Classical studies professor gives voice to the voiceless in ancient texts | Penn Current

Ancient primary sources that are available to historians represent the world of the elite, the wealthy, and the powerful. The primary resources offer a one-sided view that rarely gives a voice to marginalized groups of people.  Women, the enslaved, the poor, immigrants, and children are in most instances background players, or are assigned stereotypical roles in most official documents, artifacts, and art from ancient times. And issues addressed in modern texts, such as race, gender, sexism, and socio-economic problems, are barely mentioned, if at all. For instance, many stereotypical images of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, drawn from Roman sources, are found in primary documents.