Beginning in the early fourth century BCE, a significant change in monuments occurred: dynastic and royal women were represented in public art for the first time throughout the Aegean. What explains these curious innovations in the history of art and the history of women?

Through distinct case studies, this talk discusses the roles that queens played as both subjects and patrons of dynastic monuments throughout the Hellenistic world—from the Hecatomnids of Lycia in the fourth century to the Attalids at Pergamon in the second century. On the one hand, such monuments uniquely affirmed the presence and power of a royal dynasty vis à vis the image, memory, and/or deeds of the queen. On the other hand, such monuments also expressed ideas that were central to dynastic legitimacy and continuity, including kinship, mythological and divine links, and triumph. Such a look at the archaeological and art historical record for spectacular monuments begins to illuminate the exceptional political responsibilities of dynastic women in the Hellenistic world, while contributing to our knowledge of women in the history of ancient art.