Aspasia of Miletus (~400 BCE) was the most famous woman in Classical Athens. Although a foreigner, she became the mistress of Pericles, the leader of Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War.
She was not only remembered for her captivating be...
Clea (~100 CE) was a priestess at Delphi — a highly esteemed political and intellectual role in the ancient world. The religious practitioners received frequent requests from world leaders for divine advice about political matters. Clea was part of this political-re...
When she first appears on the scene in the Acts of Paul and Thecla, Thecla (~1st century CE) is leading a normal middle class life. But leaning out of her balcony, she hears the preaching of Paul and decides on a different path. After following Paul for a while, she is confi...
Sosipatra (~4th century CE) lived the dream: she had a successful teaching career along with a content family life. After an education in mysticism she became a respected teacher, interpreting difficult texts and mediating divine knowledge.
Most famous for her dramatic death at the hands of a Christian mob, Hypatia (~355–415 CE) was a Neoplatonic teacher admired for her mathematical and astronomical works.
She and one of her successful students, the Christian bishop Synesius, exchanged informat...