Growing Up Fatherless in Antiquity

As The Changes In The Traditional Family Accelerated Toward The End Of The Twentieth Century A Great Deal Of Attention Came To Focus On Fathers Both Modern And Ancient. While Academics And Politicians Alike Singled Out The Conspicuous And Growing Absence Of The Modern Father As A Crucial Factor Affecting Contemporary Family And Social Dynamics Ancient Historians And Classicists Have Rarely Explored Ancient Father-Absence Despite The Likelihood That Nearly A Third Of All Children In The Ancient Mediterranean World Were Fatherless Before They Turned Fifteen. The Proportion Of Children Raised By Single Mothers Relatives Step-Parents Or Others Was Thus At Least As High In Antiquity As It Is Today. This Book Assesses The Wide-Ranging Impact High Levels Of Chronic Father-Absence Had On The Cultures Politics And Families Of The Ancient World.