The Children of Athena

by Loraux, Nicole; Levine, Caroline; Zeitlin, Froma I.

• ISBN13: 9780691037622
• ISBN10: 0691037620
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-08-08
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

According to one myth, the first Athenian citizen was born from the earth after the sperm of a rejected lover, the god Hephaistos, dripped off the virgin goddess Athena's leg and onto fertile soil. Henceforth Athenian citizens could claim to be truly indigenous to their city and to have divine origins that bypassed maternity. In these essays, the renowned French Hellenist Nicole Loraux examines the implication of this and other Greek origin myths as she explores how Athenians in the fifth century forged and maintained a collective identity.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Foreword
Introduction
Autochthony and the Athenian Imaginary	p. 3
Fragments of a Lexicon for the Acropolis	p. 23
Athenians and Women
Autochthony: An Athenian Topic	p. 37
On the Race of Women and Some of Its Tribes: Hesiod and Semonides	p. 72
The Athenian Name: Imaginary Structures of Lineage in Athens	p. 111
Reality, Fiction: Women of Athens
The Comic Acropolis: Aristophanes, Lysistrata	p. 147
Autochthonous Kreousa: Euripides, Ion	p. 184
Epilogue: Once Again, the Woman, the Virgin, Female Athenians	p. 237
Bibliography	p. 251
Index	p. 267
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