Classics: Women in the Ancient World

• Hermes gave Pandora the gift of lies, crafty words and a thievish nature according to Hesiod Works and Days.
• Pandora brought with her a pithos to earth. Inside it contained all the evils of the world, and hope.
• Pandora is either presented as an agent for the gods, or as a victim to her own curiosity.
• ”The bright-eyed goddess Athena clothed her and styled her; both the godly Graces and lady Persuasion put golden trinkets upon her skin; and the lovely-haired Seasons put a garland around her, made from the flowers of springtime. With all kinds of decoration Pallas Athena adorned her body. It was then that the messenger, the giant slayer, put lies and crafty words and a thievish nature into her heart.” - Hesiod’s Works and Days.
• “Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil.” - Hesiod’s Theogony.
• Tyndareus: A king of Sparta, the stepfather of Helen.
• Hermoine: Helen's daughter.
• "I wish I had chosen death rather than following your son. But I did not, and I pine away in sorrow." - Homer's Iliad, Book 3.
• Why did Helen go with Paris?

  Either she was blinded by her newfound love, overcome by the power of Aphrodite, or forcibly carried off.
• "Aphrodite promised my beauty, if misfortune is beautiful, for Paris to marry: she won." - Euripedes' Helen.
• What happens to Helen in Euripedes' Helen?

  Hera seeks revenge against Aphrodite by giving Paris a phantom version of Helen, while the real Helen is taken to Egypt by Hermes and remains there for the duration of the Trojan war.
• "Brother, I am indeed that wicked she-dog whom all abhor. I wish that on the day of my birth, some vile blast of wind had blown me to the mountains, or into the waves of the echoing sea, where the waters would have drowned me, and none of this would have come about." - Homer's Iliad, Book 6.
• Women in Homeric society were expected to weave - for poorer women this was a way of contributing to the household and for richer women it was a way of demonstrating their virtue.
• Romulus: The founder of Rome and the first king of Rome.
• Patrician: Rome's elite/noble class, determined by family rather than money.
• Roman citizenship: A high privilege with various rights and protections, usually reserved for the children of two Roman citizens.
• Why did Romulus seize and kidnap many Sabine women?


  Because there was a shortage of women in Rome.
• What did Romulus try to give to the Sabine women?


  Roman citizenship.
• "This was supported by the men's efforts to charm the maidens; they justified their deed with love and longing, which is the most effective way of appealing to a women's heart." - Livy's History of Rome 1.9
• "But since the gods ordained this fate, I wish that I had a better man for a husband. But this man of mine is fickle." - Homer's Iliad, Book 6.
• Tatius: A Sabine king.
• Spurius Tarpeius: Tarpeia's father.
• How did Tarpeia die?

  She was crushed under the shields of the Sabines.
• "Some say that in bargaining for what they had in their left hands, she [Tarpeia] expressly asked for their shields, and being suspected of wishing to betray them, fell a victim to her own bargain." - Livy's History of Rome 11
• "If you regret," they said, "the alliance between you; if you regret the marriages, then turn your anger against us. We are the cause of war." - Livy's History of Rome 1.13
• Collatinus: Lucretia's husband.
• Lucretia was regarded by the Romans as a perfect example of female virtue.
• "Lucretia, on the other hand, was completely occupied by her spinning, even though it was late at night, and her maids toiled by lamplight around her as she sat in the hallway of her house. And so, the prize in the contest of feminine virtue was awarded to Lucretia." - Livy's History of Rome 1.57
• "Tarquinius began to declare his love, to beg, to mix prayers with threats, to attempt to turn her womanly heart by every means he had. When he found she was unmoved, and not even touched by the fear of death, he added disgrace to his threats, and said that when she was dead he would slaughter his servant and lay him, naked, beside her; so it could be said that she was put to death on a count of adultery with a lowly slave. Her steadfast chastity was overcome at this terrible prospect, as if by force, but in fact by his victorious lust." - Livy's History of Rome 1.58
• Why was Lucretia's suicide seen as 'manly'?

  Because she killed herself in a brutal way.
• "A man who teaches a woman to write should recognize he is providing poison to an asp." - Menander.
• Kyrios: The male head of a Greek household.
• Exposure: the ancient practice of leaving an unwanted baby outside the city to die.
• Dowry: an amount of money paid to a prospective groom by the bride's family.
• Kyria: the wife of the kyrios, the female head of an Athenian household.
• An Athenian girl would've been married as soon as she hit puberty, around the age of fourteen.
• On day 1 of an Athenian wedding, the bride would have a feast with female relatives and friends.
• On day 1 of an Athenian wedding, the bride would make sacrifices including childhood toys and a lock of her hair to Artemis.
• On day 2 of an Athenian wedding, the bride would have a ritual bath, intended to purify her and enhance her fertility.
• On day 2 of an Athenian wedding, the bride would be dressed in the finest clothes and jewellery, including a veil to symbolise modesty, and join a wedding feast with both families.