Women in Classical Athens

Overview of Women's Lives in Classical Athens

Demographic Issues and Infanticide

• An oversupply of marriageable females may have occurred due to:

  • Early marriage practices.

  • Frequent remarriage of women.

• Suggestion that exposure of female infants (up to 10% born) may have been a common practice to manage surplus:

  • Comic poet Posidippus noted societal preference for male offspring over female, stating, "Everybody raises a son even if he is poor, but exposes a daughter even if he is rich."

• Non-infanticidal death rates for males and females remain uncertain, complicating demographic assumptions.

• Concerns over providing dowries for daughters and the potential issues of too many sons influencing infanticide practices.

Legal Frameworks Governing Women

• Women's lives were shaped by legal definitions and societal expectations:

  • Previous chapters offer insight into roles prescribed by law and how they affected behavior.

  • Not all behaviors were governed by law; women could negotiate legal constraints.

• The primary responsibility for exposing children rested with the father (kyrios).

• Exposure practices involved midwives or household slaves leaving infants in places where they could potentially be rescued.

Girlhood and Education of Girls

• Children generally received one name, with girls having feminine variants of male names.

• Common names for girls reflected societal roles and expected qualities:

  • Examples include Malthake (Soft), Eukoline (Contented)

• Girls were often less valued than boys, evidenced by literature and cultural practices.

• Sexual segmentation began around six years old, with boys attending school while girls were taught domestic skills.

• Socialization opportunities for girls diminished over time as they neared puberty, reinforcing gender segregation.

Role of Women in Religion

• Girls held specific roles in religious ceremonies, including weaving sacred items for deities.

• The arktos (bear) was a position for girls dedicated to Artemis, reflecting their limited interaction with public religious life.

• Musical performances by girls were integral to certain festivals.

Domestic Responsibilities

• The household was primarily viewed as a woman’s domain, crucial for family and societal functioning:

  • Women were expected to manage domestic tasks, including producing textiles and food preparation.

  • Ischomachus’s teachings highlight the importance placed on female management of the household and slaves.

• Recognition of women’s roles in controlling household resources, often overshadowed by male-dominated narratives in literature.

• Elite women sometimes supervised household slaves in textile production, showcasing female skill and oversight.

Working Women and Economic Activities

• Many women had to engage in paid work during economic hardship, especially in the fourth century due to consequences of war.

• Common occupations for lower-class and metic women included:

  • Selling goods, grape-picking, and roles such as washerwomen and midwives.

• Depictions in art illustrate a range of female labor, showing contributions beyond household management.

Metics and Prostitution

• Metic women (resident aliens) had different societal roles:

  • Some became concubines or worked in brothels, often with fewer restrictions than citizen women.

• The status of prostitutes varied; while common prostitutes (pornai) were often slaves, hetaerae were high-class courtesans who could exert considerable influence.

• Aspasia, the most renowned hetaera, had significant cultural and political influence and served as a case study of female agency in Classical Athens.

Aging and Widowhood

• Older women had different societal positions, often gaining a degree of freedom as they aged.

• Widows could potentially remarry and maintain their dwellings, especially if they had sons to uphold familial connections.

• Relationships between older women and their children could be marked by affection, as shown in tomb inscriptions.

Conclusion

• Women in Classical Athens navigated complex societal roles, combining legal, domestic, religious, and economic dimensions despite the overarching constraints imposed by a patriarchal society. Their experiences reveal layers of negotiation between expected behaviors and personal agency.