ABOUT BOOK

Drawing on current literary, cultural, and historical approaches, Joan Burton presents sophisticated new readings of Theocritus's urban mimes, which are among the most frequently cited evidence of Hellenistic cultural life, religion, magic, and aesthetics. Unlike Theocritus's bucolic poems, which focus on the male experience, all of his urban mimes represent women in more central and powerful roles, reflecting the growing visibility of Greek women at the time. A work of both innovation and wide-ranging scholarship, this book will be welcomed not only by students of the Hellenistic age but also by readers interested in issues of gender, sexuality, and culture in the ancient world.