Calendar of Events for the months of:
All presenters will speak during the midday break for ariston (lunch).
The theme for this month is the contributions of women to society and history.
Day 1: Neferure of Thebes will discuss Egyptian women who have made a mark on history. She will discuss women who have ruled Egypt, such as Meryt-Neith, from the First Dynasty, Nitiqret (Nitocris) from the 6th Dynasty, Nefrusobek (or Sobeknofru), the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and Tausret from the 19th Dynasty. Nitiqret, Nefrusobek, and Tausret each reigned for less than four years. Their short reigns reflected unsuccessful attempts to keep their dynasties in power. She will also discuss the remarkable queens of the 18th Dynasty. Before the 18th Dynasty began, the foreign Hyksos ruled Egypt. Ahmose, the first king of the 18th Dynasty, finished the fight started by the 17th Dynasty kings and defeated the Hyksos. From those difficult beginnings came the powerful queens, Tetisheri, the grandmother of Ahmose, Ahhotep, the mother of Ahmose, and Ahmose Nefertari, the wife of Ahmose and granddaughter of Tetisheri. Ahmose urged his people to show reverance to his mother, Ahhotep, because she rallied the Egyptian army and prevented civil unrest. Ahmose Nefertari later became the patron goddess of Thebes' necropolis. Later in the dynasty, the famous Hatshepsut reigned for 22 years. During her long reign she restored temples, built monuments, and sent a trading expedition to Punt. After the time of Hatshepsut, Tiy, Nefertiti, and Ankhesenamen were the last powerful queens of the 18th Dynasty. Tiy was the wife of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaten. She was closely associated with her husband on official inscriptions and correspondence. On one tomb wall, Tiy was shown as a female sphinx trampling two female enemies. This depiction, and indeed, the depiction of the female enemies, is unusual in Egyptian art and shows the power that Tiy held. The famous Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaten, also took on roles usually associated with male kings. She wore a king's blue crown and was shown smiting foes in artwork, an activity that was previously reserved for male kings. Ankhesenamen, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, attempted to secure a royal Hittite husband after the death of her husband, Tutankhamen. The Hittite prince was murdered and Ankhesenamen was forced to marry Ay, a commoner and a general, before she faded from the records. Tausret, the last ruler of the 19th Dynasty, began her rise to power during the brief reign of her stepson, the young Siptah. After the death of Siptah, Tausret rose from being a co-regent to ruling by herself. Her solo reign only lasted two years. Manetho states that she ruled at the time of the Fall of Troy. Cleopatra and other important queens from Hellenistic Egypt will also be discussed.
Day 8: Kleis of Lesbos will talk about the contributions of female poets to society. She will discuss poets from other cultures, such as Enheduana, the daughter of Sargon of Akkad. The Akkadian Enheduana was a High Priestess of Ur who wrote poetry in Sumerian. Kleis will also discuss the many Greek poets who were women. She will start with the possibly legendary pre-Homeric poet, Phemone. Did she really exist or is she a myth? There are also many myths about the famous Sappho of Lesbos (c 600 BC). What was she really like? Did Myrtis of Anthedon (in Boeotia) really teach Pindar and Corinna? What was Myrtis' poetry like? Corinna of Tanagra, the contemporary of Pindar, beat Pindar five times in competition. Hear her poetry and learn why. We will also learn about other poets, such as Telesilla of Argos (early 5th century BC), Praxilla of Sicyon (mid 5th century BC), Charixena, a Greek lyric poet (5th century BC), Erinna of Tenos, (c 350 BC), Moero of Byzantium (c 300 BC), Anyte of Tegea (c 300 BC), Nossis of Locri (c 300 BC), Moschine of Athens (c 325 BC) and her daughter, Hedyle of Athens (3rd century BC), Alkinoe of Thronion (3rd century BC), Aristodama of Smyrna, an itinerant poet (c 220 BC), Aristomache of Erythrae, an itinerant poet (before 200 BC), Melinno (2nd century BC), and Parthenis (before 100 BC). We will also learn of Roman poets, such as Sempronia (1st century BC), Perilla (late 1st century BC), and Sulpicia (late 1st century BC).
Day 15: Agamede of Alexandria will talk about the role women have played in science. She will start with a discussion of ancient mother goddesses who are associated with the sciences. The Egyptian Isis was said to have taught her people religion, law, writing, and medicine. She also taught the Egyptians the embalming process, alchemy, agriculture, and is credited with inventing the sailing boat. Like Isis, the Egyptian Seshat was associated with astronomy. She helped the Egyptians align their temples with the stars. However, Seshat was primarily associated with writing, literature, and history. Urania was the Greek muse of astronomy. Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, invented numbers, the first flute, the plough and bridle, the cart, iron weapons, and armour. She also taught her people to yoke oxen, tame horses, and press olives to create olive oil. The Greek Demeter (Sumerian Nisaba and Roman Ceres) also invented agriculture, the plough, domesticated oxen, and was the first to turn grain into bread. Isis, Athena, and the Roman Minerva, among others, were associated with the invention of spinning and weaving. Isis, Artemis, Minerva, Ilithyia, Persian Agastya, the Assyrian Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna and Phoenician Astarte), Hygeia, and Panacea were all associated with medicine and/or childbirth. The Assyrian Gula, like the Greek Persephone, was called the Chief Physician and ruled over death and resurrection.
