Conditions for Greek women varied with time and place, though generally they enjoyed few, if any, political rights and were limited to domestic affairs, child rearing, u and duties of cult.
Date: To 31 b. c.e.
Category: Daily life; women
Pre-Greek Aegean Societies Aegean peoples of the Neolithic Age (c. 9000-4500 b. c.e.) revered feminine deities associated with fertility and reproduction. The Minoan civilization of Crete (c. 3500-1100 b. c.e.) also placed special emphasis on female divinities, and women served important roles in the cult and as priestesses. It is possible, based on Sir Arthur Evans’s reconstruction of the palace at Knossos, that the Minoans were not as sexually segregated as later Greeks and that, subsequently, Minoan women were to some degree active in civic life. Though the picture is still dim, this pattern seems to continue into the Mycenaean period (c. 1450-1050 b. c.e.).
The Archaic Period During the Archaic period (c. 800-500 b. c.e.), the political, social, and religious institutions of the polis solidified, and whatever freedoms women may have enjoyed in earlier ages were abolished. Since land ownership was the truest measure of a man’s wealth— and wealth the prerequisite for participation in an oligarchic system of government—wealthy men isolated women legally and socially to insure the legitimacy of their heirs. Women participated actively in cult activities and played an especially visible and invaluable role in funerary rituals. One exception to the dearth of female voices in antiquity is the poet Sappho of Lesbos (c. 630-c. 580 b. c.e.), whose poetry suggests that aristocratic girls were educated in groups by older women and practiced institutionalized homoeroticism, as did boys and men elsewhere in the Greek world.
From Homer’s Iliad (c. 750 b. c.e.; English translation, 1611)and Odyssey (c. 725 b. c.e.; English translation, 1614), one can catch a glimpse of
Idealized Archaic Greek cultural values as they pertained to women. The ideal wives of Homer’s warrior chieftains were active participants in religious life, rigorously devoted to their domestic activities, and respected by their male kinsfolk. They had freedom to move freely and could converse openly with men. On the other hand, female war captives were kept as prizes of honor, used as domestic help and for sexual pleasure and as attendants for the captor’s own female kinsfolk.
The Classical Period The overwhelming majority of evidence for the lives of women in the Classical period (c. 500-338 b. c.e.) comes from Athens and, to a lesser degree, Sparta. Since both cities were unique among poleis, it would be safe to assume that life for women in the rest of the Greek world followed a middle course between these two cultural extremes.
In Athens, to ensure the legitimacy of their heirs and to limit the rights of citizenship to native Athenians, men maintained a rigorously sexually segregated society. Athenian women were legal minors their entire lives and were always under the protection of a legal guardian, a kyrios, usually their fathers and then, after marriage, their husbands. Women were barred from
The poet Sappho is surrounded by her students. She is one of few women in ancient Greece accorded equal respect with men in her field. (F. R. Niglutsch)
The Assembly and from the law courts. Evidence to be introduced by a woman in a court of law was usually presented by that woman’s kyrios. Dowries were customary, but women could not own property apart from some personal objects. An Athenian widow could inherit only when her deceased husband had no male heirs or next-of-kin. Married women were absolutely forbidden any sexual contact with men other than their husbands, but their husbands were not limited in this way. It was common for upper-class men to visit prostitutes and to have concubines, either slaves or dowerless women.
In Sparta, young women were encouraged to exercise in order to become strong mothers. (F. R. Niglutsch)
Domestic architecture suggests that Athenian women were kept in seclusion within the second story of the home and in enclosed courtyards. It was considered undignified for an upper-class woman to venture out of her home except on religious occasions which were relatively frequent and provided women with opportunities for social interaction. Thucydides (c. 424 b. c.e.) has Pericles say that the greatest glory for an Athenian woman is to be least talked about by men in either praise or blame. She was to spend her days managing her household, managing the activities of domestic slaves, and spinning wool. Such restrictions could not have been practical for women from less wealthy families, and nonelite women probably ventured out to attend to household business or to work in the agora (marketplace), shops, or fields. Vase paintings from the sixth and fifth centuries depict upper-class girls being educated in mousike, the memorization of lyric poetry. They were also taught arithmetic, reading, and writing in order to prepare them for managing their households.
Because the Spartan constitution deemphasized familial affection and authority and channeled men’s energies into state affairs, Spartan women were less oppressed than their Athenian sisters. Girls received an education in peer groups from young women. The girls were also kept physically fit because of the widely held belief that strong mothers produced strong babies. At various religious festivals, most notably the festival of Artemis Orthia, Spartan girls competed in sporting events and joined together for ritual song and dance. Homoerotic relationships may have existed between girls and their teachers. Since husbands did not leave the barracks until age thirty and were frequently absent on state business, women reigned supreme over their household affairs. Spartan women were not granted any political rights, but they exerted considerable influence through men. Spartan women did own land, and daughters and sons alike could inherit.
The Hellenistic Period The breakdown of the polis system and major political changes of the Hellenistic period (338-31 b. c.e.) in some cases improved the lives of women. Some Greek cities allowed wealthy women to hold minor public posts. Education among upper-class women became fashionable, and a few attained careers, such as the philosopher Hipparchia and the musician Polygnota of Thebes. Papyri from the Macedonian kingdoms reveal that women managed their own finances, and some sought redress for ill treatment by their husbands. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to suggest that there was any form of gender equality in this period or any other in antiquity.
Further Reading
Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece. Cambridge. Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995
Fantham, Elaine, et al. Women in the Classical World: Image and Text. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994
Lefkowitz, Mary, and Maureen Fant. Women’s Lives in Greece and Rome. London: Duckworth, 1982.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books, 1975
Joseph R. O’Neill
See also: Archaic Greece; Athens; Classical Greece; Crete; Daily Life and Customs; Education and Training; Hellenistic Greece; Homer; Sappho; Sports and Entertainment.
World History
