Reviews
'a short, packed but highly accessible guide to the position of women in late antiquity' Times Higher Education Supplement, 'a true bargain, and Oxford is to be congratulated both on its decision to publish in this form and on the speed of publication. I am very ready to endorse all the favourable judgements already passed.'Greece and Rome Reviews 42, "Clearly and engagingly written and will be of use in undergraduate courses on women in antiquity."--Religious Studies Review"An excellent and lucid study of women and their rights (or lack thereof) at the crucial period, the transition from paganism to Christianity, and the resulting laws. A strong study!"--J.M. Balcer, Ohio State University"This little gem of a book...is a delight to read....Clark has done a tremendous service in stitching together a fascinating patchwork of facts and ideas."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review"A masterpiece of compression....She has given us not only a first-class introduction, but also an important historical contribution."--Times Higher Education Supplement"Her book provides a solid grounding in late-antique women's history for the lay reader or student....Clark's book stands as good, accessible women's history....Her book is a fine contribution to the ongoing process of illuminating the lives of women and their relationship to the discourses that represent them to us."--American Historical Review, 'scholarly ... aimed at a specific and limited audience ... also eminently readable and accessible to the non-expert ... a fascinating glimpse into the world of women in the third to sixth centuries AD.'The Way, January 1996, 'The content is obviously highly condensed from a vast mass of information. C. is succinct and to the point on a huge number of issues that affect women's lives, many of which are still applicable today in our brave new world of 'family values'. She has produced a thought-provoking section ondress and its implications for representations of power and femaleness ... very readable and accessible book.'The Classical Review, 'The content is obviously highly condensed from a vast mass of information. C. is succinct and to the point on a huge number of issues that affect women's lives, many of which are still applicable today in our brave new world of 'family values'. She has produced a thought-provoking section ondress and its implications for representations of power and femaleness ... very readable and accessible book.'Mary Harlow, University of Leicester, The Classical Review, Volume XLIV, No. 2, 1994, 'wonderfully rich in detail and example ... She covers topics like law, morality, health, domesticity, asceticism and her final chapter, "Being Female", is a fascinating discussion of the philosophical arguments which raged about women's status and function.'Peter Jones, Sunday Telegraph, 'As a collection of evidence - much from arcane and little-read sources - Women in Late Antiquity is an admirable achievement. It is clearly the product of much hard work and a meticulous attention to detail. It is a start in filling an obvious and embarassing gap in later Roman studies. Forthose who seek a pattern, Women in Late Antiquity will make available much interesting and usable material.'Times Literary Supplement, 'The editors have chosen to order the papers chronologically by date of publication ... it does add a perspective of development within the subject which is valuable and illuminating. The quality of the articles is consistently high and the volume as a whole has a pleasing range and a depthappropriate to good sixth form and undergraduate students. The production standards are, as usual, high. Where necessary, writers have added addenda to their pieces to take account of subsequent bibliography. The book is rounded off with a full and helpful index, and a composite index of passagescited, which I find especially valuable ... this collection deserves to be bought by any school or college with an interest in classical and/or gender studies.'Richard Hawley, Royal Holloway, London, Classical Review, Vol. XLVII, No. 1 '97, 'invaluable citations of primary sources (particularly from Roman law) support every observation.'Choice January 1994, 'wonderfully rich in detail and example ... She covers topics like law, morality, health, domesticity, asceticism and her final chapter, "Being Female", is a fascinating discussion of the philosophical arguments which raged about women's status and function.'Peter Jones, Sunday Telegraph'a short, packed but highly accessible guide to the position of women in late antiquity' Times Higher Education Supplement'As a collection of evidence - much from arcane and little-read sources - Women in Late Antiquity is an admirable achievement. It is clearly the product of much hard work and a meticulous attention to detail. It is a start in filling an obvious and embarassing gap in later Roman studies. For those who seek a pattern, Women in Late Antiquity will make available much interesting and usable material.'Times Literary Supplement'It is no easy task to unravel the legal and medical texbooks referring to women in the concluding conturies of the Empire, but this Gillian Clark has done with great skill...endlessly fascinating snippets of information.'Greece and Rome'invaluable citations of primary sources (particularly from Roman law) support every observation.'Choice'The content is obviously highly condensed from a vast mass of information. C. is succinct and to the point on a huge number of issues that affect women's lives, many of which are still applicable today in our brave new world of 'family values'. She has