historical period; and, representing as they did opposing tendencies,
they were continually in conflict. The Dorians mainly occupied the
Southern and Western Peloponnesus, Argos, Corinth, Megara, AEgina, Magna
Graecia, and the southern coast of Asia Minor; the Ionians inhabited
Attica, Euboea, most of the islands of the AEgean, and the famous twelve
Ionian cities along the coast of Asia Minor. The chief city of the
Dorians was Sparta; but Sparta had a form of government peculiar to
itself, which must not be taken as representing all the Dorian States.
Yet among the Dorian States in general there was much the same degree of
freedom enjoyed by women as in Sparta, though they were not subjected to
the same harsh discipline.
The Ionian cities of Asia Minor were greatly influenced by Asiatic love
of ease and luxury, and they introduced into Greece many aspects of the
civilization and art of Asia. There is a tradition that when the Ionians
migrated from Hellas to Asia Minor they did not take their wives with
them, as did the Dorians and AEolians, and, consequently, they were
compelled to wed the native women of the conquered districts. As they
looked upon the wives thus acquired as inferior, they were glad to shut
them up in the women's apartments, following the Oriental custom, and to
treat them as domestics rather than as companions. Thus is supposed to
have arisen the custom of secluding the women of the household, which
rapidly spread among Ionian peoples, even in Continental Greece.
Athens was the chief city among the Ionian peoples, but it developed a
civilization peculiarly its own, known as the Attic-Ionian, combining
much of the rugged strength and vigor of the Dorians with the
refinement, delicacy, and versatility of the Ionians. Yet the status of
woman in the city of the violet crown was a reproach to its otherwise
unapproachable preeminence. Nowhere else in entire Hellas were Greek
women in like measure repressed and excluded from the higher life of the
men as among the Athenians. Consequently, the name of no great Athenian
woman is known to us. But the Ionian repression of women of honorable
station led to the rise of a class of "emancipated" women, who threw off
the shackles that had bound their sex and united their fortunes with men
in unlawful relations as hetaerae, or "companions." Owing to their pursuit
of the higher learning of the times and their cultivation of all the
feminine arts and graces, the hetaerae constituted a most interesting
phenomenon in the social life of Greece, and played an important role in
Greek culture, especially in Athens. As the centre of culture for
Hellas, and as the exponent of literature and art for the civilized
world, Athens demands especial attention in its treatment of women.
The classical period of Greek history was succeeded by the Hellenistic
Age, an epoch introduced by the spread of the Greek language and culture
over the vast empire of Alexander the Great. The theory of the
city-state had been one of the chief causes of the seclusion of women;
and as Alexander broke down the barriers between the Greek cities and
introduced uniformity of life and manners throughout his empire, from
this time on the status of woman is gradually elevated, her attention to
the higher education becomes more general, and she takes a more
prominent part in culture and politics and all the living interests of
the day. Alexandria usurps the place of Athens as the chief centre of
Greek life and thought, and here the Greek woman plays a conspicuous
and prominent role. Then, as Rome spread her conquests over the Orient,
the Graeco-Roman period succeeds the Hellenistic, and through the
intermingling of alien civilizations a womanhood of purely Greek culture
is merged into the cosmopolitan womanhood of the Roman world.
Christianity rapidly becomes the leaven that permeates the lump of the
Roman Empire, and, appealing as it did to all that was highest and best
in feminine character, finds ready acceptance among the women of
Hellenic lands. The woman of Greek culture, with rare exceptions, ceases
to exist, and our subject reaches its natural termination.
II
WOMANHOOD IN THE HEROIC AGE
The life of the earliest Greeks is mirrored in their legends. Though not
exact history, the heroic epics of Greece are of great value as pictures
of life and manners. Hence we may turn to them as valuable memorials of
that state of society which must be for us the starting point of the
history of the Greek woman.
