Women in late antiquity cover

Women in late antiquity

by Gillian Clark

"This book bridges a gap between two traditional disciplines. Since the 1970s, there has been a remarkable outpouring of work on women in antiquity, but women in late antiquity (3rd-6th centuries AD) have been far less studied. Classicists have been more concerned with the first two centuries AD, and theologians have been interested in New Testament, rather than patristic teaching about women or its social and cultural setting. Women in Late Antiquity offers an introduction to the basic conditions of life for women: marriage, divorce, celibacy, and prostitution; legal constraints and protection; childbearing, health care, and medical theories; housing, housework, and clothes; and the general assumptions about female nature which were discarded at need. Christian and non-Christian literature, art, and archaeology are used to exemplify both the practicalities of life and the prevailing 'discourses' of the antique world."--BOOK JACKET.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?