Women Who Weave Themselves Into History
The book is not simply an account of remarkable women. Women, in general, the author argues, ‘helped to make antiquity as we know it. They were creators of history.’

‘The Missing Thread: A Women’s History of the Ancient World’
By Daisy Dunn
Viking, 480 Pages
In Daisy Dunn’s introduction, she adverts to Philomela in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” who “weaves the story of her rape into a tapestry after her tongue is cut out and she is deprived of the power of speech.” Later Ms. Dunn explains how women did the weaving and baking that kept male armies clothed and fed. “It did not always occur to men,” she observes, “that real women might be up to something just as interesting” as their bloody heroic exploits.
A login link has been sent to
Enter your email to read this article.
Get 2 free articles when you subscribe.