Legal Position of IVomen in Ancient Greece.

nothing that is evil or disgraceful to me, I am unquestionably mad." And Peristione, a lady Pythagorean philosopher, in sober prose, inculcated such forbearance on her sisters as a duty. Mr. Gladstone admits that the indignation of the Greeks against Paris was as the effeminate coward rather than as the ravisher, and the shame of the abduction lay in the fact that he was the guest of Menelaus. In Athens the man, whether he was married or not, who committed adultery might be killed on the spot by the woman's husband, son or brother, or father; or he might be held in chains for ransom; or he might be prosecuted for his misconduct (but with what result we know not). The woman, on the other hand, could not be killed or maimed; but she was, ipso faeto, divorced, and henceforward was excluded from the public temples and sacrifices, and forbidden to wear certain ornaments. If she did not observe these prohibitions her adornment might be snatched away, her garments torn, and she herself struck, but not to wounding. She could not be sued for her offence. If her husband was goodnatured enough to condone her lapse, he too was excluded from the temple services. Such were the laws of Draco and Solon. But marriage was a civic duty and every thing had to give way to the good of the State, and it looked at matrimony from the single point of view of population. So it came to pass from political and religious reasons the heiress whose husband was in capable of performing his connubial duties was allowed, by law, to fill his place by a substitute, without her being liable to pun ishment for adultery; her choice, however, was limited to the circle of her relations. It might have been supposed that the peculiar training to which the Spartan wom en were subjected would have made them licentious and forward, but the contrary was the effect. Adultery was almost entirely unknown there. There is only one case on

217

record of a Spartan having two wives; as we have seen a greater latitude was, in exceptional cases, allowed to women. Spartan wives were true to their husbands, and the husbands fond and proud of their wives. In Gortyna whoever induced a woman to commit adultery was not only punished by a fine of not more than fifty staters (a stater was equal to about seventy-five cents), but he also was deprived of all his privileges as a citizen. In Athens a father might sell as a slave a daughter who (against his will), led an im moral life; if, however, he gave over his daughter to immorality, he was punishable with death. Forcible abduction of women, whether bond or free, was punished by fine or death. The State, in Athens, considered itself the special protector of heiresses, as they were often married by their husbands as append ages, and sometimes as very unwelcome ap pendages, to the property they brought with them. Hence in the event of the ill-treat ment of an heiress by her husband any one could institute a public prosecution against him, and have him punished. In Syracuse women were forbidden wear ing golden ornaments, or variegated, or purple raiment, unless, indeed, they claimed to be members of the courtesan class. According to Menander religion often served the women as an excuse for enormous expenses; under the pretext of piety they sometimes ruined their husbands by lavish sacrifices of perfumes and gold, groups of slaves attending the performances. In Athens, of the various things which a wife brought to her husband at marriage, those which were specified in a formal agree ment, made before witnesses, became her dowry; anything not so specified became the husband's, and could not be afterwards recovered from him. Under Solon's laws the dowry consisted of three garments and a few household utensils. But this limit was soon overpassed. Even in later times, how