Women have long contributed to the sciences. Assyrian priestesses were also doctors. The temples of Hygeia and Panacea had female doctors. Dido (whose name means "heroic") of Carthage was credited with solving the mathematical problem of enclosing the most amount of territory in a fixed perimeter. This reflects an early association of women with mathematics and the sciences. In Homer, Agamede, the daughter of the King of the Epei, was known as a battlefied doctor. Helen of Troy was said to have studied medicine in Egypt with the female doctor Polydamna. Egyptian medical schools at Sais and Heliopolis admitted female students. Sais even had a woman's school with female teachers. Babylonian women were involved with developing chemical techniques to distill, extract, and sublimate perfumes used for medical, religious, and cosmetic purposes. One of these early perfumers was Tapputi, a Belatekallim or a female overseer of the palace. The alchemy tradition has been continued by Alexandrian women of the present century.
Despite the low literacy rate of Greek women, some Greek women have been able to become educated and contribute to the sciences. Pythagoras of Samos, who lived around 500 BC, was known as the "Feminist Philosopher". Unlike most Greeks of his time, he admitted women into his school. As many as 28 of his students were women. The Pythagoreans were involved in understanding the nature of the universe. Theano of Croton married Pythagoras when he was an old man. She wrote about mathematics, physics, and medicine and led the Pythagorean community when the people of Croton destroyed the School and exiled its leaders. Theano and her two daughters helped spread Pythagorean ideas throughout Greece and Egypt. Women, such as Phintys, Melissa, and the Spartan Tymicha continued to be associated with the Pythagorean community after the destruction of the School. In the 5th century BC, Aglaonike of Thessaly was famous for being able to predict solar and lunar eclipses. She probably based her predictions on the saronic eclipse cycle, which was discovered by the Chaldeans. Other women were teachers or sophists. Aspasia (470-410 BC) was born in Miletus in Ionia. She came to Athens as a well-educated woman but found that as a foreigner she could only be a courtesan. She lived with Perikles and became a teacher of Sokrates and other noble Athenians. Plato admitted foreign women to his school and was said to have been taught by Diotima, priestess of Mantineia, who was probably a Pythagorean. Plato's mother, Periktione, knew Pythagorean mathematics and philosophy. Lasthenia and Axiothea studied in Plato's Academy and became philosophers. Axiothea, from the Peloponnesian city of Phlius, was especially interested in physics. Arete of Kyrene also studied at the Academy. From about 370 - 340 BC she taught natural science, moral philosophy, and ethics in Attika. She was also picked to head the Kyrenaic School of philosophy, founded by her father, Aristippos. She wrote 40 books on topics such as Sokrates, agriculture, and education and taught 110 philosophers. Aristotle, the successor to Plato, felt women were inferior to men and did not believe in educating women or allowing them to participate in the advancement of science. Epicurus, who moved to Athens about 300 BC, did allow women to study at the Epicurean School. He corresponded with Themista, who has been called a 'female Solon'. Women were admitted to the medical school at Cnidos (in Asia Minor) but not to Hippokrates' school on Cos. Some say Hippokrates established schools on gynaecology and obstetrics with female students. In the 4th century BC, the Athenians made it illegal for women to continue as doctors. Around 300 BC, Agnodike is said to have dressed as a man and studied medicine and midwifery with Herophilos in Alexandria. She then returned to Athens and, still dressed as a man, served the female community as a successful doctor. Her patients rose to her defense when her gender was discovered and Agnodike was allowed to continue to practice medicine as long as she only took on female patients. The law was changed so that other freeborn women could practice medicine and treat female patients. Roman women, such as Elephantis (or Philista) and Lais, have also studied and written about female medical needs. Elephantis was well known as a professor in Rome.
Day 22: On this day we will have a special performance of Phrynikhos' Alcestis. Phrynikos of Athens was the first Greek playwright to add female characters and the use of female masks to his plays.
Sources:
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.
Classical Drama: Greek and Roman, Meyer Reinhold, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1959.
Classical Women Poets, Josephine Balmer, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Bloodaxe Books, 1996.
Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley, New York: Penguin Books, 1994, 1995.
Hypatia's Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity through the Nineteenth Century, Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Norton Book of Classical Literature, Bernard Knox (ed.), New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1993.
Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, Arthur Cotterell (ed.), New York: Penguin Books, 1980, 1988.
Roman Literature and Society, R. M. Ogilvie, New York: Penguin Books, 1980.
Women in Ancient Egypt, Gay Robins, London: British Museum Press, 1993.
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