Matronymics at Work : Female Succession Techniques in Lucian’s Dialogi meretricii and Some Early Thecla Literature

Journal article

La Valle Norman, Dawn. (2024). Matronymics at Work : Female Succession Techniques in Lucian’s Dialogi meretricii and Some Early Thecla Literature. Classical Philology. 119(3), pp. 398-420. https://doi.org/10.1086/730584
AuthorsLa Valle Norman, Dawn
Abstract

Using a matronymic alone was highly unusual in the ancient world. Gathering evidence from three texts from the second and third centuries CE from across confessional divides, I argue that it was a technique to express succession lines in certain female professions—there were simply very few of these in the ancient world. Two works of literature featuring the character of Thecla (the anonymous Act of Paul and Thecla and Methodius of Olympus’ Symposium) and Lucian’s Dialogues of the Courtesans show a persistent concern with professional bonds naturalized into mother-daughter relationships.

Keywordsmatronymic; Thecla; Lucian
Year2024
JournalClassical Philology
Journal citation119 (3), pp. 398-420
PublisherThe University of Chicago Press
ISSN0009-837X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1086/730584
Web address (URL)https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/730584
Open accessPublished as green open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range398-420
FunderAustralian Research Council (ARC)
Author's accepted manuscript
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Open
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
PrintJul 2024
Publication process dates
AcceptedJul 2024
Deposited20 Dec 2024
ARC Funded ResearchThis output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001
Grant IDDE220100854
Additional information

Author's Accepted Manuscript © Dawn LaValle Norman, 2024.

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Research Award, “The Female Voice in Ancient Philosophical Dialogues (DE220100854).

Publisher's version © 2024 The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

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