“No Man Has Ever Heard Her Name: A Re-examination of the Roman Cult of Bona Dea in the Light of Deep History, Cultural Evolution, and Cognitive Science” [in Italian]

The aim of my Ph.D. dissertation (2014) was to lay the foundations for a thorough social-scientific and cognitive re-analysis of the Bona Dea cult, a peculiar Roman cult exclusively reserved to women.

One of the most challenging aspects of the study of this cult is that the documentary record is almost entirely written by male members of the political and cultural elite and destined to privileged male readers. With the exception of a part of the epigraphic record, the women’s own perspective about their beliefs and their rites was almost completely obliterated. The story of the Bona Dea cult, like almost every ancient female cult, is a story written in absentia.

The importance of a deconstructionist point of view, the adoption of a sex and gender studies’ framework, and an evolutionary and neurocognitive toolbox were thus highlighted as paramount resources for the critical inspection and identification of social information embedded in ancient texts.

The close examination of the available mythography concerning Bona Dea reveals the ways in which Roman religion modulated the acceptance of patriarchal codes regarding women’s subordination, while providing justification for toxic masculinity. This was mainly achieved through the deliberate use of cultural ploys (such as mythical storytelling) and social strategies (exemplified by extraordinary rituals) to control and manipulate the neurophysiological state of socially subordinate individuals.

DISCLAIMER: please keep in mind that more recent data and interpretations on the same topics are available in my peer-reviewed articles. Check them out!