Giulia Pedrucci - Böcker

Mothering in Antiquity is a groundbreaking examination that redefines how motherhood and mothering are studied in the ancient world, integrating archaeological, textual, and religious evidence through the lens of contemporary maternal theory.Bringing together a group of leading international scholars, the volume explores how mothering was experienced, represented, and ritualized across diverse ancient societies—from the Near East through Greece and Rome to Byzantium. Moving beyond text-centred and androcentric perspectives, it combines interdisciplinary approaches from history, archaeology, religious studies, and gender theory. Contributors engage with key concepts from maternal theory to bridge the gap between symbolic representations of motherhood and the lived realities of mothers in antiquity.Mothering in Antiquity is an extensive, cross-cultural exploration of motherhood in the ancient world, suitable for students and scholars in Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology, Religious Studies, and Gender Studies.

Beyond Mother Goddesses introduces key scholars in the study of mothers, maternal figures and motherhood at the intersection with religion and spirituality, as well as new paths for research.It features interviews with key scholars in religious studies and closely related disciplines, and offers a reflexive stance on theory and methodology. The scholars whose interviews are gathered in this volume study different traditions including Greco-Roman religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and contemporary cultures, and time periods from Antiquity and Ancient India to contemporary cultures. Although they also represent different disciplines and draw on different methodologies, they all examine the intersection of mothers, motherhood and mothering with religion and spirituality.With its introduction and its conclusion, which together provide a detailed description of the state of the field and new avenues for research, this volume offers a thorough examination of the emerging subfield of study on mothers, motherhood, mothering and religion.