The Woman Holding a Liver from Mantineia: Female Manteis and Beyond

Abstract

A fragment of a life-size relief from Mantineia, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (inv. no. 226), shows a woman with a liver in her hand traditionally interpreted as a priestess or a prophetess. This article maintains that it is an important piece of evidence in discussions of gender roles in ancient Greek society because it depicts a female mantis concerned with the inspection of the entrails of a sacrificial animal. Inscriptions from Larissa and Sparta show that this was not an exception but in all probability a widespread and common practice. Ancient and modern systems of classifying divinitory practices differ significantly.