Celestial Motherhood: A Gender Study of the Archaeoastronomy of Female Constellations in the ancient Greek world

该项目将于2022年1月开始，通过纪念神话人物和事件的星座和星星的镜头，利用现象学和考古天文学的方法，从书面资料、考古学和艺术中寻找证据，探索古希腊世界对性别和母性的看法。在古代，人们知道神把星星作为纪念。星座是理想化的英雄主义、勇气和奉献精神的象征。因为理想化的身份被神圣地记录在最宏伟的纪念碑中，它们帮助塑造了地球上的身份，包括性别的身份。我最初的观察是，原始文献记录了几十个星座，但只有7个是明确的女性星座。每只雌性都是母亲，有五只是母子组合，它们都处于某种程度的痛苦之中。这种模式在“母性”的社会建构中具有重要意义。研究问题：希腊星宿神话是如何反映和告知社会对性别的建构，尤其是母性？补充问题：(1)夜空中所经历的女性星宿的社会意义是什么，与其他媒介的表现相比如何？(2)星星、所谓“生育节”的时间和女性流动性之间存在什么联系？(3)星座中隐含的权威是否强迫/约束了性别行为，还是提供了替代模式？(4)纪念女性/母亲苦难的社会目的是什么？这项研究有三个不同的背景：古典文学、考古天文学和性别研究。在希腊化时期（公元前700年至公元前30年），文化背景以讲希腊语的地中海地区为界。考古天文学部分将遵循Aveni（2008）、Ruggles（2007）和Boutsikas（2010、2021）建立的理论基础和文化背景方法。性别研究的最新进展（Foxhall 2013）扩大了我们对古代性别建构的理解。然而，文化天文学和性别之间的关系是未知的领域。我的研究填补了地图上的空白，专注于“天上的母亲”：被认为值得在天上纪念的女性。我将采用跨学科的方法来研究古典证据，结合神话、现象学和性别研究。该方法将部分依赖于科学考古天文学研究，结论将植根于文化背景，并通过古代宇宙学、神话、图像学和文学得到证实。性别将主要通过交叉理论来探讨。我们对古代考古天文学和性别的理解仍然不完整，但这项研究将把它们结合在一起，从而增加了这些学科。识别夜空与性别之间关系的手段和方法将适用于历史或当代人类学、民族志和性别意识形态的研究。特别是，性别规范的记忆及其与性别表达的互动将在古典考古学之外具有广泛的应用。

This project, beginning in January 2022, explores the perception of gender and motherhood in the ancient Greek world through the lens of constellations and stars commemorating mythological persons and events, using the methods of phenomenology and archaeoastronomy to address evidence from written sources, archaeology, and art. In antiquity, it was known that the deities placed the stars as memorials. Constellations served as reminders of idealized heroism, courage, and devotion. Because idealized identities were divinely recorded in the grandest memorials, they helped shape identities on Earth, including those of gender. My starting observation is that the asterism literature of primary sources record dozens of constellations but only seven are definitively female. Each female is a mother, five are in a mother-child pairing, and all are in some degree of distress. The pattern suggests significance in the social construction of 'motherhood'. Research Question: How did Greek asterism mythology reflect and inform the social construction of gender, particularly motherhood?Supplementary questions: (1) What were the social meanings of female asterisms as experienced in the night sky, and how do they compare with representations in other media? (2) What links existed between the stars, the timing of so-called 'fertility festivals', and female mobility? (3) Did the authority implicit in constellations compel/constrain gendered behaviours or provide alternative models? (4) What was the social purpose of memorializing female/maternal suffering?This research is situated in three separate contexts: Classics, Archaeoastronomy, and Gender Studies. The cultural context is bounded by the Greek-speaking Mediterranean region during the Archaic through Hellenistic periods (c. 700 to 30 BCE). The Archaeoastronomy component will follow theoretically grounded and culturally contextualized methodologies established by Aveni (2008), Ruggles (2007), and Boutsikas (2010, 2021). Recent advances in gender studies (Foxhall 2013) have expanded our understanding of gender construction in antiquity. However, the relationship between cultural astronomy and gender is uncharted territory. My research fills in blank places on the map by focusing on 'celestial mothers': women considered worthy of celestial memorialization. I will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the Classical evidence, incorporating mythology, phenomenology, and gender studies. The method will rely partially upon scientific archaeoastronomical research, and conclusions will be rooted within the cultural context, confirmed through ancient cosmology, mythology, iconography, and literature. Gender will be approached predominantly through intersectional theory.Our understanding of archaeoastronomy and gender in antiquity is still incomplete, but this research will add to those disciplines by bringing them together. The means and methods of identifying relationships between the night sky and gender will be applicable to studies of historical or contemporary anthropology, ethnography, and gender ideologies. In particular, the memorialization of gender norms and its interaction with gender expression will have broad application beyond classical archaeology.