Her Share of the Blessings: Womens Religions among Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman W

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Women's Religions among Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World

Kraemer's treatise closely looks at the restrictions and roles of women in the religious sphere in classical Greece, Rome and in the early Church. In the classical west, the place of women has always been restricted, the higher one's social status the more controlled her life. This was true in the religious sphere, as well. Kraemer begins her study of these roles by introducing readers to Mary Douglas' grid of group classifications Implicit Meanings Mary Douglas: With this foundation laid, the place of women and worship in ancient Greece is discussed.

The metaphor of Demeter and Persephone to Hades as example of women's relationship to men daughters leaving the household to become wives and mothers and the cult of Adonis as a way to safely mock the social dominance of men was of particular interest - while I was familiar with the stories, I had never thought of them in this way before. I was less enthralled with her examination of women in ancient Rome and their roles in Roman society.

Kraemer really hit her stride, I think, when she discussed women in the Judeo-Christian traditions of the early 1st - 3rd centuries CE. In fact it was for this topic that I purchased her book. Kraemer essentially argues that as the early Church grew and spread, there was a conflict within early Christians over what the role and place of women in the Church should be - this, in turn, the product of the societies from which these converts came and their perspectives on the place and role of women within religion prior to conversion: As the Church grew and became more dogmatic, heirarchal and increased pressure to conform, the Greco-Roman values were adopted.

This, Kraemer argues, is the cause behind Christianity's position towards women in the clergy until recently , and towards women in general. To quite an extent, Kraemer shares the same historical causation of the Church's attitude towards women as Torjesen When Women Were Priests: Women's Leadership in the Early Church and the Scandal of Their Subordination in the Rise of Christianity , albiet with a broader historical perspective.

Both are worthy of consideration for anyone interested in the history of the early Church or women's history. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. This is not a novel. It is a scholarly survey, meant for the general reading public, however, of ancient Mediterranean women's participation in various aspects of religion. Given the scope, it's quite specific and detailed, which makes it an excellent way to introduce yourself to the variations in ancient religious practice as seen through the lens of gender.

Her Share of the Blessings

Highly recommended--I also recommend Kraemer's other, extensive work on the topic of women's roles in ancient religions. Some undergraduate students may find this book challenging. It is refreshingly academic even for a person who is not a religion professor or major. It was a good book for college. One person found this helpful. A well-researched account of devout women in Judeo-Christian tradition, their gifts to religion, and the restrictions placed on those gifts.

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Mar 23, Kharm rated it liked it Shelves: This book was good, but not quite what I was hoping for. While it is well researched, academic and well cited - I would have preferred more direct citation of primary sources in the text itself, instead of just referencing the notes in the back. I would have been happy to read a book twice as long if it had more direct citations in-text. I also would have preferred more detail about the role of women in pagan religions and cults. I felt like half the book was about women in early Christianity - This book was good, but not quite what I was hoping for.

I felt like half the book was about women in early Christianity - which I'm sure is fascinating for some people, but it's not interesting to me. I would love to read a book focusing specifically on women in pagan religions, but this book was not that.

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I had problems staying focused through the many chapters on Christianity, but it was all worth it for this quote in the epilogue: Oct 17, Alexander Kennedy rated it liked it Shelves: This book fulfilled my main purpose for reading it which was giving me some details about roles women played in rituals, marital practices, fashion, sex life, and inheritance.

Her book centers around a sociological model for analyzing religion that makes religion look like a tool of the elite to suppress women. While culture most definitely shapes religion, there are underlying religious truths that go beyond constructed society.

In fairness, this book was a very hard undertaking because source This book fulfilled my main purpose for reading it which was giving me some details about roles women played in rituals, marital practices, fashion, sex life, and inheritance. In fairness, this book was a very hard undertaking because source material from a female perspective is seriously lacking. Jun 07, Roger Burk rated it did not like it. She reviews the scanty evidence concerning women's private religious practices and beliefs in the classical world, filling in the many gaps with free speculation.

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The word "Conceivably" pops up again and again to introduce another unverifiable hypothesis. She applies to the subject a modern feminist framework that is wholely foreign to classical thinking, heedless that applying such a constract to sparse data is as likely generate false patterns as to yield new insights.

Incredible resource for starting research on Women and religion. I really enjoyed the readability and well researched material. I would like to have seen a little more engagement into the hermetical differences on some of the Christian texts. But overall it was a fantastic resource.

Not the final word, but a great place to explore the issue of women's religion and women in religion. Sep 05, Bruce Morton rated it really liked it. Careful, groundbreaking research regarding the female leadership and characteristics of the ancient Dionysus cult.

Her Share of the Blessings - Ross Shepard Kraemer - Oxford University Press

Deborah Moore rated it really liked it Sep 05, Women's Devotion to Adonis -- 4. Women's Devotion to Dionysos -- 5. Rites of Roman Matrons -- 6. Autonomy, Prophecy, and Gender in Early Christianity -- Heresy as Women's Religion: Women's Religion as Heresy -- Women's Leadership and Offices in Christian Communities -- Toward a Theory of Women's Religions.

Extramarc University of Toronto. Worldcat source edition See also WorldCat this item.

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