Women in Ancient Athens
In the case of Apollodorus, Against Neaera, it was very important that Phano was an Athenian citizen. Phrastor was concerned that Stephanuss daughter Phano was not actually Stephanuss but Neaera and could in fact not have been an Athenian citizen but an alien. Phrastor married Phano because he believed that she was the daughter of Stephanus and a freeborn Athenian woman (Lualdi, 2002). He considered he swindled and outrageously treated to a point of chasing the woman who was by now pregnant and asking for the dowry back. Phrastor was acting out of fear that his family and the society would not accept the child Phano was carrying. Phrastor could therefore sue Stephanus according to the law that he betrothed him a wife on wrong pretense that she was a citizen while she was actually a foreigner.
According to the law, any person who gives an Athenian citizen an alien woman to marry on pretense that she is a relative shall have his property confiscated and have his citizenship deprived. The law also states that a third part of the confiscated property shall go to the person securing the conviction. This law shows that in Athens foreign women were not treated as well as women who were citizens and men. The alien women could not be married to the citizens normally as is the case with Phano who has to be returned back pregnant when his husband found out his originality.
During the reproductive years, the Athenian rules greatly restricted a young womans sexuality as well as freedom whether unmarried or married (Porneroy, 1976). Some studies shows that women were kept isolated indoors sometimes in a gynaikonitis a special part of the house. In the case of the Lysias, On the Murder of Eratosthenes women stayed on separate rooms from men. From Euphiletus confession, his house was divided in to two, mens quarter and the women are with the women sleeping upstairs and the men downstairs. Euphiletus had to change the sleeping arrangements when his wife gave birth to a son and had to breastfeed and bathe the baby. He let the women have the ground floor and have the upper storey himself.
In case a family failed to have a male heir, epikleros another name for the daughter was allowed to carry on the paternal line so long as she got married to the closest male relative. The marriage usually occurred by force so that the family financial resources could be retained within the family. The Apollodorus, Against Neaera case shows how important a male heir was important in Athens culture. Even though Phrastor has repudiated Neaeras daughter, when he got ill and was worried of whom to inherit his property he accepted the child back. Although Phrastor was aware that Neaeras daughter was an alien, he was made to accept him as his legitimate son when he got ill, did not want to die childless and did not want his relatives who he was not in good terms with to get his property. Phrastor himself admits that he would not have adopted the child as his legitimate son if he was well and was not afraid of dying without an heir. This incident shows that women are treated differently than men in this society because they believed in male heir and in case of none, the daughter would be forced to marry a close relative to inherit the paternal line and property. Phrastor proves that he would do anything to have an heir to his property and not his relatives in case of death. His action was not voluntary but forced by culture and circumstances evidenced by the fact that when he regained his health and strength, he married a legitimate daughter of Athenian origin according to the law.
The young girls were married at puberty to men who were thirty years old or older. In the Athenian society, divorce was easy if both parties agreed. The process of divorce was known to be a cause for conflict and power imbalance in marriage. A woman in this society totally depended on a guardian (kyrios) to contact with the society outside the oikos (Osborne, 1993). Phano was very dependent on her mother Neaeras decisions. In her case with Phrastor, only her mother can be seen contravening and talking. In the same case, Nicarete made all decisions for her daughters. She decided whom to give her daughters to, whom to accept property from and how to make her daughters free from unwanted suitors. Although Nicarete was not their biological mother, she regarded them as hers in order to make them admirable to the suitors and acquire a lot of money. Each woman in Athens had a guardian a husband, a father or a relative. In the first case, Euphiletus was her wifes guardian in the second case, Neaera has several guardians such as Stephanus and Phrynion.
Women in ancient Athens did not make one homogenous group (Roberts, 1994).There were some who had much greater influence and freedom of movement in the society that was male dominated. Some women were citizens permanent mistresses also regarded as hetaera and could participate in mens activities such as debates that were forbidden to women citizens. A hetaera could only be allowed these rights if they had brought forth legitimate heir or were part of a normal household (Lualdi, 2002).The society drew a difference between the poor and rich families and women were classified according to their families metric status. Women coming from low class families were poor and could not live up to the societys norm but had the advantage of being allowed to work in the field, sell bread or agricultural products the same work done by men. Upper and middle class women situation was different as their lives were empty and the relationships with their husbands were exclusive. The men in these classes had relationships which were legally and socially recognized with other women, in spite of their women lived lives that lacked gratification and interest. For example, the women in the Apollodorus, Against Neaera could easily be allowed to practice prostitution and become mistresses. The case indicates that Nicarete choose honorable men who had money and wealth to betroth her daughters. Most of these men coming from upper and middle classes already had wives but it was right to have mistresses according to the society.
