The femminaclassica's Podcast

Digging Up the Past - The Unsung Heroines of the Ancient World

From Petros Koutoupis, "In this exciting episode we talk about all sorts of topics with historian, Mary Naples. We talk about her publication, Unsung Heroes: Women in the Ancient World. We also discuss the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Romans and even the Canaanite cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Bible and more!"

Alexander the God

It is no wonder that Alexander the Great (356 BCE–323 BCE) was often mistaken for a god; he modeled his life on nothing less. Instilled in him from an early age was the belief that he was the product of a union between his mother, Olympias, and the lord of the Olympian gods, Zeus almighty himself. 

Hera and Her Pre Hellenic Roots

Of all the unhappy couples in Greek literature perhaps the unhappiest is that of the Olympian first couple themselves. As the goddess of marriage, a neglected Hera plays the quintessential role of the jealous wife for the ever-unfaithful Zeus—the lord of the gods at Mount Olympus. Often working on the sidelines against her husband’s interests, Hera displays a proclivity for instigating strife and mayhem—- particularly against Zeus’s vast collection of paramours and their offspring. Never mind that his paramours more closely resemble victims than lovers—-by no means does she let this stand in the way of divine retribution.

Cleopatra Selene, Serene Queen of Mauritania

The only child of Cleopatra and Marc Antony’s to reach adulthood, Queen Cleopatra Selene (40 BC- 5 BC) of Mauretania was one of the most important women of the Augustan age— exceptional in and of itself considering the animosity in Rome against her parents.  

The Age of Heroes

Amazonomachy - Annihilation of the Amazons

The Slaveholding City-State Of Sparta’s Liberated Women

Homeric Hymn to Demeter or the Thesmophoria, Which Came First?

The Greek Temples of Paestum

The Crimes of Agrippina the Younger