Hellenistic Women and family

Question 1

What is one form of material evidence attesting to the greater status of women in public life?

Answer 1

honorific statues

Question 2

In what way is the himation styled differently on hon statues of women vs men?

Answer 2

Himation made into veil/head covering

Question 3

What is a problem with teh bronze hon statues we have of Hellenistic women?

Answer 3

They are wholly removed from their original contexts

Question 4

Why were female statues displayed in sanctuaries?

Answer 4

They were priestesses, v important to the religious workings of the sancts

Question 5

What are the three contexts the Tanagra figurines are generally found in?

Answer 5

Private
Funerary
Votive

Question 6

Why do the Tanagra figurines have the name that they do?

Answer 6

Many examples of the female figurines were found at Tanagra, Boeotia

Question 7

What is a very common form of female material evidence pieces?

Answer 7

Tanagra figurines

Question 8

What are Tanagras good to indicate about statuary in general?

Answer 8

use of polychromy

Question 9

What is material evidence of women in context?

Answer 9

grave stelai

Question 10

What can grave stele tell us about women and their role in society?

Answer 10

familial role and ideals

Question 11

Why is there such poor evidence as to Hell queen coin portraiture?

Answer 11

hard to recognise
few have survived

Question 12

What was the main role for hellenistic royal women(in royal courts/daughters of kings etc)?

Answer 12

create dynastic ties through marriage

Question 13

What does RRR Smith identify as the crucial personal characteristics of female statuary in Hellenictic P?

Answer 13

ppl identified the women from dress or iconpgraphoic attributes as opposed to physiognomic features which IDed their male counterparts

Question 14

What has led scholars to ID the Villa dei Papyri Hellenistic royal head as a female?

Answer 14

fleshiness
generic and idealistic
corckscrew locks (although sometimes used for Apollo ports)

Question 15

What appears to have been common form for female image in Sel empire?

Answer 15

minature representations on clay seals
high-ranking women, but uncertain as to specific ID (some have been led to assimilate these images with Sel queens)

Question 16

Function of clay seals? Signif?

Answer 16

closure of official documents - somewhat public imagery BUT often stored in archive so not frequently seen or widely disseminated

Question 17

How was Attalid royal woman Apollonis honoured? By whom? Signif?

Answer 17

temple for her worship, 2nd century. By her sons.
suggests a tendency for honouring their royal women and thus absence of evidence for portraiture etc does not nec equate to evidence of absence

Question 18

Why is decontextualization for female statues a problem?

Answer 18

without context, it is even harder to ID the woman

Question 19

What does the homogeneity of female imagery reflect abt hellenistic societies?

Answer 19

patriarchal disregard for women as one homogenous group

Question 20

What are two trends in Hell p of female statuary?

Answer 20

elite honorific statues of women
naked aphrodites

Question 21

What are two early female statues representative of early Hell styles? Signif?

Answer 21

large and small herculaneum women(goddesses) poss Demeter and persephone, c300 BCE
level of detail in drapery refinement = Hell innovation

Question 22

What was a consistent feature of G reps of Isis? Signif?

Answer 22

corkscrew curls
sort of neo-archaic as a means of reflecting Egyptian traditionalism of the goddess and otherness to Gs

Question 23

What goddess became partic popular in Hell East? Role? Example?

Answer 23

Tyche
Goddess of fortune that was elevated to the status of civic protector and overseer of the cities’ fortunes
Statue of Tyche, Antioch (state capital of Sels), c300 known through figurines

Question 24

Iconography of Tyche?

Answer 24

city wall crown
casual posing
distinctive drapery
cornucopia (later)

Question 25

What does RRR Smith understand Aph of Knidos' social role to likely have been?

Answer 25

an ideal for attractive Hell women to emulate

Question 26

What form of naked Aph statue was particularly unusual for Hell repertoire? Likely function?

Answer 26

crouching aphrodite being caught mid-bathing impressive votive, would be an odd composition for a cult statue

Question 27

What were two common Aph figurine types of the Hell period?

Answer 27

Anadyomene (hair-binding) Sandal-Binding

Question 28

What do Hell half-draped statues of Aph suggest abt reception of the many naked types?

Answer 28

there could have been social tension around the full nudity types

Question 29

What social factor does RRR Smith identify as contributing to more frequent depictions of women in Hell world?

Answer 29

greater emphasis on heterosexual relations with kingship reducing the power of male citizenry and being openly heterosexually licentious

Question 30

What social changes does RRR Smith associate with popular a) naked aphrodites b) draped women statues?

Answer 30

a) increase in presence and influence of heterosexuality b) more autonomy of women in Hell communities, esp in East

Question 31

What evidence is there of the *erotic* appeal of Aph of Knidos?

Answer 31

Lucianic dialogue focussed on discussion of male sexuality (boys v women) set in the templw at Knidos in which they are admiring the statue

Question 32

Two features of Aphrodite's character in her naked statues?

Answer 32

modest passive

Question 33

What was a signif departure of naked Aphrodites from usual execuation of naked G statues? Expl?

Answer 33

genitalia was not explicit in detail - usually everything visible was done to most accuracy possible poss too sexually aggressive, poss painted pubic hair (although strange that no carving was used)

Question 34

What is needed in order to ID Hell female statues? Why?

Answer 34

inscribed bases portraits are idealised w little physiognomic variation

Question 35

Typical pose and dress of Hell female potraiture?

Answer 35

pudicitia pose w one arm across chest complex drapery w layering and across body wrapping

Question 36

What was distinction betw Classical female clothing and most of the Hell female clothing? Signif?

Answer 36

outer mantle of thin material over the top of heavy dress RATHER THAN heavier himation over thinner chiton slightly more dynamic and attractive (more acceptance of women in public thus more acceptance of their sexual appeal?) AND reflects actual changes in dress - linen or silk cloak became a piece of clothing taht imparted status

Question 37

What type of women does RRR Smith associate with Tanagras?

Answer 37

urban lower-class/artisan women

Question 38

What two explanations does RRR Smith provide for the m dynamic posing and narrative of the Tanagras?

Answer 38

role as moveable votive ornaments less occupation with elite matronly ideals