Athenian womans position in the society was diverse. In Attic tragedy, women played an important public part and had freedom to come and go from their houses. The tragedy does not portray an ordinary life but had intentions to turn the social order upside down (Richter, 1971). The women in Athens were only a class higher than slaves. Athens families regarded the boys birth more important than a girl did. In fact, sometimes women killed their girl children after birth (Lualdi, 2002). Women in this society were not allowed to read and write neither was they allowed earning education. Greek philosophers and authors indicated that educating a woman was a terrible thing to do, like feeding a vile snake on more poison (Richter, 1971). A philosopher like Aristotle shows there is a disadvantage of being a female in comparison to being a male. He shows that female fight with a handicap that is significant and regards them as failed males. He looks at the women negative natural characteristics such as shiftiness, envy, lies, and tears and even stresses that women need to eat less because they work less. He on the other hand shows the males strong points.
The ancient Athenian women were divided in to three classes, that is, lower class, middle class and upper class women. The lower class women were the slave women, they had freedom to work in upper class houses and carry the menial domestic chores. The slave women also helped in raising the wifes children. Male slaves on the other hand work on trade arts in activities such as glass working, pottery making and woodworking. They also helped in educating the sons of middle and high-class houses. The Athenian citizen woman belonged to the second class while the Hetaerae belonged to the third class. The Hetaerae were the highest class of women who unlike the citizens and the slaves had access to education, reading and writing, music and other social activities. They were also allowed to structures such as Agora and others that were off limit to the other types of women. Although Hetaerae were considered of a high class, sources indicate that they were actually at the level of prostitutes but only attained a slightly significant power (Roberts, 1994).
From our two cases, the, Eratosthenes family belonged to the middle class family. Eratosthenes wife was in the second class of Athenian citizens. She was not supposed to read or write nor participate in any activities. Her work was to reproduce and raise children. Eratosthenes house cleaner belonged to the slave women class. She was supposed to follow orders and take care of domestic chores and the wife. She was sent to collect groceries and follow Eratosthenes wifes orders. That is why she could not tell Eratosthenes that his wife was having an affair. The lover to his wife on the other hand belonged to a lower class since he could be seen in the house at odd hours. According to the case, Eratostheness wife lover broke the law by seducing the wife. The law does not hold women in any way responsible for extramarital affairs. The law even gives Eratosthenes authority to kill the adulterer.
In the case of Apollodorus against Neaera, Neaeras mother was a slave so it would be right to classify them as slave women. However, according to their profession, that is, being prostitutes they have gained a class with the rich and wealthy men of the society. This places Neaera to the third class of Hetaerae. In this class, men treat them as objects worth buying and owning and using for all the wrong reasons. Although they are bestowed with good life, they are mistreated as we can see the case with Neaera. Men treat her as business venture and make her a mistress only for acquiring wealth. The case with Phrynion, he mistreated and disrespected her. Phrynion lived a reckless and dissolute life and felt that he had a right to treat Neaera in whichever way he pleased because he had bought her freedom. The worst of all the acts is that he lowered her dignity and make love to her openly without fear of who was watching.
The incident shows that men could treat women in whichever way they pleased so long they played dowry and had invested in them. Athens men treated women more of assets than human beings with rights, freedom and access to good living. Stephanus on the other hand gave Neaera refuge with a promise of protecting her from Phrynions wrath and giving her a better life. The case shows that despite the caring and protective promises Stephanus made, he had two reasons for accommodating her and her three children to his house. That is, so that he could have access to a handsome mistress whenever he wanted without expense and secondly so that Neaeras profession as a prostitute provide him with lifes necessities and help him keep the household since he did not have any other source of income (Porneroy, 1976). This shows how women were regarded lowly Athenss society, instead or rehabilitating the bruised girl from the previous mistreatments, Stephanus choose to take advantage of the situation.
In Conclusion, in ancient Athens women were not treated as equal as men were. Men were far more superior to women as seen in the case of Apollodorus against Neaera and Lysias, On the Murder of Eratosthenes. Eratosthenes could not bring himself to arguing with the wife about adultery because that was degrading. The law even acted against any man who seduced or committed adultery with another man wife but not on the woman. Eratosthenes has the legal right of killing the wifes lover for committing adultery. Neaera on the other hand was mistreated as a prostitute since she did not have a right that protected her according to the law. As a foreigner, she was not allowed by law to live with an Athenian citizen as his wife.
A woman was not allowed to give her prostitute daughter to Theogenes the King-Archon in marriage (Freeman, 1194, pp. 226). The girls given to King-Archon were not supposed to perform secret sacrifices for the safety of the state because it went against public worship and public life laws. The Neaeras case indicates that if prostitutes were given the authority to marry whomever they want. Women in the Athens society are deprived a chance to marry because of citizenship factor. The poor can also not marry because of dowry status. In the society where men are allowed to keep Hetaerae for pleasure and wifes for procreation shows that Athenian treated women unfairly by having laws that deprived them freedom to marriage and matrimonial choices.
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