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Description of  Breastfeeding and Mothering in Antiquity and Early Byzantium (Routledge Research in Byzantine Studies)

1032208759 epub This volume offers the first comparative, interdisciplinary, and intercultural examination of the lactating woman biological mother and othermother in antiquity and early Byzantium. Adopting methodologies and knowledge deriving from a variety of disciplines, the volumes contributors investigate the close interrelationship between a woman and her lactating breasts, as well as the social, ideological, theological, and medical meanings and uses of motherhood, childbirth, and breastfeeding, along with their visual and literary representations. Breastfeeding and the work of mothering are explored through the study of a great variety of sources, mainly works of Greek-speaking cultures, written and visual, anonymous and eponymous, which were mostly produced between the first and the seventh century AD. Due to their multiple interdisciplinary dimensions, ancient and early Byzantine lactating women are approached through three interconnected thematic strands having a twofold focus: society and ideology, medicine and practice, and art and literature. Read more