Warriors' wives : ancient Greek myth and modern experience /

'Warriors' Wives' compares the experiences of women in classical literature and mythology to the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of the lives of military spouses. Emma Bridges uses these comparisons to illuminate gender roles and the impact of conflict across historical e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bridges, Emma (Author)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, [2023]
Subjects:
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Table of Contents:
  • Intro
  • Halftitle page
  • Title page
  • Copyright page
  • Dedication page
  • Acknowledgements
  • Contents
  • Copyright acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • 1. Farewell: Andromache in the Iliad
  • The spectacle of goodbye
  • 'The war shall be the men's concern': Andromache and Hector
  • Practical preparations: Penelope and Odysseus
  • When the farewell is final
  • 2. Sacrifice: Clytemnestra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon and Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis
  • 'Greedy institutions': the competing obligations of family life and the military
  • Resentment and revenge: Aeschylus' Clytemnestra
  • When the women pay the price for war: Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis
  • 3. Separation: Penelope in the Odyssey
  • Penelope: a first encounter
  • Ambiguous loss and the wait for news
  • Pressures on the spouse left behind
  • 'Keeping busy': Penelope's loom
  • 4. Infidelity: Clytemnestra in Homeric poetry and Athenian tragedy
  • To stay or to stray? Penelope's dilemma
  • Unfaithful soldiers and sexual double standards
  • Wives who will not wait
  • Aeschylus' Clytemnestra
  • The Clytemnestras of Sophocles and Euripides
  • 5. Reunion: Penelope, Clytemnestra, and Trojan War homecomings
  • Military homecomings: ideal versus reality
  • Emotional confusion
  • Disguise and the problem of recognition
  • Reopening communication
  • Homecoming rituals distorted
  • 6. Aftermath: Euripides' Trojan Women and Andromache, and the Tecmessa of Sophocles' Ajax
  • Rape as a weapon of war
  • War's immediate aftermath: Euripides' Trojan Women
  • Longer-term repercussions: Euripides' Andromache
  • Living with a wounded warrior: Sophocles' Tecmessa
  • Epilogue
  • References
  • Index of passages discussed
  • General Index