Power

The majority of the historical sources for classical Greece, the period from 478 to 323 B.C.E., were written by Athenians for a primarily Athenian audience, and each type of ancient evidence - historical sources, tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, artistic and epigraphic sources - presents a different, and partial, view of the role and position of women. Almost all of it was, of course, written by men for a male audience who would have been shocked at the concept that women might have held positions of power. In Athens it was unusual for citizen women to be specifically named in the sources. Athens, however, was not a typical Greek city, and women in Sparta and in other Doric cities such as Gortyn in Crete appear to have enjoyed considerably more status and latitude in behavior than women in Athens. Spartan queens in particular could play an important part in the governance of the state while their husbands were engaged in warfare. One role in which women in Athens and elsewhere could enjoy prominent status was that of priestess; this role held great social importance, involving regular public duties, such as those of the priestesses of Athena Polias and Athena Nike in Athens. Myrrhine, priestess of Athena Nike, was chosen by lot from Athenian citizen women and served for life: inscriptions authorize her annual payment and perquisites (fifty drachmas and the legs and hides from public sacrifices) and a prominent seat in the theater of Dionysos. The priestess of Athena Polis was also arguably one of the most important women in the city. The position was always held by a member of the Eteoboutadai clan, thought to be descendants of the original kings of Athens. The position was held for life (one priestess, Lysimache, served for sixty-four years), and she officiated at the four-yearly festival, the Great Panathenaia. The oracle of Apollo at Delphi, which was the most highly regarded in the Greek world, spoke through the 'Pythia', a woman priest responsible for delivering oracles to those who came to consult the god. Sitting on a tripod in the temple, she responded to questions on both personal and political matters; generally in prose, but occasionally in poetic hexameters. Three women from Delphi served in rotation, and the fact that at least one 'Pythia' was dismissed after allegations of bribery suggests that these priestesses had full responsibility for their content and delivery of their responses. Women's lack of political power in classical Greece does not, however, imply that they were without authority in their own sphere, which in some cases may have covertly spilled over into the public domain.