The inferior political status and heavily circumscribed lives of women in ancient Greek and Roman societies have received extensive study in recent decades. Yet it is nearly impossible to understand women's lives without also studying the often stringent cultural norms that governed men's lives as well. This course seeks to understand these aspects of Greek and Roman societies over time as expectations for the behaviors, priorities, and activities of both women and men evolved. While the impact of these gendered expectations on the lives of men and women often varied considerably in kind and degree, their interplay was at the same time often intricate, and many that constructed women's lives could only be articulated with reference to corresponding expectations for men. Others emerged only during times of crisis and could even involve a reversal of the usual roles of men and women. Some norms gave men and women a shared experience that is rare in other societies. We will explore these and related issues by reading widely in such ancient authors as Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, the Greek tragedians, Greek and Roman philosophers, Vergil and other Latin poets, and Roman didactic writers. We will also read modern scholarship on such subjects as the family, prostitution, the exposure of unwanted infants, demography, and the anthropology of gender in both Greek and Roman societies. Lecture and discussion. Evaluation will be based on class preparation and participation, two short 5- to 7-page papers, a midterm, and a final exam. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 15).