Challenging Gender Roles: Agnodice, Hyginus, Fabulae 119

Name: Hyginus   Date:  64 BCE – 17 CE Region:  Hispania [modern Spain] / Alexandria [modern Egypt]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Fables 274.10

In ancient times, they did not have midwives. Since Athenians did not allow slaves or women to learn the art of medicine, women were dying in childbirth because of theirmodesty.

A certain young lady named Agnodice desired to learn medicine. Since she truly had it in her heart to learn, she shaved her head, dressed in men's clothing, and learned medicine under the tutelage of Hierophilus. Once she had learned what she needed to, she would visit women who were in labor.

Whenever a woman thought she was a man and did not want to be treated by her, she would lift up her tunic and show them that she was a woman. Then the patient would allow her to help.

When doctors saw that they were no longer needed in delivery, they began to attack Agnodice, calling her a pervert and a corruptor of women, and accused her patients of faking their illnesses to spend time with her.

They took Agnodice to trial, during which she lifted her dress and proved that she was a woman. And when the doctors began to double down, continuing to attack her, the top women of the town entered the court and declared, “You men are not our husbands, but our enemy, because you have condemned the one person who has discovered a way for us to be safe.” Then the Athenians modified the law, and allowed free-born women to learn the art of medicine.  

 

Antiqui obstetrices non habuerunt, unde mulieres verecundia ductae interierant (nam Athenienses caverant, ne quis servus aut femina artem medicinam disceret). Agnodice quaedam puella virgo concupivit medicinam discere.Quae cum concupisset, demptis capillis habitu virili se Hierophilo cuidam tradidit in disciplinam. Quae cum artem didicisset et feminam laborantem audisset ab inferiore parte, veniebat ad eam. Quae cum credere se noluisset existimans virum esse illa tunica sublata ostendebat se feminam esse: et ita eas curabat. Quod cum vidissent medici se ad feminas non admitti Agnodicem accusare coeperunt, quod dicerent eum glabrum esse et corruptorem earum et illas simulare imbecilitatem. Quod cum Areopagitae consedissent Agnodicem damnare coeperunt. Quibus Agnodice tunicam allevavit et se ostendit feminam esse. Et validius medici accusare coeperunt. Quare tum feminae principes ad iudicium convenerunt et dixerunt: “Vos coniuges estis, sed hostes, quia quae salutem  nobis invenit eam damnatis.” Tunc Athenienses legem emendaverunt ut ingenuae artem medicinam discerent.

 

Hyginus [Caius Julius Hyginus; 64 BCE – 17 CE, modern Spain or Egypt] was one of Augustus’ freedmen and a famous mythographer. He was originally from Hispania [modern Spain].  Some think that he was actually from Alexandria [modern Egypt], and brought to Rome as a boy by Caesar after the fall of Alexandria. He studied under the Greek scholar Cornelius Alexander, then followed in his footsteps. He was in charge of the Palatine library, and despite this, still had the time to teach many people. He was very close friends with the poet Ovid and Clodius Licinius, the former consul and historian who, after Hyginus fell into poverty, supported him financially for as long as he lived.

M/M: Achilles & Patroclus Reborn: Alexander & Hephaestion, Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri 1.12.1-2

Name: Arrian [Flavius Arrianus Nicomediansis] Date: 86 - 160 CE Region: Bithynia [modern Turkey] Citation: Anabasis of Alexander 1.12.1-2

As Alexander arrived at Troy, the Governor Menoetius honored him with a golden crown in front a crowd of Greeks and locals; then Chares the Athenian did the same, who came all the way from Sigeum to do so. They say that thereafter Hephaestion honored the tomb of Patroclus with a golden crown; there are also those who say that Alexander then crowned Achilles' tomb, too, and said that Achilles was blessed to have obtained Homer as the reporter of his deeds.
ἀνιόντα δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐς Ἴλιον Μενοίτιός τε ὁ κυβερνήτης χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ ἐστεφάνωσε καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ Χάρης ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐκ Σιγείου ἐλθὼν καί τινες καὶ ἄλλοι, οἱ μὲν Ἕλληνες, οἱ δὲ ἐπιχώριοι:...οἱ δὲ, ὅτι καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέως ἄρα τάφον ἐστεφάνωσεν: Ἡφαιστίωνα δὲ λέγουσιν ὅτι τοῦ Πατρόκλου τὸν τάφον ἐστεφάνωσε: καὶ εὐδαιμόνισεν ἄρα, ὡς λόγος, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἀχιλλέα, ὅτι Ὁμήρου κήρυκος ἐς τὴν ἔπειτα μνήμην ἔτυχε. 

