, 2021. 271-282.

Karanika, Andromache. Voices at work: women, performance, and labor in ancient Greece. Baltimore (Md.): Johns Hopkins University Pr., 2014.

Karanika, Andromache. “Materiality and ritual competence : insights from women’s prayer typology in Homer.” Women’s ritual competence in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean. Eds. Dillon, Matthew, Eidinow, Esther and Maurizio, Lisa. Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies. London ; New York: Routledge, 2017. 32-45.

Karanika, Andromache. “ perceptions of continuity and rupture in female temporality in Homer.” Narratives of time and gender in antiquity. Eds. Eidinow, Esther and Maurizio, Lisa. London ; New York: Routledge, 2020. 13-27.

Lesser, Rachel H.. “ Helen in the « Iliad » and Penelope in the « Odyssey ».” American Journal of Philology, vol. 140, no. 2, 2019, pp. 189-226. Doi: 10.1353/ajp.2019.0013

Lorimer, H. L.. “Defensive armour in Homer, with a note on women's dress.” Annals of Archeology and Anthropology (University of Liverpool), vol. XV, 1928, pp. 89-129.

Lyons, Deborah J.. Dangerous gifts: gender and exchange in ancient Greece. Austin (Tex.): University of Texas Pr., 2012.

Mancilla, Cristian. “The gift of Aphrodite in Iliad 24.30.” Antichthon, vol. 54, 2020, pp. 18-31. Doi: 10.1017/ann.2020.8

Marquardt, Patricia A.. “Love's labor's lost : women in the Odyssey.” Daidalikon : studies in memory of Raymond V. Schoder. Ed. Sutton, Robert F.. Wauconda (Ill.): Bolchazy-Carducci, 1989. 239-248.

McHardy, Fiona. “ gossip as a female mode of revenge.” Revenge and gender in classical, medieval and Renaissance literature. Eds. Dawson, Lesel and McHardy, Fiona. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Pr., 2018. 160-172. Doi: 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474414098.003.0009

Minchin, Elizabeth. “ rebukes and protests.” Mediterranean Archaeology, vol. 19-20, 2006-2007, pp. 213-224.

Mossé, Claude. “La femme dans la société homérique.” Klio, vol. LXIII, 1981, pp. 149-157.

Mueller, Melissa. “ weaving for κλέοω in the « Odyssey ».” Helios, vol. 37, no. 1, 2010, pp. 1-21.

Murnaghan, Sheila. “Penelope's ἄγνοια. Knowledge, power, and gender in the Odyssey.” Helios, XIII,2 Special Issue: Rescuing Creusa. New methodological approaches to women in antiquity. Ed. Skinner, M.. 1986. 103-115.

Murnaghan, Sheila. “Maternity and mortality in Homeric poetry.” Classical Antiquity, vol. XI, 1992, pp. 242-264. Doi: 10.2307/25010975

Nelson, Thomas J.. “ Penelope vs. the « Catalogue of women ».” Yearbook of Ancient Greek Epic, vol. 5, 2021, pp. 25-57. Doi: 10.1163/24688487-00501002

Nappi, Marella. “Women and war in the « Iliad » : rhetorical and ethical implications.” Women and war in Antiquity. Eds. Fabre-Serris, Jacqueline and Keith, Alison M.. Baltimore (Md.): Johns Hopkins University Pr., 2015. 34-51.

Nobili, Cecilia. “Female lyric voices in the « Odyssey ».” Philologia Antiqua, vol. 16, 2023, pp. 65-81. Doi: 10.19272/202304601006

O’Gorman, Ellen. “A woman's history of warfare.” Laughing with Medusa: classical myth and feminist thought. Eds. Zajko, Vanda and Leonard, Miriam. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Pr., 2006. 189-207.

Olsen, Barbara A.. “The worlds of Penelope : women in the Mycenaean and Homeric economies.” Arethusa, vol. 48, no. 2, 2015, pp. 107-138.

