Men and Women
Bierkan, A., Sherman, C. and Stocquart, E. (1907), Marriage in Roman Law, The Yale Law Journal 16.5: pp. 303-327
A scholarly article explaining the laws of marriage in the Roman Republic and Empire; the quotations are untranslated and therefore a secure understanding of Latin would be very helpful when reading this article.
Blundell, S. (2002), Women in Ancient Greece, British Museum Press
This is easy to read and interesting, the light tone making it particularly engaging. The images can challenge learners' expectations. The information on the presentation of women in Sappho is particularly useful.
Just, R. (1989), Women in Athenian Law and Life, Routledge
This is clearly stated, well-organised and easy to follow. Learners will also pick up how to successfully analyse ancient literary sources. The chapter on “Marriage and the state” is particularly useful for this topic.
Lefkowitz, M. and Fant, M. B. (1992), Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, Duckworth
This is a very useful collection of sources which is cleverly organised so that learners can find information on most areas of the lives of women. As analysis is not given, this may encourage learners to develop their own views.
Maclachlan, B. (2002), Women in Ancient Greece, Continuum
This includes a wide range of sources about women. Although there is no analysis, the sources are divided into headings. This would be a useful book for wider research for able learners.
McClure, L. K. (ed.) (2002), Sexuality and Gender in the Ancient World, John Wiley and Sons Ltd
The first two articles (Dover and Winkler) are most relevant. Although the articles are reasonably brief, the language may be difficult for some sixth formers. The Winkler article could be read in preparation for the Radio 4 In Our Time podcast which focuses on Aristophanes' speech in Symposium.
Milnor, K. (2014), Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii (Chapter 4), Oxford University Press
An excellent exploration of the graffiti left over from Pompeii. This chapter focusses on gender and the search for a female voice in the graffiti of Pompeii.
Osborne, R. (ed.) (2008), The World of Athens, JACT, Cambridge University Press
This book is accessible and clearly divided. It provides very useful background information and could be read as an introduction to the Men and Women section of the course.
Pomeroy, S. B. (1994), Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves, Pimlico
The title itself is worthy of discussion. This is engagingly written and serves as an excellent introduction to the lives of women. It serves a similar purpose to the Blundell book about and could provide a useful comparison.
Pomeroy, S. B., Burstein, S. M., Donlan, W. and Tolbert Roberts, J. (1999), Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History, Oxford University Press
Although much of this book is not relevant the short section on oikos and polis is accessible and provides a very useful overview.
Richlin, A. (1993), Not before Homosexuality: The Materiality of the Cinaedus and the Roman Law against Love between Men, Journal of the History of Sexuality 3.4: pp. 523-573
An extremely interesting look at the Romans’ attitude to homoeroticism. This article contains, understandably, a lot of adult themes.
Richlin, A. (2010), 'Sexuality in the Roman Empire', in Potter, D. S. (ed.) Companion to the Roman Empire (pp. 327-353), Wiley-Blackwell
Richlin expertly gives a fine introduction to the Roman view of sexuality.
Richlin, A. (ed.) (1992), Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome, Oxford University Press
Another fine work from Richlin exploring how the ancients represented women and sexual acts in their writing and artwork.
Plato
Kraut, R. (ed.) (1992), The Cambridge Companion to Plato, Cambridge University Press
Chapter 8 by Ferrari on Platonic love is particularly worth reading; it provides a very good commentary on Symposium
Dover, K. (2016), Greek Homosexuality, Bloomsbury Academic
A landmark study, although one which some students may find heavy going (Goldhill’s “Love, Sex and Tragedy” is more accessible). Nevertheless, it is particularly good on Pausanias’ speech from Symposium.
Miles, C. and Norwich J.J. (1997), Love in the Ancient World, Weidenfeld and Nicolson
This is, unfortunately, difficult to get hold of but it is accessible and lavishly illustrated. It is very useful as a general introduction to the key themes of the topic as a whole but there is also some useful discussion of Symposium.
Waterfield, C. (1994), Symposium, Oxford University Press
A very readable translation with a particularly useful introduction about the key themes.
