The femminaclassica’s Podcast

Infamous for killing her husband, the king of Mycenae and war hero, Agamemnon, was Clytemnestra, this all-time villain, once a victim herself? Moreover, could Clytemnestra have represented a fierce type of motherhood in the pre-Greek world?

As the third wife of Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, Livia Drusilla served as a key advisor throughout their fifty-one-year marriage and his forty-year rule. It is regrettable that each time a successor to Augustus emerges he eventually meets an untimely and tragic end. Was this serendipity merely a coincidence, or could someone have intervened to bring about the demise of these successors?  

In the Iliad, did Briseis, a captive woman and Achilles's war prize, represent a composite archetype of a vanquished woman from the heavily combative Mycenaean (1750-1100 BCE) era?

Who was Homer writing about? The Mycenaeans or those of the Greek Dark Age?

The Emperor’s Mother

The Forgotten Exile: The Tragic Tale of Julia the Younger, grand daughter of Emperor Augustus.

At first glance, it would seem that Medusa, the mortal Gorgon with writhing snakes for hair, wide glaring eyes, and a protruding tongue, is the least likely of all characters in Greek mythology to be a fashion and cultural icon. Yet, the opposite is true. Although her appearance was said to be so hideous that she could turn men to stone, Medusa has been immortalized by artists throughout the ages with a countenance that remains ubiquitous.

To understand the accusations leveled against her, one must first understand the few sources we have about her: Tacitus (56 CE-120 CE), Suetonius (69 CE-122 CE), and Cassius Dio (155 CE-235 CE). These three historians wrote during the reigns of emperors who were hostile toward the Julio-Claudian clan, anywhere from 50 to 200 years after she died. Otherwise put, to write positively about her was possibly to put their lives at risk.
Thus, the outrageous claims about Agrippina remain in some doubt. Historians in ancient Rome were expected to be biased and moralizing. Often, they were also deeply misogynistic. For example, unless women are demure and retiring, Tacitus—the most prolific of the three—seldom says a kind word about them in his 30-volume Histories and Annals. According to him, Claudius' marriage to Agrippina was a turning point in the nation’s history. “From this moment the country was transformed,” he wrote. “Complete obedience was accorded to a woman.” He is also prone to reading his subject’s minds. 

In the most highly anticipated event of the season, the fragrance of exotic spices and the sounds of boisterous laughter permeated the air as guests indulged in savory dishes and gorged themselves on abundant wine. The bride removed her veil to expose her flowing wild hair; embodying the Bacchic spirit, she shook her head and brandished a thyrsus, or Bacchic wand. Her handsome, ivy-clad groom, decorated in cothurni—footwear linked to Bacchus—was spinning to the euphoric music, swirling under the shimmering lights.