Young women and Women in the home Flashcards
Who were the Kyrios and Kyria?
- Kyrios was the male head of a Greek household, who had responsibility and authority over the whole household
- Kyria was a Kyrios’ wife
What is a stele?
- Stone slab with sculptural decoration, used as funerary monuments
What is a kleros?
- The plot of farmland loaned by the Spartan state to every adult male citizen
Who is the paterfamilias?
- Male head of a Roman family
What is patria potestas?
- The power of authority held by the paterfamilias over the rest of the household
Who is a litterator?
- A Roman teacher who focused on reading, writing and arithmetic
Who is a pronuba?
- A Roman woman, married only once, and still married to that man
What is a Vilica?
- The head female slave of a Roman estate
What is the Oikos and what did it include?
- OIkos means household
- Included a whole extended family unit, including elderly relatives, unmarried female relatives and slaves
- Every Athenian Oikos strived to achieve self-sufficiency
Where were most Athenian girls educated and what would they learn?
- They’d be educated at home, by their mothers
- They’d learn practical skills such as spinning wool, cooking, managing household finances and managing household slaves
What was an Athenian quote that suggests that a girls education was frowned upon?
‘A man who teaches a woman to write should recognise he is providing poison to an asp’
- Menander
Who arranged Athenian marriages and for what purpose?
- Arranged by the Kyrios
- Almost never because of romantic love
- They’d normally be because two families wanted to solidify an alliance
When would an Athenian couple be considered married?
- From the moment of engagement (betrothal)
What was an Athenian wedding’s purpose, and what was it important that it had?
- Wedding ceremony had no legal function
- Witnesses were needed as they were important in Athenian law, because they could be called upon in court
What was an Athenian betrothal ceremony like?
- Dowry would be agreed
- Oath sworn in front of witnesses
What was an Athenian dowry like and why was it important?
- A dowry could have been between 5%-20% of a Kyrios’ wealth
- Important as it would compensate the groom’s family for providing for the bride
- It was also helpful to the bride, as if a husband wanted to divorce his wife, he’d have to return the dowry, which would encourage men to not mistreat their wives or seek divorce without a good reason
What would happen on Day 1 of an Athenian wedding?
- The Bride shares a feast with her female family and friends
- She makes sacrifices to Artemis, Hera and Aphrodite
What would happen on day 2 of an Athenian wedding?
- The Bride took a ritual bath
- The bride dresses in her finest clothes and jewellery, as well as a veil
- The bride and groom’s families shared a feast at the bride’s kyrios’ house
- The groom dragged the bride away from her mother in a pretend show of force
- The couple would travel from the bride’s house to the groom’s, in a torchlight procession. The guests would follow, singing wedding songs, and throwing flowers and small fruits
- The axle of the cart would be burned at the end of the procession, to represent that the bride couldn’t return to her childhood home
- The bride was taken to the hearth of the groom’s house
What happened on day 3 of an Athenian wedding?
- The bride and groom would spend the night together and consummate the marriage whilst family and friends waited outside, singing songs and banging on the door
- The couple would come out of their bedroom and the guests would sing wedding songs and give the bride gifts
What is said in Pericles’ funeral oration and what does it show us about expectations for Athenian women?
‘The greatest glory will be hers who is least talked of’
- Thucydides
- It was good for a woman to be unremarkable
Who is the first prescribed grave stele of?
- Ampharete
What does Ampharete’s grave stele depict?
- Ampharete holding up a toy bird for her grandchild
- Wearing fancy clothing with lots of excess fabric
- Exposed breasts
What do the features on Ampharete’s grave stele show us?
- Excess fabric on clothes conveys wealth and shows modesty
- Exposed breasts shows maternal role, but also goes against previous modesty of dress
Where was Ampharete’s grave stele located?
- The Kerameikos graveyard, just outside Athens
Who is the second prescribed grave stele of?
