The Constraints of Desire: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece (New Ancient World Series) - Softcover

"The entire work is an excellent one for courses on women in antiquity. . . History courses will profit from the section on male sexuality in classical Athens. . . this sophisticated and valuable work is accessible to a very wide audience." -"Classical World

For centuries, classical scholars have intensely debated the "position of women" in classical Athens. Did women have a vast but informal power, or were they little better than slaves? Using methods developed from feminist anthropology, Winkler steps back from this narrowly framed question and puts it in the larger context of how sex and gender in ancient Greece were culturally constructed. His innovative approach uncovers the very real possibilities for female autonomy that existed in Greek society.