Ancient Stepmothers

Ancient Stepmothers is the first full-length study of the stepmother in Graeco-Roman antiquity. Several perspectives are covered: literary, historical and sociological, the last-mentioned making use of comparative material from modern studies of stepfamilies.
The portrayal of the stepmother in myth and literature is thoroughly explored. The historical background in Athens and Rome is examined with a view to determining the relationship between fiction and real life.
The book makes an important contribution to the study of both literary history and family relationships: in particular, it sheds light on attitudes to women, the portrayal of the stepmother being an outstanding illustration of misogynistic prejudice. It will also interest sociologists wishing to place studies of the contemporary stepfamily in a wider historical context: for this reason, all Greek and Latin is translated into English.

Patricia A. Watson, M.A. hons. (Sydney), Ph.D. (Toronto). is Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Sydney. Apart from articles related to the current work, she has also published on Ovid, Martial and the Latin poetic language.

'Watson's Ancient Stepmothers is an admirable effort to collect and evaluate the evidence about a family role that has suffered bias from ancient world to our own...a welcome addition to the growing emphasis on family studies in the social history of the ancient world.'
Laura Abrahamsen, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 1995.
'This fascinating study will undoubtedly spur other researchers in this new and developing field, and it lays out a number of paths they can very profitably follow.'
M.J.G. Gray-Fow, Comptes Rendus.
'... a thorough and very valuable study of the Greek and Roman notion of this universal stereotype.'
Emily A. Hemelrijk, l'Antiquite Classique, 1996.