Remember me when I am gone away: An Examination of the Representation of Gender in the Material Culture of Archaic Etruria

Abstract

The study of the lives of men and women in ancient Greece and Rome has long attracted scholarly attention and much good work has been done on these topics. However, there has been a comparative neglect of the study of gender identities in the world of the Etruscans. It is the purpose of this thesis to partially rectify this situation through an examination of the gender identities of men and women from Archaic Etruria (c. 600-450 BC). Unlike most previous scholarship on gender the approach employed here is not grounded in feminist thought, instead the aim is to seek to analyse the differences in the roles, activities and identities of men and women during this time. The apparent power of Etruscan women is carefully analysed, it is shown that while they had many significant public roles and duties, these were performed within the framework of a hegemonic masculine society. The public and private identities of men are examined within their social and political environment. The evidence for this analysis is primarily artistic. As well as explaining the respective roles of men and women the evidence is considered, where possible, in its regional and historical setting.