• Material Girls:Gender and Material Culture in Ancient Greece and Rome
• Mireille M. Lee and Lauren Hackworth Petersen

From birth to death, individuals negotiated ancient constructions of gender through their engagement with objects. Articles of dress were essential for communicating and construing gender. Hand-held objects such as walking sticks or parasols served as "props" for the public performance of gender. Gendered activities such as textile production and warfare required the use of specialized tools: the distaff and bronze weapons that were themselves highly gendered. Objects were employed at critical life stages: the choes used at the Anthesteria, for example, or birthing amulets that ensured a successful delivery. Objects were also used to subvert gender ideologies, as in Euripides' Medea, in which the wedding gift of the poisoned robe results in death and destruction.

This special volume of Arethusa contains three essays that were originally presented in the session Material Girls: Gender and Material Culture in the Ancient World, sponsored by the Women's Classical Caucus at the 2018 Joint Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies. As the essays explore the dynamic relationships between objects and gender in classical antiquity, they span the Greek and Roman worlds and put both literary and archaeological evidence to work. The intent of the session, and hence this collection, is to facilitate meaningful dialogue between classicists, historians, and archaeologists, with objects as the focus of attention—whether the objects are depicted in words or images, or are the archaeological material that is literally drawn from the ancient world.

The topic is timely. Objects are under renewed scrutiny in the humanities. A basic premise of object theory is that objects exist because of, and in relation to, people. People and objects are inseparable. To understand [End Page 59] objects is to understand how people make, use, and dispose of them. By focusing on the longue durée of objects, it is possible to reconstruct the many social relationships surrounding them, from those who procured the raw materials for their production, to the artisans who created them, to those who used the objects or transferred them by means of exchange. The meanings of objects change across space and time, as they are moved from person to person. Object theory allows for unique insights into societies and social actors.

The essays that follow take on various aspects of object theory in light of constructions of gender and share several common themes. A couple of papers analyze the social and psychological aspects of dress and the body's relationships to objects. Women's use of weaving implements, garments, and ritual objects, and the ways in which these material objects could give a voice to women feature as well. And, of course, objects as a means of resistance is a recurring theme. In essence, then, the authors critically explore how ancient women marshalled their material world in order to perform and subvert gender identity.

We are grateful to Sarah Levin-Richardson, a scholar of ancient gender, sexuality, and material culture, for graciously accepting our invitation to craft the Introduction to these essays. Martha Malamud, editor of Arethusa, has shown unwavering support for this project from the beginning, and it has been a true pleasure to work with her. And to the authors of the essays, we owe a deep debt of gratitude. This past spring (2020) brought unimaginable circumstances to our daily lives, circumstances that could have prevented the scholars from completing their essays in a timely manner as the effects of the pandemic raged. Each, however, remained committed to the project; we are grateful for their perseverance. [End Page 60]

• 物质女孩：古希腊和罗马的性别与物质文化
• Mireille M. Lee和Lauren Hackworth Petersen

从出生到死亡，人们通过与物体的接触来谈判古老的性别结构。服饰对沟通和解释性别至关重要。诸如手杖或阳伞之类的手持物品充当公共性别表现的“道具”。诸如纺织品生产和战争之类的性别活动需要使用专门的工具：本身就是高度性别化的指挥官和青铜武器。在生命的关键阶段使用了物品：例如，在Anthesteria中使用的服装或确保成功分娩的诞生护身符。对象也被用来颠覆性别意识形态，例如在Euripides的《美狄亚》中，中毒长袍的结婚礼物导致死亡和破坏。

阿雷特萨斯（Arethusa）的这本特别卷包含三篇论文，该论文最初是在“女性女孩：古代世界中的性别和物质文化”会议上发表的，该会议由妇女古典小组在美国考古学会和古典学会2018年联合年会上赞助学习。当论文探索古典时期对象与性别之间的动态关系时，它们跨越了希腊和罗马世界，并把文学和文学都放在了书中。考古证据起作用。会议的目的以及由此而来的收藏目的是促进古典主义者，历史学家和考古学家之间进行有意义的对话，并以物体为关注焦点—物体是用文字还是图像描绘的，或者是从字面上看是考古学的资料来自古代世界。

这个话题是及时的。在人文科学方面，对物体进行了新的审查。客体理论的基本前提是客体是由于人而存在的，并且与人有关。人与物体密不可分。理解[End Page 59]对象就是理解人们如何制造，使用和处置它们。通过关注物品的寿命，可以重建与物品周围的许多社会关系，从为原材料购买原材料的人到创造物品的工匠，再到使用物品或通过手段转移物品的人交换。对象在人与人之间移动时，其含义会随时间和空间而变化。客体理论提供了对社会和社会行为者的独特见解。

接下来的论文根据性别的构成探讨了客体理论的各个方面，并分享了几个共同的主题。几篇论文分析了着装的社会和心理方面以及人体与物体的关系。妇女使用编织工具，服装和礼仪的物品，以及这些物质物品可以向妇女发出声音的方式，也具有特色。当然，作为抵抗手段的对象是一个反复出现的主题。因此，从本质上讲，作者批判性地探索了古代妇女如何整理自己的物质世界，以表现和颠覆性别认同。

我们感谢古代性别，性和物质文化的学者莎拉·莱文-理查森（Sarah Levin-Richardson）慷慨地接受了我们邀请撰写这些论文的引言。Arethusa的编辑Martha Malamud从一开始就显示了对该项目的坚定支持，与她一起工作是我的荣幸。对于论文的作者，我们深表感谢之情。过去的这个春天（2020年）给我们的日常生活带来了难以想象的情况，当大流行的影响加剧时，这种情况可能使学者无法及时完成论文。但是，每个人仍然致力于该项目。我们感谢他们的坚持。[完第60页]