Papers by Bonnie MacLachlan
Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica, 1992
A collection of essays that treats the social construction of virginity. VR includes articles on ... more A collection of essays that treats the social construction of virginity. VR includes articles on Greek mythology, medical theories about virginity, the cult of the Vestal Virgins, virginity in early Christianity, and more. My own article is on the virgin choruses of Aeschylus. It is available almost in its entirety on Google books. See the link above.
Classical Philology, 2005
Pindar in Sicily, 2021
When Pindar was composing epinicians for Sicilian victors (1/3 of his extant corpus) he deviated ... more When Pindar was composing epinicians for Sicilian victors (1/3 of his extant corpus) he deviated from his usual poetic program, which framed athletic victories within mythical narratives of heroes. Instead he turned to females.
The paper argues that this was essential because of the composition of the populations of Greek settlements on the island and its topography. Naiads were crucial for these Greeks, hence for the poet's success.
During the Classical and Hellenistic periods in South Italy and Sicily women performed rituals th... more During the Classical and Hellenistic periods in South Italy and Sicily women performed rituals that involved transgressive behavior. Their actions fell outside the gender norms that operated in their non-ritual contexts. While conducting festivals for water nymphs, for example, or for Persephone and Demeter (although more commonly Persephone alone), the women often engaged in activity that fell under the category identified by ritual theorists as "rituals of inversion." Some of these analysts have proposed that religious performances of this sort can confer on the participants a type of agency that has the potential to carry over into non-ritual contexts. This theoretical position differs substantially from that taken by functionalists, who see these transgressive cult-related activities providing a pressure-valve by temporarily releasing tensions that accumulate in the lives of disadvantaged members of the population, such as women living under patriarchal control. On this reading a temporary relaxing of the rules would lessen the risk of destabilizing the normal social order.
This paper makes the claim that certain festivals of the Greek West empowered women in other social contexts, enabling them to compose erotic songs, for example, or to enjoy the parody of comic theatre and even playfully to denounce wrongdoers in public venues. Examples of this will follow, but I begin with a look at the theoretical insights that have informed my reading of the evidence. This theoretical material will draw upon work in performance theory, anthropology, ritual theory, social and gender theory that argues for particular rites being sites for contestation of the norms operating in the participants' broader social context. This work challenges not only functionalist approaches to ritual but also other widely accepted interpretations of rituals of inversion.
In the Greek West participants in a ritual katábasis frequently engaged in behaviour with comic o... more In the Greek West participants in a ritual katábasis frequently engaged in behaviour with comic overtones. In the following discussion I view these rituals of descent more broadly than as a visit to the Underworld or a rehearsal of death. I understand these catabatic rites to offer an « otherworld » experience through contact with chthonic divinities. Moreover, material and textual evidence indicates that for this population a katábasis could create the disposition to laugh, and I explore some possible explanations for this apparent paradox. I focus on the conceptual underpinnings of the paradox, and speculate upon what effect the catabatic experience may have had on the ritual participants
The American Historical Review, 2015
Klio, 2015
Alessandra Valentini, Matronae tra Novitas e Mos Maiorum. Spazi e modalità dell'azione pubblica f... more Alessandra Valentini, Matronae tra Novitas e Mos Maiorum. Spazi e modalità dell'azione pubblica femminile nella Roma medio repubblicana, Venizia (Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti) 2012, pp. xxxi, 315. This book (henceforth "Matronae") aims to explore both the extent and the confines of public space in which upper-class Roman women could act during the mid-Republic. The space expanded and contracted as Roman magistrates and the Senate reacted to the events of the Punic Wars and their aftermath. Matronae reflects current scholarly interest in the social history of ancient Greece and Rome, with particular focus on gender and class interaction. The
Drama in Greek Sicily and South Italy, 2012
The Oath in Greek Society, 2008
A Companion to the Greek Lyric Poets, 2011
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, 1985
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Papers by Bonnie MacLachlan
The paper argues that this was essential because of the composition of the populations of Greek settlements on the island and its topography. Naiads were crucial for these Greeks, hence for the poet's success.
This paper makes the claim that certain festivals of the Greek West empowered women in other social contexts, enabling them to compose erotic songs, for example, or to enjoy the parody of comic theatre and even playfully to denounce wrongdoers in public venues. Examples of this will follow, but I begin with a look at the theoretical insights that have informed my reading of the evidence. This theoretical material will draw upon work in performance theory, anthropology, ritual theory, social and gender theory that argues for particular rites being sites for contestation of the norms operating in the participants' broader social context. This work challenges not only functionalist approaches to ritual but also other widely accepted interpretations of rituals of inversion.
The paper argues that this was essential because of the composition of the populations of Greek settlements on the island and its topography. Naiads were crucial for these Greeks, hence for the poet's success.
This paper makes the claim that certain festivals of the Greek West empowered women in other social contexts, enabling them to compose erotic songs, for example, or to enjoy the parody of comic theatre and even playfully to denounce wrongdoers in public venues. Examples of this will follow, but I begin with a look at the theoretical insights that have informed my reading of the evidence. This theoretical material will draw upon work in performance theory, anthropology, ritual theory, social and gender theory that argues for particular rites being sites for contestation of the norms operating in the participants' broader social context. This work challenges not only functionalist approaches to ritual but also other widely accepted interpretations of rituals of inversion.