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Women in Greece

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The status and characteristics of ancient and modern-day women in Greece evolved from events that occurred in Greek history. In Michael Scott's article, "The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece" (History Today), the place of women and their achievements in Ancient Greece was best described by Thucidydes in this quotation: "The greatest glory [for women] is to be least talked about among men, whether in praise or blame."[4] However, the status of Greek women underwent considerable change and advancement in the 20th century. In 1952, women received the right to vote,[5] which led to their earning places and job positions in businesses and in the government of Greece; and they were able to maintain their right to inherit property, even after being married.[6]

Women in Greece
Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)3 (2010)
Women in parliament21.0% (2013)
Women over 25 with secondary education59.5% (2012)
Women in labour force47.3% (employment rate
OECD definition, 2019)[1]
Gender Inequality Index[2]
Value0.119
Rank32nd out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index[3]
Value0.689 (2022)
Rank100th out of 146

Women in Bronze Age Greece

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Main article: Women in Mycenaean Greece

In the Linear B tablets from this era, men are more frequently mentioned by name, title, or occupation. Nonetheless, the references to women offer valuable clues about their roles within palace-controlled economies. Many women are organized into workgroups under palace authority, classified by roles such as textile workers (“linen workers,” “sewing women,” “headband makers”), food producers (“flour-grinders”), and domestic staff (“attendants”). Some women are identified by their origins, which could be local to the palace or from more distant regions—for instance, records from Pylos in southwestern Greece list women from as far away as the Turkish coast.

Though these women are not often directly referred to as enslaved, the details of their origins, references to some groups as “captives,” and the palace’s regulation of their lives and labor suggest they were likely in a state of effective enslavement or, at the very least, heavily dependent on palace authority. Documentation from the palace records their numbers, the provision of basic rations like grain and figs, and the distribution of raw materials for their work, all of which underscore this dependency. Some of these groups are listed under the name of a male supervisor or owner, and many records also note their children, who presumably worked alongside their mothers and learned their trades.

Women of this social standing are seldom identified by name, but there are a few notable instances. For example, a tablet from Knossos on Crete lists a group of women—likely textile workers—by individual names, including one called Wordieya, or “Rosie.” Another tablet from Pylos records a woman named Kessandra as the recipient of a substantial ration allocation, enough to support 20 workers for 20 days. Kessandra may have been responsible for supervising a team of male workers, though the specific type of work isn’t mentioned. Her role could have been limited to overseeing this group, or she might have held a higher position within the palace’s administration, though there’s insufficient context to determine her exact responsibilities. Additionally, the identities and genders of the Linear B scribes are unknown; while it’s widely assumed most were men, it’s possible that some scribes could have been women.

Women in ancient Greece

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Main article: Women's rights § Ancient Greece
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Although most women lacked political and equal rights in Ancient Greece, they enjoyed a certain freedom of movement until the Archaic age.[7] Records also exist of women in ancient Delphi, Gortyn, Thessaly, Megara and Sparta owning land, the most prestigious form of private property at the time.[8] However, after the Archaic age, women's status worsened, and laws on gender segregation were implemented.[7]

 
Two Women of Archaic Athens making preparations for a wedding, Displayed on ceramic painting from the 5th century BC
 
Woman kneeling before an altar. Attic red-figure kylix, 5th BC, Stoa of Attalos

Women in Classical Athens had no legal personhood and were assumed to be part of the oikos (household) headed by the male kyrios (master). In Athenian society, the legal term of a wife was known as a damar, a word that is derived from the root meaning of "to subdue" or "to tame".[9] Until marriage, women were under the guardianship of their fathers or other male relatives; once married, the husband became a woman's kyrios. While the average age to get married for men was around 30, the average age for women was 14. This system was implemented as a way to help ensure that girls were virgins when they wed. It also made it possible for a husband to choose his wife's next husband, should she survive him.[10] As women were barred from conducting legal proceedings, the kyrios would do so on their behalf.[11]

