BMCR 2009.05.45: Paga on Kaltsas, Worshiping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens

Nikolaos Kaltsas, Alan Shapiro (ed.), Worshiping Women: Ritual and
Reality in Classical Athens.  New York:  Alexander S. Onassis Public
Benefit Foundation (USA), 2008.  Pp. 367 (pb).  ISBN 9780977659845.

Reviewed by Jessica Paga, Princeton University ([email protected])
Word count:  2212 words
-------------------------------
To read a print-formatted version of this review, see
http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009-05-45.html
To comment on this review, see
http://www.bmcreview.org/2009/05/20090545.html
-------------------------------

[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review.]

The multiplicity of meanings hidden in the title of this sumptuously
illustrated exhibition catalogue hints at its expansive and
multifarious treatment of both ritual and the female sex in Classical
Athens.  The editors emphasize this ambiguity in their introduction,
explaining that the exhibition and accompanying book were conceived
with the purpose of providing a counter argument for the more popular
view of Greek women: rather than focusing on their perceived seclusion
and isolation, the objects chosen shed light on how ritual can serve to
illuminate the roles and lives of women, otherwise invisible or
misconstrued.

The book (following the exhibition layout) is divided into three parts.
The first section examines the worship of goddesses and heroines in
Attika, the second focuses specifically on women's roles in rituals and
festivals, and the last turns to women and the rituals involved in the
cycle of life.  Each chapter within the sections is followed by a brief
bibliography and then a selection of catalogue entries (each catalogue
entry with its own selected bibliography, as well).

After the Introduction by Nikolaos Kaltsas and Alan Shapiro, there is a
brief essay by Mary Lefkowitz concerning the textual and literary
evidence for the roles of women in ritual.  This chapter is a curious
inclusion at the start of the book.  Although the title, "Ancient Greek
Women and the Gods," would indicate a more generalized overview of
women and ritual as presented in ancient texts, Lefkowitz instead
focuses almost exclusively on Euripidean drama, which is not
necessarily a bad thing, but it ignores the richness and variety of
other available sources.

The first section, "Goddesses and Heroines," contains five chapters,
divided by divinity and with a concluding chapter on heroines.  Olga
Palagia begins the section with a chapter on Athena, focusing primarily
on the cult of Athena Polias.  Palagia discusses different aspects of
the cult based on the jobs or duties performed by girls and women, with
especial detail regarding the arrhephoroi.  This focus on young girls
is interesting, particularly in juxtaposition with the later discussion
of adult female priestesses by J.B. Connelly.  Palagia covers previous
scholarship and interpretations, most notably in relation to the
Parthenon frieze, but there is no mention of Connelly's own theory on
this matter.

Evgenia Vikela writes an insightful and well-documented chapter on
Artemis.  Vikela stresses the connections between the cult of Artemis
and well-being of the community, drawing attention to the ways in which
a structured and supervised passage from girlhood through puberty to
marriageable age, via the rites of Artemis, helps ensure in turn the
structured hierarchy and social relations in the polis.  In her
analysis, women are necessary for the healthy functioning of the polis,
a theme picked up in various other chapters as well.  Vikela discusses
not only the sanctuary at Brauron, but also the cult of Artemis and the
role of the goddess more generally.

The subject of the next chapter, written by Angelos Delivorrias, is
Aphrodite.  There is a brief discussion of the different epithets of
the goddess, Ourania and Pandemos, and Delivorrias wisely avoids
lengthy discussion of their much-debated meanings, focusing rather on
the various shrines, sanctuaries, altars, and temples to Aphrodite
throughout the city.  There is some treatment of the goddess' Near
Eastern origins and transmission to Attika, and a brief discussion of
the relationship between Aphrodite and Athena that is unfortunately
more confusing than clarifying.

Michalis Tiverios contributes an interesting chapter on Demeter.  The
beginning and end of the entry focus on the Thesmophoria, flanking a
central investigation of the Eleusinian Mysteries, as read through an
iconographical analysis of the Ninnion plaque (represented in the
exhibition and catalogue via a cast, cat. no. 66).  This approach,
although an interesting method for the study of the Mysteries,
occasionally becomes bogged down in lengthy historiographical concerns.

The first section concludes with a chapter on heroines by Alan Shapiro.
There is cursory treatment of Iphigenia and Helen, but the primary
focus is on the Kekropidai: Pandrosos, Aglauros, and Herse.  Shapiro
deftly weaves together the recurring motifs of duty, loyalty, and
self-sacrifice to show how heroines served as paradigmatic exemplars of
proper female behavior with respect to gods and family.  His chapter is
full of ancient textual examples and cross-references with other
entries, admirably tying together the overall themes of the book.

