Aspasia

~ 450 BC

ASPASIA

Aspasia was born of a noble family in Miletus, a Greek city in Asia Minor. She was beautiful and very well educated, and eventually traveled to Athens, which had already achieved predominance among Ionian cities by the time of her birth. There, she became a hetaira, or companion of the foremost citizens of Athens. In this role, she was allowed to mingle with the wealthy and powerful, but was not permitted to marry. She became acquainted with Pericles however, and after he divorced his first wife, she lived openly with him and bore him a son. She was well known to most leading citizens of Athens during its golden age, including Socrates, Alcibiades, Plato, and many others. Her intelligence and influence with Pericles made her the object of both admiration and scorn. She was blamed by her enemies for unpopular events in foreign policy, from the Samian invasion of 440 B.C., to the Peloponnesian War, and was at one point formally charged with impiety and prostitution. After the death of Pericles in 429 B.C., her son was granted Athenian citizenship, and she continued to have influence in the democratic party.

Key events during the life of Aspasia:

Year	Event
430 BC	Moved from to Athens. Became a hetaira
	Lived openly with Pericles after his divorce.
440 BC	Influenced Pericles to invade Samos.
431 BC	Helped Pericles compose his famous Funeral Oration.
431 BC	After death of Pericles legitimate son, Aspasia's son granted Athenian citizenship.
429 BC	Death of Pericles.
	Aspasia marries Lysides.

Other Resources

Story Links	Book Links
Statesman and His Friends  in	Pictures from Greek Life and Story  by  Alfred J. Church
Pericles  in	Our Young Folks' Plutarch  by  Rosalie Kaufman

Image Links
Aspasia: From a bust found near Civita-Vecchia.  in Pictures from Greek Life and Story	Pericles and Aspasia at the Studio of Phidias  in Greatest Nations - Greece	A Reunion at the House of Aspasia  in Historical Tales: Greek

Contemporary	Short Biography
Pericles	Athenian statesman during Golden Age of Athens. Made Athens cultural center of Greece.
Socrates	First moral philosopher, immortalized by Plato.
Alcibiades	Controversial statesman and general of Athens, who betrayed the city, then returned as hero.
Lysides	Prominent democratic leader, married Aspasia after death of Pericles.