Women in Athens
Treatment of Women
Women, comapred to Sparta and other civilizations, were given few rights. They were under the care of a kyrios, a male guardian whose job it was to take care of the girl, and find a suitable husband for her. The women could not inhereit property, and was unable to buy anything or enter contract. They were not fiven any political rights, even if they were citizens.
Marriage and Family
There was a large age difference between the girls and men at the age of marriage, the girls 12 or 13, the men at least 30. her kyrios would provide the dowry. In the ceremony, the bride and groom would ride together in a cart, followed by friends and family to the groom's house.
As a wife, the women's only duties were to manage the household and to provide her husband with an heir. the wife was expected to stay at home except for special occasions. The husband and wife didn't interact with each other in public, and the women most often remained in the women's quarter of the house.
Clothing
Athenian women's clothing was more modest than to that of sparta, and consisted of mainly 2 parts. The first, a chiton, was a large piece of rectangular fabric wrapped around a women, and held together by a series of small pins, and a girdle around the breast or waist to keep the dress up. When going outside, a women would sometimes wear a himation, which is worn over a chiton and is almost like a cloak. The himation was attatcheed to the chiton with pins.
Ancient greeks took excessive care of their bodies, women had the time to do it often. They would rub honey and olive oil into the skin as a lotion. They would also use white lead to whiten their skin.
