Ebook: Women in the Law Courts of Classical Athens

Explores the intersection of gender with important aspects of Athenian society such as citizen status, social values and beliefs, class, economic capacity and legal standing

• Explores the intersection of gender with important aspects of Athenian society such as citizen status, social values and beliefs, class, economic capacity and legal standing
• Discusses how different groups of women, such as citizens, metics, alien and native sex workers, and slaves interacted with law enforcement and the extent to which these groups had access to key institutions in the Athenian Democracy
• For the first time throws some light upon several fascinating fragments, like the two speeches Against Aristagora, or the case against Timandra
• Discusses the recent suggestion of a witch-hunt" in 4th century Athens

Konstantinos Kapparis challenges the traditional view that free women, citizen and metic, were excluded from the Athenian legal system. Looking at existing fragmentary evidence largely from speeches, Kapparis reveals that it unambiguously suggests that free women were far from invisible in the legal system and the life of the polis.

In the first part of the book Kapparis discusses the actual cases which included women as litigants, and the second part interprets these cases against the legal, social, economic and cultural background of classical Athens. In doing so he explores how factors such as gender, religion, women’s empowerment and the rise of the Attic hetaira as a cultural icon intersected with these cases and ultimately influenced the construction of the speeches.