{"id":187,"date":"2018-03-08T12:42:04","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T17:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/?p=187"},"modified":"2018-03-08T14:15:01","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T19:15:01","slug":"international-womens-day-our-top-5-ancient-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/international-womens-day-our-top-5-ancient-women\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women’s Day – Our Top 5 Ancient Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

#1 Cleopatra<\/p>\n

Cleopatra VII was queen of Egypt in the first century BCE . Cleopatra was the last monarch of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, who can trace their ancestry back to Macedonia, gaining power after the death of Alexander the Great. Though remembered infamously for her sexual exploits, it is believed that she was a very effective ruler, and that she actually learned the Egyptian language, rather than just her native Greek. Cleopatra\u00a0is best known today for her role as the ally and lover of Marc Antony and Octavian after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE , but she was also a lover of Julius Caesar, bearing him a son, Caesarion, in 47 BCE.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Repica of ancient coin picturing Cleopatra VII. Held by the AMCA Mobile Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

#2 Sappho<\/p>\n

Sappho was a Greek lyric poet from \u00a0Lesbos, Greece (\u00a0610 BCE -570 BCE). Much of her biography remains a mystery, there are lots of legends surround her personal life. Even in her time she was considered a great poet and was referred to as the “Poetess” and “the tenth Muse” by Plato. Her works were so popular she appeared on coins and civic statues.<\/p>\n

\"\"
This is a Roman wax writing tablet and stylus. Though it is not known if such a tool would have been used by Sappho, the fresco painting of a woman holding a wax tablet and stylus is often referred to as Sappho. Replica of wax tablet and stylus held by the AMCA Mobile Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

#3 Athena<\/p>\n

Athena was the Greek goddess of war strategy and wisdom and was the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods. Athena fought alongside heroes such as Odysseus in battle and gave them the strength to overcome their enemies. A virgin goddess, she did not conform to the female social expectations of a wife and child bearer. She became the patron of the city of Athens, giving it her name. The images below show ancient Athenian coins depicting both the bust of the goddess and her owl.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Replica ancient Athenian coin. Reverse image picturing an owl and ancient Greek characters. Held by the AMCA Mobile Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Replica of ancient Athenian coin. Obverse picturing the bust of the goddess Athena wearing her war helmet. Held by the AMCA Mobile Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

#4 Isis<\/p>\n

Isis was one the most important Egyptian goddess, regarded as patron of \u00a0mourners, healers, and mothers. Though her origins are in Egypt, she was worshiped throughout the ancient mediterranean world. Her main power presided over magic and she was considered one of the most powerful \u00a0deities. She is often depicted as holding a sistrum (pictured below), a rattle like object, which was also used in her cult worship.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Replica of ancient sistrum held by the AMCA Mobile Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

#5 Cornelia Africana<\/p>\n

Cornelia Africana is considered to be the perfect example of a virtuous Roman woman. She was the daughter of Punic War hero, Scipio Africanus, and was the mother of the Roman politicians, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Not only was she a loving mother, personally overseeing the education of her children, but she herself was extremely well educated and became active in Roman politics after the death of her husband.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Statue base naming Cornelia Africana, Capitoline Museum, Rome. The statue that would have depicted Cornelia has been lost. Image curtesy of Dr. Lynne Kvapil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Cornelia Africana, Mother of The Gracchi (1779) by No\u00ebl Hall\u00e9 (Public Domain).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Websites Referenced<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sappho-Greek-poet<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poets\/sappho<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Athena-Greek-mythology<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Isis-Egyptian-goddess<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.biography.com\/people\/cleopatra-vii-9250984<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.ancient-origins.net\/history-famous-people\/who-was-cornelia-africana-and-how-did-she-become-prototype-virtuous-roman-021232<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

#1 Cleopatra Cleopatra VII was queen of Egypt in the first century BCE . Cleopatra was the last monarch of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, who can trace their ancestry back to Macedonia, gaining power after the death of Alexander…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9192426,"featured_media":199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9192426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/amca-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}