Porro Alexandro Ilium versus adscendenti Menoetius gubernator auream coronam imposuit: post hunc Chares Atheniensis, qui ex Sigeo venerat, atque alii nonnulli, partim Graeci, partim indigenae. Ab Hephaestione vero Patrocli tumulum coronatum esse narrant. Sunt qui Alexandrum etiam Achillis tumulum coronasse dicant: et felicem quidem, ut fama est, nominavit Achillem quod Homerum praeconem ad perpetuandam suam memoriam nactus esset. 
Translated from the Greek by Fr. Duebner

M/M: Call Me By Your Name: Alexander the Great and Hephaestion, Quintus Curtius Rufus, Hist. Alex. 3.12.15-17

Call Me By Your Name: Alexander the Great and Hephaestion

Name:  Quintus Curtius Rufus Date:  1st Century CE Region:   Unknown Citation: History of Alexander the Great, 3.12.15-17

After the battle's casualties were buried with proper dignity, Alexander sent a message to announce to the Persian captives that he would visit them. He entered the captive queen's tent without his retinue, only bringing Hephaestion with him. Hephaestion was by far Alexander's best friend, a boyhood companion who was raised in the same household as the king. He was Alexander's closest confidant, and had the most liberties in monitoring and criticizing the man's behavior, a feat that seemed to be more encouraged by Alexander himself than Hephaestion's own impulse. And although they were the same age, Hephaestion had a more kingly presence than Alexander. Therefore when the queen saw Hephaestion, she assumed he was the king and bowed before him in the Persian manner. When one of the captive court's eunuchs pointed out to her who the real Alexander was, Queen Sisigambis threw herself at Alexander's feet, apologizing that she did not know which was which. Alexander took the queen by her hand and lifted her back to her feet, saying, “You weren't wrong, Queen Mother; this man is also Alexander.”    

 

Call Me By Your Name: Alexander the Great and Hephaestion

Iamque iustis defunctorum corporibus solutis, [Alexander] praemittit ad captivas qui nuntiarent ipsum venire, inhibitaque comitantium turba, tabernaculum cum Hephaestione intrat. Is longe omnium amicorum carissimus erat regi, cum ipso pariter eductus, secretorum omnium arbiter, libertatis quoque in admonendo eo non alius plus ius habebat, quod tamen ita usurpabat ut magis a rege permissum quam vindicatum ab eo videretur. Et sicut aetate par erat regi, ita corporis habitu praestabat. Ergo reginae, illum esse regem ratae, suo more veneratae sunt. Inde ex captivis spadonibus quis Alexander esset monstrantibus, Sisigambis advoluta est pedibus eius, ignorationem numquam antea visi regis excusans. Quam manu allevans rex: “Non errasti,” inquit, “Mater, nam et hic Alexander est.”

Quintus Curtius Rufus [1st century CE] was a Roman statesman and author who lived during the reign of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Although much of his work is lost, the remaining fragments of his History of Alexander the Great provide insight into the life of the great hero.

Challenging Gender Norms: Elagabalus, SHA Vit. Elag.4.1-3

Name: Scriptores Historia Augusta Date:   Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Life of Elegabala 4.1-3

When they entered the Senate for the first time, Elagabalus ordered their mother to be brought in. When she arrived, she remained at their side on the consul's bench as a secretary--indeed, she witnessed the creation of a senatorial decree! Of all the Roman emperors, Elagabalus was the only one who allowed a woman to enter the senate as if she were a man [loco viri].

Deinde ubi primum diem senatus habuit, [Elagabalus] matrem suam in senatum rogari iussit. Quae cum venisset, vocata ad consulum subsellia scribendo adfuit, id est senatus consulti conficiendi testis, solusque omnium imperatorum fuit, sub quo mulier quasi clarissima loco viri senatum ingressa est.

Scriptores Historiae Augustae Little is known about the author(s) of the Historia Augusta; even internal evidence within the text is either falsified, skewed or utterly fictitious. Although attributed to six different authors, the text was likely written by a single author living during the 4th century CE. It is a series of imperial biographies modeled after the works of Suetonius; these biographies cover the reigns of the emperors Hadrian through Carus.

The Courage of Leaena: Pliny, Nat. Hist. 34.19.12

Name: Pliny the Elder Date: 23 – 79 CE Region:  Como [modern Italy]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Natural History, 34.19.12

Many people praise Tisicrates' statue of Leaena. She was a courtesan and entertainer specializing in singing and the lyre who was close with Harmodius and Aristogeiton; she kept secret their plot to kill the tyrant, not betraying their plans even when tortured to the point of  death.  Because of her courage, the Athenians wanted to honor her. Not willing to celebrating her profession, they made a statue of an animal with her same name, i.e., a lioness. To further honor her courage, they made the artist make the statue lacking a tongue.*

* According to tradition, Leaena bit off her own tongue to thwart her interrogators.

