In Greek literature from Homer to Euripides, the Nurse is a central figure of authority, but until now no one has attempted a systematic, comprehensive study of her. Examining Nurse figures in ancient Greek epic and drama, Helen Pournara Karydas focuses on the the verbal manifestations of the Nurse's authority-advice, approval, disapproval, directions and orders. She reveals its roots in the models of female hierarchy in early choral lyric performances, demonstrating how the poetics of female paideia in those performances are appropriated and reshaped in the poetics of epic and tragedy.

"This book is a timely and welcome exploration of the development of what is more than simply a literary stereotype. . . . this study is a valuable contribution to the study of marginal women in Greek literature." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review