Throughout the vast history of humankind, gender roles have been a consistent trait of society. From the oppressive treatment of women in Assyria to the traditionally matrifocal societies of the Western Sahara, every society has had a niche for women to fit themselves into. It can be argued that the role of the woman in many, if not most, parts of the world has evolved to a more liberal and equal location on the spectrum. An example of this evolution can be seen by comparing the largely modern role of the woman in modern Greece to the more harsh treatment of the women of Athens during the Classical Period of antiquity.

The latter role is especially interesting when compared to the role of the female in the art of the same society. In Classical Athens, the female played two roles: one in society, and one in art. By exploring the relationship between the two, much can be revealed about how the female likeness was regarded in the patriarchal culture of Classical Athens.

There was a general consensus amongst Athenian philosophers and scholars2 that a woman was full of strong, dangerous emotion and lacked the brainpower to control it. Therefore, according to these men and the society they controlled, women had to be controlled and protected from themselves. To fulfill this, an unwritten law of guardianship was orchestrated. Before marriage, a father controlled his daughter; after marriage, a husband controlled his wife. This constant guardian figure in a woman’s life, known as a kyrios, dicatated her spending habits, free time, work schedule, and every other major aspect of her life. She had very little leeway in her lifestyle, and was obligated to obey her kyrios.

Along with the lack of freedom in the lives of Athenian women came the lack of education. Rarely would a girl’s kyrios allow her to learn to read and write at home, let alone receive a formal education. Athenian playwright Menander wrote of educating women, “What a terrible thing to do! Like feeding a vile snake on more poison,” (Menander 473). Rather than waste their time and mental capacity with education, women were expected to learn to proficiently cook, clean, spin, weave, and take care of children. In the minds of Athenian men, the primary duties of a woman were to provide caretaking for her husband’s dwelling and to bear and raise his children. In fact, the woman was often confined to the gynaikon, an area of the house set aside for the woman to accomplish these tasks most efficiently. Education was not required for these duties, nor were they glorified or appreciated. Instead, Athenian women led lowly and monotonous lives in the land built on equality and fairness.