The evidence of Homer regarding the Heroic Age is comprehensive and
accurate. The discoveries of recent years are making Troy and Mycenae and
other cities of Homeric life very real to us. We find that Homer
accurately described the material surroundings of his heroes and
heroines--their houses and clothing and weapons and jewels. The royal
palaces at Troy and Tiryns and Mycenae have been unearthed, and we know
that their human occupants must have been persons of the character
described by Homer, for only such could have made proper use of the
objects of utility and adornment found in these palaces and now to be
studied in the museums of Europe. Hence we are driven to the conclusion
that though Agamemnon be a myth and Helen a poet's fancy, yet men and
women like Agamemnon and Helen must once have lived and loved and
suffered on Greek soil.
Furthermore, great movements in the world's history are brought about
only by great men and great women. The great epics of the world tell the
stories of national heroes, not as they actually were, but idealized and
deified by generations of admiring descendants. Hence, behind all the
marvellous stories in myth and legend were doubtless actual figures of
men and women who influenced the course of events and left behind them
reputations of sufficient magnitude to give at least a basis for the
heroic figures of epic poetry.
To appreciate the elements from which the immortal types of Greek Epic
were composed, a comparison with the Book of Judges is apposite. In
Judges we have represented, though in disconnected narrative, the heroic
age of Ancient Israel, and from material such as this the national epic
of the Hebrew people might have been written. In such an epic, women
like Deborah and Jephthah's Daughter and Delilah would be the idealized
heroines, as are Penelope and Andromache and Helen in Homeric poems. It
is not unreasonable, therefore, to suppose that in the Achaean Age there
lived actual women, of heroic qualities, who were the prototypes of the
idealized figures presented by Homer and the dramatic poets.
Woman must have played a prominent role in the childhood of the Greek
world, for much of the romantic interest which Greek legend inspires is
derived from the mention of the women. Helen and Penelope, Clytemnestra
and Andromache, and the other celebrated dames of heroic times, stand in
the foreground of the picture, and are noted for their beauty, their
virtues, their crimes, or their sufferings. Thus, a study of the history
of woman in Ancient Greece properly begins with a contemplation of
feminine life as it is presented in the poems of Homer.
Homer's portrayal of the Achaean Age is complete and satisfactory,
largely because he devotes so much attention to woman and the conditions
of her life. His chivalrous spirit manifests itself in his attitude
toward the weaker sex. Homer's men are frequently childish and
impulsive; Homer's women present the characteristics universally
regarded as essential to true womanhood. They even seem strangely
modern; the general tone of culture, the relation of the sexes, the
motives that govern men and women, present striking parallels to what we
find in modern times.
Homer has presented to us eternal types of womanhood, which are in
consequence worthy of the immortality they have acquired. At present, we
shall merely seek to learn from these works as much as possible about
the life of woman as seen in the customs of society, and in
archaeological and ethnographic details.
That which strikes us as most noticeable in the organization of society
in heroic times is its patriarchal simplicity. Monarchy is the
prevailing form of government. "Basileus," "leader of the people," is
the title of the sovereign, and every Basileus rules by right hereditary
and divine: the sceptre of his house is derived from Zeus. The king is
leader in war, head of the Council and of the Assembly of the people,
and supreme judge in all matters involving equity. The "elders"
constitute the Council, and the people are gathered together in Assembly
to endorse the actions of their chiefs. The Iliad describes the life of
a Greek camp; but Agamemnon, the suzerain, has under him men who are
kings at home. The Odyssey describes civil life in the centres where the
chieftains at Ilium are royal rulers. The two epics are chiefly
concerned with the lives of these kings and their families. It is the
life of courts and kings, of the aristocracy, with which Homer makes us
familiar; and in the monarchies of Homer the status of woman is always
elevated and her influence great. The wife shares the position of her
husband, and his family are treated with all the deference due the head.
As the king derives his authority by divine right, the people live
peaceably under the government of their chief as under the authority and
protection of the gods. Such are the salient features of the Homeric
polity.
