Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences

The Status of Women in Ancient Athens

Author(s): William J. O'Neal
Source: International Social Science Review, Vol. 68, No. 3 (SUMMER 1993), pp. 115-121
Published by: Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences
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The

Status

of Women
William

Department

in Ancient

Athens

J. O'Neal

of Classics

and History
of Toledo

University
Toledo, Ohio

43606

USA
The roles of Athenian women in the fifthcentury B.C. were primarily those of wife and mother. The Athenians, in their patriarchal
society, selected models for women based on the divine and heroic
orders. The divine order subjected the female duties to their male
counterparts. The heroic order depicted Penelope as the absolute role
model for Greek-Athenian women. Other women of literature, like
Clytemnestra and Medea, demonstrated the vices of women and what
the Greek female should not be. In addition to the role models, good and
bad, the Athenians even devised a certain training or regiment for the
"perfect wife" of Hellas.
Dr. William J. O'Neal is professor of classics and history at the
University of Toledo. After receiving the M.A. at Indiana University and
the Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Columbia, he came to Toledo
where he teaches courses in Latin, Greek, classical civilization, and
ancient history. In 1978, the university selected him as an outstanding
teacher. He has published in Classical Journal , Platon , Classical and
Modern Literature , Revista di Studi Classici , and other journals on such
topics as Vergil, Petronius, Homer, the Vatican Mythographers, ancient
history, and philosophy.
The Greeks of antiquityremain an enigma, despite the effortsof scholars
who have tried to investigate every facet of theircivilization. Some scholars
have condemned the inhabitants of Hellas because of theirinability to unite
while others, particularly the 19th century philhellenists, have glorified the
Greeks and all thingsGreek because of theirintelligence and because of their
creativity in literature, philosophy, history, and the architecture. But, in
reality, the ancient Greeks also had special problems.
Our knowledge of the civilization and people in the geographic area
called Greece before the beginning of the second millennium B.C. is
minimal. The indigenous people or, at least, the people in the area during the
thirdmillennium B.C., seem to have been matriarchal and worshipers of a
mother goddess as the primary deity. When the Hellenes came - from
115

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116

SUMMER 1993, VOLUME 68, NUMBER 3

whateverdirectionand atwhatevertime- theywere patriarchaland theirprimary

deitywas a skygod. The new people blended withtheold and produced a society
in which the language and the religion of the new predominated.The resulting
language was an Indo-European language with traces of the old language,
particularlyin the names of places. The resultingreligionwas not a blend of the
two,butan unbalanced combinationinwhich themale aspects of thenew religion
gained dominance over the female aspects of the old. The same fatebefell the
Greek people - thepatriarchalsocietyof thenew people predominated,while the
matriarchalsociety struggledto maintainsome identity.In theresultingcivilization, the matriarchaland the patriarchalaspects remained at war, as is easily
discernible in the religion. Although Zeus and Hera were brotherand sister,
husband and wife, and king and queen, theywere neitherfriendsnor lovers. In
fact,in the mythoreligiousstories,theywere usually hostile opponents.
One of thefirstliteraryviews of thisnew religionand societycomes fromthe
misogynist Hesiod in the eighth century B.C. According to Hesiod in the
Theogony, Ge, the earthgoddess, produced childrenwho were deificationsof
featuresof the physical world. Some of her childrenwere monsters,and others,
who were siredby herson Ouranos, were hatedby theirfather.Ge persuaded one
of her sons, Cronus, to castratehis fatherand thisparticularact was repeated in
thesucceeding generationof Cronus and his son Zeus. Itwas Zeus, theestablisher
of law and order and justice, who prohibitedwomen froman active role in the
society of all Greece except for the role of childbearing, and even this he
qualified. It was Zeus who established thepatriarchalgovernmenton Olympus.
He also introducedmoral orderand culture.He denied power to females; he even
took away theirsole claim as bearers of childrenby producingAthena fromhis
head and Dionysus fromhis thigh.
In the Olympian pantheon,the Greeks, who created theirgod in theirown
image and likeness,defeminizedthemostimportantof thegoddesses. Athena,the
goddess of wisdom, was a deityof war,which was a masculine endeavor. Athena
was a virgin- which is thedenial of her sex. Athena was bom of a male and thus
was subject to him.Artemiswas a virgin,a huntress,and a warrior.Hestia, lacking
anthropomorphicattributesand mythologicalstories,was envisioned only as an
old maid, again a denial of her sex. Aphrodite,bom of a male, also was theonly
goddess to commit adultery,as the male did. She was also motivatedby sexual
love, again like themale. Hera, who was dominatedby Zeus, constantlyopposed
him and lived in a state of eternalwatchfulnessand a state of permanentwarmarriage.The tenetsofthisgodly societyembraced humansociety,an itis against
thisgeneral background thatthe society of Athens developed.
A comprehensive and unbiased view of therole of women in Athens during
thefifthand fourthcenturiesB.C. is difficultto ascertain.There were no Athenian
women writersin thatperiod. There is very littleliteratureof any kind which
comes fromthemiddle or lower classes of society.The view of women in Athens
in theliteraturecomes fromthewritingsof males fromtheuppereconomic class.

