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CANTARELLA, E., Pandora's Daughters. The Role and Status of Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity. Translated by M.B. Fant. With a foreword by M.R. Lefkowitz. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore / London, 1987. XIV,229p. Paperback. 'This work 'traces women's positions and male attitudes toward women in ancient Greek and Roman society, while touching on a broader time period (…). Hesiod's description of Pandora - she is viewed as outwardly beautiful but inwardly malevolent and a curse to man - aptly states the opinion of the vast majority of ancient male writers. Women were a necessary evil, an evil that was needed only for purposes of reproduction. The misogyny of the ancients is clearly seen in their legal documents, literature, speeches, and customs. (…) Cantarella begins with a look at matriarchy from the earliest times, glancing at the Paleolithic and Neolithic (…), but she concentrates on the Minoan period (…). Clearly, women held an elevated position in Minoan society as seen by the fact that they were not segregated and enjoyed social gatherings with men; goddesses were prevalent, if not dominant. (…) It is with the Mycenaean society (…) with its stronger emphasis on male gods and the rise of military power that we begin to see the decline of the status of women. This decline picked up speed with the rise of the polis, and reached its height (…) during the classical period.' (KARLENE JONES-BLEY in NWSA Journal, 1992, p.387). € 20.00 (Antiquarian) ISBN: 9780801831935