Women in Classical Athens
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Women in Classical Athens
(5th and 4th centuries BC) were seen inferior to the men of Athens. The differences between women and men were not the only differences though. It also depended on whether you were a slave, a prostitute, or a housewife. Each of these classes of women were looked at differently and played different roles in Athens.
In poor households, the wife had many more duties than that of a rich housewife, as poor households had no slaves to assist with the work. Additional duties for a poor housewife would include: shopping for food, making the families clothing and retrieving water. A poor housewife would be likely to acquire a job to help assist with the finances of the household. These jobs could include: acting as a wet-nurse, midwives or small-time market traders.
Housewives were kept in seclusion. They were not allowed to mingle with men in any setting. A housewife was not allowed to answer the door of her home or even be in the same room as male guests who visited. The houses also made way for separation between the males and the females. The wives, daughters, and female slaves lived upstairs, in rooms that were away from the windows and streets.
, the city's eponymous goddess, held much honor. She was consulted for major decisions and her words were well respected. During the Panathenaea, a festival to celebrate the birthday of Athena, the daughters of nobles who were virgins were chosen to carry sacred baskets in the procession. This choosing of virgin women was both an honor and an insult as the reputation of girls who were not chosen was put in doubt.
Women contributed every fourth year in the making of a new peplos
or robe for the statue of Athena. This task was begun by two girls between the ages of seven and eleven and then finished by other women chosen for the task.
As adults women could participate in cults. The most mysterious and famous festival exclusively for women was the Thesmophoria
, a fertility rite for Demeter
. Women spent three days on Demeter's hilltop sanctuary performing rites and celebrating. Specifically what went on there is unknown. The only source of information on this festival is Rabe Lucian (275 AD) he said that the women brought up rotten remains from the pits in the area and then spread it around their crops for a good harvest. In the late fifth century, the population of Athens was largely foreign and many more cults were brought in by foreigners. These cults had a variety of deities including Adonis, Aphrodite, and Dionysus.
. Specifically in Athens there were two types of prostitutes. Hetaira
i were the first type. Hetairai were considered to be at the top in the prostitution social scale. Hetairai were well trained and considered professional sexual entertainers. Pornai were at the bottom of the prostitution social scale. They were slaves, foreigners or metics. Both groups of prostitutes were used to entertain men at symposiums or drinking parties. Evidence of what they did is best seen on red-figure vase paintings. Prostitutes were also drawn on drinking cups as a form of pinups for male entertainment.
The most famous Hetaira was Aspasia
. Aspasia was highly valued by Pericles
who considered her clever and knowledgeable about politics. It is said even Socrates
respected her wisdom. Besides Aspasia, Hetairai were considered by some to live better than free women. Hetairai were able to manage money and also choose with whom they wanted to be with. They had access to the intellectual life of Athens, but were themselves not citizens, which was their most unattractive feature. Hetairai practised infanticide but would on occasion keep their children and even raise the children that others left to die. They preferred daughters to sons so that they could train them in the trade of prostitution. Hetairai were even known to buy slaves to train as future prostitutes so in their old age they would have a source of income creating brothels.
Classical Athens
The city of Athens during the classical period of Ancient Greece was a notable polis of Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Hippias...
(5th and 4th centuries BC) were seen inferior to the men of Athens. The differences between women and men were not the only differences though. It also depended on whether you were a slave, a prostitute, or a housewife. Each of these classes of women were looked at differently and played different roles in Athens.
Housewives
Becoming a housewife was the expected role of Classical Athenian women. After marrying and having children the woman was in charge of all household duties. The duties of a household wife depended on whether or not the household was rich or poor. In a rich household the wife would distribute jobs to the slaves working both inside and outside of the house. Housewives not only were in charge of managing the slaves they also had the task of training the household workers. The wives were expected to care for anyone in the household who became sick and if a family member died the housewife would be in charge of visiting the tomb regularly to present offerings.In poor households, the wife had many more duties than that of a rich housewife, as poor households had no slaves to assist with the work. Additional duties for a poor housewife would include: shopping for food, making the families clothing and retrieving water. A poor housewife would be likely to acquire a job to help assist with the finances of the household. These jobs could include: acting as a wet-nurse, midwives or small-time market traders.
