Aspasia of Miletus

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“The greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about by men, whether they are praising…or criticizing.”  --Pericles

Aspasia of Miletus:
*Was born between 460-455 B.C. in the Ionian colony of Miletus, Greece.
*Chose her own name, meaning “Greatly Welcomed”.
*Worked as a hetaira, a kind of upper class prostitute who also served as a highly
  educated (philosophy, history, politics, science, art, and literature) companion for
  sophisticated men.  These women often entertained wealthy men during symposias,
  dinner parties.
*Between 450 and 445 B.C., she moved to Athens to set up a school for elocution
  and philosophy, principally for young ladies, but attended by Socrates,
  Anaxagoras, Euripides, Pericles, and others.
*Met Pericles when she was 25; he was 40.
*Became the mistress of Pericles, who divorced and arranged another marriage for
  his wife, as well as dismissed his other concubine in order to be with her. 
*Because she was a metic (resident alien), Aspasia could not marry Pericles. 
  (Pericles, himself, had passed this law). 
*Was allowed many freedoms because she was not Athenian.  She was not confined
  to her home as most married women were, and she was able to pursue her desire to
  be treated as an equal to men.
*Was shown great affection by Pericles.  (A kiss every day at departure and one
  upon his return home).
*Reportedly convinced Pericles to go to war against Samos over a border dispute.
*Conceived a child, Pericles II, with Pericles.  After the death of his other two sons    
  from the plague, as well as Pericles, Pericles II became the official heir to Pericles’
  fortune.
*Probably wrote many of Pericles’s orations, including the funeral address he made
  at the outset of the Peloponnesian War.
*Is considered one of the leaders of rhetoric in the Classical Age.
*Discussed philosophy with Socrates, who called her his teacher.
*Possessed a freedom afforded her because she was not an Athenian citizen.
*Charged by enemies of Pericles with impiety towards the gods.  Aspasia was a
  foreigner, and unable to speak on her own behalf, so Pericles defended her, in
  tears, causing the jury to acquit her.  (There may also have been some financial
  compensation paid)! 
*Was widowed in 429 B.C. when Pericles was killed by the plague that resulted
  from pulling the people behind the walls during the Peloponnesian Wars.
*Remarried in 428 B.C. to a sheepherder named Lysicles, who she taught etiquette
  and public speaking, turning him into one of Athen’s political leaders.
*Died around 410 B.C.
*Is often used by historians and playwrights to demonstrate the philosophy,
  rhetoric, and politics of the Classical Age in Greece.

 

Was Aspasia Pericles’s Speech Writer?
            * Many believe that she was.
            * Pericles has been described as lacking the eloquence for which he was
               credited.
            * It was also common practice that a close associate served as a logographer,
               one who composes the written speech, and Aspasia was in the position to be
               that person.
            * Her intellect and wisdom were held in great renown.
            * (Read marriage advice).

Aspasia taught that:   
            *Belief and truth are not necessarily the same.
            *Rhetoric could be used to obscure the truth, to control and deceive
              believers into belief.
            *Rhetoric could be used for persuasion.
            *Rhetoric could be used to create belief.

Importance of Aspasia today:
            *Women and Rhetoric

We hear Aspasia’s story only through the secondary sources created by men, yet their speeches and documentation of her life have earned her a place in history.  As she said:  “It is by means of speech finely spoken that deeds nobly done gain for their doers from the hearers the meed of memory and renown.”

 

Information compiled by D. Wilson