Engendering Aphrodite

Includes 124 b/w figures.

The last three decades have witnessed the introduction of gendered approaches to the social sciences in general, and archaeology in particular, developing initially within the rubric of women’s studies by American feminists and other politically minded academics who formed part of the Women’s Movement of the early 1970s. By examining archaeological remains from the perspective of gender, we can begin to formulate approaches to the study of past cultures more deliberately and intimately. The papers in this volume focus on issues of gender and society in ancient Cyprus from the Neolithic to Roman periods. The introduction of gender as a focal point in archaeological research will continue to advance the discipline by contributing vital new approaches to the social interactions of the island’s rich and dynamic past.

Diane Bolger became a research fellow in Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh in 2002, and she continues to work at the institution as a data manager for the publication of various excavation and survey projects in Cyprus and Syria. Bolger also teaches courses in Cypriot archaeology and the archaeology of gender.

Nancy Serwint teaches ancient art and archaeology with a focus on the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean basin at Arizona State University. As a classical archaeologist, she has worked on excavations in Sicily, the Athenian Agora, ancient Corinth, and ancient Marion/Arsinoe in Cyprus. Her research focus has been varied with investigation and publications dealing with ancient athleticism and athletic representations in the Greek sculptural repertoire and gender issues in Cyprus and the ancient Near East.