They were allowed to visit female friends and attend festivities and religious ceremonies. However, contact with any males who were not relatives was frowned upon.
So, they always had a chaperone whenever they went outside. Sometimes, they weren’t allowed to leave the house at all.
In a way, poor women had more freedom than wealthy women because they had more work to do. As a result, they often left the house to make a trip down to the market or fetch some water.
Work
Lower-class women took up jobs in shops, bakeries, or in wealthy people’s homes as servants. Others served as companions and entertainment for men.
For those in the upper classes, religion offered roles outside the home. Certain women could become the high priestess of Athena or hold worship positions for Demeter, Aphrodite, and Dionysus.
Understanding the lives of women in ancient Greece allows us to see the contributions they made to society and highlights the evolution of women’s roles and rights throughout history.