Tisicratis Leaena laudatur. [Paelex] haec lyrae cantu familiare Harmodio et Aristogitoni, consilia eorum de tyrannicidio, usque ad mortem excrutiata a tyraniis, non prodidit. Quamobrem Athenienses et honorem habere ei volentes, nec tamen [paelicem] celebrasse, animal nominis eius fecere: atque ut intelligeretur causa honoris, in opere linguam addi ab artifice vetuereunt. 

Pliny the Elder [Gaius Plinius Secundus; 23 – 79 CE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.

M/M: The Death of Antinous, Beloved of Hadrian, Cassius Dio Epit. LXIX.11

Hadrian and Antinous

Name:  Cassius Dio Date:     155 – 235 CE  Region:   Nicaea [modern Turkey] Citation:      Roman History 69.11.3-4

Hadrian honored Antinous by creating a city in the place where he died, and bringing settlers to live there. He also placed statues (or rather, cult statues) of him in nearly every corner of the Empire. Finally, he even claimed to see a comet which was Antinous reborn, and listened desperately to his cronies who made up stories claiming that the heavenly object was Antinous' soul rising into the heavens, and that the comet had never previously appeared.

καὶ οὕτω γε τὸν Ἀντίνοον... ἐτίμησεν ὡς καὶ πόλιν ἐν τῷ χωρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ τοῦτ᾽ ἔπαθε, καὶ συνοικίσαι καὶ ὀνομάσαι ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐκείνου ἀνδριάντας ἐν πάσῃ ὡς εἰπεῖν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀγάλματα, ἀνέθηκε. καὶ τέλος ἀστέρα τινὰ αὐτός τε ὁρᾶν ὡς καὶ τοῦ Ἀντινόου ὄντα ἔλεγε καὶ τῶν συνόντων οἱ μυθολογούντων ἡδέως ἤκουεν ἔκ τε τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ Ἀντινόου ὄντως τὸν ἀστέρα γεγενῆσθαι καὶ τότε πρῶτον ἀναπεφηνέναι.

Itaque Antinoum, ... tanto honore affecit; ut urbem in eo loco, in quo ille obiisset, colonis adductis conditam, ex eo nominari voluerit; statuasque ei, el potius simulacra, in omni fere orbe terrarum dedicaverit. Denique tum ipse quoddam se videre sidus aiebat, quod esset Antinoi; tum familiares idem fabulose fingentes libenter audiebat, quasi scilicet ex Antinoi anima vere sidus istud exortum esset, ac tunc primum adparuisset.  Translated into Latin by Hermann Samuel Reimarus

Cassius Dio [Lucius Cassius Dio; 165 – 235 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman statesman born in Nicaea, Bithynia [modern Turkey] who wrote an 80 volume work on Roman history that spanned from Aeneas’ flight from Troy to the rise of the emperor Severus Alexander. Although much of his history is lost, the fragments that we do have show rare insight into the Roman world.

The Terrible Fate of Intersex Children in Ancient Rome: Pliny, Nat. Hist. 7.3.34

Name: Pliny the Elder Date: 23 – 79 CE Region:  Como [modern Italy]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Natural History, 7.3.34

We call those born with characteristics of both sexes "intersex," [formerly called "androgynes"]. They were once considered bad omens, but now are used for entertainment.

Giguntur et utriusque sexu quos hermaphroditos vocamus, olim androgynos vocatos et in prodigiis habitos, nunc vero in deliciis*.

* the phrase 'in deliciis' is often used to denote exploitation or enslavement

Pliny the Elder [Gaius Plinius Secundus; 23 – 79 CE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.

M/M: The Emperor's Beloved: Antinous, SHA Vit. Hadr. 14.5-7

Name: Scriptores Historia Augusta Date:   Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Life of Hadrian 14.5-7

While traveling down the Nile, [The Emperor Hadrian] lost his lover Antinous and mourned him excessively. There are several rumors about how it happened. Some say that Antinous was ritually sacrificed to preserve the Emperor’s life, while others consider the youth’s beauty and the Emperor’s passion for him and think it was the result of a lover’s quarrel. The Greeks even deified the youth at the Emperor’s behest, and claim that his spirit gave oracles, but many dismiss these as being written not by Antinous but the Emperor himself. 

Antinoum suum, dum per Nilum navigat, perdidit, quem muliebriter flevit. de quo varia fama est, aliis eum devotum pro Hadriano adserentibus, aliis quod et forma eius ostetat et nimia voluptas Hadriani. et Graeci quidem volente Hadriano eum consecraverunt, oracula per eum dari adserentes, quae Hadrianus ipse composuisse iactatur.

Scriptores Historiae Augustae Little is known about the author(s) of the Historia Augusta; even internal evidence within the text is either falsified, skewed or utterly fictitious. Although attributed to six different authors, the text was likely written by a single author living during the 4th century CE. It is a series of imperial biographies modeled after the works of Suetonius; these biographies cover the reigns of the emperors Hadrian through Carus.