The Greeks were one of the most advanced cultures of ancient times and this was reflected in their art work. They had a preoccupation with the human figure that resulted in beautifully and geometrically perfect pieces. Since the Greeks were such an advanced culture one would assume the equality standards between sexes were also more advanced then other ancient cultures who were less civilized at the time. This was not the case. Women of Greece unfortunately were not equal to men of the time. But even though Greek women did not have much independence or importance they still made a lasting impression on art that stood the test of time.

Ancient Greek women lived under some pretty sever rules especially, when it came to their home life. They only left the home for religious purposes or festivals for women. Women could not take part in voting, hold public office, or take any "important" position in society. (Adams 1) Aristotle was quoted saying , "The deliberative is not present at all in the slave, in the female it is inoperative, in the child undeveloped." (Adams 1) Women were segregated to different quarters of the house and had no free choice of marriage partners.

And once married a women became her husbands responsibility. She had no independent status, her life was devoted to child bearing and looking after the family and house hold. (Adams 1) Perikles a famous philosopher quoted "women should be spoken of as little as possible among men, whether for good or ill." (Adams 1)

Marriage was an "economic transaction" by the parents of the couple. (Adams 1) the women was usually much younger then the man and had never met him before.

Men from Athens were required by law to marry the daughters of Athenian people only. So they ended up having affairs with Hetairai. (Adams 1) They were better educated girls from Iona. Perikles previously mentioned ended up divorcing his Athenian wife for a Hetairai by the name of Aspasia.

Sappho from the seventh century was admired by Plato and other philosophers as well. We do not know much about her life except that she was from the island of Lesbos. Her poems were supposedly inspired by Aphrodite and told of her love of girls. Her poems were accompanied by the music of the lyre. Art work with women subjects first we will take a look at the maiden of Chios from 530 B.C. this young girl has the "archaic smile" which seems to symbolize a general contentness in her life." (Schoder 2) She has beaded strands of hair that emphasize her oval proportions of her face which employ calm beauty and human dignity. (Schoder 2) This girl is colored in rich red a blues which makes her very striking. It gives off a calm but lively impression which relates to a Greek woman because of the quiet but purposeful life she was forced to lead.

As time progressed so did the art work. Today people still look towards those famous pieces as the famous Hygieia from Tegea for the classical Greek style. The classical Greek style is beautiful but very mundane. Life is not calm or mundane but it was for the Greek women. They were portrayed as beautiful and quiet almost silent. In every ancient culture one will find that men were in control of the women and life in general. So the Greeks were not alone. Since they were so advanced in their thinking they left us tons of history. They also built a solid math and science foundation. With all three of those things, they left us with an almost visual encyclopedia of their idea and ancient life.

The three graces from the Hellenistic period which is first century B.C., convey a more spiritual side in life involving women. The three graces were daughters of Zeus and helped bathe Aphrodite. They were all Brunettes with elongated bodies and rosy youthful skin. They usually were always touching each other to sh

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Approximate Word count = 1787
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)