Girlhood, Boyhood & Adolescents of Greeks

Girlhood and Marriages• Girls were a liability to their fathers.• The homes were designed to separate the

men & woman.• The only time they were allowed to mix freely

was during certain religious festivals with a chaperone.

• Duty was to maintain household.• Education was limited to domestic training.• Viewed as physically intellectually and

morally inferior to men, requiring constant guidance from their fathers & husbands.

Girlhood and Marriages (continued)

• At the age of 14, fathers would arrange their marriages.

• A husband that caught his wife having an affair, would put the lover to death.

• The goal of every wife was to produce a male heir for her husband.

• Woman could not own property.

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Greek boys• The father had a decision on whether to keep

the child or not, if it was a boy he was kept, if she was a girl she wasn’t so lucky. (girls were a disappointment to their fathers).

• At the age of 7 or 8 boys started to attend school.

• They were put under the care of a pedagogue (male slave) who beat him if his behavior was less than satisfactory.

• Boys were first taught reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and recitation.

Greek boys (continued)

• The Odyssey & The IIiad by Homer were typical tools for instruction. The Iliad was considered the bible of the greeks.

• At 13 boys branched out into musical and athletic training.

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Greek Adolescents • Education ended for boys in their mid teens, wealthy

boys soon went off to study with so called “sophists”.• Around the mid-teen years, a boys hair; which had

grown long, was cut and dedicated to the gods.• He was then officially a man, and around the age of

18, the men left for 2 years of military service.• After this, they could return to their civilian life, but

were subjected to “the draft” for times of emergency until he turned 60.

• At age 60, he could live a free life among his fellow citizens.

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Higher Level Questions1. How would the society change if the

girls weren't abandoned at birth?2. Why were only the wealthy boys

able to go to school but not the ones who were poverty stricken?

3. How is that different today from, where boys and girls were able to go to school?