BTS GLAM 210 Subject Guide by Autumn Baxter (2025)

Not the Classical Ideal is a peer-reviewed anthology containing articles written by seventeen international classical studies scholars about the societal construction of the other in ancient Greece. The articles focus on the art that arose because of interactions between Greece as a colonizing state and their bordering societies, between the majority and marginalized ethnic groups in Greek society, and within Greece as a patriarchy. Beth Cohen is an American classical archaeologist, and she teaches at the New York Academy of Fine Art. This book is available to borrow from Roanoke College's general collection, and through the Interlibrary Loan System. Individuals researching body modification in Antiquity may want to take a look at the article titled "Allure and repulsion of Thracians in the art of Classical Athens" by Despoina Tsiafakis.

This anthology of work follows the history of tattoos as a means of societal distinction across different cultures. Each chapter, a scholar in one of eight humanities-related fields analyzes a different society's relationship with tattoos and body modification as they relate to group identity and the construction of the other. Sinah Theres Kloß, the editor, is a research associate at the Morphomata Center for Advanced Studies and has edited and contributed to dozens of peer-reviewed book chapters and articles across a variety of fields. The chapter, "‘If Skin Were Parchment...’: Tattoos in Antiquity.” may be especially helpful for those researching the Mediterranean of Antiquity.

This book by Standford Department of Classics Research Scholar Adrienne Mayor displays her work researching and connecting the myth of Amazonian women to scientific archaeological findings. Each chapter covers a different topic in relation to the Amazon women, and Chapter 6: "Tattooed Amazons," may be helpful for those researching women undergoing body modifications. In addition to tattoos, Amazonian women were also said to have undergone surgical procedures to remove their left breast, which is discussed in Chapter 5: "Breasts: One or Two?"