Joseph Roisman

The concept of manhood was immensely important in ancient Athens, shaping its political, social, legal, and value systems. This book, a groundbreaking study of manhood in fourth century Athens, is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of notions about masculinity found in the Attic orators, who represent one of the single most important sources for understanding the social history of this period. Whereas previous studies have assumed a uniform ideology about manhood, Roisman finds that Athenians had quite varied opinions about what constituted manly value and conduct. Roisman situates the evidence for ideas about manhood found in the Attic orators in historical, ideological, and theoretical contexts to explore various manifestations of Athenian masculinity as well as the rhetoric that both articulated and questioned it.

Roisman illuminates masculine notions, activities, and discourse by focusing on topics such as the nexus between manhood and age; Athenian men in their roles as family members, friends, and lovers; the concept of masculine shame; relations between social and economic status and manhood; manhood in the military and politics; the manly virtue of self-control; and what men feared. Throughout, he considers both the variety of forms of Athenian manhood as well as the challenges men faced in achieving masculine archetypes.

UC Press: The Rhetoric of Manhood: Masculinity in the Attic Orators

Amazon: The Rhetoric of Manhood: Masculinity in the Attic Orators