athens

• Pericles


  • Pericles outlined what made athens great in this speech = Pericles funeral oration and commented on female virtue
• pericles quote


  "the greatest glory will be hers who is least talked among the men"

  • didnt involve themselves in public sphere of politics, culture, war
  • place was in home + glory is won by avoiding critism
  • once married kyria had defined roles they must fufill without drawing attention to themselves
• unmarried girl

  parthenos
• married girl + lost virginity

  nymphe
• has 1st kid

  gyne
• gravemarkers often reference childbirth

  • placed on sides of foad + gates to invite people to learn about the decreased
• ampharete


  grave stele of ampharaete + relief sculpture in classical style commemorating the life of her
• grave stele of ampharete

  • sitting on a klismos + chiton + himation = modest
  • sitting modestly to the side
  • holding baby and looking at it in a caring paternal way = grandchild
  • the fact fam chose this shows how they valued her contribution to the oikos
• were miscarriages rare


  • miscarriages, complications of relationship, death of mum + child is often
  • womens duty is children = felt anxious about infertility but women were blamed
• how to treat infertility

  • remedies
  • or visit Asclepius and spend time overnight at epidauros and the divine snake visit and cure it
• god of medicine


  aclepius
• shrine


  epidauros
• aristophanes


  • story of a girl who tricked her man into believeing she went into labour
• euripides quote


  "i would rather stand 3 times in a battle line than give birth to one child"
• aristophanes quote


  "i know another who for 10 days pretended to be suffering the pains of labour until she had secured a child "
• what is kyria reponsible for in the household


  • making sure the household is running smoothly
• women quotes from Oeconomicus

  "runs the house but remains accountable"

  "god arrange the work and supervision indoors are a woman's task"

  "manageable and domesticated"

  "be attentive to what she was taught"

  "nursing of young children instinctive for women"
• men quotes from Oeconomicus

  "his purpose is to serve his convience not hers"

  "been possible to sleep beside someone else"

  "man's intelligence "
• analysis from quotes from Oeconomicus

  • women are basically pets to be trained and to carry out their duties according to the kyrios' perference. they must be able to listen and do whatever he wants. a womans intelligence is based on how well they listen
• who is in Oeconomicus and who made it

  • xenophon, Socrates and Ischomachomus
• house arrangements

  • gynaikeon at the top and andron at the bottom
• gynaikeon


  • women work and women besides the kyria would sleep. at the top of the house to avoid adultery as it was hard for men to enter
• andron


  • men relax and have drinking parties called symposia. no females allowed but they can decorate it.
• why is the arrangment of an athenian house like this ?

  • to protect women
  • in the case of a man wanting to seduce a woman he must go thru the andron meaning it prevents adultery, illegitmate children and the questioning of the marriage
  • allows men + women to focus on their work
• epikleros


  the daughter of a man who died leaving no male heir; she was not his heiress, but possession of his estate went together with her hand in marriage.
• how do we know women cared for their looks?

  • though they didnt go out often, the grave stele of hegeso shows how they cared for their looks
• grave stele of hegeso info

  • relief sculpture + classical style commemorating the life of hegeso
• grave stele of hegeso analysis

  • v similar to ampharete = heavily draped = modesty
  • wearing an elaborate haristyle similar unlike slave girl who has a simple haristyle = elegance
  • slave girl is showing her a jewllery box to make her consider which one she wants = elegance
  • originially right hand raised = jewllery = elegance
  • on klismos = superiority + woman of house
• laws about athens


  • women must be faithful
  • laws surrounding adultery were strict as it would produce illegitimate children = questioning marriage
  • if man found women cheating = kill lover or spare his life and make him pay, and publically humiliate him
  • man would divorce her immediately + keep dowry

  -
• laws for men


  • could do wtv they want but cant do anything with a married woman or an unmarried daughter
• was divorce easy?


  • it could legally happen BUT woman had to prove he was cheating = hard
  • go to court and ask for a divorce
  • had no power to change the status for her marriage q