Womb of the Earth: Caves and the Feminine in the Ancient Greek World

Abstract

This dissertation investigates how caves were used to express concerns over female sexuality and reproduction in ancient Greek literature and in lived religion. I contend that rather than merely representing the womb in its birthing capacity, caverns can be read as female anatomy more generally in the expression and policing of female sexuality within patriarchal systems. The dissertation is composed of three primary chapters, each interrogating a theme: maternity, sexuality, and virginity. I first show that caves were depicted not only as proxies for the womb, but in relation to mothering more generally. Archaeological materials from birth cult caves of Eileithyia and the nymphs indicate that this association was understood by female worshipers as well. Next, I analyze literary depictions of couples copulating in caves; in all cases, the female partner holds more social or divine agency than the male partner, prefiguring violent ends to the relationships to maintain normative gender dynamics. I show how this power dynamic is rejected in nympholeptic cult sites, reaffirming those normative dynamics. Finally, I investigate the use of caves both for testing virginity and for violently defending one’s virginity. I interrogate the use of caves in virginity ordeals in both narrative and lived religion to assess the connection between their grottoes, virginal cult figures, and acts of worship. Thus, as depicted in male-authored literature and public religious rites, caves reinforce normative ideals of female sexuality under patriarchy, while women-centric cave cults demonstrate a more positive, cooperative, and empowering relationship between femininity and the landscape.