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In ancient Greece, what were the chances of a husband selling their wife into slavery?
I’ve been researching ancient Greece, and it seems that divorce was pretty common if the wife wasn’t having children. So with a divorce, from what I’ve learned, the "ownership" of the woman would pass from the husband back to her father. But I also read that families would sell family members sometimes if they didn’t have enough money. Would it be a sort of normal thing for a husband to sell their wife, if she wasn’t producing an heir? Thanks.
No such incident is referred in any ancient greek source. And with the laws of the time, this would be impossible. Ancient greek society was male-dominant, but that doesnt mean that women then were considered as a property of their husbands.
On the contrary, women in ancient Greece owned property. And despite they had lesser rights than men (the most important of these rights was the right to vote and to get elected), let’s not forget that women’s suffrage was granted as late as in the 20th century.
Moreover, in Doric cities (like Sparta) women had even more rights than in Athens, or other Ionian cities. In Sparta, more than a third of Lacedaimon’s land belonged to women. Spartan women were encouraged to exercise and compete in athletic events.
Generally, anc. greek women participated strongly in the cultural offspring of classical Greece. There are countless names of female philosophers, doctors, mathematicians, poets, and other artists or scientists. Let’s not forget Damo, the pythagorean philosopher (born in 500BC), Melissa (pythagorean, too), Deinomache (doctor, daughter of Hippocrates), Hypatia (mathematician and philosopher), Timarete (painter), Leontion ( Epicurean philosopher), Anaxandra (artist and painter) and many others.
I don’t think so. Greek women married men selected by their parents so it probably would’ve been seen as a betrayal.
References :
Women have not been appreciated in ancient Hellenic cities. Our elders used to say MALES FOR PLEASURE, FEMALES FOR BIRTH. Even today males are ruling our society.
References :
No such incident is referred in any ancient greek source. And with the laws of the time, this would be impossible. Ancient greek society was male-dominant, but that doesnt mean that women then were considered as a property of their husbands.
On the contrary, women in ancient Greece owned property. And despite they had lesser rights than men (the most important of these rights was the right to vote and to get elected), let’s not forget that women’s suffrage was granted as late as in the 20th century.
Moreover, in Doric cities (like Sparta) women had even more rights than in Athens, or other Ionian cities. In Sparta, more than a third of Lacedaimon’s land belonged to women. Spartan women were encouraged to exercise and compete in athletic events.
Generally, anc. greek women participated strongly in the cultural offspring of classical Greece. There are countless names of female philosophers, doctors, mathematicians, poets, and other artists or scientists. Let’s not forget Damo, the pythagorean philosopher (born in 500BC), Melissa (pythagorean, too), Deinomache (doctor, daughter of Hippocrates), Hypatia (mathematician and philosopher), Timarete (painter), Leontion ( Epicurean philosopher), Anaxandra (artist and painter) and many others.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_marriage_law
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1173/1173-h/1173-h.htm
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Thames and Hudson, London, 1990.
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