Housewives were kept in seclusion. They were not allowed to mingle with men in any setting. A housewife was not allowed to answer the door of her home or even be in the same room as male guests who visited. The houses also made way for separation between the males and the females. The wives, daughters, and female slaves lived upstairs, in rooms that were away from the windows and streets.
Women and Religion
Religion was the one area of public life where women could participate freely. In Athens the priestess of AthenaAthena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
, the city's eponymous goddess, held much honor. She was consulted for major decisions and her words were well respected. During the Panathenaea, a festival to celebrate the birthday of Athena, the daughters of nobles who were virgins were chosen to carry sacred baskets in the procession. This choosing of virgin women was both an honor and an insult as the reputation of girls who were not chosen was put in doubt.
Women contributed every fourth year in the making of a new peplos
Peplos
A peplos is a body-lengthGreek garment worn by women before 500 BC. The peplos is a tubular cloth folded inside-out from the top about halfway down, altering what was the top of the tube to the waist and the bottom of the tube to ankle-length. The garment is then gathered about the waist and the...
or robe for the statue of Athena. This task was begun by two girls between the ages of seven and eleven and then finished by other women chosen for the task.
As adults women could participate in cults. The most mysterious and famous festival exclusively for women was the Thesmophoria
Thesmophoria
Thesmophoria was a festival held in Greek cities, in honor of the goddesses Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The name derives from thesmoi, or laws by which men must work the land. The Thesmophoria were the most widespread festivals and the main expression of the cult of Demeter, aside from the...
, a fertility rite for Demeter
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
. Women spent three days on Demeter's hilltop sanctuary performing rites and celebrating. Specifically what went on there is unknown. The only source of information on this festival is Rabe Lucian (275 AD) he said that the women brought up rotten remains from the pits in the area and then spread it around their crops for a good harvest. In the late fifth century, the population of Athens was largely foreign and many more cults were brought in by foreigners. These cults had a variety of deities including Adonis, Aphrodite, and Dionysus.
Prostitution
Prostitution flourished in Greece as early as the Archaic periodArchaic period
In the sequence of North American pre-Columbian cultural stages first proposed by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips in 1958, the Archaic stage or "Meso-Indian period" was the second period of human occupation in the Americas, from around 8000 to 2000 BC...
. Specifically in Athens there were two types of prostitutes. Hetaira
Hetaira
Hetaira is a genus of bush cricket in family Tettigoniidae subfamily Phaneropterinae....
i were the first type. Hetairai were considered to be at the top in the prostitution social scale. Hetairai were well trained and considered professional sexual entertainers. Pornai were at the bottom of the prostitution social scale. They were slaves, foreigners or metics. Both groups of prostitutes were used to entertain men at symposiums or drinking parties. Evidence of what they did is best seen on red-figure vase paintings. Prostitutes were also drawn on drinking cups as a form of pinups for male entertainment.
The most famous Hetaira was Aspasia
Aspasia
Aspasia was a Milesian woman who was famous for her involvement with the Athenian statesman Pericles. Very little is known about the details of her life. She spent most of her adult life in Athens, and she may have influenced Pericles and Athenian politics...
. Aspasia was highly valued by Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
who considered her clever and knowledgeable about politics. It is said even Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
respected her wisdom. Besides Aspasia, Hetairai were considered by some to live better than free women. Hetairai were able to manage money and also choose with whom they wanted to be with. They had access to the intellectual life of Athens, but were themselves not citizens, which was their most unattractive feature. Hetairai practised infanticide but would on occasion keep their children and even raise the children that others left to die. They preferred daughters to sons so that they could train them in the trade of prostitution. Hetairai were even known to buy slaves to train as future prostitutes so in their old age they would have a source of income creating brothels.