- Hegeso
- Also shows a household slave
What is depicted on Hegeso’s grave stele?
- Hegeso is possibly examining jewelery from a box held by a servant
- Servant has plain, simple hair and is also shorter than Hegeso
- Hegeso has styled and ornate hair and has a dress with excess fabric
What were unmarried and married girls called in Athens?
- An unmarried girl was called a Parthenos
- A married girl was a Nymphe
What was a fully grown woman called in Athens, and how would a girl become one?
- Called a Gyne
- Wouldn’t be considered one until she had had her first child
How would Athenian women have tried to treat infertility?
- Taking herbal remedies
- Spending a night in the sanctuary of the God Asclepius
What happened in Aristophanes’ comedy play about a woman faking a pregnancy?
- A woman faked a pregnancy
- She then pretended to be in labour whilst a friend brought a male baby they had purchased from someone
What would the duties of a Kyria be?
- Preserve food stores
- Decorate the andron for Symposiums
- Bear children
- Train household slaves
- Educate daughters
- Care for sick relatives
What were the Athenian laws surrounding adultery in women?
- If a man caught his wife having an affair, he could kill her lover or make him pay a large fine and be publicly humiliated
- The husband could divorce the woman and keep the dowry
- The woman would be banned from joining in religious festivals
What were the Athenian laws surrounding adultery in men?
- Men were allowed to engage in sexual activity outside of their marriages, as long as it wasn’t with a married woman, or the unmarried daughter of an Athenian citizen
How did Spartan civilisation start and where?
- Sparta started as a small village
- Eurostas Valley, in the region of Laconia
What ideas were the Spartan system based around?
- If Messenian Helots rose up again, it would be a disaster
- The Helots should be kept down and prevented from rising up
- Spartans should all be highly trained soldiers
- The system was perfect, so shouldn’t be questioned or changed at all
What was a key duty for adult Spartan women?
- Support the Spartan system by encouraging their menfolk
- They would praise strong warriors and criticise cowards and slackers
What did the education of Spartan girls include?
- Numeracy so they could manage household finances
- Farm management (tending to crops and managing livestock)
How did marriage work in Sparta?
- Spartan brides would probably know their grooms
- They wouldn’t marry until they were in their late teens to early 20
- No financial aspect
What would the Spartan bride do on her wedding night, and what would the groom be doing?
- The bride would cut her hair short, to look like a man
- She would dress in a man’s clothes and sandals
- She would lie on the floor of the bedroom in the house that she and her husband would share together
- The groom would be having dinner with his syssition
- He would go to sleep in the military barracks, but would sneak out to the house
In a Spartan wedding, what would happen once the bride and groom were together?
- The groom would enter the bedroom and consummate the marriage
- The groom would then leave and return to his barracks
- The couple were then considered to be married, with no witnesses needed
How often would a Spartan married couple see each other?
- They wouldn’t live together until the groom retired from the military
- They would only see each other at night
What were the duties of a Spartan wife?
- Produce healthy children and provide boys aged 7 to be trained
- Encourage devotion to state in their children
- Encouraging Spartan men to try hard in their training
- Manage household finances
- Manage the family farm to feed the family and to contribute to husbands syssition
What were some freedoms enjoyed by Spartan women?
- Could own property
- Didn’t need to be escorted when they left the house
- Expected to train in sports
What was a Roman Bulla?
- A locket worn by Roman children to give them good luck and keep them safe from evil spirits
What ritual was meant to grant a female baby Juno’s protection?
- They would put a couch out for her, which they believed would invite Juno into their house and she could watch over the baby when it was at its weakness
Where was the Sappho Fresco located and when was it made?
- A villa in Pompeii
- Middle of the first century CE
What does the Sappho Fresco depict?
- A Roman girl holding a wax tablet and stylus
- Clothes use lots of fabric
- Nicely put together hair, but its not ostentatious
How were Roman girls educated?