Athenian women had limited right to property and therefore were not considered full citizens, as citizenship and the entitlement to civil and political rights was defined in relation to property and the means to life.[12] If the head of a household died with no male heir to inherit, then a daughter may become the provisional heir of the property, known as epikleros (roughly translated to an heiress). Later, it was common for a woman to marry a close relative of her father if she became adjunct to that property.[13] However, a woman could acquire rights over property through gifts, dowry and inheritance, though her kyrios had the right to dispose of a woman's property.[14] Athenian women could enter into a contract worth less than the value of a "medimnos of barley" (a measure of grain), allowing women to engage in petty trading.[11] Slaves, like women, were not eligible for full citizenship in ancient Athens, though in rare circumstances they could become citizens if freed. The only permanent barrier to citizenship, and hence full political and civil rights, in ancient Athens was gender. No women ever acquired citizenship in ancient Athens, and therefore, women were excluded in principle and practice from ancient Athenian democracy.[15]

By contrast, Spartan women enjoyed status, power, and respect that was unknown in the rest of the classical world. Although Spartan women were formally excluded from military and political life, they enjoyed considerable status as mothers of Spartan warriors. While men were engaged in military activity, women took over responsibility for running estates. Following protracted warfare in the 4th century BC Spartan women owned between 60% and 70% of all Spartan land and property.[16][17] By the Hellenistic Period, some of the wealthiest Spartans were women.[18] They controlled their own properties, as well as the properties of male relatives who were away with the army.[16] Spartan women rarely married before the age of 20, and unlike Athenian women who wore heavy, concealing clothes and were rarely seen outside the house, Spartan women may have worn short dresses for practicality while exercising, however Plutarch wrote the following about the Spartans in is Sayings of Spartans: "When someone inquired why they took their girls into public places unveiled, but their married women veiled, he said, 'Because the girls have to find husbands, and the married women have to keep to those who have them!".[19] Girls as well as boys received an education, and young women as well as young men may have participated in the Gymnopaedia ("Festival of Nude Youths").[16][20] Despite relatively greater mobility for Spartan women, their role in politics was the same as Athenian women: they could not take part in it. Men forbade them from speaking at assemblies and segregated them from any political activities. Aristotle also thought Spartan women's influence was mischievous and argued that the greater legal freedom of women in Sparta caused its ruin.[21]

Athens was the cradle of philosophy in Ancient Greece and anyone could become a poet, scholar, politician or artist, anyone except women.[21] Historian Don Nardo stated "throughout antiquity most Greek women had few or no civil rights and many enjoyed little freedom of choice or mobility."[21] During the Hellenistic period in Athens, the famous philosopher Aristotle thought that women would bring disorder, evil, and were "utterly useless and caused more confusion than the enemy."[21] Because of this, Aristotle thought keeping women separate from the rest of the society was the best idea.[21] This separation would entail living in homes called a gynaeceum while looking after the duties in the home and having very little exposure with the male world.[21] This was also to protect women's fertility from men other than husbands, to ensure the legitimacy of their born lineage.[21] Athenian women were also educated very little, except home tutorship for basic skills such as spinning, weaving, cooking, and some knowledge of money.[21]

In Gortyn, women had a much better position than in Greece. All women, including slaves, were protected. Gortyn women, as well as Spartan women, were able to enter into legal agreements and appear before the court. They were able to own property without male co-ownership or permission. Husband and wife had equal right to divorce. A free, divorced woman could throw her child into the river. Sisters and brothers shared inheritances equally. Epicleros (in Sparta and Gortyn, they were called patrouchoi) had a certain freedom of choice regarding marriage. Namely, if a woman was already married with children and became an epicler, she could choose whether to divorce her husband or not. But a married woman without children who became an epicler had no choice but to divorce and re-marry, according to the regulations. In general, a daughter who inherited property could not dispose of it. An exception was that she could sell it or pledge it as payment in the amount of a debt owed to her late father's creditor.

