Women in the home - married women and slaves

• What happened if an Athenian woman committed adultery?


  she would lose her dowry, be divorced immediately; be banned from religious festivals
• What was polyandry?


  Literally meaning 'many men' in Greek, polyandry was the female practice of having multiple sexual partners. In Sparta, a woman might sleep with men other than her husband by arrangement (in order to produce children)
• Who was Hegeso?


  depicted on a grave stele, choosing jewellery from a box held by her maid
• What does the grave stele of Hegeso convey about her?


  wealthy and modest; evidence that Athenian wives took care of their appearance to maintain household's reputation
• On the statue of Pudicitia, what features show she is modest?

  body language is closed off, wearing (and adjusting) a veil to cover her hair, floor-length clothing which covers her body; slightly lowered gaze
• What happened if a Spartan woman committed adultery?

  nothing! she could sleep with other men (with permission) to have more children
• What was a kleros?

  A Spartan farm, managed by the wife
• What was Pudicitia?


  Sexual modesty shown through chastity and fidelity to her husband, and restrained behaviour
• What is a stele?

  a gravestone to mark a burial, often with patterns or images on them - they often display an idealised portrait of the dead person on them
• What were a Spartan women's duties?

  have children; run the farm (kleros); provide food to the barracks; uphold the Spartan ethos (values and way of life)
• What is a kleros in Sparta?


  a household farm on a plot of land assigned by the state to a Spartan warrior
• Where did Spartan husbands and wives live?

  the husband lived in the army barracks and the wife lived on the farm with the children; the husband moved in when he was 30
• What is a materfamilias?

  Female head of household in Rome
• What is a kyria?

  Female head of household in Athens
• What were an Athenian wife's duties?

  have children (preferably male); educate/train the daughters; manage the slaves; supervise the household store room; weave clothing; take care of the sick; maintain the household's reputation
• What were a Roman wife's duties?

  have children (preferable male); educate/train the daughters; manage the household; weave clothing; supervise the slaves; organise dinner parties; maintain the household's reputation
• What was a gynaikon?


  the women's room of an Athenian house, usually away from the entrance to protect the women; the loom was here
• What was the andron?


  the men's room of an Athenian house, symposia were held here
• What was a loom?


  a large wooden frame for weaving
• What was a symposium?


  A Greek drinking party - only men could attend, women who attended would either be slaves or (foreign) hetairai [never Athenian wives!]
• What was a cena?


  A Roman dinner-party - men and women could both attend, Roman wives organised and attended these parties.
• What were common reasons for divorce in Athens and Rome?

  infertility (or inability to have children); adultery; breakdown of business or political alliance
• Who was Ampharete?


  A women on a grave stele, shown holding a baby (her grand-child)
• What is conveyed about Ampharete on her grave stele?

  modest (wearing her veil indoors, and long clothing); maternal (she has raised children and is holding a baby); dutiful (she is at home and has presumably woven her clothing)
• How were Athenian women restricted?

  Could not vote; could not own or inherit property; could not leave the house without an escort; under control of her kyrios; could not carry more money than would buy a medimnos of grain; could not attend symposia
• What was a matrona?


  a married Roman woman
• Why weren't all Roman wives the materfamilias?


  you had to be married cum manu and be married to the paterfamilias
• What was the Laudatio Turiae?

  a funeral speech in praise of a Roman wife; then inscribed on a grave stone by her husband; means 'in praise of Turia.
• In what ways was Turia a good wife?

  married for 41 years (without an argument); loyal to her husband (offered a divorce when they didn't have children); helped her husband while he was in exile (sold her jewellery to provide him with money); went to live with her mother-in-law when her husband was away to preserve her reputation
• How do we know Turia had education, independence and intelligence?


  She defended her inheritance in court and prosecuted her parents' murderers; she arranged dowries for her female relatives; she campaigned for her husband's return from exile (approaching senior politicians, even); defended their house against a break-in by her husband's enemies
• How did women become slaves?

  could be prisoners of war, born to a slave-mother, abandoned as a baby or sold into slavery by parents who couldn't care for them
• What jobs did female slaves do in the Athenian home?

  assist with weaving and childcare, could be a wet-nurse, might cook and clean, could run errands for the kyria, some might be asked to entertain at symposia (e.g. dance or play music)
• What was a wet-nurse?


  A slave employed to breast-feed a baby if the mother is unable to (e.g. mother may have died in child-birth)
• Could female slaves in Athens leave the house?

  Yes, because any children of theirs would be slaves, and therefore no-one guarded their modesty very closely
• What is the slave on Hegeso's grave stele shown doing?

  she is standing up in the presence of her mistress, she is bringing a jewellery box to her
• What did female slaves in Roman households do?

  they could be general household slaves (e.g. cleaning, fetching water, washing, running errands, childcare), or have specific skills (e.g. hairdresser, dressing the mistress, weaving), in large households there was a slave called a vilica who managed the other slaves on behalf of the mistress
• What was a vilica?


  A female slave responsible for managing the household, the most well-respected variety of female slave.
• What were the main roles of female slaves in Greece and Rome?


  domestic (household) slaves and prostitutes