Despite inventing our concept of democracy, the Ancient Athenians were not a very egalitarian people since they reserved citizenship for only a select group. Slaves had no rights, nor did women. Indeed, there were many places in the ancient world, like Sparta and Athens, were women enjoyed more rights than they did in Athens.
Athenian women born to legitimately to two Athenian citizens were better off than slaves and non-citizens, but they had few rights. These women lived under the guardianship of their father or another male relative until they got married, usually in their early teens. At that point, their husband became their guardians. The Ancient Athenians believed that women were emotional creatures who were dangerous to themselves and needed to be taken care of by men. Although women might own some personal items and have charge of a slave or two, they could not own property or enter into contracts.
Once potential husbands had accepted the dowry offered by guardians, Athenian women took charge of domestic duties including taking care of children, spinning and weaving, and overseeing slaves. The only time she was expected to leave the house was to attend funerals, festivals, and religious cults. She was not to be seen in public and she was not even to be seen in her own home if her husband invited guests to the house. In such a case, she was supposed to retire to the women's quarters.
Lower class women, those who could not be citizens, had a less sheltered existence. Most of them became prostitutes of one "class" or another. If one of these women was lucky, she might be made a concubine to a rich, married man or she might become a courtesan, a woman admired more for her intellect and her ability to entertain than just her body. Not being citizens, however, these women had no chance of becoming citizens or of producing children that would become citizens.
Athenian society showed an interesting paradox in gender relations. Men believed that the less they saw of their wives the better, because they considered them boring. At the same time, they enjoyed the company of courtesans who seemed more their intellectual equals. In the area of gender relations, the Ancient Athenians demonstrated what some might consider hypocrisy. We should remember, however, that democracy did not last in Ancient Athens for very long before it fell into oligarchy and tyranny. Thus, the Athenians did not compromise any deeply held views of liberty, because they did not have those views as we understand them today.
