Women In The Home Flashcards
1
Q
Parthenos
A
an unmarried virgin Greek girl
2
Q
Nymphe
A
A married Athenian woman who had not yet given birth to a child
3
Q
Gyne
A
A married Athenian woman who had given birth to a child
4
Q
What was the most important duty of the kyria and why?
A
- producing a male son to be heir to the kyrios’ property
- vital importance because it meant the family and the household could continue itself
- if the kyrios died with no legitimate heir, his property would transfer to his closest male relative and his own household would cease to exist
5
Q
The grave stele of Ampharete
A
- relief sculpture of ampharete sitting on a chair, draped in a chiton with a garment over her head
- the scene is framed by walls and a roof, implying she is inside
- features emphasise ampharete’s modesty
- holds a baby in a maternal pose - implying they saw her maternal role as her greatest contribution to the family
6
Q
What was the Athenian view on infertility?
A
- since producing children was the wife’s main duty there was lots of anxiety around infertility (which was always perceived to be the problem of the woman)
- there were a variety of remedies (potions, ointments, fragrances)
- when remedies failed to the gods - especially the god of medicine, Asclepius
- women would spend a night at his shrine in Epidauros and it was believed divine snakes would visit them and cure their infertility
- also evidence of trading in the black market for babies - Aristophanes play tells the story of woman’s friend who had been unable to conceive and tricked her husband into thinking she was in labour
7
Q
Household duties
A
- when husband went out to run business, make money and participate in the public life of Athens, she was responsible for the running of the household
- kyrios’ responsibility is to bring goods into the household + the responsibility of the kyria to manage these goods
- manage slaves
- careful management of resources - contributing to self-sufficiency
- ## weaving, production of textiles - adding to the wealth
8
Q
What was the gynaikeion?
A
- a room where female members of the household would work
- where the women other than the kyria would sleep
- often located at the back of the house or upstairs, out of the way
9
Q
What was the andron?
A
- room reserved for men to relax in and have drinking parties known as symposia
- female members not allowed to attend parties but were expected to help decorate the room to make a good impression on guests
- located by the front door of house so that men could keep track of who entered or left
10
Q
What could the kyria not do?
A
- not allowed to leave the household without male escort - however likely poorer Athenians who needed all members of the family to work ignored this custom, with poorer kyriae worked as market trader, jewellers and midwives
- restricted to how much money she could spend (not more than a medimnos of barley)
- could not buy or sell land
- could not personally own property - preventing her from doing any severe or lasting damage to the household, if she acted against the kyrios’ wishes or make decisions in his absence
- -
11
Q
Grave stele of Hegeso
A
- heavily draped in clothing - implying modesty
- elaborate hairstyle - contrasting her slave girl’s simple hairstyle
- Hegeso’s elegance and wealth is emphasised - slave girl holding out a jewellery box for Hegeso + it is believed she would have originally been holding a piece of jewellery
12
Q
What were the laws surrounding adultery for women in Athens
A
- the husbands had to know for certain that the children his wife bore belonged to him since the main reasons for marriage was to have legitimate heirs
- if a man caught his wife having an affair he was legally allowed to kill her lover
- if the lover’s life was spared he could be made to pay a large fine and/or publicly humiliated
- the husband would divorce her immediately + keep the dowry
- the woman would be barred from joining in public religious festivals due to fear of her corrupting other women by her presence
13
Q
Laws for adultery for men in Athens
A
- men were free to engage in sexual activity outside of their marriages
- they could not seduce another married woman or the unmarried daughter of an Athenian citizen
14
Q
Could a woman divorce her husband?
A
- an Athenian woman could divorce her husband by leaving his household and going back to her father’s house
- the husband was able to divorce his wife by sending her back to her father, or expelling her from his house - usually not having to return the dowry
15
Q
How does someone become a slave in Athens?
A
- captured in war
- piracy - getting kidnapped by pirates
- exposed babies rescued + raised as slaves
16
Q
What would male slaves do in Athens?
A
- work on master’s farm or in their business
- educated male slaves would be tutors for children
- craftsman if they were skilled
- state-owned male slaves maintained roads or working in silver mines
17
Q
What did female slaves do in Athens?
A
- prostitution
- domestic slaves - under authority of kyria, could go out in public so would be used to run errands for the housebound kyria
- answer the door
- supervise the children
18
Q
What was life like for domestic slaves?
A
- quality of life depended on the temperament of their masters + treatment could be harsh
- slaves were not allowed to marry + it was common for their children to be sold
- little defense against mistreatment - they were able to appeal to law courts if they felt they were being treated unfairly - little evidence of successes
- slaves were occasionally freed by their masters - not a common occurrence
19
Q
What was the most important duty of a Spartan woman?
A
- it was expected for married women to conceive and bear children
- no woman could be commerated with a grave marker until she had borne children - similar to different names for Athenian women (gyne, nymphe)
- monuments of Spartan mothers celebrated their service to the state
20
Q
How were Spartan women educated?
A
- physical education to prepare their bodies for the pains of childbirth and to ensure they were healthy enough to bear strong babies to be future soldiers
21
Q
What was polyandry in Sparta?
A
- it was usual for a healthy woman to have multiple sexual partners, especially if her husband was older
- sex with multiple partners was not adultery - it was seen as men and women doing their duty to the state to bear healthy children
- Spartan society discouraged personal wealth + so most citizens led modest lives - therefore no concerns over the inheritance of property + legitimacy of children
22
Q
Duties of a Spartan wife and mother
A
- women were not expected to work wool + stay indoors —> Spartans believed slaves should do this work
- Spartan women should focus on physical training, managing the household and its farm
- Spartan women were responsible for the management of the family’s Kleros (farm) while men were living and training in communal barracks - directing slaves to do work
- ensure enough food was produced to support the household + husband’s syssition
- they made decisions on what to grow + purchasing equipment + how to sell surplus —> shows they were educated in arithmetics in order to manage the farm as well as the household
- obedience to Spartan system - mothers expected to send seven year old sons to training at agoge
23
Q
What could Spartan women do?
A
- allowed to inherit property
- nearly 2/5 of the property of Sparta was owned by women
- Spartan women were wealthy + powerful enough to decide how to spend their wealth by themselves
24
Q
How did Spartan women contribute to the state?
A
- bear strong child for soldiers
- prepare sons for war, making sure that they brought up loving the Spartan state + willing to give anything to protect it
- give advice to sons + husbands when they were about the go to war telling them to return home with their shield or on it - there was no honour in Sparta in surviving in as a result of cowardice
- women instilled Spartan value in menfolk