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INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE REVIEW

117

Thus, formodem scholars,thewomen of Athens are as much of an enigma as the

Greeks themselves. In Athens,forthe most part,women were legal nonentities
whom the Greek male excluded from any participation in the political or
intellectuallifeof thecity.Generally,thewomen did notattendschool and did not
leam to read and write.According to one scholarlyview, theywere uneducated
except fordomestic training;theywere virtuallyimprisonedin theirhomes. The
centuryAthens,forexample,Periclesand Thucydides,
principalspokesmenoffifth
disdained Athenianwomen. Otherscholars,like Lacey and Ehrenberg,take a less
sanguine position. Yet, as A. W. Gomme pointed out, "There is, in fact, no
literature,no art of any country,in which women are more prominent,more
carefullystudied and withmore interest,thanin tragedy,sculpture,and painting
of fifthcenturyAthens."1Actually, in classical Athens,women fulfilledvarious
roles in societywhich themale Atheniansviewed as either"good" or "bad." The
two primarygood roles played by women were those of wives and of mothers.
Among the bad roles were those of lovers, rebels, and witches.
The ideal wife fortheAthenian male appears first,not in real life,but in the
primaryliteratureof theWesternworld. In thefirstbook of theOdyssey, Homer
depicts Penelope as the epitome of the Greek wife. As she entersthe epic, she
descends the stairway not along but accompanied by two servants. Then,
weeping, she addresses Phemios the singerwith an orderto sing of the deeds of
men and gods - a happy tune- not the sorrowfulones. She states that she is
affectedby an unforgettablegrief,and thatis because Odysseus is gone (1, 330359). She ultimatelyretreatswithinthehouse and thencries herselfto sleep (360364). In Book XIX, the prudentPenelope encountersOdysseus at thispoint a
- butagain she is notalone, forEurynome,herhousekeeper, is withher.
stranger
In lines 124-163, Penelope details here constancy and faithfulnessto Odysseus
and relatesherthree-yearruseand ultimatediscovery.She has finishedtherobeunwillinglyand underduress.At thebeginningofBook XXI(2), Penelope is again
theprudentwife accompanied by herservingwomen. She wept aloud forherlost
husband in line 56; again, in line 330, it is the prudentPenelope who weeps for
herdear husband. Even in Book XXIII it is theprudentPenelope who is slow to
accept thereturnof thatsame dear husband. In therecognitionscene of thatsame
book, she weeps forjoy and is most eager to respond to the invitationof her
husband, "Let us go to bed, my wife, so thatnow we may lie down and take
pleasure beneath sweet sleep" (254-255). The ultimatemodel Athenianwife and
husband reveal themselvesin thepersons of Penelope and Odysseus in lines 299373. In theconversationbetween husband and wife,Penelope assertsthatshe has
remainedchaste, unviolated,and faithfulto her husband. Odysseus has warred,
adventured,and has enjoyed the intimatecompany of both Circe and Calypso.
The dutifulwife accepts the absence and adulteryas her husband driftsoffinto
sleep. She, Penelope, was themodel and ideal forall Athenianwomen and forall
Greek women to emulate. She was the perfectwife.
The Athenians,once thereexisted a role model, trainedor hoped to traintheir

