Maternal conceptions in classical literature and philosophy / edited by Alison Sharrock and Alison Keith.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Unlike many studies of the family in the ancient world, this volume presents readings of mothers in classical literature, including philosophical and epigraphic writing as well as poetic texts. Rather than relying on a male viewpoint, the essays offer a female perspective on the lifecycle of motherhood. Although almost all ancient authors are men, this book nevertheless aims to unpack carefully the role of the mother--not as projected by the son or other male relations, but from a woman's own experiences--in order to better understand how they perceived themselves and their families. Because the primary interest is in the mothers themselves, rather than the authors of the texts in which they appear, the work is organized according to the lifecycle of motherhood instead of the traditional structure of the chronology of male authors. The chronology of the male authors ranges from classical Greece to late antiquity, while the motherly lifecycle ranges from pre-conception to the commemoration of offspring who have died before their mothers."-- Provided by publisher.

1. Introduction / Alison Keith, University of Toronto, Mairead McAuley, University College London, and Alison Sharrock, University of Manchester -- 2. Uncanny Mothers in Roman Literature / Mairead McAuley, University College London. Section 1: Mothers and Young Children -- 3. From Body to Behaviour: Maternal Transmission in the Ancient Greek World / Florence Gherchanoc, Universite Paris Diderot, ANHIMA Centre -- 4. : l'Oubli des souffrances maternelles et le chant theocriteen / Florence Klein, Charles de Gaulle University -- 5. "Nimis mater": Mother Plot and Epic Deviation in the Achilleid / Federica Bessone, Universita degli Studi di Torino, Italy -- 6. Augustan Maternal Ideology: The Blended Families of Octavia and Venus / Judith P. Hallett, University of Maryland -- Section 2: Mothers and Their Children's Marriages -- 7. Motherhood in Roman Epithalamia / Henriette Harich-Schwarzbauer, Universitat Basel, Switzerland -- 8. The Roman Mother-in-Law / Alison Sharrock, University of Manchester -- Section 3: Mothers and Adult Children -- 9. maximum Thebis (Romae?) scelus/maternus amor est (Oed. 629-30): Amour de la mere et inceste chez Seneque / Jacqueline Fabre-Serris, Charles de Gaulle University -- 10. Mighty Mothers: Female Political Theorists in Euripides' Suppliant Women and Phoenician Women / Giulia Sissa, University of California -- 11. Wife, Mother, Philosopher: On the Symbolic Function of Augustine's Monnica / Therese Fuhrer, Ludwig Maximilians Universitat -- Section 4: Mothers and the Death of Their Children -- 12. Virgilian Matres: From Maternal Lament to Female Sedition in the Aeneid / Alison Keith, University of Toronto -- 13. Octavia: A Roman Mother in Mourning / Valerie Hope, The Open University -- 14. Mothers as Dedicators / Olympia Bobou, Aarhus University, Denmark.

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