Women in Antiquity - Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press has released a number of interesting books in the Women of Antiquity series. Here are a few that interested me personally:

Galla Placidia: The Last Roman Empress by Hagith Sivan

This new biography of Galla (c.390 - 450) is organized according to her changing roles as bride, widow, bereaved mother, queen and empress. It examines her relations with men in power, her achievements as a politician, her skills at establishing power bases and political alliances, and her efficiency at accomplishing her desired goals. (side note: I have this one myself!)

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint by David Potter

Potter penetrates the highly biased accounts of Theodora found in the writings of her contemporaries and takes advantage of the latest research on early Byzantium to craft a modern, well-rounded, and engaging narrative of Theodora's life. 

Zenobia: Shooting Star of Palmyra by Nathanael Andrade

This book situates Zenobia in the social, economic, cultural, and material context of her Palmyra. By doing so, it aims to shed greater light on the experiences of Zenobia and Palmyrene women like her at various stages of their lives. Not limiting itself to the political aspects of her governance, it contemplates what inscriptions and material culture at Palmyra enable us to know about women and the practice of gender there, and thus the world that Zenobia navigated

Boudicca: Warrior Woman of Roman Britain by Caitlin C. Gillespie

Introduces readers to the life and literary importance of Boudica through juxtaposing her different literary characterizations with those of other women and rebel leaders. This study focuses on our earliest literary evidence, the accounts of Tacitus and Cassius Dio, and investigates their narratives alongside material evidence of late Iron Age and early Roman Britain.

Arsinoe of Egypt & Macedon by Elizabeth Donnelly Carney

First ever biography (in english) of Arsinoë II (c. 316-c.270 BCE), daughter of the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Although Arsinoë was the pivotal figure in the eventual evolution of regnal power for Ptolemaic women --and despite a considerable body of recent scholarship across many fields relevant to her life-- there has been no up-to-date biography in English of her life.

Berenice II and the Golden Age of Ptolemaic Egypt by Dee L. Clayman

First ever biography (in english) of Berenice II (c. 264-221 BCE), daughter of King Magas of Cyrene and wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes. which offers a portrait of a woman who had access to the cultural riches of both Greece and Egypt and who navigated her way carefully through the opportunities and dangers they presented, ultimately using them to accrue unprecedented honors that were all but equal to those of the king.

Cleopatra by Duane W Roller

First comprehensive biography of Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt to draw solely from the source material from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources, Egyptian documents (Cleopatra's own writings), and representations in art and coinage produced while she was alive.

Cleaoptra's Daughter and Other Royal Women of the Augustan Era by Duane W Roller

The first detailed study of a number of royal women who were major players in the world of the latter first century BC and the early part of the following century. In addition to Cleopatra Selene (daughter of Cleoptra VII), other women of note included in this book are Pythodoris of Pontos, Salome of Judaea, Glaphyra of Cappadocia, Dynamis of Bosporos, Abe of Olbe, and Mousa of Parthia.

Clodia Metelli: The Tribune's Sister by Marilyn B. Skinner

First full-length biography of Clodia Metelli widow of the consul Metellus Celer in any language. As the eldest sister of the populist demagogue P. Clodius Pulcher, she used her wealth and position to advance her brother's political goals. For that she was brutally reviled by Clodius' enemy, the orator M. Tullius Cicero.

Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age by Barbara M. Levick

Provides an learned introduction to the lives of these two important classical women of the Roman Empire - Faustina the Elder (c. 97-140) and her daughter Faustina II (c. 130-175).  The book traces Faustina I's formation of her family's heritage amid a new empire through to Faustina II's enhancement of that legacy, focusing especially on the younger Faustina's deep involvement in palace politics and her possible role in the revolt of Avidius Cassius in 175.

Sabina Augusta: An Imperial Journey by T Corey Brennan

Sabina Augusta (ca. 85-ca. 137), wife of the emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-38), accumulated more public honors in Rome and the provinces than any imperial woman had enjoyed since the first empress, Augustus' wife Livia. Indeed, Sabina is the first woman whose image features on a regular and continuous series of coins minted at Rome. She was the most travelled and visible empress to date. Hadrian also deified his wife upon her death.

Turia: A Roman Woman's Civil War by Josiah Osgood

In this book, Josiah Osgood reconstructs the life of Turia, more fully than it has been before by bringing in alongside the eulogy stories of other Roman women who also contributed to their families' survival while working to end civil war. He shows how the wife's story sheds rare light on the more hidden problems of everyday life for Romans, including a high number of childless marriages. This unique narrative is more than a biography of one woman: it is a portrait of a vivid period in Roman history and a tribute to married love 

Eurydice and the Birth of Macedonian Power by Elizabeth Donnelly Carney

Examines Eurydice - the wife of Amyntas III, the mother of Philip II, and two other short-lived kings of Macedonia, and grandmother of Alexander the Great. This study examines the nature of her public role as well as the factors that contributed to its expansion and to the expanding power of Macedonia.

Hypatia The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher by Edward J. Watts

First full English-language scholarly treatment of Hypatia in over 25 years which takes advantage of new techniques for reading ancient letter collections and philosophical and mathematical commentaries.  Watts uncovers a number of previously unnoticed early modern sources and uses them to speak at length about Hypatia's modern legacy. 

Perpetua:  Athlete of God by Barbara K. Gold

Perpetua was an early Christian martyr who died in Roman Carthage in 203 CE. This book will investigate and try to make sense of all aspects of Perpetua's life, death, and circumstances: her family and life in Carthage, Christians and Romans in Carthage and in the Roman empire in this period, the comparisons of martyrs to athletes, the influence of these martyr tales upon the Acts of the Apostles and the Greek novel, the reactions of later church fathers like Augustine to her story and her popularity, and the gendering of this text.

Monica: An Ordinary Saint by Gillian Clark

This tome seeks to illuminate Monica (mother of St Augustine) in the context of the societal expectations and burdens that shaped her and all ordinary women. Weighing Augustine's discussion of his mother against other evidence of women's lives in late antiquity, Clark achieves portraits both of Monica individually, and of the many women like her.