Women in Power

Stephanie McCarter is a professor of classical literature at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. She has published translated work on Horace and has written for The Sewanee Review, Eidolon, Electric Literature and The Millions. She won the 2023 Harold Morton Landon Translation Prize from The Academy of American Poets for her Penguin Classics translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

• Introduction by Stephanie McCarterSuggestions for Further ReadingWOMEN IN POWERPart One: The Woman-Run StateThe AmazonsStrabo, Geography 11.5.1–4, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesDiodorus Siculus, Library of History 2.45–46, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarterHerodotus, Histories 4.110–118, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesDiodorus Siculus, Library of History 4.16, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesPlutarch, Theseus 26–28, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesQuintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 1.574–674, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarterQuintus Curtius, History of Alexander 6.5.24–32, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterFemale RevolutionAristophanes, Assemblywomen, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarterPart Two: Mythical and Legendary QueensSemiramis, Queen of BabylonDiodorus Siculus, Library of History 2.4–20 (selections), translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesOmphale, Queen of LydiaOvid, Heroides 9.53–118 (Deianira to Hercules), translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterOvid, Fasti 2.303–358, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterHypsipyle, Queen of LemnosApollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.607–914, translated from the Greek by Aaron PoochiganStatius, Thebaid 5.1–498, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterDido, Queen of CarthageVergil, Aeneid Selections, translated from the Latin by Robert FaglesBook One (1.314-756)Book Four (all)Book Six (6.450-476)Ovid, Heroides 7, translated from the Latin by Erika Zimmermann DamerLavinia, Regent of LaviniumLivy, The History of Rome 1.3, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterPart Three: Historical QueensArtemisia I, Queen of CariaHerodotus, Histories Selections (7.99, 8.67–69, 8.87–88, 8.100–103), translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesSalome Alexandra, Queen of JudeaJosephus Selections, translated from the Greek by Stephanie McCarterJewish War 1.107–119Jewish Antiquities 13.428–432Cleopatra VII, Queen of EgyptLucan, Civil War 10.53–171, translated from the Latin by Matthew FoxCassius Dio, Roman History 50.4–5, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesPlutarch, Antony 25.3-27.5, translated from the Greek by Daniel Holmes[MOU1] Pliny the Elder, Natural History 9.119–121, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterVergil, Aeneid 8. 675–731, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterHorace, Odes 1.37, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterPropertius, Elegies 3.11, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterCassius Dio, Roman History 51.14, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesAmanirenas, Queen of KushStrabo, Geography 17.1.54, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesBoudicca, Queen of the IceniTacitus, Annals 15.31–35, translated from the Latin by Christopher M. McDonough and Paige GrafTacitus, Agricola 16.1–2, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterCassius Dio, Roman History 62.3–7, translated from the Greek by Daniel HolmesZenobia, Regent of PalmyraHistoria Augusta, “The Thirty Pretenders” 30, translated from the Latin by Stephanie McCarterNotes

“...the volume has a significant merit: it identifies a compelling overarching objective that applies to many studies of ancient history. By reconstructing diverse episodes—mythical, legendary, and historical—in which women exercised power, Stephanie McCarter ultimately helps to illuminate the reasons and circumstances that led to the exclusion of women from power in classical antiquity. Moreover, her study can offer us answers to the reasons why power continues to be associated with masculinity in the minds of so many, including women themselves.”-- Bryn Mawr Classical Review“A refreshing change to read a collection of vivid ancient texts that tell of powerful women, some legendary, some real” —Mary Beard