Pache, Corinne (2014). “Women after War: weaving « nostos » in Homeric epic and in the twenty-first century. In Meineck, Peter & Konstan, David (Eds.), Combat trauma and the ancient Greeks (pp. 67-85). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Pantelia, Maria C.. “ ideas of domestic order in Homer.” American Journal of Philology, vol. 114, 1993, pp. 493-501.

Pantelia, Maria C.. “Helen and the last song for Hector.” TAPA, vol. 132, 2002, pp. 21-27.

Pedrick, Victoria. “The hospitality of noble women in the Odyssey.” Helios, vol. XV, 1988, pp. 85-101.

Redfield, James M.. “ the woman as a speaking sign.” Scripta Classica Israelica, vol. 40, 2021, pp. 1-13.

Sanz Morales, Manuel. “Were the Homeric poems the work of a woman ? : Ptolemy Chennus and the di­verse faces of a theory.” More than Homer knew: studies on Homer and his ancient commentators. Eds. Rengakos, Antonios, Finglass, Patrick and Zimmermann, Bernhard. Berlin ; Boston (Mass.): De Gruyter, 2020. 217-234. Doi: 10.1515/9783110695823-012

Schein, Seth L.. “Female representations and interpreting the Odyssey.” The distaff side: representing the female in Homer's Odyssey. Ed. Cohen, Beth. New York: Oxford University Pr., 1995. 17-27.

Skafte Jensen, Minna. “ a discussion of Homeric narrative from an oralist point of view.” Contexts of pre-novel narrative: the European tradition. Ed. Eriksen, Roy. Approaches to semiotics; 114. Berlin ; New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 1994. 27-45.

Skempis, Marios and Ziogas, Ioannis. “ etymology, « ehoie »-poetry and gendered narrative in the « Odyssey ».” Narratology and interpretation: the content of narrative form in ancient literature. Eds. Grethlein, Jonas and Rengakos, Antonios. Trends in Classics. Supplementary Volumes; 4. Berlin ; New York: De Gruyter, 2009. 213-240.

Slatkin, Laura M.. The power of Thetis and selected essays. Hellenic Studies; 16. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Pr., 2011.

Thalmann, William G.. “Female slaves in the « Odyssey ».” Women and slaves in Greco-Roman culture: differential equations. Eds. Joshel, Sandra R. and Murnaghan, Sheila. London: Routledge, 1998. 22-34.

Zanetto, Giuseppe. “ Antikleia and her son.” Ο επάνω και ο κάτω κόσμος στο ομηρικό και αρχαϊκό έπος: από τα πρακτικά του ΙΓ’ Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου για την « Οδύσσεια » : Ιθάκη, 25-29 Αυγούστου 2017. Eds. Christopoulos, Menelaos and Païzi-Apostolopoulou, Machi. Ithaki: Kentro Odysseiakon Spoudon, 2020. 199-212.

Warwick, Celsiana. “ gender and « kleos » in the « Iliad ».” American Journal of Philology, vol. 140, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-28. Doi: 10.1353/ajp.2019.0001

Wathelet, Paul. “Les femmes de Priam.” « Meta Trôessin »: hommages à Paul Wathelet, helléniste. Ed. Barbara, Sébastien. Collection Kubaba. Série Antiquité. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2020. 69-77.

Wohl, Victoria Josselyn. “ the creation of sexual ideology in the Odyssey.” Arethusa, vol. 26, 1993, pp. 19-50.

Worman, Nancy. “ Helen's verbal guises in Homeric epic.” Making silence speak: women's voices in Greek literature and society. Eds. Lardinois, André Pierre M. H. and McClure, Laura K.. Princeton (N. J.): Princeton University Pr., 2001. 19-37.

Ziogas, Ioannis. “Life and death of the Greek heroine in Odyssey 11 and the Hesiodic « Catalogue of women ».” Aspects of death and the afterlife in Greek literature. Eds. Gazis, George Alexander and Hooper, Anthony. Liverpool: Liverpool University Pr., 2021. 49-68. Doi: 10.3828/liverpool/9781789621495.003.0003