While most of Ancient Greek women were confined to the home and were basically the property of men, they were rarely considered a fundamental part of society. Not many had real jobs, except for cooking, cleaning, and making love to their husbands. However, there were a few women who were defiant and went against the societal norms. These women established themselves as respected doctors, philosophers or mathematicians. Here are seven ancient Greek women who impacted the course of history in Greece:
Aspasia of Miletus - writer/thinker
Agnodice of Athens - first female midwife
Hypatia of Alexandria - philosopher, astronomer and mathematician in Alexandria
Hipparchia of Marneia - writer
Arete of Cyrene - first female philosopher
Hydna of Scion - top swimmer and diver
Telesilla of Argos - lyric poet
3 comments:
Hydna of Scion was a top swimmer and diver, as you say. It is interesting how so far back they had competitive diving. Of course, they would have running and swimming competitions but to dive is a little surprising. I suppose because of such the incredible flourish of society they were able to partake in such things. When I think of old sports, I think running, swimming, soccer maybe. Diving does not cross my mind, I would typically think diving as one of the more modern sports.
Also, Aspasia of Miletus was a thinker? How is this influential to Greek history. Did women not think? Or was she different because she shared her views? The title thinker, when placed under influential women, seems like its saying that women were incapable of thinking. I am sure that it means the vocalization of her thoughts, but kind of a poor choice of words.
I think what Ben means by "thinker" is that her thoughts influenced the course of Greek history. Yes, women and men both thought. (I'm willing to bet on it.) I'm pretty sure most people think. It's part of the human condition. The intricacies of human thought are one of things that separate us from other creatures.
Actually, although I understand Ritchie's point, I don't think calling a woman a "thinker" is demeaning in any way. They call men thinkers all the time. Plato, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, David Hume, and Kierkegaard have all been called "thinkers" at one point, I'm sure. Is "thinker" the most accurate description? No, probably not. What they thought about was significant or influential, as well as the way they expressed these ideas. So in my opinion, "thinker" is a vague term, but when women are called "thinkers," I don't agree that it conveys that they're "incapable of thinking." I think it's simply a way of characterizing a woman or man.
Ok, so who was Aspasia of Miletus? A thinker!
Just kidding! She was a companion and lover to Pericles (a prominent Athenian man). Pericles was also her baby-daddy but "out of wedlock," according to Ancient History Encyclopedia. Scandalous! More importantly, she influenced and educated many statesman and politicians in the art of eloquence. In fact, even Socrates commended her on her "eloquence" and believed she wrote a beautifully-written funeral oration given by Pericles. There's much speculation about the nature of her influence, so you can read the article cited below if you wish to learn more.
Source: https://www.ancient.eu/article/80/aspasia-of-miletus-the-art-of-eloquence/
To further elaborate on one of the profound Ancient Greek women Ben named, Hipparchia of Maroneia was a writer and a philosopher. She was Greek but not originally from Athens. Her family moved to Athens out of Maroneia, Greece, and upon arrival, she fell in love with Crates the Cynic of Athens, who was known for his work with the Cynic principles by which he lived. They married, and she worked in the same field as he, for she adored philosophy. Unfortunately, no written work is directly attributed to solely her name, and it is known that she is famous because of her marriage. Therefore, there is no refuting the awful treatment of women in Ancient Greece. Hipparchia never really had the opportunity to be the only one in the spotlight, and that of course, was because she was a woman.
Source: www.iep.utm.edu/Hipparch/
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