CL365: THE FAMILY IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY
Professor Lisa Rengo George (lgeorge@scott.skidmore.edu)
Skidmore College

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Dixon, Suzanne. The Roman Family. (Johns Hopkins)
• Gardner, J.F. and Wiedemann, T. The Roman Household: A Sourcebook (Routledge)
• Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey
• Various other ancient texts as announced
• Mythology text

RESERVE BOOKS:

   GREEK FAMILY

• Burguière, Andre et. al. Eds. A History of the Family, Vol. I
• Golden, Mark. Children and Childhood in Classical Athens
• Humphreys, S.C. The Family, Women, and Death
• Just, Roger. Women in Athenian Law and Life
• Keuls, Eva. The Reign of the Phallus
• Lacey, W.K. The Family in Classical Greece
• Lefkowitz and Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome
• McLaren, Angus. A History of Contraception
• Pomeroy, Sarah. Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece
• Rehm, Rush. Marriage and Death
• Riddle, John, Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance
• Sealy, Raphael. Women and Law in Classical Athens
• Slater, Philip. The Glory of Hera
• Zeitlin, Froma. Playing the Other

   ROMAN FAMILY

• Bauman, Richard. Women & Politics in Ancient Rome
• Bettini, Maurizio. Anthropology and Roman Culture
• Bradley, Keith. Discovering the Roman Family
• Bradley, Keith. Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire
• Dixon, Suzanne. The Roman Mother
• Evans, J.K. War, Women & Children in Ancient Rome
• Gardner, J.F. and Wiedemann, T. The Roman Household: A Sourcebook (Routledge)
• Rawson, Beryl. Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome
• Rawson, Beryl, ed. The Family in Ancient Rome: New Perspectives
• Rawson, Beryl and Weaver, Paul, eds. The Roman Family in Italy: Status, Sentiment, Space
• Treggiari, Susan. Roman Marriage

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

• Midterm: 25%
• Final Paper (15-20 pgs): 25%
• 3 Presentations: 25%
• Class Participation: 25%

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Class participation constitutes a full one-fifth of your grade. Therefore, absences for reasons other than true emergencies are unacceptable. More than FOUR absences without excuse will result in failure for the entire course.

1. PREHISTORY OF THE FAMILY
   • Burguière, Andre et. al. Eds. A History of the Family, Vol. I, Claude Masset, "Prehistory of the Family," 71-91.

   Discussion Question: What characteristics of the family unit have remained consistent throughout time and why?

2. DEFINING THE GREEK FAMILY
   • Humphreys, S.C. Family, Women, and Death, "Oikos and Polis" 1-21, "Public and Private Interests in Classical Athens," 22-31 and "The Family in Classical Athens: Search for a Perspective," 58-78.
   • Pomeroy, Sarah. Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece, Introduction (1-16) and Chapter One, "Defining the Family," 17-66.
   • Lacey, W.K. The Family in Classical Greece, "The Family in the City-State," 15-32, "Family Oikoi and Athenian Democracy," 84-99

   Discussion Questions: What defines the Greek family? What roles do the oikos and polis play in defining the family dynamic in Ancient Greece? Who belongs in the family and what role does each household member play?

3. ORIGINS OF THE FAMILY IN GREECE: MYTH AND REALITY
   • Selections from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
   • Lacey, W.K. The Family in Classical Greece,. Chap. Two: "The Family in Homeric Society," 33-50
   • Sealy, R. Women and Law in Classical Greece, "The Women of Homer," 110-150
   • Zeitlin, Froma, Playing the Other, "Figuring Fidelity in Homer’s Odyssey," 19-52
   • Slater, Philp. The Glory of Hera, Part I, Chap. I, "The Greek Mother-Son Relationship: Origins and Consequences," 3-74 + one other chapter of your choice

   Discussion Questions: How does Greek mythology reflect and portray the role of the family? What defines the family unit in Homer?

4. CREATING THE FAMILY: MARRIAGE, BIRTH, AND DEATH
   • Lefkowitz and Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, selected funerary inscriptions
   • Rehm, Rush, Marriage to Death, Chap. One: "Fifth Century Marriage and Funeral Rites," 11-29 + one other chapter with corresponding Greek Tragedy
   • McLaren, Angus, A History of Contraception, "The Patterning of Fertility in Ancient Greece," 12-41
   • Riddle, John M. Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance, selections (xeroxes)
   • Lacey, W.K. The Family in Classical Greece, Chap. V: "Marriage and the Family in Athens," 100-124
   • Pomeroy, Sarah. Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece, "Death and the Family," 100-140
   • Humphreys, S.C. Family, Women and Death, "Family Tombs and Tomb-cult in Classical Athens: Traditions or Traditionalism? "79-130
   • Keuls, Eva, The Reign of the Phallus, "Bearing Children, Watching the House," 98-128 and "Brides of Death, in More Ways Than One," 129-152

   Discussion Questions: How does the cycle of birth, marriage, and death manifest itself in ancient Greek society? Does the existence of contraception and abortion in antiquity surprise you in any way, and if so, how? What is the importance of marriage and its rituals for men and for women? How do funeral rites reflect marriage rituals?