- INstructed in domestic tasks such as spinning wool and cooking by their mother or a female slave
- They’d also learn basic literacy and numeracy
- Poorer girls would often learn a trade so they could earn money
What were Roman betrothal customs?
- MArriage matches made by Paterfamilias to benefit family
- Might be made to solidify a political or business alliance between two families, or to improve the social standing of families, or for financial gain
- Paterfamilias of each household would agree to the match and agree to the dowry, and the couple would be engaged
- Both the bridge and groom had to agree to be betrothed
- Families would often throw a party to celebrate betrothal- but the couple was not considered married yet
What was Cum Manu marriage?
- ‘with hand’
- Wife legally transferred to her husband’s family
- The wife could inherit from her husband, but not her father
- Required a dowry to be paid
What was Sine Manu marriage?
- ‘without hand’
- More common in wealthy families who wanted to keep wealth within their own family
- The wife remained a legal part of her old household, and could inherit from her father but not her husband
- No dowry required
- CHildren would be part of the father’s family
- The wife would have to move out the house for 3 consecutive days each year otherwise the marriage became cum manu
What were the 3 different types of Roman wedding ceremony?
- Coemptio
- Confarreation
- Usus
What were Coemptio weddings?
- For Cum Manu marriages
- The bride would be ‘sold’ by her paterfamilias
- He would place a coin in a set of banking sclaes, which symbolised her dowry
What were Confarreatio weddings?
- For Cum Manu marriages
- Only Patricians had them
- The Pontifex Maximus (head Priest) was present and a Pronuba (women who had been married only once) would preside
- Offerings of salt cake were made to Jupiter
What were Usus weddings?
- Could be for Cum or Sine Manu marriages
- The couple declared they were married in front of witnesses
- The most common form of wedding
What happened the day before a Roman wedding?
- Bride sacrificed her bulla and childhood toys to the Lares of the house
What would a Roman bride wear?
- A wedding dress
- Knotted woolen belt, that would remain tied until her husband untied it that night
- A flame coloured veil, with her hair in six locks, like a Vestal Virgin
What would happen on the day of a Roman wedding?
- Ceremony would take place in the bride’s father’s house
- A lavish wedding feast took place there
- The groom would make a show of force and pretend to steal the bride from her mother, reenacting the rape of the Sabine women
- A procession took place to the groom’s house- guests would sing hymns, women would hold spindles and the groom would throw nuts and dried fruits to the crows
What happened once a Roman bride reached her groom’s house?
- The bride would wrap wool around the doorposts
- The bride would be carried over the threshold of the house by her husband, as it was seen to be unlucky if she tripped
- The couple would visit the family’s hearth, which the bride would light with a torch from the procession, and the couple would reitre to their bedroom
What would a Roman bride have during her wedding?
- Three coins
- One dropped during the procession for Janus, the god of transitions
- One given to her husband
- One given as a sacrifice to the Lares of her new home
What would the duties of a Roman matrona be?
- Conceive and bear children
- Rear children
- Oversee day-to-day running of household
- Have a job (POOR ONLY)
- Manage household slaves (RICHER ONLY)
- Organise and attend dinner parties
- Lead the household in the absence of her husband
Why was it expected for Matronae to rear children?
- Matronae who took an active role in rearing their children would be well respected, leading to a good public image for the family
Why were Matronae expected to organise and attend dinner parties?
- She’d be able to boost her family’s reputation by attending dinners, which could lead to many beneficial opportunities such as business partnerships, marriage offers etc.
What freedoms would a Roman matrona have?
- Not restricted from leaving the house
- Could attend public games, festivals and the theatre
- Could occasionally take a leading role in managing the household when her husband was away
What is the Laudautio Turiae and when was it written?
- A funerary inscription
- ‘In Praise of Turia’
- Made in the first century BC
What happened to Turia before she was married?
