Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
Part 1: The Women
1.1: Introduction: Overview and Approach
1.2: The Evidence
1.3: What Charges?
1.4: Conclusion
Part 2: Envy
2.1: Introduction: 'As Rust Eats Iron'
2.2: Defining Emotions
2.3: Narratives as Phthonos
2.4: Phthonos and Misfortune
2.5: Conclusion
Part 3: Poison
3.1: Introduction: 'A Relish for the Envious'
3.2: Identifying Gossip
3.3: Genres of Gossip
3.4: From Gossip to Action
3.5: Conclusion
Part 4: Death
4.1: Introduction: 'Killed by Idle Gossip'
4.2: After the War...
4.3: Dependence and Vulnerability
4.4: 'Dangerous Women'
4.5: Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Esther Eidinow is Assistant Professor in Ancient Greek History at the University of Nottingham.

Reviews

Eidinow's exploration of the trials of women enriches our understanding of social and legal processes that affected all Athenians, citizen status males or otherwise ... Eidinow's meticulous detail ... binds together our fragmentary glimpses of women's lives into a compelling account of the complex intersections of private and public speech, imagined and realized actions and threats, and unofficial religion and civic legal institutions, in a vivid picture of Athens.
*Carol Atack, Times Literary Supplement*

the author effectively combines philological analysis of a wide range of Greek texts and contemporary social science theory to build her case. A significant study for advanced students and scholars interested in the history of women and law in fourth-century BCE Athens ... Highly recommended.
*CHOICE*

Eidinow's book is certainly a worthwhile one, especially for introducing readers to a plethora of theoretical approaches, for providing a genre-crossing and extensive swath of material for discussion, and offering close readings that are smart and stimulating.
*Adele Scafuro, Sehepunkte*

Envy, Poison, and Death is a book of great learning and intellectual flair. The three women who are its subject have had a destiny that no one could have expected. Folklorists and anthropologists will see a classicist grappling with a question that they often have to ask themselves: how to understand the mind-set of culturally and/or historically remote persons.
*Lowell Edmunds, Folklore*