This collection of scholarly essays, curated by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, details all thinkable facets of women's clothing and appearance in the ancient Greek world. The essays vary in both comprehensibility (and, arguably, appeal), but they pertain to such a broad range of topics that the book will be useful to almost any Classical Civilisation classroom. As a teacher of Greek Art myself, it has been particularly exciting to see several prescribed pieces used as case studies. Due to some obvious links, teachers of ‘Greek Art’, ‘Love and Relationships’, and ‘Women in the Ancient World’ will likely find the most utility in the book.
A-level Classical Civilisation teachers may use this book to fulfil the scholarship requirement for certain modules of their course, and GCSE Classical Civilisation teachers will find some interesting content to simplify and then disseminate to their students, or give in toto to more able students as extra reading material. Unfortunately the essays do not generally relate directly to any Ancient History modules, nor are they necessarily relevant to ancient language learning. However, do feel free to review the table below for yourself, to determine the relevance for your own teaching.
A word of warning though: although the feminists among us may wish otherwise, these essays frequently focus most on women's sexuality, instead of the broader scope of ancient Greek womanhood. Llewellyn-Jones’ own paper in the collection, ‘Dress, Eroticism, and the ideal Female Body’, most obviously reflects this, and Sue Blundell states in her paper ‘Clutching at Clothes’ that ‘Sex is for women what war is for men – their main public duty’. Several of the topics will therefore likely cause some chaos in a GCSE classroom, but would be perfectly acceptable to an A-level audience. Give these essays to GCSE students at your own risk!
Here is a summary of the essays, and how they may be useful to a GCSE or A-level teacher. ‘Useful for’ indicates that an essay relates to some aspects of the stated GCSE or A-level Classical Civilisation module(s), to a variable degree.
Open access
