Blemished Brides: Women’s Bodies and Disability in Ancient Judaism

12/05/24 • 58 min

Dr. Julia Watts Belser talks about ancient prenups, dancing at weddings, and what the rabbis had to say about beauty. We meet an Etruscan woman named Seianti Hanunia, an Egyptian Jewish woman Tapamet, and hear the (sometimes damaging) ideas of sages Shammai and Hillel. Paying attention to disability matters because it’s noticing a person’s full human experience.
Access transcript and episode show notes: www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/blemished-brides
Women Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh.
Podcast theme music is composed and produced by Moses Sun.
This podcast is sponsored by the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion, the Program in Judaic Studies, the Stanley J. Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, and the Committtee for the Study of Late Antiquity at Princeton University.
Views expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individuals, and do not represent Princeton University.

Previous Episode

Veiled But Not Hidden in Ancient Greece

Dr. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells us about the veil in ancient Greek culture. Many women in the distant past (as today) wore veils during their life. Veiling meant many things to many people. It could be a means of patriarchal control, a sensual turn on, or a practical choice in a hot climate.

From weddings to acts of piety and expressions of grief, veils "spoke." When she chose to reveal or not hide her hair, a Greek woman expressed something to the world.
Access transcript and episode show notes: https://www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/veiled-but-not-hidden
Women Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh.
Podcast theme music is composed and produced by Moses Sun.
This podcast is sponsored by the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion, the Program in Judaic Studies, the Stanley J. Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, and the Committtee for the Study of Late Antiquity at Princeton University.
Views expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individuals, and do not represent Princeton University.

Next Episode

The Pee Test: Pregnancy and Childbirth in Ancient Egypt

Dr. Ada Nifosì tells us about the gymnastics of ancient Egyptian birth, why Egyptian women ate donkey balls and their cats ate penis cakes, and why the god Seth should be avoided at all costs.

Childbirth was a scary time for women, and that desire for safety and comfort is reflected in their stories about their gods. The most important goddess, Isis, was enshrined in Egyptian mythology as giving birth in dangerous circumstances. Women turned to amulets, charms, midwives and wise women, their families, for assurance.
Access transcript and episode show notes: www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/the-pee-test
Women Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh.
This episode was fact-checked by Emily G. Smith-Sangster.
Podcast theme music is composed and produced by Moses Sun.
This podcast is sponsored by the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion, the Program in Judaic Studies, the Stanley J. Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, and the Committtee for the Study of Late Antiquity at Princeton University.
Views expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individuals, and do not represent Princeton University.