Women of the Ancient World (WOAW) is a digital history resource and research forum aimed at investigating the lives of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern women in a new way.

Our project explores the ways in which holistic, graphic reconstruction advances our understanding of ancient women’s experiences beyond their representation by ancient men and their male interpreters.

Informed by texts, inscriptions, archaeological excavations, and ethnographies, graphic reconstructions serve as central expressions of our arguments. 

Portraying women in situ makes evident what we can know about how they lived, and their roles in society. It also renders transparent the act of (re)constructing history.

This site features original illustrations and translations of primary sources accompanied by articles that explain our research and decision making. The visual format provides researchers and students a forum for employing a wealth of specialized research available today.

Our nod to the graphic novel storytelling genre invites a broad audience to the study of the ancient world, and the place of women within it.