The status of women

Despite the democratic ideals of fairness and equality, nine tenths of the Athenian population were not allowed to vote. This included all women, as well as slaves and other groups. Women were considered not just unequal. They were believed to be demonic. According to Sue Blundell of the Open University, all the evidence of vase painting is that the woman is covered and not meant to be seen. Her husband is the one person for whom she will unveil herself.

But according to Professor Simon Goldhill of Cambridge University, there is also evidence that the Athenians could at least think the possibility of something different. We hear about this in the philosophical writings of Plato, where he imagines society without the family and where women as well as men were guardians of is replublic. We also hear about it in the more unusal form of the joke, when Aristophanes imagines what would happen if women took control of society.

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For more information on women and society in ancient Athens, go to Find Out More.