~ The life of Aspasia of Miletus, part I ~

Aspasia of Miletus (470-410/400 BCE) is best known as the consort of the great Athenian statesman Pericles. Her life story has always been given in the shadow of Pericles' fame, but she was a woman of great eloquence and intelligence in her own right who influenced many of the writers, thinkers, and statesmen of her time.

She was a metic (not born in Athens), was not allowed to marry an Athenian and had to pay a tax to live in Athens, but it is most likely because of her foreign status that she was not constrained by Athenian policies regarding women's behavior. She bore Pericles a son out of wedlock, taught men and women, and seems to have lived freely however she pleased.

This much is known as well as that she lived, wrote, and worked in Athens c. 450 -c. 428 BCE and operated a salon of some sort, but little else can be said for certain. It is not even known if Aspasia was her actual name or a "professional name" as she was famous as a hetaira (a high-class courtesan).

Ancient writers from Aristophanes (l. c. 460 - c. 380 BCE) to Plato (l. 424/423-348/347 BCE) to Plutarch (l. c. 45/50 - c. 120/125 CE) reference her eloquence and power in controlling men, and this established her reputation as none of her own works, if she actually wrote any, have survived. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Aspasia came to be viewed as a romantic heroine of the Golden Age of Athens and she and Pericles as exemplifying the romantic couple. She is recognized as an important figure today as she defied the restrictive policies of Athenian society regarding women to live her life according to her own vision. In the modern era,she is understood as an intellectual and teacher of enormous ability whose influence on famous male writers and thinkers of her day was significant.

Painting : autoportrait as Aspasia,by Marie-Geneviève Bouliard

#aspasia #aspasiaofmiletus #antiquity #greekantiquity #art #arthistory #history #painting #womenfromhistory