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SUMMER 1993, VOLUME 68, NUMBER 3

wives. And so itwas thatXenophon in theOeconomicus, Books VII-X, outlined

the way to traina new bride. According to Xenophon, the proper age for the
Athenianbridewas 15 or a littleless. She was expected to be a personwho knew
and saw and said as littleas possible. The most importantvirtuewhich she was
to bringinto her marriagewas the abilityto controlher appetite.The translation
of the word "appetite," which appears in the Loeb edition,is a littleambiguous
(VII, 6). The word employed by Xenophon properlymeans stomach or belly.
Moderation,then,in and controlof theintakeof food was mostdesirable. Itseems
that,even in antiquity,obese wives were not in favor with husbands, either
because of estheticsor perhaps because of the expense.
The province of the wife- according to Xenophon- is the house, and her
trainingmustbe in respectto theindoors and thecare of thehousehold. She must
bear children,rearchildren,be discreet,practiceself-control,manage thehouse,
supervise the slaves, and be able to weave and to teach the slaves the art of
weaving. She must take care of the ill in thehouse, keep an orderlyhome, show
totaland immediateobedience to herhusband,and get herdaily exercise through
work in thehouse. Two observationsmade by Xenophon are especially noteworthy.He states:"The betterpartneryou proveto me and thebetterguardofthehouse
to our children,the greaterwill be thehonor paid to you in our home" (VII, 42).
He continues,"For it is not throughoutward comeliness thatthe sum of things
good and beautifulis increased in theworld,but thedaily practiceof thevirtues"
(VII, 43). The Athenian woman must be the perfectPenelope - a partnerto the
husband, a guard of thehouse, and one who practices thevirtuesdefinedby her
husband. Physical beauty was not to be a goal, nor was iteven a primaryvalued
attribute.Total dedicationto thewelfareof husband,children,and household was
the ultimatevirtue.
Three additional "wives" fromliteratureillustratethevirtuesand vices of the
Athenian matron. Alcestis, the one of Euripides, is the epitome of the selfsacrificing wife who possesses the virtues and the trainingof a good wife.
Euripides depicts throughouttheAlcestis a woman who is strong,dutiful,and
pious in the eyes of her servants. She is a woman who prays forher children,
honorshergods, and is almostincapable ofdepartingfromthemarriagebed where
hermaidenhood was undressed(177). She is so dedicated to herhusband thatshe
alone offersto give up her life so thather husband may live.
Phaedra, quite another kind of wife in the Hippolytus, demonstratesthe
concerns of a proper mate. Reputationmust be preserved above all, as Phaedra
teaches in her "shame" speech (373-430). When Phaedra fell in love with
Hippolytus,she decided thatsilence and concealment were thebest plan. Then,
discretionand good sense followed. Ultimately,thefinalsolutionwas death,and
she says, "It would always be my choice to have my virtuesknown and honored"
(402-403). She continues,"I cannot bear thatI should be discovered a traitorto
my husband and my children.God grantthemrich and glorious lives in Athens
. . . and fromtheirmotheran honorable name" (420-423). Reputation is what

