Women, Children and Slaves

NB: The following focuses on life in Athens. For info on this theme as it applies to Sparta, see 'Spartan Life'.

WOMEN

• Religious Role
  • Some festivals were restricted to citizen women; in others women had an important role.
  • Women were included in the Panathenaea: in the procession, groups of maidens head the procession but those of noble families came before those of lower status.
  • Citizen women particularly figured in rituals connected with Demeter and Kore.
  • Most prominent ritual linked to Demeter/Kore was Thesmophoria: it was exclusively female, but was only for citizen wives.
  • All of the population celebrated the Diasia, a festival of Zeus Meilichios.
  • Likely that there were other ritual occasions where women could participate e.g. public sacrifices - were spectators.
  • Women had an important role in funerals.

• Legal position
  • Women couldn't inherit property.
  • Women could give evidence under oath under a special procedure.
  • Women didn't appear in court as jurors or as litigants (i.e. party to a lawsuit).
  • Women didn't have the opportunity to commit most crimes as were not in the public sphere.
  • Family law was handled by a woman's guardian e.g. father, husband.

• Political Position
  • Women could not achieve political rights, although metics (resident foreigners) and even slaves could.
  • Citizen wives shared citizen status in as much as they could have sons who were citizens and daughters who could marry citizens.
  • On the festival of the Thesmophoria, women, 'took over' the assembly: they would set up an encampment there; the council and law courts were not in session on their day of fasting; they elected their own officials for the festival.

• Economic Position
  • The social ideal was that a woman did not keep a shop or do market business.
  • Sources show that in wealthier households men or slaves do shopping.
  • Ideally women were absent from the agora - the central public space and core of political/judicial/economic/cultural life.
  • Reality was that wives of poorer people did visit the agora: likely that the majority of Athenians were poor.
  • Many women did work in the agora, but not clear if they were citizen women, metics or slaves.
  • Some women traded foodstuff, perfume or garlands.
  • Some women were tavern-keepers or woolworkers.
  • Women don't appear in occupations where real money could be made.
  • Many known occupations of women overlap with those of female slaves.
  • One area of commerce under female control was prostitution: courtesans were usually metics; prostitutes were mostly slaves working in brothels run by a woman or a man.

• Role in the community
  • All citizens were registered in a deme (mini polis): citizen women belonged to a deme through a father or husband.
  • Citizen women were active in the demes, particularly in religion.
  • Citizen women also involved in religious life of phratries - social & cultural 'fraternities' of which all citizens were members.

• Domestic role
  • The social ideal was that (Athenian) women spent most time at home and indoors.
  • The ideal only related to a minority i.e. the wealthy.
  • Poorer women would have worked: in agriculture if from the country; in trade/shops if from town.
  • Amongst the better-off women, part of their time was spent in religious activities including festivals, so not always at home.
  • Sources do reveal that wealthy women met the ideal 'spinning wool, baking bread, keeping house'.
  • Wealthier women would learn to supervise the house slaves; guard the house provisions; budget expenditure and arrange for storing belongings neatly.
  • Women also responsible for the nurture of children.
  • Women appear in the sources to spend time together.
  • Women of wealthier families had their own quarters in the home.
  • Wealthier women had less opportunity to mix socially.

CHILDREN: Boys

• Religious role
  • Citizens and sons took pride of place in most of the city's ritual occasions.
  • Were certain festivals where boys had a particular role e.g. Anthesteria.
  • Boys (and girls) were involved in choral song and dance on ritual occasions.
  • Boys (and men) took part in the athletic and musical contests of major festivals e.g. Panathenaea.

• Legal position
  • Children were represented in court by fathers/guardians.
  • Boys could represent themselves from 18.

• Political position
  • Once 18 and had passed 'citizenship test', would serve in the army.
  • Could then participate in the citizen assembly
  • At 30 could hold public office or serve on a jury.

CHILDREN: Girls

• Religious role
  • Involved in religious festivals e.g. Panathenaea involved citizen daughters.
  • Girls had specific ritual roles in the polis e.g. weaving the peplos for Athena, washing the cult statue, serving Artemis as acolytes in the sanctuary at Brauron.
  • Cult functions often restricted to a few girls or just noble girls, but were symbolic of their ritual importance to the city.
  • Girls involved in choral song and dance on ritual occasions.

• Domestic role
  • Girls married at a young age: the marriage was arranged by her parents and the groom and she would bring a dowry.

SLAVES

• Religious role
  • Slaves had a role in some festivals e.g.Anthesteria.
  • They could be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries.
  • There was a holiday especially for slaves - the Kronia - where state business was suspended and slaves dined with their masters.
  • Likely there were many ritual occasions where slaves participated informally.

• Legal position
  • Were mostly treated as property under Athenian law.
  • Could be bought, sold, and beaten (only by master).
  • Legal action for offences against slaves had to be brought by masters.
  • If slaves required to give evidence in a law suit, this evidence would have to have been obtained under torture, otherwise the evidence was invalid.

• Political position
  • Public slaves were the property of the polis, were a sort of 'elite'.
  • In theory, a male slave could become a citizen as if freed he became a metic (most slaves were foreigners) and could then be granted citizenship.
  • Although slaves had no political rights they made up about one third of the city-state's population.

• Economic position
  • In wealthy houses, slaves or men did the shopping.
  • Female slaves are known of in occupations such as woolworking, retail trade and wet-nursing.
  • Female slaves worked in craft shops around the agora.
  • Male slaves were involved in the building of the Erechtheon.
  • Prostitutes were mostly slaves working in brothels.
  • In unusual circumstance slaves could become wealthy: some worked in trade, manufacture and banking.
  • Slaves are sometimes described as 'living apart': they lived and worked independently, made periodic payments to their masters.
  • Most slaves in the public domain were skilled workers e.g. miners, artisans, craftsmen.
  • Many slaves worked in the silver mines of Laurion.
  • Many slaves were private slaves working in family houses.