The Roles, Rights and Lives of Women in Ancient Greece

Did you know Athenian girls married at around 15 years old while males married at 30? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the lives, rights and roles of women in ancient Greece. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site that offers exclusive benefits to subscribers. Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. Women in ancient Greece had very few rights compared to men and due to our lack of specific information on most Greek city states we know most about women and their lives in the two city states best chronicled overall, Athens and Sparta. In general we have more information about some professions and roles held by women such as women in the home and prostitutes and courtesans or hetaida than others. We know that some women worked in shops as craftswomen or bakeries but our knowledge is slim. Bear in mind that not only is our knowledge of women in ancient Greece incomplete but the ancient accounts are not unbiased and we don't necessarily know how the rules were applied and followed in the everyday lives of Greek women. Overall though Athens was known for its distrust towards women and extreme misogyny as women were seen as good for only one thing, childbearing. With this being said there were some women who broke through the social and cultural restrictions placed upon them in ancient Greece including Sappho of Lesbos the lyric poet, Hipparchia of Marania the stoic philosopher and Agnodike of Athens who was the first female doctor in Athens or Telesilla of Argos who led the women of Argos in battle against the Spartans just to name a few. But today let's have a look at the women who stayed within their restrictions and what the roles rights and lives of the everyday women in ancient Greece looked like. When a girl was born in Athens she had a higher chance of being abandoned at birth than a boy. Daughters of citizens would be educated in writing reading and mathematics and then they would learn music poetry and physical activities in the form of gymnastics. A girl's education wasn't intended to increase her intellect and knowledge but was to prepare her for motherhood and running a home. Girls were expected to marry as a virgin and the typical marriage age for girls was 13 or 14 compared to a man's average age of around 30. Their marriage would be organized by their father or another guardian known as a Kyrios a title for the father or another male relative. All women were expected to marry since there was no place in Athenian society for an unmarried woman and love had very little to do with the whole thing. Once married a woman's life was all about having children rearing them and managing the household although wealthier families had slaves to aid the women at home. Interactions with males who weren't relatives were discouraged and women took up quiet indoor activities such as weaving. They could visit the homes of friends and participate in some religious ceremonies and festivals but other than that maidens wives and mothers were expected to stay at home and stay quiet under the control of their male guardian. We still aren't quite sure whether women were present at the theater but if they were they were more than likely separated from the men. Women in Athens couldn't attend assemblies and married women were under the complete authority of their husband. As if it wasn't already bad enough to be female women were expected to be faithful to their husbands to protect the legitimacy of the male line but the same expectation did not apply to men who could and were expected to freely enjoy the company of prostitutes concubines and courtesans both female and male. The laws around inheritance in ancient Athens did its best to keep any potential inheritance out of the hands of women. If a woman's father died and she had brothers the inheritance would go to her brothers and if she was an only child it would go to her husband or guardian. If a female inherited the estate of her father she then had to marry her closest relative which was often an uncle to keep the property in the family. If a woman became a widow she would once again have to marry the closest male relative for the same reason. Women could have personal property like jewelry and clothing but since she couldn't make a will upon her death all of her property went to her husband. In ancient Athens marriage could be ended in three ways apart from the death of a spouse with the first way being repudiation by the husband. He didn't need a reason to end the marriage but he had to return the dowry. The second way was a rare occurrence and it was the woman leaving the family home. She would then be legally represented by her new guardian and her social reputation would be damaged in the process. The third way was the bride's father asking for his daughter back probably to marry a man with a more attractive dowry. In this instance though she could only go if she hadn't any children yet. The women in Sparta lived lives of greater autonomy and far more rights. They could inherit land, own property, make business transactions and were better educated than most other women in ancient Greece. In the 9th century BCE Lycurgus reformed the Spartan law and emphasized the importance of equality between men and women. Girls were given the same physical fitness training as boys minus the combat training and their education at home was at the same level as the boys at public school. Motherhood was a big deal in Sparta as well but women were fiercely proud of their children. While men were away at war women managed finances, ran farms and estates and operated businesses. Women could take male lovers in order to have strong children if necessary and they could