Plato acknowledged that extending civil and political rights to women would substantively alter the nature of the household and the state.[22] Aristotle, who had been taught by Plato, denied that women were slaves or subject to property, arguing that "nature has distinguished between the female and the slave," but he considered wives to be "bought." He argued that women's main economic activity is that of safeguarding the household property created by men. According to Aristotle, the labour of women added no value because "the art of household management is not identical with the art of getting wealth, for the one uses the material which the other provides."[23]

Contrary to these views, the Stoic philosophers argued for equality of the sexes, sexual inequality being in their view contrary to the laws of nature.[24] In doing so, they followed the Cynics, who argued that men and women should wear the same clothing and receive the same kind of education.[24] They also saw marriage as a moral companionship between equals rather than a biological or social necessity, and practiced these views in their lives.[24] The Stoics adopted the views of the Cynics and added them to their own theories of human nature, thus putting their sexual egalitarianism on a strong philosophical basis.[24]

Right to divorce

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See also: Marriage in ancient Greece

Despite the harsh limits on women's freedoms and rights in ancient Greece, their rights in context of divorce were fairly liberal. Marriage could be terminated by mutual consent or action taken by either spouse. If a woman wanted to end her marriage, she needed the help of her father or other male relative to represent her, because as a woman she was not considered a citizen of Greece. If a man wanted a divorce, however, all he had to do was throw his spouse out of his house. A woman's father also had the right to end the marriage. In the instance of a divorce, the dowry was returned to the woman's guardian (who was usually her father) and she had the right to retain half of the goods she had produced while in the marriage. If the couple had children, divorce resulted in full paternal custody, as children were seen as belonging to his household. While the laws regarding divorce may seem relatively fair, considering how little control women had over most aspects of their lives in ancient Greece, women were unlikely to divorce their husbands because of the damage it would do to their reputation.[10] As women were barred from conducting legal proceedings, the kyrios would do so on their behalf.[11]

Education

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In ancient Greece, education encompassed cultural training in addition to formal schooling. Young Greek boys were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic by a litterator (the equivalent of a modern elementary school teacher). If a family did not have the funds for further education, the boy would begin working for the family business or train as an apprentice, while a girl was expected to stay home and help her mother to manage the household. The boy's next level of schooling included learning how to speak correctly and interpret poetry, and was taught by a Grammaticus. Music, mythology, religion, art, astronomy, philosophy, and history were all taught as segments of this level of education.[25]

Arts

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A depiction of in the women's quarters of a house, on a classical Greek vase. The photo is focused on a seated woman who is relaxed while fingering a "barbiton" (a stringed instrument).

Lysistrata (/laɪˈsɪstrətə/ or /ˌlɪsəˈstrɑːtə/; Attic Greek: Λυσιστράτη, Lysistrátē, "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy written by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BCE.[26] The play depicts women's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city states by denying men sexual pleasures, which was the only thing the men desired. Women were going to end the war by capitalizing on their sexuality.[27] Lysistrata persuades the women of the warring cities to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace. This strategy, however, only inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is a humorous exploration of the status of Greek women in 411 BCE. It suggested that women have limited power and would be ridiculous for them to take a stand.

There is not much surviving art depicting the roles of women in ancient Greek society. The majority of sources come from pottery found which displayed the everyday lives of citizens. Such pottery provides a medium which allows us to examine women's roles of the time, generally depicted as goddesses, keepers of domestic life, or whores. Scenes of adornment in vase painting are a window into the women’s sphere, though they are not entirely realistic, rather, a product of the voyeuristic and romanticized image of womanhood envisioned by males.[28] Women are frequently depicted as "sexual objects" in ancient Greek pottery, thus providing context for the sexual culture of Ancient Greece.[29] A majority of vase scenes portray women inside their houses. A common presence of columns suggests that women spent much of their time in the courtyard of the house. The courtyard was the one place where they could regularly enjoy the outdoors and get fresh air. A majority of Greek cooking equipment was small and light and could easily be set up there. It can be inferred that during sunny weather, women probably sat in the roofed and shaded areas of the courtyard, for the ideal in female beauty was a pale complexion.[30]

Women in the Greek War of Independence

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Manto Mavrogenous

Amongst the Greek warriors in the Greek War of Independence, there were also women, such as Laskarina Bouboulina. Bouboulina, also known as kapetanissa (captain/admiral) in 1821 raised on the mast of Agamemnon her own Greek flag and sailed with eight ships to Nafplion to begin a naval blockade. Later she took part also in the naval blockade and capture of Monemvasia and Pylos.

