Gender and memory in archaic and classical Athens

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of Athenian discourse and spaces of memory from a gender perspective and through the analysis of textual and archaeological sources. It covers a broad time span, as Greek memory from a very early stage exhibits a gender bias and different ways of remembering and perceiving memories. In Athens, the shaping of a new political and male identity, starting from the time of Solon, is both the cause and consequence of new memory dynamics that create discourse and landscapes. This new official memory needs to control and appropriate female representations for its own benefit. However, it cannot disregard them, nor can it avoid the emergence and daily existence of freer memories.