UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE Marital Ruptures and Ritual Space in Classical Greece ...

338 Pages·2017·1.47 MB·English

UC Irvine
UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Title
Marital Ruptures and Ritual Space in Classical Greece
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2w35733g
Author
Yates, Teresa
Publication Date
2017

Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
IRVINE

Marital Ruptures and Ritual Space in Classical Greece

DISSERTATION

submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in Classics

by

Teresa Yates Scott

Dissertation Committee:
Associate Professor Andromache Karanika, Chair
Associate Professor Zina Giannopoulou
Professor Thomas Scanlon

2017
© 2017 Teresa Yates Scott
DEDICATION

To

My boys, Daniel and Tristan,
without whom I’d be lost

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv

CURRICULUM VITAE v

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION vi

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 1: Afflicted by Adultery: Wives and Consorts in Greek Tragedy 18

CHAPTER 2: Aristophanes’ Explorations of Female Adultery 79

CHAPTER 3: Adultery in Rhetoric and Law C r e t a n s 141

CHAPTER 4: Inter-Species Adultery in Euripides’ : Hybridity and Civic
Representation in Athenian Thought 182

CHAPTER 5: Paternal Anxiety and Breaches of Union in the Ritual Record 237

CONCLUSION 301

BIBLIOGRAPHY 311

iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Andromache Karanika, who was so much more
than a dissertation chair. She read countless drafts, took part in innumerable brainstorming
meetings, and every time I left her office, I felt smarter and more confident than when I entered. She
challenged me to think more clearly, take my arguments a step further, and always avoid
generalizations. In short, she is the consummate advisor, scholar, and human being, and I am very
grateful that she spent so much time helping me grow, as an academic, but more importantly, as a
person.
I would also like to thank Dr. Zina Giannopoulou, who was a similarly formative force
during my time at UCI. As the professor of my first graduate seminar, she taught me to look for
holes in every argument, to value clarity, and to be bold. I treasure our many informal
conversations, which led me to reflect on life in an extremely valuable way. These conversations
have made me a more honest and introspective scholar and human being; I cannot begin to say how
much I appreciate her unwavering and continued support of me.
Dr. Thomas Scanlon has been a most valued mentor since I entered college in 2006, and for
that, I am most grateful. Taking his courses as an undergraduate sparked my interest in Classics and
eventually led me to graduate school. I can honestly say that without his engaging teaching style,
rigorous expectations, and steadfast support, I would not have a doctorate in Classics.
Next, I would like to thank my family for their support of me through the various stages of
my education. To my parents, I cannot say how much I appreciate that you encouraged me to
pursue a field of study that I love; truly, Dad, it does not feel like a job if you love what you do. And
Mom, you are one of the strongest women I know, and I have so much love and respect for the
example you set for me: that of the academic woman who knows her worth and expects others to
do so as well. Matt, you have always been my best friend and confidante, and your support of me
has always been humbling and encouraging.
Finally, to my beloved Daniel. You are the most hardworking person I know, and your
example led me to become a more dedicated scholar. I cherish our innumerable conversations
about our respective research projects and the insights you have been able to give me into my own
thinking. You have kept me sane through the dissertation process, but more importantly, you have
kept me somewhat sensible as our lives have evolved. You gave the most beautiful son I could have
asked for, and you continue to anchor our family. You are a treasure, and I am thankful every day to
have you in my life.

iv
CURRICULUM VITAE

Teresa Yates Scott

2010 B.A. in Classical Studies, University of California, Riverside

2011-16 Teaching Assistant, Department of Classics,
University of California, Irvine

2014 M.A. in Classics, University of California, Irvine

2014-15 Teaching Associate, Department of Classics,
University of California, Irvine

2017 Ph.D. in Classics, University of California, Irvine

FIELD OF STUDY

Classical Greek Literature; Feminism in Classics; Greek Religion; Ancient Magic and Ritual;
Cultural and Social History in Classical Greece

PUBLICATIONS Trachiniae Medea

Engendering Time in the Ancient Mediterranean
“Ritual Time and Restoration in Sophocles’ and Euripides’ ” in
Epitaphios Logos, L. MPraoucreiezdioin agnsd o fE t. hEei d1i8ntohw In (teedrsn.a) tional
Seminar on Olympic Studies for Postgraduate Students
“Olympic Imagery in Pericles’ ” in
, 2012: Eptalofos, SA, Athens.

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ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Marital Ruptures and Ritual Space in Classical Greece

By

Teresa Yates Scott

Doctor of Philosophy in Classics

University of California, Irvine, 2017

Associate Professor Andromache Karanika, Chair

This dissertation investigates adultery and the appropriation of ritual space in
Classical Greece, focusing on the portrayal of women and adultery in Greek literary and
material sources. It is the first study which analyzes in detail both the extant literary and
epigraphic sources for presentations of adultery, its multiple frames, the responses to
adultery, and its tight and pervasive connections to ritual. Such representations show how
the male portrayal of female sexuality, and ultimately maternity, seeks to problematize
adulterous sexual contact. The creation and control of gendered space, which included both
ritual and domestic spheres, allowed men to restrict female mobility and to protect their
own lineage by ensuring the legitimacy of their children.
Each chapter focuses on depictions of female movement and action in different
literary genres and other types of sources (tragedy, comedy, oratory, the catalogues of
oracles and curse tablets, and tragic fragments). Similar themes surrounding female
sexuality appear in each of these sources alongside the ubiquitous ritual frame; most
notably, conspicuousness, tactility, and the manipulation of time and space are all
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presented as ways in which women could express their own autonomy. It is this self-
expression, which is frequently conoinkeocsted to ritupaoll,i sthat the authors of the above genres
portray as destructive to both the and the . In addition, I make use of
contemporary sociological, anthropological, and feminist theoretical perspectives to
explain the purpose behind these portrayals; in essence, to show why female sexuality is
negatively portrayed and so often associated with ritual space. I am particularly interested
in ritual as spectacle and the presentation of adultery within these parameters in a variety
o f different sources, from the theater to curse tablets.

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INTRODUCTION

Ancient Greek women, not unlike women of other eras throughout history, existed
in a world of externally imposed social structures designed to restrict their activity,
sexuality, and mobility. In Classical times, and especially within the Athenian context,
adultery was often perceived as the result of women working against these socially
pporolims ulgated restraints and was therefore framed by male authors as an act injurious to the
. There have been several substantial and enlightening studies undertaken on the topic
which I briefly review in the following paragraphs. In my investigation of diverse sources
that present adultery, which include rhetorical, poetic, and historical works and
archaeological material, I detect a consistent intersection of women, adultery, and ritual. It
is this heretofore unexplored association that provides the focal point of this dissertation.
Another departure from previous studies is the breadth of sources that I explore; instead of
focusing solely on the legal-rhetorical corpus, I examine a wide variety of texts from the
Classical period, ranging from the theater to curse tablets, which involve marital ruptures.
This dissertation builds upon the legal-historical foundation and unearths previously
undetected patterns and connections in the various portrayals of adultery that invite
further questions and investigation.
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