Another heroine was Manto Mavrogenous. From a rich family, she spent all her fortune for the Hellenic cause. Under her encouragement, her European friends contributed money and guns to the revolution. She moved to Nafplio in 1823, in order to be in the core of the struggle, leaving her family as she was despised even by her mother because of her choices. Soon, she became famous around Europe for her beauty and bravery.

Contemporary period

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During the past decades, the position of women in Greek society has changed dramatically. Efharis Petridou was the first female lawyer in Greece; in 1925 she joined the Athens Bar Association.[31][32] The women of Greece won the right to vote in 1952. In 1955, women were first allowed to become judges in Greece.[31]

In 1983, a new family law was passed which provided for greater gender equality in marriage. It abolished the dowry, and provided for the rights of "illegitimate" children.[33][34][35] Adultery was also decriminalised in 1983. The new family law provided for civil marriage and liberalised the divorce law. In 2006, Greece enacted Law 3500/2006, which criminalised domestic violence, including marital rape.[36] Law 3719/2008 further dealt with family issues, including Article 14, which reduced the separation period (necessary before a divorce in certain circumstances) from 4 years to 2 years.[37] Greece also ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in 2014.[38] As of 2014, there are 21.0% women in parliament.[39]

Family dynamics remain conservative, however. The principal form of partnership is marriage, and extramarital childbearing and long-term cohabitation are not widespread. For instance, in 2015, Greece had the lowest percentage of births outside marriage in the European Union, at only 8.8%.[40] Greece has a low fertility rate, at 1.33 number of children per woman (in 2015), lower than the replacement rate of 2.1.[41]

Quality of life

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Women of Archaic Athens fetching water from a fountain house, on painted terracotta Hydria(water jug) of ca. 530 BC
 
Women with their garments displayed on a Terracota kylix(drinking cup), ca. 470 BC, Attic Greek, Douris, Metropolitan Museum of Art

In ancient Greece, Athenian women compensated for their legal incapacities by cultivating alliances with male relatives.[42] Women had little power, always answering to the man of the household. They hid when guests were present. They were often designated to the upper floors and admonished to stay away from the street door where they might be seen. Women also were barred from spaces where the kyrios (master) would entertain his friends.[43][44]