With what inimitable grace does the poet initiate us even into the life
of the little girl at her mother's side. Achilles is chiding Patroclus
for his tears: "Wherefore weepest thou, Patroclus, like a fond little
maid that runs by her mother's side and bids her mother take her up, and
tearfully looks at her till the mother takes her up?" Now, let us note
the maiden at the dawn of womanhood. The mother had prayed that her
daughter might grow up like Aphrodite in beauty and charm, and like
Athena in wisdom and skill in handiwork. Father and mother observe with
happiness her radiant youth; and her brothers care tenderly for her. Her
pastimes consist in singing and dancing and playing ball and the various
forms of outdoor recreation. Young men and maidens join together in
these sports. Homer represented such scenes on the Shield of Achilles:
"Also did the lame god devise a dancing place like unto that which once
in wide Cnossos Daedalus wrought for Ariadne of the lovely tresses. There
were youths dancing and maidens of costly wooing, their hands upon one
another's wrists. Fine linen the maidens had on, and the youths
well-woven doublets, faintly glistening with oil. Fair wreaths had the
maidens, and the youths daggers of gold hanging from silver baldrics.
And now they would run round with deft feet exceeding lightly, as when a
potter sitting by his wheel that fitteth between his hands maketh trial
of it whether it will run: and now anon they would run in line to meet
each other." Such were their pastimes, and equally joyous were their
occupations. To the maidens seem to have been chiefly assigned the
outdoor tasks of the household, which would contribute to their physical
development. Thus the Princess Nausicaa and her girl friends wash in the
river the garments of fathers and brothers; and the Shield of Achilles
represented a vintage scene where "maidens and striplings in childish
glee bear the sweet fruit in plaited baskets, and in the midst of them a
boy made pleasant music on a clear-toned viol, and sang thereto a sweet
Linus-song, while the rest with feet falling together kept time with the
music and the song."
The education of the girls was of the simplest character. They grew up
in the apartment of the mother, and learned from her simple piety toward
the gods a modest bearing, skill in needlework, and efficiency in the
management of a household.
While enjoying a freedom far greater than that allowed to maidens in the
classical period, the Homeric girls did not take part in the feasts and
pastimes of court life. Thus the poet tells us that Nausicaa, who is a
perfect picture of the Greek girl in the springtime of her youth and
beauty, "retired to her chamber upon her return to the palace, and
supper was served to her by a nurse in her apartments," while Odysseus
was being graciously entertained by her father and mother in the court
below. Strict attention to the _convenances_ of their sex and station
was required of these primitive women; and the high-minded maiden
Nausicaa feared evil report should the stranger, Odysseus, be seen with
her in the streets of the city, as such intimacy would be a "shame" to
her, a maiden; while it was also a "shame" for a married woman to go
alone into the presence of men, even when in her own house, though she
could enter their presence when attended by her handmaidens. Thus
Penelope is followed by her maidens when she goes to the hall of the men
to hear the minstrel Phemius. "Bid Antinoe and Hippodamia," says she,
"come to stand by my side in the halls, for alone I will not go among
men, for I am ashamed." Nor did Helen and Andromache ever appear in
public without their handmaidens. In seeming opposition to this
excessive modesty was that office of hospitality which ofttimes required
young women to bathe and anoint the distinguished strangers who were
guests in the house. Thus Polycaste, the beautiful daughter of Nestor,
bathed and anointed Telemachus, and put on him a cloak and vest. Helen
performed like offices for Odysseus when he came in disguise into Troy,
and Circe later for the same hero. Though the poet's statements may at
times, in matters of outward appearance, do violence to modern social
rules, yet, because life in heroic times was simpler and less
conventional, there could innocently be greater freedom of expression
between the sexes regarding many matters which are tabooed in good
society in this very conventional age. Hence such passages as those
cited are to be taken rather as an evidence of the innocence and
ingenuousness of Homer's maidens than as an imputation of lack of
modesty.
There are many indications pointing to the universal beauty of Homeric
women. Thus a favorite epithet of the country is "Hellas, famed for fair
women." There are also numerous epithets applied to Homeric characters
significant of beauty, as "fair in form," "with beautiful cheeks," "with
beautiful locks," "with beautiful breasts," and the like, demonstrating
the universal love of physical beauty as well as the prevalence of
beautiful types.
