Women & Weasels: Mythologies of Birth in Ancient Greece and Rome
Maurizio Bettini and Emlyn Eisenach
Abstract
This book looks at mythology and ancient belief, revising our understanding of myth, heroism, and the status of women and animals in Western culture. This book recounts and analyzes a variety of key literary and visual moments that highlight the weasel's many attributes. It highlights its legendary sexual and childbearing habits and symbolic association with witchcraft and midwifery, its role as a domestic pet favored by women, and its ability to slip in and out of tight spaces. The weasel, the book reveals, is present at many unexpected moments in human history, assisting women in labor and t ... More
This book looks at mythology and ancient belief, revising our understanding of myth, heroism, and the status of women and animals in Western culture. This book recounts and analyzes a variety of key literary and visual moments that highlight the weasel's many attributes. It highlights its legendary sexual and childbearing habits and symbolic association with witchcraft and midwifery, its role as a domestic pet favored by women, and its ability to slip in and out of tight spaces. The weasel, the book reveals, is present at many unexpected moments in human history, assisting women in labor and thwarting enemies who might plot their ruin.
Keywords:
mythology,
ancient belief,
heroism,
status of women,
Western culture,
weasel,
witchcraft,
midwifery,
pet
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2013 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226044743 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: January 2014 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226039961.001.0001 |