Women were responsible for maintaining the household, including fetching water from wells and fountains, organizing finances, and weaving cloth for their family's clothing. Athenian women and girls spent most of their time engaged in manufacturing textiles from raw materials, usually wool.[44] Ischomachos claimed to Socrates that he married his 14-year-old wife, as she had great wool-working abilities, including making clothes and supervising the spinning performed by female slaves. Girls as young as seven were involved in weaving the famous Athenian textile, the peplos (robe), for the holy statue of Athena on the Acropolis. This was an elaborately patterned cloth, the design of which traditionally included a battle between the gods and giants. It took nine months to complete and many women participated in its production.[44]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "LFS by sex and age - indicators".
  2. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  4. ^ Scott, Michael. The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece, History Today, Volume: 59 Issue: 11 2009
  5. ^ Kerstin Teske: teske@fczb.de. "European Database: Women in Decision-making – Country Report Greece". Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  6. ^ Hitton, Shanti. Social Culture of Greece, Travel Tips, USA Today
  7. ^ a b Nardo, Don (2000). Women of Ancient Greece. San Diego: Lucent Books. p. 28.
  8. ^ Gerhard, Ute (2001). Debating women's equality: toward a feminist theory of law from a European perspective. Rutgers University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8135-2905-9.
  9. ^ Keuls, Eva (1985). The Rein of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens (1st ed.). Harper & Row.
  10. ^ a b Kirby, John T. "Marriage". go.galegroup.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Blundell, Sue (1995). Women in ancient Greece. Harvard University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-674-95473-1.
  12. ^ Gerhard, Ute (2001). Debating women's equality: toward a feminist theory of law from a European perspective. Rutgers University Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8135-2905-9.
  13. ^ Rotroff, Susan (2006). Women in the Athenian Agora. ASCSA. pp. 10, 11, 12, 13.
  14. ^ Blundell, Sue (1995). Women in ancient Greece. Harvard University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-674-95473-1.
  15. ^ Robinson, Eric W. (2004). Ancient Greek democracy: readings and sources. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-631-23394-7.
  16. ^ a b c Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddess, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books, 1975. p. 60-62
  17. ^ Tierney, Helen (1999). Women's studies encyclopaedia. Vol. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 609–610. ISBN 978-0-313-31072-0.
  18. ^ Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women. Oxford University Press, 2002. p. 137
  19. ^ Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women. Oxford University Press, 2002. p. 134 [1]
  20. ^ Pomeroy 2002, p. 34
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h Pry, Kay O (2012). "Social and Political Roles of Women in Athens and Sparta". Sabre and Scroll. 1 (2).
  22. ^ Robinson, Eric W. (2004). Ancient Greek democracy: readings and sources. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-631-23394-7.
  23. ^ Gerhard, Ute (2001). Debating women's equality: toward a feminist theory of law from a European perspective. Rutgers University Press. pp. 32–35. ISBN 978-0-8135-2905-9.
  24. ^ a b c d Colish, Marcia L. (1990). The Stoic Tradition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: Stoicism in classical Latin literature. BRILL. pp. 37–38. ISBN 90-04-09327-3., 9789004093270
  25. ^ Kirby, Ed T. "Education". Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Group. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  26. ^ "Lysistrata – Aristophanes | Summary, Characters & Analysis | Classical Literature". Classical Literature. November 2019.
  27. ^ Luo, Cynthia (Spring 2012). "Women and War: Power Play from Lysistrata to the Present". Honors Scholar Theses.
  28. ^ Blundell, Sue (Spring–Summer 2008). "Women's Bonds, Women's Pots: Adornment Scenes in Attic Vase Painting". Phoenix. 62 (1/2): 115–144. JSTOR 25651701.
  29. ^ Ettinger, Grace (December 2019). "The Portrayal Of Women In Ancient Greek Pottery". The Pigeon Press.
  30. ^ Konstan, David (2014). Beauty - The Fortunes of an Ancient Greek Idea. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 30–35. ISBN 978-0-19-992726-5.
  31. ^ a b Buchanan, Kelly (6 March 2015). "Women in History: Lawyers and Judges | In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress". Blogs.loc.gov. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  32. ^ "Το Γυναικείο Κίνημα στην Ελλάδα | segth.gr". segth.gr. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  33. ^ Marcos, Anastasios C, and Bahr, Stephen J. 2001 Hellenic (Greek) Gender Attitudes. Gender Issues. 19(3):21–40.
  34. ^ "AROUND THE WORLD; Greece Approves Family Law Changes". The New York Times. 26 January 1983.
  35. ^ Demos, Vasilikie. (2007) “The Intersection of Gender, Class and Nationality and the Agency of Kytherian Greek Women.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. 11 August.
  36. ^ "Combating domestic violence :: General Secretariat for Gender Equality". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  37. ^ "Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  38. ^ "Liste complète". Bureau des Traités. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  39. ^ "Women in Parliaments: World Classification".
  40. ^ "TGM - Eurostat".
  41. ^ "TGM - Eurostat".
  42. ^ Johnstone, Steven (October 2003). "Women, Property, and Surveillance in Classical Athens". Classical Antiquity. 22 (2): 247–274. doi:10.1525/ca.2003.22.2.247.
  43. ^ Lysias Atheniensis Kr. e. 450?-380? (2000). Lysias. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292781652. OCLC 1087655989.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  44. ^ a b c Rotroff, Susan (2006). Women in the Athenian Agora. ASCSA. pp. 28, 32, 36.

Further reading

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