Marriage was a highly honorable estate, and both young men and maidens
looked forward to it as a natural and desirable step in the sequence of
life. The preliminaries were of a distinctly patriarchal type. The
marriage was usually a matter of arrangement between the suitor and his
intended father-in-law. Sometimes a man might win his bride by heroic
deed or personal merit; but usually the successful suitor was he who
brought the most costly wedding gifts. Thus the characteristic feature
was wife purchase. Usually these gifts were offered to the bride's
father or family; but in the case of the (supposed) widow Penelope, they
were presented to the woman herself. The gifts were added to the wealth
of the bride's household. The idea of dower as such is foreign to the
Homeric poems, though the poet occasionally represents the bride as
receiving from parents rich gifts, which apparently were to be her
personal property, in addition to the nuptial gifts from her family,
consisting of herds or jewels or precious raiment.
From the eagerness with which suitors sought to win the regard of the
maiden, it would seem that she had some choice in the selection of a
husband; but in general the father decided whom he would have for his
son-in-law, though at times the maiden was given her choice from a
number of young men approved by her father. Widows were expected to
remarry; and in their case considerable freedom of choice existed.
The marriage ceremonies were of a social rather than religious or civil
character. The wedding day was celebrated by a feast provided by the
groom in the house of the bride's father. All the guests were clad in
their most costly raiment, and they brought presents to the young
couple. In these patriarchal times, when the father was both chief and
pontiff, so that his approval gave a sacred character to the union, the
leading away of the bride from the house of her father seems to have
constituted the most important act of the marriage ceremony. In the
description of the Shield of Achilles, Homer gives us a glimpse of this
solemnity. Under the glow of torches, surrounded by a joyous company,
dancing and singing hymeneal songs, the bride was led to the house of
her future husband. She was veiled, a custom that was a survival of the
old attempt to avoid angering the ancestral spirits by withdrawing
unceremoniously from their surveillance. The gods presided over
marriage, but no priest or sacrifice was needed; no ceremonies have been
recorded which confirm the theory of bride capture, so often said to be
at the basis of Homeric marriages, nor is there mention of any
ceremonial rites on the wedding night.
Marriage among the Homeric Greeks had primarily two distinct objects in
view: the preservation of a pure line of descent, and the protection of
the property rights of the family. Hence the wife and mother had in her
hands all the sacred traditions of the family; if these were preserved
by her, she added to their glory; if violated, the prestige of the
family suffered untold loss. In consequence, there was no polygamy and
no divorce. Monogamy could be the only sanctioned form of marriage where
such conceptions of wedded life prevailed. Concubinage existed,
especially when the husband was long absent from home; but it was looked
upon with disfavor and frequently led to unfortunate consequences, as in
the cases of Phoenix and Agamemnon. Hetairism and prostitution did not
receive in the Homeric days the recognized place that was later accorded
them in the social structure of the Greeks. The many instances of
conjugal devotion in the Iliad and the Odyssey, as seen, for example, in
Hector and Andromache, Odysseus and Penelope, Alcinous and Arete, show
the high average of marital fidelity in heroic times. There are also
many minor indications that the ties of the family were very sacred
among the Achaeans, and that conjugal affection was very strong. One of
the lamented hardships of the long siege was separation from one's wife:
"For he that stayeth away but one single month far from his wife in his
benched ship fretteth himself when winter storms and the furious sea
imprison him; but for us the ninth year of our stay here is upon us in
its course." And the prayer of Odysseus for Nausicaa shows the Greek
love of home and happy married life: "And may the gods grant thee all
thy heart's desire: a husband and a home, and a mind at one with his may
they give--a good gift; for there is nothing mightier and nobler than
when man and wife are of one heart and mind in a house, a grief to their
foes, and to their friends great joy, but their own hearts know it
best."
The view taken of adultery is a good test of the position of woman in
society. In Homeric times, adultery was regarded as the violation of a
property right. There are few harsh words in the Iliad against Helen;
all the anger of the Greeks was concentrated against Paris, who had
violated the bond of guest friendship, and had alienated his host's
property. Menelaus readily pardoned Helen, when material reparation had
been exacted; there is no moral reprehension of the adultery itself.