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Euripides makes most importantforthewoman, and ifthisis lost, thentheresult

should be like the end of Phaedra.
Clytemnestra,as characterizedby Aeschylus, embodies what a wife should
not be- a totallyrebelliousand fear-inspiring
wife.ThroughouttheAgamemnon,
is
the
wife
of
the
the
mother
of Orestes, and exactly what she
Gytemnestra
king,
should notbe as thechorusreveals in line 35 1: "My lady,you speak like a man."
She describes herselfin lines 606-609: "as faithfulas he left,a watchdog at his
door, knowing one loyalty,to enemies implacable, in all ways unchanged." She
"
calls herself in Greek domatori cyna." The word cyon has possible been
mistranslatedor misunderstoodas a watchdog. The primarymeaning of theword
is bitch,and in Homer itis a word of reproachforwomen- a word which denotes
shamelessness and audacity. In theIliad (VI, 344, 356), Helen applies thisword
to herself;Iris applies itto Athena in VIII, 423, and Hera applies itto Artemisin
XXI, 481. This speech of Gytemnestracan be given two distinctinterpretations.
Not only does she depict herselfas faithful,knowing one loyalty,implacable to
herenemies, and watchdog of thehouse; she also embodies thenegative aspects
of each of these in her sentiments toward Agamemnon. She is masculine,
"
rebellious, and fear inspiring,a true domatoricyon"
The second role forwomen in Athens was thatof mother. To theAthenian,
as Xenophon pointed out in the Oeconomicus, the primarydutyof an Athenian
wife was to produce Athenian children.Soranus, thoughhe practiced medicine
some centuriesafterthe Golden Age of Athens, states in the Gynecology that
"women are marriedforthe sake of childrenand succession, and not formere
enjoyment"(34). Women are fitto conceive, according to Soranus, between the
ages of 15 and 40, iftheyare notmannish,compact, and oversturdy,or too flabby
and verymoist. Thus, theprimarydutyof Athenianwomen of childbearingage
was to produce littleAthenians with or withoutpleasure.
The worstmotherof all, magnificentlydepicted by Euripides in theMedea,
clearly demonstratedto theAthenians what a mothershould not be. Medea and
Jason went to Corinthwith children.At the opening of the play (112), Medea
expresses her attitudetowardherchildren:"You accursed sons of a motherwho
knows nothingbuthate,damn you, yourfather,and you whole house." Although
she was a motherand at one timeevidentlyloved herchildren,Jason's rejection
of herclearlychanged everythingintohate. She murdersherchildrenbecause of
thatrejection;she prefersherselfto her husband and childrenand theirwelfare.
The negative roles of women in Athens duringthefifthand fourthcenturies
B.C. included the adulteress, the rebel, and the witch. All threeof these roles
confrontedthe superiorityof the man and endangered his dominance. The
Athenianmen operatedundera double standard.Marriedmenwere like Odysseus,
freeand even expected tobe sexually active outside marriage.Again, in literature,
thisappears in theepic poem of theblind poet of Chios(?). Homer statesthathis
Iliad concerned the wrathof Achilles and the war against Troy. He could have
statedthatthecause was a woman or possibly thepossession of a woman. Helen

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SUMMER 1993, VOLUME 68, NUMBER 3

