Research On The Athenian Widow In The Classical Age

This thesis attempts to reshape the living conditions of Athenian widows in the classical age from the perspective of law and social practice in Athens.The widow is a special state of women.Only after the death of the male guardians,can the women go out of the safe area that male citizens have assigned to them-the oikos,and enter the public sphere.From this special state,it is easier to see the demands of Athens on the women and the actual status of Athenian women in the polis.This thesis is divided into four chapters.Chapter one introduces the influence of marriage on women to compares the influence of widowhood on women in later thesis,and introduces the reasons why many Athenian women bereft of their spouses to explain the abnormal number of widows in Athens.Chapter two introduces the changes of Athenian women’s rights caused by widowhood,including their property rights,guardianship rights and legal protection.Widows can choose to stay at their husbands’ family with dowry,or return to their parents’ family with dowry.They have the rights to be bequeathed by their deceased husbands and protected by their guardians.The law also stipulates that pregnant widows who remain in the deceased husbands’ family could enjoy the special protection from the archon.Chapter three introduces the remarriage of Athenian widows.The main reason for their remarriage is that the polis needs women of childbearing age to continue to bear the next generation of citizens to ensure the continuity and stability of the polis.Remarried widows could control part of their property,but their guardians control their right of remarriage.Chapter four introduces the influence of widows on the family,the role of widows in the continuation of the polis,and the widows’ work.