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Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men – Mara Gold in conversation
Homemaker. Virgin. Femme Fatale. Warrior. Witch. Madwoman. Monster.
The labels applied to mythological women echo throughout history. These archetypes, created in the Ancient World, still resonate today.
Discover the goddesses, warriors, witches, and monsters who shaped and subverted womanhood from the very beginning.
From the stories of the virgin goddesses Athena and Artemis, the contrasting depictions of wifely duty in Clytemnestra and Penelope, the ecstatic frenzies of the Maenads, Echidna—the so-called mother of all monsters—and the misunderstood Medusa, Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men reveals a world where powerful women were both worshipped and feared.
Mara Gold is currently completing a DPhil in Classical Languages and Literature at St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford. Mara specialises in women’s classical reception and scholarship, in relation to modern concepts of gender, sexuality and feminism.
She also has postgraduate degrees in Modern History, Theatre and Archaeology. She is a freelance museum researcher and outreach professional, and has worked on gender, sexuality and disability projects at the V&A, Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers to name a few. As the researcher for the National Lottery-funded ‘Beyond the Binary’ project, she worked with museum objects to tell queer stories through mythology and folklore.
Date:
25 November 2025, 19:30
Venue:
Caper, 74-77 Magdalen Road Oxford OX4 1RE
Speaker:
Mara Gold (University of Oxford)
Organiser:
Mara Gold (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
mara.gold@classics.ox.ac.uk
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML2NMXXMTK08F/checkout/YJMQPKT6UVYVKGEHTX74DDF7
Cost:
£7
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Belinda Clark
