Contrary to popular belief, women’s freedom was very limited in ancient Greek society. While men took care of state affairs, women spent their entire lives in the household.
You must have seen how powerful and mighty the Amazons are in popular depictions of ancient Greek society. This legendary group of free, wild and physically strong women was actually inspired by real nomadic women living in the Eurasian steppe. In the ancient world, these powerful women were a threat to the patriarchal order.
So much so that these women are tricked and intimidated by Heracles, the ultimate symbol of male power, in most versions of mythology. Because Amazon women are not the ideal of Greek society. Instead, women like Penelope in Homer’s famous epic Odyssey are idealized. Penelope, a beautiful woman, is loyal only to her husband when she has hundreds of suitors. She dedicates herself to housework and internalized gender roles. The ideal woman of ancient Greece was the woman who devoted herself to her husband and children.
Historian Paul Cartledge says it’s important to distinguish between the different Greek city-states when talking about the lives of ancient Greek women. Although many sources of the period came from Athens, we cannot say that the role of women in Athenian society represented the lives of women in the rest of Greece. The lives of Spartan women, for example, were quite different from those of their Athenian sisters.
Another important difference between women was status. Although no woman in ancient Greek society found herself on an equal footing with men, women’s lives depended heavily on how wealthy their fathers or husbands were. But more wealth did not mean they had more freedom. The richer a woman living in Athens was, the more her freedom was restricted. Let’s take a closer look at the details.
Motherhood and home
The lives of ancient Greek women were largely confined to the home. While men served the state, women’s domain was the oikoshane. Each house had a women’s section called “gynaikon”. Spouses were expected to bear children, raise them, and take on household chores. Women were usually married between the ages of 13 and 15. The dignity of women in ancient Greek society had to be protected at all times. The greatest triumph for men was that their wives were never talked about.
This meant that women were never allowed to leave the house. But life for Spartan women was quite different from that of their Athenian sisters. Motherhood gave Spartan women an enhanced status. Getting married before the age of 20 was not welcome. Women’s training of future warriors was considered one of the most important roles in Spartan society. On the other hand, unlike Athenian women, Spartan women could own land. Because men were in the military for a long time, women could control their own homes alone.
Work life
Although life was very restrictive for Athenian women, religion provided a viable career path for women. In fact, there was a woman in the state’s most senior religious office – the high priestess of Athena Polias. Similarly, similar positions within the religious structure of Athens gave women some public influence.
On the other hand, the story of a pioneering Athenian midwife named Agnodice has survived. Legend has it that Agnodice, grieved over the many Athenian women who died in childbirth, decided to disguise herself as a man and study medicine. According to some versions of the story, Agnodice was only revealing her true gender to her patients to gain people’s trust. For this reason, all women started to apply to Agnodice. But envious male doctors accused him of seducing pregnant women.
Historians still debate the existence of Agnodice today. Yet this myth continues to be told to support women’s presence in medicine. However, the most common occupation for many women of the period was sex work. Among these workers were two special groups of workers, the hetairai and the pornai.
A hetaira was literate and employed for the higher classes in society. They also served as a companion. Perhaps we can compare the hetairas to the role of the geisha in Japanese culture. Meanwhile, pornai (here we get the modern word for pornography) would spend most of his time working in a brothel. They were expected to serve all the men of the city, both rich and poor.
Continue Reading: Education and politics, arts and culture.
Visits: 108
