Powerful Women Who Ruled the Ancient World

By: Kara Cooney, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kara Cooney

What is power and who is allowed to wield it? Why is female power so rare and, often, so feared? What can the women who gained power in the ancient world teach us about the contemporary world and our modern ideas of gender, authority, and equality?

Listeners will explore these and other questions as you travel back to the ancient world and uncover the stories of remarkable women who overcame a host of barriers to wield power in a male-dominated world. From Egypt and Mesopotamia to China and Rome, you will meet women who worked strategically to gain unprecedented influence and you will see how their stories echo through the centuries, offering surprising relevance to our understanding of gender and sexual dynamics today.

In Powerful Women of the Ancient World, Professor Kara Cooney will share the stories of women who rose to power through ambition; intelligence; skill; and sheer determination. First, you will take a look at what power actually is - how it is defined, how different kinds of power operate, and why women and men are often viewed differently when power is involved. Then, meet the women of the ancient world who challenged the status quo by grasping for and holding authority. Some names listeners will likely already recognize through their “cautionary tales”, such as Cleopatra and Jezebel. Others, though less well-known, will show you the different ways it is possible to be powerful. You will meet rulers like Empress Lü of China and Hatshepsut of Egypt, rebel leaders such as Boudica of Britain, religious leaders like the Hebrew prophetess Deborah, and more.

As listeners will learn, times may have changed since antiquity, but the past has a long reach - and in many ways, our cultural ideas about women and power are surprisingly slow to change.

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Great Stories

loved it, especially Hopshaptut's story and other women who I have never heard of before. Remarkable stories

Enlightening, Empowering, Enraging

Absolutely love this audiobook. The sequence makes sense, the narration is engaging, and she tempers the history and story telling with just enough questions to keep the listener thinking on this long after the lesson, while reminding the listener that these are historical accounts, not fantastical tales or indisputable facts. It's a wonderfully balanced perspective on some incredible figures in history.

If you are a woman, listen to this

Powerful Women Who Ruled the Ancient World by Kara Cooney, The Great Courses, Audible Original, narrated by Kara Cooney, is a great historical source that concentrates on women of the ancient world. It is excellent to know history to understand our nowadays existence.

Fascinating

Such a great listen to make you think and review not only history but today’s power dynamics.

Great Women's History Lecture Series

"Powerful Women Who Ruled the Ancient World" is a ~5 hour Great Courses lecture series taught by Dr. Kara Cooney, Professor of Egyptology at UCLA known for her popular nonfiction books "When Women Ruled the World" and "The Good King". This is a great listen for those interested in Egyptology, Dr. Cooney's previous body of work, in addition to other ancient cultures and power traditions.

I was intrigued and quite enjoyed how Cooney took what she specializes in on the Ancient Egypt side of this discussion and applied it to other countries, such as Mesopotamia and China, as well as other systems of government, such as in Ancient Rome. Those familiar with Cooney's work will gain new insight into Hatshepsut and Cleopatra's history from these new perspectives. Historical figures that Cooney also discusses here that she has not in the other works of hers I have encountered include Empress Lü of China, Boudica of Britain, the Hebrew prophetess Deborah, and Jezebel of the Bible.

I found this to be engaging and refreshing, and a solid listen with which to celebrate Women's History Month 2022! The Great Courses is an excellent brand to have on hand, and Cooney's contributions do not disappoint.

A Good Lesson in Ancient Feminism

A little repetitive, but educational and inspiring. Full of academic views of history that pushed through the bias of the winner's writings.

Great listen and powerful history, but clear bias

Kara Cooney has such an engaging way of speaking. I was lucky enough to attend a lecture of hers at a museum event and I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture series.

My only complaint or concern is her clear bias against anything Greek or Roman. When she discusses Cleopatra she asks us to keep in kind the hostile sources writing about her. To remember that most of what we know comes from the Romans who vilified her. Yet when she talks about Livia, she recounts the very biased and negative stories told about her in the Roman records as if they were canon. It struck me as very strange because the Roman records are almost unilaterally hostile towards woman who they so much as suspect as wielding any kind of power or influence. Yet Kara tells of Livia’s deeds with no warning to her listeners of these circumstances. I was quite disappointed by that.

Otherwise a fantastic listen.

Very well done

It was interesting but I would have liked to see the Hun daughters included. They stood on their own merits and would have been an interesting contrast.

Eye opening

I loved this book. It was very eye opening as a woman in America how different and how alike our society is to these ancient times.

Five stars are not enough! I need a constellation

Hatshepsut has fascinated me for decades, & Cooney's fem p.o.v. & modern insight are captivating