Women In Classical Athens Flashcards
1
Q
Attitudes towards women in Athens
A
- Women were seen as incapable of looking after themselves.
- Always under the protection/control of a male protector/guardian
- Women were considered inferior in all ways to men:
-politically
-legally
-socially - Greece was a strict patriarchal society, men controlled all aspects of life and restricted women from playing a political or legal role
- The attitude towards women from men was that they were the property of men:
- arranged marriages
- no right to divorce their husbands
- had to maintain the house; produce healthy and legitimate heirs (preferably boys)
2
Q
Childhood
A
- A wreath of wool left hanging outside the front door after the birth of a girl symbolised her destiny as a housewife
- The birth of daughter was often a cause for disappointment, whereas a son could inherit the family property and earn a living
- A daughter would have to be married off with an expensive dowry
- Baby girls were therefore more likely to be exposed than baby boys.
- Even if they were accepted, daughters were treated as inferiors in the home:
- for example, a girl might be given a smaller portion of food than her brothers at mealtimes.
3
Q
Duties of an Athenian Wife
A
- Spinning
- Weaving
- Cooking
- Cleaning
- Childcare
- Managing slaves
- Caring for the sick
- Managing finances
4
Q
Education
A
- A few girls probably learnt to read, since some vase paintings show women holding scroll-books, but it likely that most women were illiterate.
- Likewise, probably only a small minority of girls learned musical skills
such as lyre-playing or singing. - Teenage boys would take part in rigorous physical training to prepare them for military service, whereas women would not be allowed to take part.
- They would also not be allowed to be a part of the armed forces later in life.
- As children grew, the lives of boys and girls took widely different paths.
- A daughter was not sent to school
- instead she remained at home and learnt from her mother the roles and duties expected of an Athenian wife.
- Boys would also be prepared for working and public life whilst at school and during their teenage years
- women had no real career options and therefore did not receive the opportunities
- We hear about the odd female vase painter, but in the majority any jobs outside the house were performed by men and slaves.
- Boys would also be prepared for playing a part in the political life of Athens, as male citizens they would have all the rights and responsibilities of deprived to women (see previous notes for details.)
5
Q
Jobs for Women
A
- Not all women were concerned with domestic tasks.
- Some women did work outside the home in occupations such as:
-Wet-nurse
-Midwife
-Grocers
-On farms
-Markets stalls selling goods such as perfume, wool, cloth etc.
6
Q
Jobs for Women - criticism
A
- A man could work outside the home without social criticism but a woman who worked outside would be considered less respectable than the women who did not.
- However, the above occupations were all viewed as respectable ways of earning a living for the wives of poorer citizen men.
- Also, metic women often worked alongside their husbands.
7
Q
Jobs for women - entertainers
A
However, there were other forms of work in the entertainment sector that were not so highly regarded and were usually performed by slave girls or metics such as:
-Entertainers
-Dancers
-Musicians
-Singing
-Prostitutes
-Hetaerae
8
Q
Hetaerae
A
- The hetaeraewere high class prostitutes
- although they did provide sexual pleasure they also provided intellectual conversation and sophisticated company as well
- They were often intelligent women, who the men could talk to about matters that he would not concern his wife with.
9
Q
Working Women
A
- All of the above jobs were meant as entertainment for men, women could not become sculptors or politicians
- they were confined to performing the less skilled and more physical jobs.
10
Q
Political and Legal Status
A
- Women were seen as incapable of looking after themselves.
- Always under the protection/control of a male protector/guardian
- This was the law
- Women were considered inferior in all ways to men:
- politically
-legally
-socially
11
Q
Political and Legal Status - rights
A
- Greece was a strict patriarchal society
- Men controlled all aspects of life and restricted women from playing a political or legal role
- They were also socially inferior in all aspects
- The attitude towards women from men was that they were the property of men:
- arranged marriages
- no right to divorce their husbands
- had to maintain the house, produce healthy and legitimate heirs (boys were considered better)
12
Q
Political and Legal Status - things women didn’t do
A
- Women in Athens had a range of experiences; some women had happy and fulfilled lives, others were treated poorly; no two women had the same experience
- Women could not represent themselves legally in the courts in Athens; they could be represented by their husband, father or appointed male relation.
- Women did not have control of their own bodies and had to submit to the requests/demands of her husband
- Women were not able to initiate divorce; divorce and to come from the husband or from the girls father (it was very uncommon for a girl to get her family to bring a divorce against her husband)
- Women could be forced to commit suicide if she was returned to her family because of the shame she brought with her
- Single girls were sen as a burden on their family; all girls were encouraged to marry
13
Q
Role within the household - Wives and Mothers
A
- Women were always under the control of their husbands and were expected to manage the household for them
- This included managing the household budget, the children and the organisation of the slaves.
14
Q
Role within the household - Wives and mothers brought up by mother
A
- These women would not have gone to school nor had careers before marriage
- They were brought up from birth to be wives, mothers and housekeepers
- The running of the house was not a shared responsibility between the wife and husband, it was her task alone
- ‘Since both indoor and outdoor tasks require work and attention, the gods prepare the soul of the woman for the indoor work and concerns and the soul of the man for the outdoor work.’
Xenophon, Ocenomics 7.22-3
15
Q
Roles within the household - Roles and Responsibilities
A
- Women were expected to wok in the home cooking, cleaning and managing the household finances
- Women were expected to look after the children
- women were expected to work at the loom making cloth
-They had to spin raw wool into thread - They would have had a loom room (gynaecium) set up for this purpose and this was also a place where they could receive female visitors
16
Q
Roles within the household - Roles
A
- The main job for women was to produce babies, especially boys
- Women were expected to take acre of the sick, including the slaves
-Women also had to train their daughters to be good housewives - Women who worked outside the home were seen to lose their good names
-If they left the house, they were required to have a male chaperone - To carry out the funeral rites for their relatives
17
Q
Roles within the household - Restrictions
A
- Compared to modern times a typical wife and mother led a restricted life which centred on the home and family
- we know that women were not allowed to socialise independently without their husbands
- They were also denied democratic rights and could participate in the running o their communities
- They could not have careers, go to school or join the armed forces
- However, they could and did participate in public festivals like the Dionysia
- They could also become priestesses and play an important public role
18
Q
Marriage initial
A
- A woman’s marriage was usually arranged to take place as soon as she reached puberty at the age of around 12-14
- The arrangement was made between the fathers of the two families
- The girl was normally pledged to a man about twice her age
- No thought was given to love or romance
- Instead, a marriage was seen as a social and financial arrangement between two families
19
Q
Marriage - before wedding
A
- The bride usually had little or no say about the man she was going to marry
- Indeed, some couples did not meet until their wedding day
- For many young women in their early teens, marriage must have been a very traumatic experience
- A bride had to leave behind her own family to live with her new husband and his family
- Some women were forced to move to another region of Attica, so lost regular contact with her relatives
- it is, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that marriage was sometimes equated with grief
