greek-women

 __Role of Women in Ancient Greece__ The Goddesses The goddesses were great examples of what the society of Ancient Greece thought women should be like, with some exceptions. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, was a woman who refused to marry and prefered to go hunting with her hounds over staying home and taking care of the house. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, and women back in Ancient Greece were thought to have too much emotion and not enough intelligence.

Aphrodite - Goddess of Love and Beauty

Artemis - Goddess of the Hunt

Athena - Goddess of Wisdom

Demeter - Goddess of Agriculture

Gaea - Goddess of Earth, Mother Earth

Hebe - Goddess of Youth, Cupbearer

Hera - Goddess of Marriage and Married Women

Persephone- Goddess of the Spring

Role of Women A wife's duty was to bear legitimate children, as in heirs, and to manage the household. She was expected to remain inside her home except for attendance at funerals and festivals of the specific cults that were open to woman. A woman seen outside on her own was assumed to be a slave, prostitute, concubine or a woman so poor that she had to work. Child care, spinning and weaving were the most important activities in the daily routine of the good wife. One writer said that the best woman was the one about whom the least was heard, whether it be good or bad. It is quite possible that Athenian reality never quite lived up to Athenian ideal. There is some evidence to suggest that at least some women could read and write and were well informed on the issues of the day. Vase paintings etc. would suggest that women frequently gathered together. Women and men, however, did not socialize together---at least, respectable women and men did not. If a man had guests in his home the women would be expected to remain in the women's quarter. There are few paintings that show husband and wife together after the wedding.

Human Examples Helen - Her capture was what started the Trojan War

Penelope - Wife of Oddyseus, waited for his return for years and never remarried even though he was said to be dead