Activity

Mater mea

Characters:

Metrodora

Theme: Vocabulary derived from mater, matris and femina, -ae

Competencies

Competence in Linguistic Communication

Multilingual Competence

Personal, social and learning to learn competence

Competence in cultural awareness and expressions

Subjects and year by Educational System

Spain > Latin > 4th ESO > Latin and plurilingualism

Enunciation

<img title="Women's Legacy logo" src="//inclusion.womenslegacyproject.eu/images/LogoWL.svg" /><hr />Read this excerpt about Metrodora, a doctor of Greek origin who practised in Rome in the 2nd century AD, and respond to the proposed activities.
&ldquo;Some of the epigraphic evidence confirms that, at least from the first half of the 4th century BC, there were already women in Greece who practised medicine, and some of them were specialized in obstetrics and gynaecology. But, if we take certain information from Pliny the Elder into account, some women even wrote gynaecological treatises. In this sense, we speak of the works of Metrodora. There is little information about this name, since it is only preserved in a single Greek manuscript in which it appears in a medical text included as an extract 'from the works of Metrodora'.&nbsp;
For the rest, there is no doubt that there were women who practised medicine, in general, or gynaecology, in particular, according to epigraphic inscriptions or literary sources. As far as gynaecological writings or treatises are concerned, although some female names are preserved, sometimes philological criticism debates about the authenticity and authorship of the preserved material&rdquo;.
Our own translation from Moral Lozano, Maria de la Sierra (2011). &laquo;Mujer y medicina en la Antig&uuml;edad Cl&aacute;sica: la figura de la partera y los inicios de la ginecolog&iacute;a occidental&raquo;. Fronteiras, Dourados, MS, v. 13, n. 24, pp. 45-60, jul./dez.
1. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The word mater, matris means "mother." The stem is mater-, matr-.
Find derivatives from the suffixes:
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; mater- + -ity (quality, situation)
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; + -al (relationship)
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; matr- without joining vowel +-on (with functions of )
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;+ -ix (relationship)
2. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Form compound words from the union of the stem matr- with the following etyms:
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; + -cid (caedo, kill): the one who kills his mother
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; + &nbsp;-arc (ἄ&rho;&chi;&omega;, command): social situation in which women have power
3. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The stem fe-/fi- means &laquo;to produce milk&raquo;, &laquo;to be productive&raquo;. FE-mina, &laquo;female, being that breast-feeds and gestates&raquo;; the stem is femin-, femen-. Fe-llo, &laquo;breast-feed&raquo;, the stem is fel-. Filius/filia, &laquo;son or daughter, being that suckles&raquo;, the stem is fil-.&nbsp;
Write in your notebook derived words with the union of these stems with the suffixes.&nbsp;
&nbsp;fe- + -cund (abundance)+ -ity
&nbsp;fe- + -tus (participle, result)
&nbsp;fe- + -min (relationship) + -ity
&nbsp;fe- + -min + -(i)ne (relationship)
4. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Complete the sentences with one of the following words: infertile, fertile, misogyny, filial, gynaecophilia, feminist.
- For the ancient Greeks, a woman without children was like a ---------------- field.
- In Greek literature we observe a notable ----------------- because considerations about the wickedness and inferiority of women are frequent.
- The ------------- movement has always questioned the dominant role of men in society.
5. &nbsp; It follows from the text that it was difficult in ancient times for women to be recognized as doctors. Write a text in which you analyse the different jobs that men and women do and explain if you think there are differences.&nbsp;
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Observations and context

Women gatherers in prehistoric times discovered and applied the healing properties of plants. In Egypt, before 3000 BC, there were already female physicians or surgeons, and by 1500 BC, the schools of Sais and Heliopolis were open to women like Sephora and Queen Hatsepshut. In Mesopotamia, healers were very important and in Greek cities there were female doctors and surgeons, but their role was restricted to that of midwives. Popular medicine also stood out: one of the first herbalists was Artemisia II of Caria. In Athens, in the 4th century BC, women were prevented from practicing medicine, accusing them of performing abortions. The figure of Agnodica appeared in this context. In Rome, there were many female physicians who also wrote treatises, such as Elephantis, Lais, Olympias of Thebes, Antiochis and Metrodora. Among the women who wrote about gynaecology and obstetrics, the texts of Cleopatra and Aspasia were the most important until the work of Trotula in the 11th century.

Description

Reading of a text related to Metrodora and etymological study of the words mater and femina. Reflection on the trades that women performed and continue to perform.

Answer

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