ABSTRACT
In this contribution, I would like to explore the role played by Libyan women in the transmission of Libyan culture in Cyrene. I believe that this north African city offers a good case study of the way in which women can act as transmitters of culture for two reasons. First, there is strong evidence to suggest that Libyan women intermarried with Cyrenaeans throughout much of the city’s history and, second, we can, to a degree, distinguish between Libyan and Cyrenaean culture. This means that the influence Libyan women exerted in Cyrene can, to an extent, be detected. This having been said, we are, as usual, at the mercy of sources which are mostly silent about the transmission of Libyan customs and, in particular, about the role which Libyan women played in this transmission. I have divided this chapter into two sections: the first will examine the evidence for intermarriage between Libyans and Cyrenaeans while the second will review the evidence for the role Libyan women played in the transmission of Libyan customs.