Seneca
Campbell, R. (1969), Seneca: Letters from a Stoic, Penguin Classics
Campbell’s translation of Seneca’s Letters on Morality is very good, but of especial use is his excellent introduction, covering Seneca’s life, his Stoic beliefs and his literary works.
Davie, J. (2008), Seneca: Dialogues and Essays, Oxford World Classics
Davie’s translation covers some of Seneca’s other works, including his moral essays and his consolations to Marcia and Helvia.
Grant, M. (1956), The Annals of Tacitus, Penguin Classics
Grant’s famous (and very good) translation of Tacitus’ Annales. Tacitus tells us a lot about Seneca’s life and times.
Irvine, W. (2009), A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, Oxford University Press
An interesting book which presents the lessons of Stoicism and their relevance to modern day life.
Motto, A. (2007), Seneca on Love
Written as a Master’s dissertation, Motto examines Seneca’s ideas on love and how he views love and friendship.
Sandbach, F. (1989), The Stoics, Hackett Publishing
An excellent introduction to Stoicism, focussing largely on its Hellenistic origins before turning its attention to the Roman proponents (including Seneca).
Sharples, R. (1996), Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics, Routledge
This book introduces the reader to the three main Hellenistic schools of philosophy, discussing their ideas by theme rather than school. It is very good if one wishes to compare the three different schools.
Watling, E. (1966), Seneca: Four Tragedies and Octavia, Penguin Classics
Another excellent introduction to a Seneca translation here; the four tragedies include the Phaedra, which is discussed in the text book.
Sappho
Freeman, P. (2016), Searching for Sappho
There is a good analysis of Sappho’s poetry. The material has been divided into well-organised sections. This is pretty good on the social situation prevalent in Lesbos at the time she was writing.
Burnett, A.P. (1998), Three Archaic Poets: Archilochus, Alcaeus, Sappho, BCP Paperback.
This is particularly useful for the speculation on the purpose, possible audience and performance conditions of Sappho’s poetry.
Carson, A. (2003), If Not, Winter, Virago.
The translations are beautiful and the introduction is clearly written by a genuine fan. The enthusiasm for the poetry here is infectious so it is a good way to introduce fans of literature to Sappho.
Greene, E. (ed.) (1996), Reading Sappho, University of California Press.
The essays include so many good ideas, although it is important to choose the sections carefully as some passages may be difficult for learners to follow. It may be advisable for the teacher to digest and represent some of the material.
Reynolds, M. (2000), The Sappho Companion, Chatto and Windus
Much of this focuses on the reception of Sappho and how she has been recast and reviewed over the intervening years. Learners will probably be most interested in how she has been viewed in the modern period and it would be useful to challenge them on whether or not they agree on how Sappho is now considered.
Ovid
Gibson, R. (2003), Ovid: Ars Amatoria Book 3, Cambridge University Press
This is a scholarly commentary on the Latin of Ovid’s Ars Amatoria Book 3 and thus is suggested only to those with a secure grasp of Latin. The introduction is very helpful and could be of benefit to those without Latin.
Green, O. (1982), Ovid: The Erotic Poems, Penguin Classics
This translation includes Ovid’s Amores, Ars Amatoria and Remedia Amoris. It is highly recommended so that students understand Ovid’s poetry more holistically. The introduction is also a very comprehensive look at Ovid’s life.
Isbell, H. (1990), Ovid: Heroides, Penguin Classics
This translation is excellent and introduces students to Ovid’s poems addressed from mythological women to the hero with whom they are associated. It is a good read, and useful comparison for the Ars Amatoria.
Richlin, A. (1992), 'Hijacking the Palladion', Gender & History 4
This article explores feminist theory within Classics, and therefore goes very well with this topic.
Thibault, J. C. (1964), The Mystery of Ovid’s Exile, University of California Press
An interesting and well-researched look at the possible reasons for Ovid’s exile; excellent background reading.
Toohey, P. (1996), Epic Lessons: An Introduction to Ancient Didactic Poetry, Routledge
This book explains didactic poetry with a reference to its roots in epic poetry. It is helpful, though it is rather scholarly and assumes good knowledge of Greek and Roman poetry.