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The Women of Athens
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/culture/womenofathens.html
Compared to the women of Sparta, the status of an Athenian woman in Greek society was minimal. By
comparison to present day standards, Athenian women were only a small step above slaves by the 5th
century BC. From birth a girl was not expected to learn how to read or write, nor was she expected to
earn an education. On reading and writing, Menander wrote, "Teaching a woman to read and write?
What a terrible thing to do! Like feeding a vile snake on more poison." Other authors and
philosophers had similar quips about women.
Athenian women can be classified into three
general classes. The lowest class was the
slave women, who carried out more of the
Typical Day of a Greek Housewife
menial domestic chores, and helped to raise
the children of the wife. Male slaves held
Excerpt from: Lynn, Schnurnberger. Let There Be Clothes.
the task of working in the trade arts
Workman Publishing; New York, 1991.
(pottery making, glass working, wood
7:05 Rises
working, etc) or to educate the sons of a
house. The second class was that of the
Athenian citizen woman. The third class was 7:08 Eats small piece of bread soaked in wine. Is still hungry, but
must be careful about her figure
known as the Hetaerae. The hetaerae unlike
the slaves and the citizens, were much akin
7:09 Pecks husband on cheek and sends him off to the agora. Sighs.
to the Geisha's of China. Hetaerae women
Looks at the four bare (slightly tinted) walls. Rarely allowed out of
were given an education in reading, writing,
the house, she prepares for another day at home.
and music, and were allowed into the Agora
7:15 Summon hand maiden to cool her with huge peacock feather.
and other structures which were off limits
to citizen and slave women. Most sources
8:30 All dressed up with no place to go, she wanders into the
about the Hetaerae indicate however, that
kitchen, eyes a piece of honey cake. Resists.
their standing was at best at the level of
prostitutes, and the level of power they
9:27 Hears argument between two servants, rushes out to mediate.
attained was only slightly significant. Most
of what has been written about Athenian
11:15 Wanders into the courtyard near flowerbed where slave girls
are spinning and giggling. Asks to join them. Is reminded this is
women comes from the 7th century BC
improper behavior - they suggest she ready herself for lunch.
onward, when education in Athens began to
emerge. Prior to that date, it has been
12:15 Husband arrives, chiding her about the foolishness of make-up.
alluded to by some authors, that the status
Pretends to agree. Husband leaves at 12:22
of women was not so glum. In particular, the
rights of women in Athens and their decline
3:00 Instructs daughter on her duties of being a wife.
may have been the direct result of political
8:05 Husband and wife sit down at low table to dinner; bread, oil,
pressures brought about by Pericle's ruling
wine, a few figs, small portion of fish (only 320 calories) and beans.
on the legitimacy of marriage. Similarly
She hears about his day. He tells her she should not bother about
there is evidence to suggest that Athenian
the affairs of men. Pretends to agree. She is too hungry to argue.
women prior to the 7th century BC had been
subject to similar rites of passage as boys.
10:10 Falls asleep. Does not dream of tomorrow.
The scholar Jean-Pierre Vernant, wrote that
the Arrephoroi, and many other religious celebrations of Athens, could have been reduced from perhaps
an entire age grade's participation, to only a handful of girls who were chosen to participate. Even then, it
was only the noble and upper class families which were considered for participation.
Marriage
Athenian citizen girls, since birth were raised differently than their male counterparts. Jean Vernant,
likened the difference to the phrases of Xenophon, that "boys were meant to be made men in their early
years, while girls were raised to be kept and protected (i.e. virgin)". In domestic life, a boy was taught
reading and writing, while a girl was taught spinning and other domestic duties by the slaves her family
had. In the ritual sphere, children of either sex were not excluded from the numerous rites of Athens
until their later years, and women played an important role in the 120 festivals which took place in Athens
every year. Children in Athens were constantly subject to numerous religious rites and festivals. Young
girls and women often played a part in these festivals (as for some it was the only contact the women had
with other women outside of their general locality), however, the most ritualistic and most important
aspect of their life was marriage.
Marriages were arranged by the father and were accompanied by a great deal of fanfare. When the
marriage was to take place the girl gave away all of her toys to the temple of Artemis, and her hair was
cut (in some places her girdle was offered to Athena Apatouria). For the next several months the bride
was taught the domestic duties she would perform for the rest of her life, by her mother and by slaves.
A series of rites then followed. On the night before the wedding day, the bride and groom took rituals
baths, and sang hymns to Hymen. The father made sacrifices to Hera, Zeus, Artemis, Aphrodite, and
Peitho. When the ceremony began there was a feast at the bride's father's home, and at the feast bread
would be passed out by a child who would say, "They have escaped evil; they have found the good." During
and after the feast, numerous wedding hymns, libations, and blessings occurred culminating in the grand
procession, from the father's house to the groom's house. Once she arrived at the house, the bride held
a sieve of barley (Vernant states that the sieve of barley represented her new role as "preparer of food".
An alternate interpretation is that the sieve of barley, a sacred symbol to Demeter, was a fertility
symbol among other things). Then she entered and was taken to the hearth where she was given offerings.
The final act, after being received at the hearth, was the consummation of the marriage inside of the
wedding chamber, which was closely guarded by a friend.
Wedding's were arranged through the father of the bride. The relationship between both families which
ensued was between the father, groom, and the father's brother. The marital contract was between the
groom and the father, while the bride's dowry was given to the father's brother. If a wife was widowed
it was the duty of the father's brother to find her another husband. A woman could not own property,
and was practically an object herself. If the husband died she vacated the house and went to her
father's brother. If the father's brother was killed the woman became a virtual slave, with minimal
rights; in comparison to modern women's lives and in particular to Spartan women, Athenian women were
subject to a life of subservience. They were not supposed to leave the house save for the general locality
(although some country women were allowed a bit more freedom), their domestic work was minimal
depending on the number of slaves she had, and in general her main purpose as a wife was to produce
healthy children.
Ironically the power of women, and the jokes often made about them or their intelligence have proven,
that though house life was restricting, they did wield some power. Namely, in Aristophanes' "Lysistrata"
the obvious power of women is through using or withholding their biological capabilities. Beyond the
mundane scope however the question must be asked, if women were of so low status in Athens and across
Greece, then why were the goddesses worshiped (strong female figures themselves) and so embedded
into Greek lives? One theory holds that Greek women held much more power than once thought, in that if
the husband did something the women didn't like "domestic retribution" could occur. Similarly women held
extremely high posts in the ritual events of Athens, it is not beyond speculation that women were not
totally subjugated based on their reproductive capabilities, but held an important ritual or sacred
purpose, without which the religious life and perhaps the culture of Athens would suffer.