CREECA Lecture Series

Before the late 19th century, all Greek historians were men, except princess Anne Komnene. Her history has been much admired, but she has gone down in history as vain and bloodthirsty. This lecture approaches Anne’s work by asking what aspects of Greek culture made the writing of history by women so rare, so we can see how she fashioned herself in her history. Her struggles to craft an acceptable persona explain the tradition of ascribing to her negative traits of ruthlessness and ambition.