Sex and Gender Revision

Contents of this document:

Structure of the paper 4

Examiners’ Reports 4

Feedback from mock 4

Revision class advice 4

Set texts 5

Set text summaries 5

Definitions 18

People 21

Evidence 26

Essay plans 34

Revision topics 42

WHOLE PERIOD 42

Sex 42

Gender 43

Sexuality 44

Medical texts 45

Body 51

Magic 52

ONLY GREEK 55

Gender in Archaic period 55

Sexuality and marriage in Archaic Greece 57

Masculinity in Classical Greece 61

Women in Classical Greece 63

Greek Core notes 65

Aristophanes 66

Tragedy 72

Sex and relationships in Classical period 75

After Classical Greece 82

ONLY LATIN 84

Sexual imagery 84

Masculinity in Rome 87

Women in Rome 91

Marriage in Rome 97

Ovid 100

Early Christianity 101

Past paper questions 107

Structure of the paper

3 hours: 4 essays, out of a choice of 12.

Exam guidance

• Need to show required level of familiarity with set texts, but also good to have knowledge with range of other material

  • Need to not just illustrate an impressive knowledge of the wide-ranging source material but to interpret & re-interpret material in light of challenging questions

• Good essays marked by strong arguments & considerable ingenuity & intellectual creativity

• Disappointingly few essays discussed any of the sources in detail, or demonstrated evidence of knowledge of ancient languages (those that did were marred by inaccuracies)

• Several candidates made pleasing use of theoretical work on gender and sexuality

  • Some struggled too much with basic concepts such as liberation & orientation

• Candidates did well who engaged closely with the wording of the question rather than producing list of facts related to general topic at hand

  • Importance of defining terms before launching in

• Question about gender does not mean just about women!

• Ancient Rome and the Roman Mediterranean are different

• Feminism is different from women’s rights or freedoms

Feedback from mock

• Need to give less of a “survey” of material and more of an argument

• Examine terms of question EVEN MORE

• Try and give more evidence for claims/more analysis i.e. talk about less things in more detail

• Don’t try and be inclusive: get detailed examples for a couple of themes

Revision class advice

• Don’t reproduce tutorial essays

  • Be very hyper-critical of your own ideas

• Examiners want to see you making new connections, not looking for something prepared: how you look at a question you haven’t thought about before

• First of all, define the question

  • What exactly does each word mean

  • What is the range of possibilities

  • If you can defend your interpretation of the question, you aren’t going to be caught out

• Make a plan once you know the answer

  • Don’t just start writing with rough idea of themes – know what your aim is

• Introduction – define question, give your answer, then give examiner a roadmap for your answer. Introduction is most important part of the essay: nteresting, tight, well-argued, clear

• After this it’s mechanical, but do present your evidence

  • Better to discuss 2 things in detail and mention 5 in passing than go through 7 not in much detail

• 45 min essays – you can’t use as many examples, but do use nice details – but shouldn’t be less ambitious or interesting

  • You should really consider them as 30/35 min essays

• You do need to show some breadth of knowledge. Probably don’t answer ALL 4 question on Greece/Rome

  • Try not to repeat ideas and themes

• You need to show that you have read the set texts and have thought about it

Set texts

• Lefkowitz and Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, no. 1-27, 36-50, 168, 176, 178-9, 181-207, 273-337, 369-440

• Lyric

  • Semonides fr. 7

  • Theognis 1231-1389 (Loeb)

  • Anacreon fr. 358 (Loeb)

• Tragedy: Agamemnon, Philoctetes, Medea

• Comedy: Lysistrata, Thesmo, Ecclesiazusae

• Greek prose:

  • Lysias 1

  • Xenophon Oeconomicus

  • Aeschines 1, Against Timarachus

  • Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus, in Beard, North & Price, Religions of Rome

• Ovid, Ars Amatoria

• Musonius Rufus 39-49, 89-91

• Pliny Letters, 3.11, 3.16, 4.10, 4.19, 5.16 , 6.33, 7.19, 7.24, 10.120

• Juvenal 6

• Soranus, Gynaecology

• The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives and Stories of Early Christian Women

  • Lives of Amma Sarah, Syncletica and Theodora, Melania the Elder, Melania the Younger, Macrina the Younger, Marcella

• Pelagius, Letter to Demetrias

• Jerome, Letters, 22, 77, 107, 108, 117, 127, 128

Set text summaries

Lefkowitz and Fant

Laudatio Tuliae

Laudatio Turiae ("In praise of Turia") is a tombstone engraved with a carved epitaph that is a husband's eulogy of his wife. It was made in the late 1st century BC. It portrays the love of a husband for his loyal wife.This inscription is traditionally known as the "Laudatio Turiae".The attribution is uncertain, but the addressee was generally identified with Turia. The frequently moving eulogy inscribed on the stone is addressed from a husband to his deceased wife, lauding her virtues, self-sacrificing love, and unflinching loyalty toward him when she was still alive. The stone itself is broken, and parts have been found scattered around the city of Rome, although some sections remain lost. At 180 lines, the "Laudatio Turiae" is currently the longest surviving personal inscription from Classical Rome. The inscription gives a unique insight into the late 1st century Roman world during the rise of Augustus Caesar, as its extended history of "Turia's" life addresses many aspects of the Roman society. "Turia's" selfless deeds in defense of her persecuted husband range from sending him jewelry and money when he was in exile to offering him a divorce so he could have an heir—she was unable to bear children. Her husband also lovingly describes her virtues, among which he includes weaving, obedience, faithfulness to family, and religious purity. According to the inscription, her first accomplishment worthy of praise was avenging her parents’ murder, which gives a rather surprising look into the roles of women within the family and society. The husband also...

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