Reference no: EM133312605

"Respectable Women" in ancient Athens, Greece

Women in ancient Athens had very little choices open to them. If they were lucky, they could read a little, play an instrument, and owned slaves to do the daily household tasks. Women could not vote nor own property. They could not choose whom to marry nor own/sell anything of great value.

If you were a "respectable woman" (had a high status and/or were married), you could not even leave the house to walk around town except occasionally to a neighbor's house or to a religious service.

A respectable woman's main role in ancient Athens was to stay home, keep pretty, and bear children. Her life centered on the house and the children. Once she gave birth, her father could not take her back.

It was difficult, but not impossible, for a woman to divorce her husband, but easy for her husband to divorce her. With divorce, her property which was turned over to her husband upon marriage was returned to her father or male guardian. She would also lose all rights to her children. Her husband was within his rights to lock her up in the house if she wasn't behaving like he thought she should. Publicly she would only be seen at religious events, weddings, and funerals.

Unlike Athenian wives, unmarried lower-class women had the ability to go where they wanted, when they wanted. They were normally educated in dancing, singing, music, and conversation with the purpose of entertaining men. Most were intelligent women, well-educated and able to intellectually entertain their guests. These women were not as respected as wives, but the benefit was a much greater freedom.

Plutarch, excerpt from "Women's Life in Greece and Rome," Moralia, (242 BCE)

"When music is played in two parts, it is the bass part which carries the melody. So in a good

and wise household, while every activity is carried on by husband and wife in agreement with each other, it will still be evident that it is the husband who leads and makes the final choice."

Based on the first source about "respectable women" in Athens, were Athenian women equal to men in Athenian society?

What are two things that women could NOT do in Athenian society?

Based on the second source by Roman historian Plutarch, were husbands and wives equal in marriage in Greek and Roman society?
If not, who had more authority in marriage?