Latest / Ancient Greece: Philosophy, Democracy, and Endless War — Fexingo History / Aspasia of Miletus: The Woman Behind Pericles
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Pericles—his building program, his citizenship law, his handling of the plague. But we haven't really touched on the woman who shared his life for nearly two decades: Aspasia of Miletus. Luna: Aspasia—I've heard the name, but she's usually just a footnote, isn't she? Lucas: She's often a footnote, but in her own time she was anything but. Aspasia was born in Miletus, a Greek city on the coast of Ionia, probably around 470 BCE. She came to Athens as a young woman, and she quickly became known for her intelligence, her wit, and her skill in rhetoric. Lucas: Now, in Athens, a foreign-born woman had few rights. She couldn't own property, couldn't participate in politics, and she wasn't allowed to marry an Athenian citizen after Pericles' own citizenship law of 451 BCE. So Aspasia occupied a grey area: she was a metic, a resident alien, and she likely worked as a hetaira—a courtesan, but more accurately a high-class companion who was often educated and could engage in intellectual conversation. Luna: So she was essentially a professional intellectual, but without any of the protections of citizenship. Lucas: Exactly. And that made her both fascinating and dangerous to the Athenian imagination. She became Pericles' companion, and they lived together as a couple, though they couldn't legally marry. Their home became a gathering place for the brightest minds of Athens—Socrates is said to have visited, and Plato later wrote a dialogue called the Menexenus where Aspasia appears as a teacher of rhetoric, even composing a funeral oration that parodies Pericles' own famous speech. Luna: Plato wrote a dialogue with her as a character? That's incredible—a woman in a philosophical dialogue from the 4th century. Lucas: It is, though the Menexenus is often dismissed as a satire. But it shows that Aspasia was credible enough as a rhetorical figure to be used in a Platonic dialogue. And Socrates himself, according to several sources, credited Aspasia as his teacher in rhetoric. Diogenes Laërtius says that Socrates 'learned rhetoric from Aspasia.' So she wasn't just Pericles' partner; she was a thinker in her own right, influencing the man who shaped Athenian democracy. Luna: Wait—Socrates learned from her? That would make her a major figure in the intellectual history of Athens. Lucas: It would, and it's a claim that has been debated for centuries. But the ancient sources are consistent: Plutarch, in his Life of Pericles, mentions that Aspasia was 'so wise and so skilled in politics' that Pericles himself sought her advice. And when Pericles delivered his famous Funeral Oration, some said Aspasia had a hand in writing it. Of course, we can't verify that, but the rumor alone tells us how much influence she was perceived to have. Luna: That must have made her a target. Lucas: Absolutely. Comedy was brutal in Athens, and Aspasia was a favorite target. Aristophanes, in his play Acharnians, blames her for starting the Peloponnesian War—a joke that some Athenians took seriously. The story goes that Aspasia procured two prostitutes from Megara, and when the Megarians stole them, Pericles issued the Megarian Decree in retaliation. It's absurd, of course, but it shows how she was seen as a shadowy figure pulling the strings. Luna: So she was accused of manipulating Pericles into war—pretty heavy stuff. Lucas: It gets heavier. Around 432 BCE, Aspasia was put on trial for impiety—asebeia, the same charge that would later be used against Socrates. The comic poet Hermippus prosecuted her, and Pericles himself defended her. According to Plutarch, Pericles broke down and wept during the trial, pleading for her acquittal. He was successful, probably because of his immense popularity at the time, but it was a close thing. Luna: That's an incredible image—Pericles, the Olympian statesman, crying in court for the woman he loved. Lucas: It humanizes him, doesn't it? And it shows how vulnerable even the most powerful Athenians could be when personal relationships crossed political lines. Aspasia survived, but her reputation remained tarnished. After Pericles died in the plague, she supposedly married another Athenian leader, Lysicles, and helped him rise in politics—though that story is based on a single, possibly sarcastic comment from the comic poet Eupolis. Luna: So we don't even know what happened to her after Pericles? Lucas: We don't. She vanishes from the historical record around 428 BCE. But her legacy is remarkable: a foreign woman who, despite all legal and social barriers, became a central figure in the intellectual and political life of classical Athens. She's a reminder that history's narrative is often written by the winners, and that women like Aspasia—brilliant, ambitious, and transgressive—are too often edited out. Luna: Speaking of keeping things alive—if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support. You can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, every bit helps us keep digging into stories like Aspasia's that might otherwise be forgotten. And speaking of forgotten stories—next time, we'll look at another woman who defied Athenian norms: the poetess Sappho, from the island of Lesbos. Luna: Can't wait.