participate in most of their city's political and social life. The women's work of Athens such as weaving, cleaning and child rearing were the work of female helots in Sparta. Helots weren't slaves but they also weren't respected as equals either. Sparta was considered by the Spartans as the best of all the city-states as they felt a society operated at its best when men and women were regarded as equals. Unlike Athens the profession of prostitution was considered by the Spartans as demeaning to both women and men. There is evidence for lower class women holding other roles like potters, merchants and craft workers but the source material available is scarce. Women were expected to stay indoors but the women you would often see outside of the home were the slaves, the foreigners and the prostitutes. The two professions that have been well documented though were the porne and hetaira of Athens. In Athens prostitution was legal and state regulated. It was the only way to make a living for many women and Athens as a hub for trade saw many boys and men come through the city with money to spend. What we call a prostitute today was known as a porne in ancient Athens and they were the women and men who could be found in taverns, brothels, street corners, private parties and by city walls. Many porne were slaves, some freed and some not and they were forced to work by their masters or had no other way to make a living. The statesman Solon introduced a set price with the cost of a porne at one obol. Six obols equaled one drachma which was a day's wage for a laborer in Athens. Porne could earn extra money performing tasks defined as women's work such as weaving and spinning wool when not with a client. If a porne had a child it would not be considered a citizen and neither would its mother for that matter. If the child was a girl she would be raised to carry on the same profession and if it was a boy he could be sold to an upper-class infertile woman or be abandoned. The porne were the cheap option for sexual entertainment which most men went for but there was also the hetaira who were upper-class women who were educated and skilled in music or poetry. Hetaira were more expensive than porne and their name translates to companion which explains their roles well as they accompanied those who could afford them to various events as a kind of friend not a date. To be a hetaira for some was a chosen profession which allowed them freedom to live their lives how they wished and allowed them control over their finances. Hetaira or female companion could be hired by a wealthy client to accompany him to a social engagement or a festival and didn't necessarily have anything to do with sex. Intercourse for money was only one of the Despite the way women were viewed in Athens and elsewhere in ancient Greece strong and important women featured regularly and prominently in their religious beliefs. Up front is Athena the goddess of wisdom war and crafts. Athena is the patron goddess of Athens she is powerful intelligent and often depicted as a helper and guide to heroes like Odysseus, Jason and the Argonauts, Heracles and Achilles. She's a respected goddess who helped men succeed. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and an excellent archer. Demeter the goddess of grain and the harvest and Persephone the goddess of spring are fertility goddesses whose significance is apparent since agriculture was so crucial for ancient Greek communities. You also have women like the goddesses Hera and Aphrodite causing trouble and making men lose their wits. There are powerful witches like Medea and Circe and the lovely yet deadly Sirens. The Amazons were formidable mythological female warriors who fought in the Trojan War. You have the Muses who are celebrated for both their beauty and their inspiration of the arts and Penelope faithful wife of Odysseus who is considered a role model as the ideal Greek woman. With so many male created famous women it is really quite interesting that women were so limited in freedom and so thoroughly dismissed and distrusted. One sphere in which women could exercise more freedom and even escape the male gaze altogether was the cult and religious festivals of ancient Greece. The most important festival for women was the Thesmophoria a fertility festival honoring Demeter. Only married women were allowed to attend the Thesmophoria although some ceremonies were performed by maidens. The cult of Athena offered women positions of power and autonomy which allowed them to fully participate in the life of the city from the time they were young girls. Some women continued on as Athena's clergy while others left active service once they got married but either way they continued to participate in the festivals honoring the goddess and were able to enjoy positions of respect and considerable power. Perhaps the most famous religious position for a woman was the Pythia who relayed the prophecies of the Oracle of Delphi. In general women could participate in rituals and ceremonies and perform as priestesses for certain deities like Demeter, Aphrodite and Dionysus. Unfortunately they were denied the same authority in their personal lives and were continually subjected to the laws created and enforced by men which were often then justified by the patriarchal religious tales known today as Greek mythology. Why do you think there are so many powerful and intelligent women in Greek mythology when opportunities for women in ancient Greece were so limited? Let us know what you think in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on any new videos. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content head to our website via the link below. 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