The second section, "Women and Ritual," begins with a chapter by Joan
Connelly on women and priesthoods.  It is, in essence, a detailed yet
concise summary of her recent book.[[1]]  Connelly reviews the
evidence, textual and visual, for the appointment of priestesses and
their functions, both in cult and state affairs.  Perhaps the most
important contribution of this chapter lies in Connelly's discussion of
precisely why an evaluation of priestesses is important: it provides a
useful counterpart to the more typical or popular ideas of Greek women;
it indicates a greater level of visibility for women, and it
demonstrates that priestesses could serve as pseudo-state officials,
the near equals of their male political counterparts.  Priestesses
played an integral role in ensuring the health, safety, and
functionality of the polis.

Jenifer Neils' chapter focuses on women and festivals, a loose heading
and unfortunately one that creates overlaps and repetitions,
particularly with the chapters on Athena and Artemis from the previous
section of the book.  Neils succeeds in providing a general and helpful
overview of several festivals, the Arrhephoria, Arkteia, Adonia,
Thesmophoria, Panathenaia, and possibly an all-female festival of
Dionysos (often associated with the Lenaia and treated in more detail
in the following chapter).  Neils's main contribution, however, lies in
her discussion of the frequently nocturnal and secret or initiatory
rites associated with women, particularly in contrast with the more
familiar state-sponsored festivals like the City Dionysia and Great
Panathenaia.

The second section is rounded out by a chapter on women and the worship
of Dionysos by Stella Chryssoulaki.  Chryssoulaki emphasizes the
correlations between the ambivalent and elusive nature of the god and
the role of women in Greek society, a discussion that raises more
general questions regarding rites of reversal and transgression.  An
overview of the various Dionysiac festivals and rituals, the Haloa,
Lenaia, Anthesteria, Rural Dionysia, and Great/City Dionysia, takes up
most of the chapter.

The third and final section, "Women and the Cycle of Life," opens with
a chapter on women and the rituals associated with the cycle of life
from birth to marriage and childbirth, by Victoria Sabetai.  Sabetai
posits a type of "cultic citizenship" for women, whereby their social
identity is defined vis-a\-vis their role in private and public ritual.
She goes on to provide an overview of the various rituals associated
with birth, early childhood, puberty, marriage, and childbirth.  It is
in her discussion of loutrophoroi, however, that Sabetai's most
powerful contribution to the book can be found: Sabetai analyzes the
form and function of these vases, in addition to their wedding
iconography, using the preceding discussion to underscore the
implications and importance of marriage as a fundamental civic value
and necessary part in the maintenance of the proper social order and
equilibrium of the community.

John Oakley contributes the final chapter, an examination of women and
the rituals of death that begins with Geometric scenes of the prothesis
and ekphora and processes through white-ground lekythoi and grave
monuments from the fifth and fourth centuries.  Oakley draws
connections between the rites associated with marriage and those of
death, nicely tying together his and Sabetai's chapters into a coherent
whole for the final section.  In his treatment of the sudden explosion
of images of women on grave monuments after the mid-fifth century,
Oakley does not directly mention Perikles' citizenship law of 451/0,
but that certainly seems to be what he implies when he suggests that
this visual change is reflective of a more broadly construed change in
the status of women.

There are few drawbacks to this expansive book.  The lack of a glossary
is an inconsequential matter, as many of the chapters and catalogue
entries provide translations of Greek terms.  Likewise, while a map of
Athens and Attika would be useful, it is not crucial for the reader's
understanding and appreciation of the contributions.  Some readers
might find the sorting of catalogue entries awkward and unclear in
certain cases; each chapter is followed by several entries not always
readily apparent (e.g. grave stelai can be found in the entries
following the chapter on birth and marriage, rather than after the
chapter on death and funerary rituals).  There is a general lack of
internal cohesion among the chapters.  For example, Greek terms and
quotes are sometimes transliterated, sometimes printed in Greek, and
frequently but not always translated.  Similarly, references to ancient
literary sources are, in the more successful chapters, cited within the
body of the text (e.g. "Euripides, Bacchae, l.404"), whereas in other
chapters, sources are not cited at all or only partially (e.g.
"according to Thucydides" but without chapter and section references).
These are primarily minor issues, however.  The more pressing concern,
and the only serious problem with the book, is the reliance on the
gynaikonitis model and the assumptions throughout regarding the
so-called "women's quarters."  The topic of female seclusion within the
house recurs repeatedly and without qualification (the most egregious
examples being cat. nos. 131, 134, and 148, and the discussion of the
festival of Adonis and symbolism of the ladders in the chapter on
Aphrodite).  Neither the selected bibliographies at the end of each
chapter nor the all-encompassing one at the end of the book (which is
otherwise an extensive and useful addition) mention the recent work
done by Lisa Nevett and Bradley Ault, to name only the two most
prominent scholars on this issue.[[2]]  This reliance on the assumption
of domestic isolation weakens the overall argument of the book by
tacitly reinforcing the normative dichotomy and popular conception of
women in ancient Greece.  The contested space of the gynaikonitis would
have been best dealt with by means of an introductory chapter, such as
Lefkowitz's regarding the literary sources.  That there is no direct
acknowledgement or discussion of the debate among archaeologists and
classical scholars regarding the presence, (or absence), of a secluded
"women's quarters" within the domestic setting is an unfortunate error
in an otherwise well-conceived and executed exhibition and book.

