Term Definitions for Midterm #2

Term Definitions October 23 – Daily Life and Legal Status Archon  Greek word meaning ‘ruler’ or ‘lord’ – the chief magistrate in a polis Aste  a female citizen – holds no political rights Coemptio  a type of Roman marriage  a transfer of authority from the father to the husband ritual vow by woman - ‘ubi tu gaius ego gaia’ – where you are the man, I am the woman Confarreatio  a type of Roman marriage meaning ‘sharing of spelt’  involved a religious ceremony presided over by 2 priests with 10 witnesses in attendance Ekdosis  the second step of a Greek marriage – the ‘giving out of the woman’  the transfer of the wife from the household of her father to the household of her husband Engye  the first part of a Greek marriage – the bethrothal  an oral contract - the father would pledge his daughter and the future husband would then accept the pledge  the husband was chosen based on who the father thought would be a good match – the daughter’s opinion was considered Epikleros  ‘heiress’  if a man had no sons when he died, his eldest daughter could inherit his property BUT because women could not own property, she could never possess her inheritance without a husband her husband would typically be her uncle, for he was the next closet male kin (desire to keep the property within the family) – if he was already married he was expected to divorce his wife to remarry the epikleros Kyrios  a Greek term referring to the ‘sponsor’ or ‘guardian’ of a woman  either her father, uncle, brother, husband, or son  a woman needed protection and representation because she could not represent herself politically, legally, or in business deals  a woman was never considered a legal adult so always needed to be under the care of a man (just like a child needed to be under the care of their parents) Manus  in Rome, a woman could be married either with or without manus  to be married with manus meant that after marriage, a woman would belong to the household of her husband instead of that of her father (eventually fell out of favour for marriages without manus)  to be married without manus meant that after marriage, a woman would still belong to the household of her father (this gave her more freedom and made it easier for her to divorce her husband) Metic  a non-Athenian living in Athens  could own small amounts of property but otherwise had no political rights Moicheia  ‘adultery’ – this is the same word used for rape however adultery is a greater crime  when a women commits adultery, she threatens the legitimacy of the heirs of her husband- he is able to divorce her and kill her lover with no legal consequences  if a man committed adultery, it was not considered a crime – this did not threaten his heirs (his illegitimate children had no claim on his inheritance) Oikos  ‘household’  the realm of the woman in Greek antiquity Pallake  a prostitute who became the live-in companion of a Greek man  because she could provide no money for a dowry, she and the Greek man could never be married  if she was, however, an Athenian citizen, their children would still gain citizen status Pater familias  a roman term meaning ‘the head of the household’  the oldest male living in the household, who would have ultimate control over anyone living in the oikia (even other adults) Tutor  a male guardian / teacher for young children of Rome  the husband could grant the wife to select the tutor if she was married with manus Univira  a woman who had only married once (literally means ‘one husband’) October 30 – Ancient Medicine & the Female Body Choleric  according to Humor’s theory, the mood caused by yellow bile (hot/dry)  hot-tempered Corpus  the latin word for ‘body’  can refer to the works attributed to a particular author (ex. The corpus hippocraticum – all the works attributed to Hippocrates) Hippocratic Oath  an oath sworn by all doctors to Apollo and Ascleipius (the son of Apollo and the god of Medicine)  written by Hippocrates  some of the oath states that the doctors will do no harm, administer no deadly drugs, to uphold doctor-patient confidentiality, to not give cause for abortions, etc. Humors (The 4 Humor Theory)  humor – bodily fluid  the idea that temperature and moisture levels in the body can cause different symptoms and moods  the four humors are hot, cold, dry, and wet  hot/dry = yellow bile – choleric (hot-tempered)  cold/dry = black bile – melancholic (depressed, lethargic)  hot/wet = blood – sanguine (optimistic)  cold/wet = phlegm – phlegmatic (unemotional, calm) Hysteria  comes from the Greek word for uterus  the idea that the uterus is what causes women to be hysterical  if a girl is not married and having regular sex she is more likely to suffocate (there is too much blood in the uterus that cannot escape through the vagina because her hymen is intact)  the blood travels up to her chest and lungs, causing numbness that leads to insanity  the only cure for this is pregnancy  this idea serves to domesticate females (shows her that she can only be sane with a man) Melancholic  according to Humor’s theory, the mood caused by black bile (cold/dry) depressed, lethargic Phlegmatic  according to Humor’s theory, the mood caused by phlegm (cold/wet) unemotional, calm Sanguine  according to Humor’s theory, the mood caused by blood (hot/wet)  optimistic Wandering Womb  the major cause of problems in women is the fact that the womb wanders  without sex, the womb dries up and wanders in search of moisture (rubs up against other organs, especially the liver  to lure the womb back in place, nice-smelling incense is burned under the vagina while foul smells are breathed in through the nose November 6 – Women and Ritual Adonia  an informal festival celebrated by women in early summer to mourn the death of Adonis (the mortal lover of Aphrodite)  women would lament from rooftops  they would also grow gardens, deliberately let the plants die, and then throw the dead plants into the sea as a sort of mock funeral (the death of beauty in it’s prime) An