produced a thought-provoking section on dress and its implications for representations of power and femaleness ... very readable and accessible book.'The Classical Review'scholarly ... aimed at a specific and limited audience ... also eminently readable and accessible to the non-expert ... a fascinating glimpse into the world of women in the third to sixth centuries AD.'The Way'The editors have chosen to order the papers chronologically by date of publication ... it does add a perspective of development within the subject which is valuable and illuminating. The quality of the articles is consistently high and the volume as a whole has a pleasing range and a depth appropriate to good sixth form and undergraduate students. The production standards are, as usual, high. Where necessary, writers have added addenda to their pieces totake account of subsequent bibliography. The book is rounded off with a full and helpful index, and a composite index of passages cited, which I find especially valuable ... this collection deserves to bebought by any school or college with an interest in classical and/or gender studies.'Richard Hawley, Royal Holloway, London, Classical Review, Vol. XLVII, No. 1 '97'A. combines legal with other literary material to provide a clear and sensitive exposition of a subject perhaps more difficult than he makes it appear. This is an accessible and attractive treatment of a subject not easy to communicate to the non-lawyer.'Jill Harries, St Salvator's College, St Andrews, Journal of Roman Studies, 'A. combines legal with other literary material to provide a clear and sensitive exposition of a subject perhaps more difficult than he makes it appear. This is an accessible and attractive treatment of a subject not easy to communicate to the non-lawyer.'Jill Harries, St Salvator's College, St Andrews, Journal of Roman Studies, 'scholarly ... aimed at a specific and limited audience ... also eminently readable and accessible to the non-expert ... a fascinating glimpse into the world of women in the third to sixth centuries AD.'The Way, "Clearly and engagingly written and will be of use in undergraduate courses on women in antiquity."--Religious Studies Review "An excellent and lucid study of women and their rights (or lack thereof) at the crucial period, the transition from paganism to Christianity, and the resulting laws. A strong study!"--J.M. Balcer, Ohio State University "This little gem of a book...is a delight to read....Clark has done a tremendous service in stitching together a fascinating patchwork of facts and ideas."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review "A masterpiece of compression....She has given us not only a first-class introduction, but also an important historical contribution."--Times Higher Education Supplement "Her book provides a solid grounding in late-antique women's history for the lay reader or student....Clark's book stands as good, accessible women's history....Her book is a fine contribution to the ongoing process of illuminating the lives of women and their relationship to the discourses that represent them to us."--American Historical Review, 'It is no easy task to unravel the legal and medical texbooks referring to women in the concluding conturies of the Empire, but this Gillian Clark has done with great skill...endlessly fascinating snippets of information.'Greece and Rome, 'invaluable citations of primary sources (particularly from Roman law) support every observation.'Choice
Synopsis
This book provides a fascinating introduction to women's lives in the centuries when Christianity became the dominant religion. There are chapters on women and the law, medicine, and domestic life, and the author discusses some of the anicent, many still influential, theories about the nature of women. "Wonderfully rich in detail and example" - Daily Telegraph, Although there are many books on women in the ancient world, this is the first to explore in depth what life was like for women in the period of late antiquity (3rd to 6th centuries AD) once Christianity became the dominant religion. It is also unique in focusing on both pagan and Christian lifestyles. Dr Clark provides a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to the basic conditions of life for women: marriage, divorce, celibacy, and prostitution; legal constraints and protection; child-bearing, health care and medical theories; housing, housework, and clothes; and ancient, some still influential, theories about the nature of women. The author uses a wide range of source material - both Christian and non-Christian writings, art, and archaeology - to illustrate both what life was really like and the prevailing "discourses" of the ancient world., This book bridges a gap between two traditional disciplines. Since the 1970s, there has been a remarkable outpouring of work on women in antiquity, but women in late antiquity (3rd-6th centuries A.D.) have been far less studied. Classicists have been more concerned with the first two centuries A.D., and theologians have been interested in New Testament, rather than patristic, teaching about women or its social and cultural setting. In this book, Clark offers an introduction to the basic conditions of life for women: marriage, divorce, celibacy and prostitution; legal constraints and protection; child-bearing, health care, and medical theories; housing, housework, and clothes; and the general assumptions about female nature which were discarded at need. Christian and non-Christian literature, art, and archaeology are used to exemplify both the practicalities of life and the prevailing "discourses" of the ancient world.
