At 16, I got into local-education archaeology classes - you got to go to summer digs. It allowed me to be both intellectual and a bad girl with a wicked social life every evening! Mary Beard More Quotes by Mary Beard More Quotes From Mary Beard It doesn’t much matter what line of argument you take as a woman. If you venture into traditional male territory, the abuse comes anyway. It’s not what you say that prompts it - Mary Beard abuse males lines Action without study is fatal. Mary Beard study action Fame is fickle. If the media turn against me, I will just have more time in the library. Not bad as a fate. Mary Beard library fate media If being a decent soul is being maternal, then fine. I'll call it human. Mary Beard decent fine soul There's a difference between what I would like to have been and what I would have been. I always fantasized about being a reforming judge or prison governor (I think that the UK penal system is a disgrace) - but it's fantasy. Mary Beard differences judging thinking Beard's secret is always to be slightly on the edge but to pull back from disaster at the last minute. Mary Beard back always beard disaster Fate has it in for me to be an exhibit: that funny old lady from the telly. Mary Beard lady me fate funny There is no way, absolutely no way, that I would want people to stop reading the 'Odyssey.' But I want them to read it with their eyes open. To notice it and then to think what it says about us. Mary Beard eyes think reading people I think you have to realize that most ancient warfare is really kind of hit and run, honestly. You go and you bash down the walls of some enemy 50 miles away and you take some slaves, you take some cattle, probably a bit of cash too, and then you say goodbye and go home and you probably do the same thing next year - or try to, or they do it to you. Mary Beard think you home goodbye People who exploit others come to spend an enormous amount of energy wondering about and justifying that exploitation. Mary Beard wondering others energy people We lived in the schoolhouse of the village school in Church Preen, in deepest Shropshire, and my mum was the schoolmistress. She taught the juniors, and one other teacher taught the infants. I went there from the age of three, no doubt as a form of childcare. Mary Beard village age teacher school It's great fun being an academic because you have a certain licence to be a bit of a joker. Mary Beard joker great you fun If women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than women? Mary Beard women-are need women power The building blocks of discrimination tend to be similar wherever you find them. Mary Beard find you discrimination building No women in ancient Rome ever had the vote. Mary Beard ancient rome women vote Gender is a key marker of power and powerlessness. Most of the structures of how our world works are biased in terms of men. Mary Beard gender power men world Classics isn't about the ancient world. It's partly about the ancient world, but it's about our conversation. It's how we try to talk to antiquity. Mary Beard talk try conversation world A lot of people will always say, 'I really know nothing about the ancient world.' But there's lots and lots of things people know. Partly, they've been encouraged to think they're ignorant about it. In some ways, the job to do is show people that they know much more than they'd like to admit. Mary Beard job think people world You don't overturn x-thousand years of patriarchy in a generation. Mary Beard generation you patriarchy years Roman military tactics were much over-rated. All the clever ones had the same idea, which was to go round the back. Mary Beard back go military clever