- Her parents were murdered
- The murderers were prosecuted and punished, meaning Turia must have gotten a male relative to help her
- During this time, she went to live with her mother in law to protect her modesty
What happened to Turia after her parents were murdered?
- The relatives of Turia’s father made a claim to his inheritance
- Turia spoke in defence of her claim to the inheritance herself, which suggested she was educated in the law as well as public speaking
What domestic virtues of Turia were listed, and how long did the marriage last?
- 40 years
- Described as loyal and obedient
- Wove wool to make into textiles for the household
- Modest appearance
How was Turia generous?
- She helped to provide dowries for women in her family who couldn’t afford a big enough dowry to attract a suitable husband
How did Turia help her husband during the 1st Century BC?
- He was forced to flee Rome during political power changes in Rome
- Turia looked after the household affairs and ensured he lived comfortably by sending him her jewelry to sell, money and provisions
- She also went to a politician, and begged for mercy for her husband
How did Turia save her husband’s life?
- She prepared a hiding place for him when thugs came to their house
- Repelled thugs from their house when it had been seized
- Begged another politician for mercy for her husband, and was dragged away and beaten like a slave, but still managed to win the safety of her husband
What unforeseen disaster affected Turia and her husband?
- They were unable to conceive
- Turia offered to divorce her husband and find him a new wife so he could have children
What was slavery like in the Ancient Mediterranean?
- Greece and Rome were both slave societies
- The most common way for someone to be enslaved was by being captured in war, kidnapped by pirates or being born into slavery
What were the duties of slaves in Athens?
- Managed by Kyria
- Typically work alongside free women in producing textiles
- Do chores such as answering the door, cooking, cleaning, supervising children, collecting water or going to the market
- She might be put to work outside the household, such as by renting herself as a wetnurse or helping in the family business
What were the rights of slaves in Athens?
- Thought of as property
- Allowed to be beaten, but not by someone outside of the family they were owned by
- They could have a family, but only with permission
- A master who excessively mistreated a slave could be taken to court
- A slave could take asylum at the shrine of Theseus near the Acropolis
- There was a holiday especially for slaves where they dined with their masters
What were the restrictions on Athenian slaves?
- Under the total authority of the Kyrios
- Their treatment was entirely dependent on the temperament of their masters
- Their family could be broken up by their master at any time
- Athenian law didn’t recognise marriage between slaves
- If slaves were required to give evidence in a law suit, it would have to be obtained under torture
How were Athenian slaves welcomed to a family?
- Welcomed with nuts and fruits like a newly-wed wife
What was manumission like in Athens?
- Could only be freed by theur master- this might happen if their master was very old, or in his will after his death
- Slaves could sometimes buy their own freedom
- Not as common as in Rome
- Freed slaves didn’t become citizens, but Metics (resident aliens)
What were the duties of female domestic slaves in Rome?
- Do chores such as answering the door, cooking, cleaning, supervising children, collecting water or going to the market
- Could be made to work outside the household
- Commonly required to do skilled tasks such as managing household finances- so might have been given a limited education
- Weave to produce textiles
- Conceive and bear children
Who was the most important female slave, and what would she do?
- Vilica
- Managed other female slaves
- Tend to the family’s hearth and shrine
- Grind flour for bread
- Preserve food for winter
- Cook meals for the household
What were the rights of Roman slaves?
- May have been hierarchies within slaves- certain women may have been able to exercise authority
- Couldn’t officially marry, but they were allowed to form partnerships known as Contuberniam
What were the restrictions on Roman slaves?
- Couldn’t leave the house without permission, couldn’t own property or make decisions about their own life
- Treatment dependent on temperament of masters
- Roman law didn’t recognise marriage between slaves
What was manumission like in Rome?
- Fairly common for an owner to grant freedom
- Some masters would grant a female slave freedom once she had borne three children, who would remain enslaved
- Once freed, they’d be called a freedman
- They wouldn’t have full citizenship rights
- Remained connected to their master for life, as they became their Patron