5. GENDER, AGE, STATUS & LAW IN THE GREEK FAMILY
   • Aeschylus, Agamemnon
   • One other Greek tragedy of your choice
   • Xenophon, Oikonomikos, selections
   • Sealy, R. Women and Law in Classical Greece, 1-95
   • Just, Roger. Women in Athenian Law and Life, 1-104, and "The Attributes of Gender," 153-193
   • Keuls, Eva, Reign of the Phallus, "Learning to be a Man, Learning to be a Woman,"300-320
   • Golden, Mark. Children and Childhood in Classical Athens, 1-140
   • Lacey, W.K. The Family in Classical Greece, "Property and the Family in Athens," 125-150, "The Family in Plato’s State, Sparta, and Crete," 177-216

   Discussion Questions: How were gender and age roles defined in ancient Greece? How many of these definitions have changed in modern society?

6. DEFINING THE ROMAN FAMILY
   • Dixon, Suzanne, The Roman Family, Part One: "In Search of the Roman Family," 1-11, 19-30.
   • Dixon, Suzanne, The Roman Mother, Chapter 2: "Roman Family Relations," 13-40.
   • Gardner, Jane and Wiedemann, Thomas, The Roman Household: A Sourcebook, Parts I & II, "Composition and Definition" (pp. 1-29) and "The household as a focus of emotion" (pp. 30-45).

   CHOOSE ONE AND BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT IT IN CLASS:

   • Bradley, Keith R. Discovering the Roman Family, Chap. 8 "A Roman Family" about the family of Marcus Tullius Cicero (pp. 177-205).
   • Rawson, Beryl and Weaver, Paul, eds. The Roman Family in Italy," "Roman Kinship: Structure and Sentiment," by Richard P. Saller, 7-34: and "Perceptions of Domestic Space in Roman Italy," by Lisa Nevett, (pp. 281-299)
   • Rawson, B. ed., Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome, 5: "The Sentimental Ideal of the Roman Family," by S. Dixon (pp. 99-113) and 9: "Houses and Households: Sampling Pompeii and Herculaneum" by A. Wallace-Hadrill (pp. 191-228)
   • Bettini, Maurizio, Anthropology and Roman Culture: Kinship, Time, Images of the Soul, I: "Father: Pater" (pp. 5-13) and two other sections of your choice.

7. ROMAN FAMILY RELATIONS AND THE LAW
   • Dixon, Suzanne, The Roman Family, Part Two: "Roman Family Relations and the Law," (pp. 36-60)
   • Lefkowitz and Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, "Legal Status in the Roman World." (xerox hand-outs)
   • Bradley, K.R. Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire, "Chapter II: The Slave Family" (xerox hand-out).

   CHOOSE ONE AND BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT IT IN CLASS:

   • Evans, John K. War, Women and Children in Ancient Rome, Chap. II: "The Legal Status of Roman Women," and Chap. III "War and the Women of Property" (pp.7-100).
   • Rawson and Weaver, The Roman Family in Italy, "Legal Stumbling Blocks For Lower-Class Families in Rome," by Jane Gardner (pp.35-54)
   • Rawson and Weaver, The Roman Family in Italy, 4: "Rome and the Outside World: Senatorial Families and the World They Lived In" by Werner Eck (pp.73-100)
   • Gardner, Jane F. Women in Roman Law & Society, Chap. 9: "Inheritance and Bequest," (pp.163-203) + Gardner and Wiedemann, The Roman Household: A Sourcebook, VI: "Inheritance" (pp. 117-143)

8. CREATING THE ROMAN FAMILY: MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, CHILDHOOD, AND OLD AGE
   • Dixon, Suzanne, The Roman Family, Part III: "Marriage" (pp. 61-97); Part IV: Children in the Roman Family," (pp. 98-132); and Part V: "The Family Through the Life Cycle," (pp.133-156).
   • Gardner and Wiedemann, The Roman Household: A Sourcebook, III: "Ideals and Anxieties," (pp. 46-67); V: "The Life-cycle" (pp. 86-116)
   • Lefkowitz and Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, "Private Life" (xerox hand-out)
   • Gardner, Jane F., Women in Roman Law and Society, "Marriage," "Some Effects of Marriage," "Divorce" and "Dowry" (pp. 31-66)

   CHOOSE ONE AND BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT IT IN CLASS:

   1. From Rawson and Weaver, The Roman Family in Italy (pick two):
      1. 6: "Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Elderly Members of the Roman Family" by Tim Parkin (pp. 123-148)
      2. 9: "The Iconography of Roman Childhood" by Beryl Rawson and "Iconography: Another Perspective," by Janet Huskinson (pp.205-238)
      3. 12: "Repopulating the Roman House," by Michele George (pp. 299-320)
   2. Bradley, Keith R., Discovering the Roman Family, Chap. 3 "Child Care at Rome: The Role of Men," (pp. 37-75) and Rawson, B. ed., Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome, "Children of Freedmen (and Freedwomen)" by P.R.C. Weaver (pp. 166-190)

9. CREATING THE ROMAN FAMILY: MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, CHILDHOOD, AND OLD AGE (CONTINUED)
   • Rawson, B. ed., Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome (pick two):
     1. "Remarriage and the Structure of the Upper-Class Family at Rome," by K.R. Bradley, (pp. 79-98)
     2. "Divorce Roman-Style: How Easy and How Frequent Was It," by S. Treggiari (pp. 31-46)
     3. "Divorce and Adoption as Roman Familial Strategies," by M. Corbier (pp. 47-78)
     4. "Corporal Punishment, Authority, and Obedience in the Roman Household," by R. Saller, (pp.144-165)

www.stoa.org/diotima