The overall product, despite these quibbles, is ultimately successful
in rendering Athenian women more visible.  The chapters are brief and
approachable for a non-specialist, but often contain hidden gems of
analysis and raise thought-provoking questions.  Both Vikela and
Delivorrias, in their chapters on Artemis and Aphrodite, respectively,
bring up the topic of Near Eastern origins and transmission: how and
why did this seemingly gendered adoption and adaptation of Eastern
goddesses occur?  The catalogue entries following the chapter on Athena
include a number of inscribed objects, prompting questions of female
literacy and ability to dedicate objects in sanctuaries.  Neils
espouses a recent but questionable theory regarding the matronly women
depicted on the Parthenon frieze: could they perhaps represent the
eponymai, the wives of the eponymous heroes?  A previously unpublished
red-figure Type C pyxis with lid, attributed to the Meidias Painter or
his workshop and dated to ca. 420-400, is presented as cat. no. 76,
depicting the climactic moment in the story of the Kekropidai and the
infant Erichthonios.  Likewise, cat. no. 153 is a black-figure
loutrophoros-amphora, attributed to the Sappho Painter and dated to the
early fifth century, which shows the lowering of the coffin into the
grave, a rare image, here illustrated with a number of detailed views.
The catalogue entries, all beautifully photographed and thoroughly
documented, are supplemented by figures included within the texts of
the chapters, often including site photographs that aid in situating
the cults and rituals within the physical environment.  These
additional images make the book even more comprehensive and
significantly richer in detail.  The evidence presented and analyzed,
both in the catalogue entries and chapters, details a multifaceted and
nuanced interpretation of Athenian women in the Classical period, one
that focuses on festivals and rituals as seen from a female
perspective.  The worshipped and worshipping women illuminate female
participation in the polis, thereby rendering visible a segment of the
population too often confined to darkness and ambiguity.

Table of Contents
Introduction - Nikolaos Kaltsas and Alan Shapiro
Ancient Greek Women and the Gods -- Mary R. Lefkowitz
Part I: Goddesses and Heroines
Athena: Women in the Cult of Athena -- Olga Palagia
Artemis: The Worship of Artemis in Attica: Cult Places, Rites,
Iconography -- Evgenia Vikela
Aphrodite: The Worship of Aphrodite in Athens and Attica -- Angelos
Delivorrias
Demeter: Women of Athens in the Worship of Demeter: Iconographic
Evidence from Archaic and Classical Times -- Michalis Tiverios
Heroines: Cults of Heroines in Ancient Athens -- Alan Shapiro
Part II: Women and Ritual
Priestesses -- Women in Cult: In Divine Affairs-the Greatest Part:
Women and Priesthoods in Classical Athens -- Joan Breton Connelly
Festivals: Adonia to Thesmophoria: Women and Athenian Festivals --
Jenifer Neils
The Participation of Women in the Worship and Festivals of Dionysos --
Stella Chryssoulaki
Part III: Women and the Cycle of Life
Birth, Childhood, and Marriage: Women's Ritual Roles in the Cycle of
Life -- Victoria Sabetai
Death: Women in Athenian Ritual and Funerary Art -- John H. Oakley
------------------
Notes:


1.   Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007.

2.   E.g. Lisa C. Nevett, House and Society in the Ancient Greek World,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999; Bradley A. Ault and Lisa
C. Nevett, eds, Ancient Greek Houses and Households: Chronological,
Regional, and Social Diversity, Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2005.