Author Description

Spotlighting superb examples of classical Greek art in the context of recent findings in anthropology, social history, psychology, classics, and classical archaeology, Pandora offers a multifaceted look at women in myth, ritual, and daily life in classical Greece. Written to accompany an international traveling exhibition organized by the Walters Art Gallery, this volume examines the imagery of classical Greek marbles, bronzes, terracottas, and vases in order to understand how women were perceived and how they lived. Pandora offers a new emphasis on myths dealing with the unmarried maiden and the difficulty of the transition to marriage and motherhood - as exemplified in the stories of Danae, Thetis, Atalanta, and Amymone. Also explored are images of containers and untamed animals as metaphors for women; rituals involving women, such as the wedding and the cult of the Little Bears at Brauron; the character and cult of goddesses; and the close association of women with textiles.