Clytemnestra was violently condemned, less because she yielded to the
seductions of AEgisthus than because her crime led to the murder of her
husband. There seems to have been also a natural perpetuity of the
marriage contract. To the Greeks, Helen was always the wife of Menelaus.
The ideal for the wife was single-hearted loyalty toward her husband;
faithfulness and submission were the principal virtues of women. Moral
lapses by men were frequent, and the same standard of marital rectitude
was not required from them as from the women of the heroic days.
The social manners of the time, and especially the elevated position of
the matron, may be gathered from Homer's account of Telemachus's
reception at the palace of King Menelaus in Sparta. He and his friend
Pisistratus are conducted into the great hall, where, after having
bathed and anointed themselves and put on fresh raiment, they are
received by their host, Menelaus. They are placed on chairs beside him,
and a repast is brought, of which they are invited to partake. Menelaus
does not yet know who his guests are, but he has observed that
Telemachus weeps when Odysseus is mentioned in conversation.
While he is pondering on this, Helen comes forth into the hall from her
"fragrant vaulted chamber" in the inner or woman's part of the house.
With her are three handmaids, one of whom sets for her the well-wrought
chair, a second brings a rug of soft wool, while the third places at her
side a silver basket on wheels, across which is laid a golden distaff
charged with wool of violet blue. Helen immediately takes a leading part
in the entertainment of the guests, one of whom, with woman's intuition,
she is the first to recognize, and they converse far into the night.
Then good cheer is spread before them, and Helen casts into the wine
whereof they drink "a drug to lull all pain and anger and bring
forgetfulness to every sorrow." Presently Helen bids her handmaids show
with torches the guests to their beds beneath the corridors, where
bedsteads have been set with purple blankets and coverlets and thin
mantles upon them.
Here, in her royal palace, Helen is in every sense a queen. Endowed with
charms of intellect, as well as of person, she regulates the life and
determines the tone of the society about her; and she is but an example
of the high social position of the Homeric women.
The Homeric matron had as her regular duties the management of the
household, and was trained in every domestic occupation. Spinning and
weaving were her chief accomplishments, and all the Homeric heroines
were highly skilled in the textile arts. The garments worn by the men
were fashioned at home by handmaidens under the superintendence of their
mistress, who herself engaged in the work. Penelope had fifty slave
maidens to direct in the various duties of the household. The daughters
of Celeus, like Rebecca of old, went to the well to draw water for
household use; and the clothes washing of the Princess Nausicaa and her
maidens has been already mentioned. So, by the side of the refinement
and elegance of the Homeric Age we have a simplicity of manners that but
adds to the charm.
In spite of these beautiful instances of domestic harmony and affection,
the women of Homer had really no rights, in the modern sense of the
term. Throughout the whole of life their position was subject to the
will or the whims of men. At marriage, woman merely passed from the
tutelage of her father to that of her husband, who had absolute power
over her. But though the power of the husband was absolute, yet he was
generally deferential toward the wife he loved, and was frequently
guided by her opinions. Thus, the Phaeacians say of Queen Arete:
"Friends, this speech of our wise queen is not wide of the mark, nor far
from our deeming, so hearken thereto. But on Alcinous here both word and
work depend." With Arete lay the real seat of authority, though she
could claim no rights, and doubtless the tactful and clever Homeric
woman was, as a rule, the dominating influence in the palace.
When the husband died, the grown-up son succeeded to his rights, and it
was in his power, if he saw fit, to give his widowed mother again in
marriage. Penelope's obedience to her son Telemachus is one of the
striking features of the Odyssey. He had it in his power to give her in
marriage to any of the suitors, but he refrained, from filial affection
and mercenary motives. "It can in no wise be that I thrust forth from
the house, against her will, the woman that bare me and reared me," says
Telemachus; and he continues: "Moreover, it is hard for me to make heavy
restitution to Icarius, as needs I must if, of my own will, I send my
mother away."