Read first the background reading “Gender and Sexual Relations in Ancient Greece” which can be found at
this link: https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/greek_gender.htm and the encyclopedia article “Women in Ancient Greece,” found here: https://www.ancient.eu/article/927/women-in-ancient-greece/
Then read the excerpts from Xenophon, “How to Train a Wife,” 4th century BCE, and respond to the prompt on the following slide (please answer all the questions, as they are related). In this case you will be comparing and contrasting both sets of documents.
Think about the difference between “practice” and “prescription” described in this document.
For whom do you think Xenophon wrote this document?
How does Xenophon describe “proper” gender relations within a marriage.
Given that we know that fundamentally Greece was a patriarchal society, so what extent do you think women’s roles and lived experiences in marriage relationships actually reflected what Xenophon describes here as the ideal?
Do you think some women found ways to circumvent male dominance?
Do you think that some men have been motivated to afford their wives more agency than Xenophon recommends?
