Papers by Stephanie Budin
Mare Nostrum, v. 11, n. 1, 2020
This article challenges some of the prevailing notions pertaining to non-binary sex and fluid gen... more This article challenges some of the prevailing notions pertaining to non-binary sex and fluid gender in modern academia. Beginning with a look at the history of the sex vs. gender debate, it turns to the study of genetics to determine how binary sex is, overturning many current beliefs about the biological bases of multiple sexes. It then considers four case studies of so-called fluid gender in world history-Mesopotamian women as men, Albanian virgjinéshē, and Indian devadāsīs and sādhini-which show that these apparently "male women" never lose their feminine gender in spite of provisional male prerogatives. In all cases, it is their sexuality that ties them to their gender. The article ends with a consideration of how unreflective adoption of non-binary sex and fluid gender undermines the goals of feminism.
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Reproduction: Antiquity to the Present Day, edited by N. Hopwood, R. Flemming, and L. Kassell, Cambridge University Press., 2018
This paper examines the central role of the phallus in ANE conceptions of fertility and reproduct... more This paper examines the central role of the phallus in ANE conceptions of fertility and reproduction. It was supposed to be called "The Big Bang: Phallic Fertility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt" but the editors were afraid that might come across as humor.
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Gender and methodology in the ancient Near East: Approaches from Assyriology and beyond, Stephanie Lynn Budin, Megan Cifarelli, Agnès Garcia-Ventura, Adelina Millet Albà (eds.), 2019
A study of the history and meaning of the femiform jar handles which make their first appearance ... more A study of the history and meaning of the femiform jar handles which make their first appearance in 3rd-millennium Kish (Mesopotamia) and are the earliest forerunners of Nude Female iconography.
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THE SOCIAL ARCHAEOLOCY OF THE LEVANT FROM PREHISTORY TO THE PRESENT, A. Yasur-Landau, E.H. Cline, and Y.M Rowan (eds.), Cambridge University Press., 2019
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This paper examines the interplay of gender roles in the Ugaritic Tale of Aqhat.
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Maedchen im Altertum/Girls in Antiquity, 2014
This article looks at two works of art from Minoan Crete -- the Ivory Triad (found in Mycenae but... more This article looks at two works of art from Minoan Crete -- the Ivory Triad (found in Mycenae but of Minoan manufacture) and a terracotta from Mavrospelio--and argues that both depict not mothers or adult women, but adolescent girls.
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Women in Antiquity: Real Women Across the Ancient World, 2016
This is one of my contributions to the Women in Antiquity volume. It considered the physical and... more This is one of my contributions to the Women in Antiquity volume. It considered the physical and social implications of maternity in Bronze Age Crete and Greece.
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An analysis of the sexual attributes of Bronze Age piriform pendants in the Levant and their rela... more An analysis of the sexual attributes of Bronze Age piriform pendants in the Levant and their relationship to the Egyptian goddess Hathor.
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This article considers the iconographic origins of the Egyptian goddess Qedešet and her Levantine... more This article considers the iconographic origins of the Egyptian goddess Qedešet and her Levantine cognate Qudšu through an examination of their individual iconographic elements, such as V-pose arms, snakes, and coiffures. As the evidence indicates, the nude, en face female, typically standing upon an animal and often portrayed as a potnia therôn, derives from Anatolia. Specifically Egyptian elements are the Hathoric coiffure and the grasping of snakes. Highly distinctive regional aspects of the iconography are presented, distinguishing among Anatolian, North Levantine, South Levantine, and Egyptian iconographic types.
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The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. Wiley-Blackwell., 2015
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Cult and Ritual on the Levantine Coast, and its impact on the Eastern Mediterranean Realm. Baal Hors-Série X, 315-335., 2015
This paper is a study of the evolution of the so-called Nude Female or Nude Goddess image in the ... more This paper is a study of the evolution of the so-called Nude Female or Nude Goddess image in the Ancient Near East. It specifically considers the cross-fertilization of the superficially similar but distinct iconographies of Syro-Mesopotamian Aštart plaques and Egyptian potency figurines in the southern Levant, focusing on the case studies of kourotrophic iconography and portrayals of the Levanto-Egyptian goddess Qedešet/Qudšu. The paper ends with a reevaluation of the hypothesis that all of these Nude Female icons, especially in the Levant, are meant to portray the goddess Asherah.
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Archaeological Perspectives on the Transmission and Transformation of Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean. Joanne Clarke editor. Council for British Research in the Levant., 2005
This paper examines the possible foreign origins of the pillar base of the Judean Pillar Figurine... more This paper examines the possible foreign origins of the pillar base of the Judean Pillar Figurine (JPF). After considering and rejecting Mesopotamian and Levantine origins due to lack of chronologically compatible antecedents, the hypothesis of Cypriot origins is presented. The data show that Cyprus did have a pillar-based goddess image in its repertoire immediately preceding the earliest appearnaces of the JPF in Judea. Furthermore, there is evidence of contacts between Cyprus and Judea in the areas where and when the JPFs first appear. The mixing of the foreign pillar base with the indigenous arms positioning under the breasts led to the iconography of the JPF. The essay then considers the origins of the pillar-based idol in Cyprus, noting that it emerged from the 'hoop-skirt' base of the Goddess With Upraised Arms from Crete.
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Sex in Antiquity: Exploring Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World. Edited by M. Masterson, N. Sorkin Rabionowitz, and J. Robson., 2015
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Transformation of a Goddess: Ishtar -- Astarte -- Aphrodite. David T. Sugimoto (ed.) Academic Press Fribourg., 2014
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Medelhavsmuseet: Focus on the Mediterranean 5, 2009
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Brill's Companion to Aphrodite, ed. Amy Smith and Sadie Pickup, 2010
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Engendering Aphrodite: Women and Society in Ancient Cyprus, edited by Diane Bolger and Nancy Serwint, 2002
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Tempelprostitution im Altertum: Fakten und Fiktionen, Tanja S. Scheer and Martin Linfer (eds.), Verlag Antike, Berlin., 2009
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Numen-international Review for The History of Religions, 2004
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Journal of Prehistoric Religion, XXII, 2010
"This article reconsiders both the presence and role of maternal, kourotrophic, and child-oriente... more "This article reconsiders both the presence and role of maternal, kourotrophic, and child-oriented iconography in the Minoan repertoire. Contrary to the received wisdom, the only kourotrophic iconography in Minoan Crete is not a Mycenaean-influenced figural group from Mavrospelio cemetery, but a strongly Egyptianizing plaque from Monastiraki. Furthermore, in spite of the dearth of kourotrophic iconography, images of regnant/parturient females are both original to and common on the island during this period. Finally, I consider the role of children in the Minoan repertoire, noting especially in what contexts they are prevalent. As the combined data show, the Minoans had no problems with depicting either maternity or childhood in their arts. As such, the lack of an indigenous kourotrophic iconography argues strongly against any notions of a distinctly ‘Mother’ goddess in the Minoan pantheon."
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Papers by Stephanie Budin
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