Home Life in Ancient Greece

In Athens, wives of citizens enjoyed no more political or legal rights than slaves. Yet, though a married Athenian woman might be confined to her house, here at least she enjoyed absolute authority subject to the consent of her lord and master. To slaves, she was the mistress. Young girls rarely left the women's quarters - the gynaikeon. While married women seldom went out of doors, adolescent girls rarely even went out of the courtyard - they had to be unseen even by male members of their own family. This is in contrast to Sparta where young girls trained openly at sports with young men, dressed in short tunics. All a young girl learnt was domestic skills (such as cooking, spinning and weaving), a little reading, music and arithmetic. They would be taught either by their mother, grandmother or a family slave. Girls only went out for certain religious festivals where they assisted at the sacrifice and took part in the procession.