Women and Power, with Mary Beard and Shahidha Bari

For millennia, female power has been portrayed, mediated and exerted through visual art. But to what extent have women been packaged to fit a male template? And how much have they been able to control their own image? In today’s episode, which was originally recorded as a live event at Sotheby’s in London, Sotheby’s specialist Holly Braine was joined by Britain’s best known classicist Mary Beard for a conversation about how Western culture has represented powerful women through the ages. They discuss sculptures of ancient goddesses like Aphrodite and Athena, depictions of Queen Elizabeth I as ‘Gloriana’, and contemporary portraits of cultural icons and politicians. To see the works discussed in this episode, or to watch an extended version of this talk, visit And, to step further into the world of Sotheby’s, you can visit any of our galleries around the world; they’re open to the public. For more information, visit sothebys.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can listen to Women and Power, with Mary Beard and Shahidha Bari online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Women and Power, with Mary Beard and Shahidha Bari is an episode from Intelligence Squared Business.

This episode is 37:00 long.

This episode was published on Jan 14, 2024.

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