and her adulterywere thecauses of theTrojan War, but therole of Paris and his
responsibilityare not stated so strongly.As the Iliad continues, it is again the
possession of a woman that caused the conflict between Agamemnon and
Achilles. It is the rightof Agamemnon and of all the Greek heroes to have
company intheirtentseven iftechnicallytheact is an adulterousone. Agamemnon
pushes the rightto the limit,for he returnshome to Greece with his traveling
companion Cassandra, who was selected not necessarily because of herjovial
personalityand grasp of thepresent.In contrast,Clytemnestrareceived condemnation fromtheoutsetof theAgamemnon by Aeschylus forher association with
Aegisthus. But Agamemnon acts in the traditionof the Greek world, following
in thefootstepsof Zeus and Odysseus. This practicewas established in thedivine
world and itcarriedover intotheheroic world fromwhere itfinallymade itsway
into real life and received legal sanction. Diogenes Laertius (II, 26) reportsan
Athenianlaw which permittedAthenianmen to marryone Athenianwoman and
have childrenby another.He states: "For theysay theAthenians,because of the
scarcityof men, wished to increase thepopulation,and passed a vote thata man
mightmarryone Athenianwoman and have childrenby another."Sarah Pomeroy
pointsout thatCallias, Socrates, and Euripideseach had twowives, and thatMyrto
was the motherof thetwo sons of Socrates, who were stillchildrenin 399 B.C.2
The law stated nothing about Athenian women having two husbands or the
legitimacyofan Athenianwoman being marriedto one Athenianmale and having
childrenbyanother.Implicitinthisis themistakenconceptionthatlack ofchildren
must be the faultof the female. The double standardpermittedthe male to do
whatever he desired, while the female had to remain foreverfaithful.Although
therewere as manyreasons fortheAthenianwoman to commitadulteryas existed
forthemale, thewife could legally be punished,whereas thehusband did notget
the attentionof the law.
Aristophanes,Aeschylus, and Euripidescreatedwomen who rebelledagainst
theirpowerless position. In theLysistrata,thewomen are faced with a war that
drags on eternally.They have neitherpolitical power nor influence.There is but
one weapon in their control and that is their own sexuality. Lysistrata, an
Athenian,and her friendsfromothercity-statesare rebels and, althoughthisis a
comedy, it is a caricature of real life. Otherwise, there would be no humor.
Aeschylus createdthearchenemyof thehusband,Clytemnestra,who was in open
rebellion. Euripides created his Medea, and she took her rebellionto thefurthest
extent- themurderof herchildren.Lysistrataand herfriendswithdrewfromthe
marriageact, and, althoughthiswas a serious transgressionto theminds of their
husbands,itdid notinjureanyone. Clytemnestracontemplatedand accomplished
the death of her husband. Without consideration of motivation,the act was
murder,but,like everythingelse, therewere degrees of murder.The murderof a
husband was not the murderof a blood relative.To the Greeks of antiquity,the
taking of a blood relative's life exceeded the murderof anyone else. The most
horrendouscrimes were those committedby Medea. She murderedher brother

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INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE REVIEW

121

and her children. She must have representedthe most rebellious and the most
criminal of women. These three Athenians wrote for theirtime and for their
audiences. They dealt with the problems of theirday. These problems of the
Athenians, as depicted in the Lysistrata, the Oresteia, and the Medea, all
concerned women and women in rebellion.
Athenswas theenlightenedcityof classical times.In thisdemocracy,thecity
of almost 500,000 souls at its heighthad fewer than 15 percentof its people as
citizenswith equal and fullrights.The slaves were powerless and notpartof the
citizen body. The metics, though in Athens for generations,had only limited
rights.Childrenwere inthepower oftheirparents.Even among childrentherewas
a serious distinction;a boy child was considered of much more value thana girl.
And women- thewives and mothersof theAthenians- were necessarybutonly
as tools and instruments.
Hipponax of Ephesus (sixth centuryB.C.) wrote, "The two best days in a
woman's life are when someone marriesher and when he carriesher dead body
to the grave" (Fragment 68, West). Sophocles, an Athenian male of the fifth
centuryB.C., more succinctly states the condition of women in his city. In a
fragmentof theTereus (583), he wrote:"But now outside myfather'shouse, I am
nothing,yet oftenhave I looked on women's naturein this regard,thatwe are
nothing.Young women, in my opinion, have the sweetest existence known to
'
mortalsintheirfathershomes, fortheirinnocence always keeps childrensafe and
happy. But when we reach pubertyand can understand,we are thrustout and sold
away fromour ancestral gods and fromour parents.Some go to strangemen's
homes, othersto foreigners,some tojoyless homes, some to hostile. And all this
once thefirstnighthas yoked us to our husbands, we are forcedto praise and say
thatall is well."
NOTES
1. A. Gomme, "The Position of Women in Athens in the Fifthand Fourth
Centuries,"Classical Philology, January-October1925, p. 4.
2. Sarah Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, New York:
Schocken, 1975, p. 67.

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