My Essays

Women in Ancient Greece

       "But if the women gather together here [...] together, we'll be able to rescue Greece."

                                                         (Aristophanes, Lysistrata. Pg.39)

         When brought upon the topic of Ancient Greece, there are many things that may come to mind: the Greek gods and goddesses, myths, the Parthenon, warriors, architecture, and many others. If one has studied it a bit more, they may think of the stark contrast between men and women of the time. What was it like to be a woman in Ancient Greece? One can be assured that it is much different from being a woman in modern times. Taking a closer look at the realities of a Greek woman in the period of 700-480 B.C. will allow for a thorough answer to the question and will show what a woman's life in Ancient Greece was truly like.

        Juxtaposed to the vast amount of information we have on the lives and mythology of Ancient Greek men, there is extraordinarily little record of the lives of women in that time. With the exception of Ancient Athens (Cartwright 2016), much of a woman's life in Ancient Greece was not documented. This is due to the way that history was largely documented by and for men (Donaldson 1997, pg. 9). Apart from the media of that time, documentation of women's lives was left unrecorded (Jones 2008, pg. 93), but men did, however, write about women in their epic poems, plays, songs, and stories. These sources, though depicting the lives and various circumstances of women, were written by men, and therefore were created under the male gaze. This raises the question—and the likelihood—that these stories were less about the accurate lives of women, and more about how men viewed and represented women's lives, actions, aspirations, and concerns. This is exemplified in the way that in ancient times, all actors, whether portraying a male or female character, were male. While the costumes were convincing, everyone—especially the women—would be fully aware that they were indeed men and not women (Jones 2008, pg. 101). Men portraying their understanding of women's lives shows how even through stories, they show a caricature of women and the things that they go through. Outside of the writings of men, the history of women in Ancient Greece can be seen in the poems and songs that women would compose as they worked (Andromache 2014, pgs. 3-4). By listening to their songs and poems, one can see more of the inner workings of women and their labor. Poems and work songs were also occasionally used by mothers to subtly express disapproval of their daughter's betrothed (Andromache 2014, pg. 3). Because of societal constraints, a mother could not outwardly state her disapproval, but singing or writing something with plain, unpoetic verses was a form of protest. Though there is not much recorded, unbiased information, the bits that come from the ancient Greek media as well as women's working songs allow for some perspective on women's lives during that time.

        Compared to modern times, the rights of women in Ancient Greece were slim. While it varies from city-state to city-state, generally, the list of things that were forbidden for women was larger than the list of favorable actions to partake in. For example, women were unable to vote, inherit anything from their fathers or husbands, own land, or hold public office (Cartwright 2016). All these things were handled by the men in a woman's life; her father if she was unmarried, or her husband if she was wed. Though this list was extensive, the usual tasks and roles that a woman is charged with are praised and hallowed as contributions to commonwealth in the Ancient Greek society (Jones 2008, pg.94). The most common role that women held was one of home making and child rearing. With some help from slaves (if her husband could afford them), a woman oversaw the raising of her children and the daily household obligations (Cartwright 2016). Besides the general cooking, cleaning, and caring, women also would do indoor activities like wool working and weaving. Weaving was a way for women to not only make beautiful garments, but to make artwork that conveyed their skill, intelligence, authority, and authenticity (Andromache 2014, pgs. 4-5). The weavings were also used to portray prophecies and, in some stories, were even used to enact revenge through poisonous cloth or hiding weapons (Andromache 2014, pg. 5). Even though women were kept from doing many things, what they were able to do was admired and revered in society and held some personal power.