Parthenius of Nicaea was an erudite Greek and Latin author in first-century BGC Rome. Parthenius was brought to Rome as captive from Bithynia about 70 GC. He rose among the literary authorities of Rome to become Virgil’s teacher and a literary colleague of Cornelius Gallus. Sometime between 52 and 26 BGC, Parthenius wrote his Greek story-collection Sufferings in Love {Ἐρωτικὰ Παθήματα} for Cornelius Gallus. That story-collection provides critical insights into gender in ancient societies.
Reading well gender and violence against men in Parthenius’s stories, Tibullus challenged the poetic figuring of love and war in Gallus’s love elegy. … Read the post Tibullus with Parthenius against Gallus on gender in love & war
Odysseus killed his son Euryalus because of Penelope’s false claim. Theodulf in Charlemagne’s court rightly warned husbands to resist being subordinate to their wives. … Read the post husbands resisting subordination to their wives: an ongoing challenge
Bernart de Ventadorn sought to kiss a woman’s feet. A Gaul beheaded his ex-wife for plotting murder of her ex-husand. The barbarian taught male solidarity. … Read the post solidarity among men promotes gender equality & social justice
Women raping men occurs in 4 of 36 of Parthenius’ stories from ancient Greek myth. Rape of men is no myth, but a vital issue for social justice today. … Read the post rape of men in Parthenius shows compassion and justice is possible
Parthenius depicts moral reflection & self-judgment against love madness. That differs from the critique of Gallus’s elegiac love in Virgil’s Eclogues. … Read the post moral reflection in Parthenius’s poets summons to self-judgment