Women and Politics in Democratic Athens

The Athenians maintained that Erichthonios, the king from whom they believed they were descended, was born from the earth herself. This myth of autochthony rationalised claims to the territory of Attica, expressed a strong relation- ship with the land, and recognised male dependence on the female as nurturer of life. Even in the classical period, when many people lived in the urban area of Athens, families maintained agricultural property in the countryside and therefore continued to have strong economic and emotional ties to the land of Attica, the agricultural territory of Athens. Linguistic distinctions preserved this identification of the people with the land. Terms for the collective population were 'Attikoi/Attikai', 'people of Attica', or 'astoi/astai’ having a share in the city', used for both males and females. 'Athenaioi', from which we derive the English term 'Athenians' was almost always reserved for the male population eligible for citizenship. Females seem to have been called by the feminine form of this term ('Athenaiai') only when the issue was the religious office of a public priesthood, as 'Attikai' females were defined in terms of the land.