Even then, nevertheless, only the noble and higher class families were regarded as eligible for participation.
The women of Athens can be placed into three common classes. The lowermost class was the slave women, who carried out most of the subservient household duties, and helped to bring up the children of the wife. The male slaves possessed the task of toiling in the trade arts (pottery making, glass working, wood working, etc.) or educating the sons of a household. The class above that of the slave woman was the Athenian citizen woman. The highest class were what were known as the Hetaerae. The hetaerae were different to the slaves and the citizens in that they were much allied to the Geisha's of China. Hetaerae women received an education in reading, writing, and music, and were permitted to enter the Agora and other buildings which were out of bounds to citizen and slave women. However, most sources about the Hetaerae indicate that their status was at best at the level of prostitutes, and that the level of authority they achieved was only slightly significant.2.
Since birth, Athenian citizen girls were brought up differently to their male counterparts. Jean Vernant, analogised the discrepancy to the phrases of Xenophon, that "boys were meant to be made men in their early years, while girls were raised to be kept and protected (i.e. virgin)"3. In family life, a boy was educated in reading and writing, whilst a girl was trained in spinning and other household obligations by the slaves that her family had. In the ceremonial realm, children of either sex were not excepted from the multitudinous rites of Athens until their later years, and women performed an important role in the many festivals which were held in Athens annually. Children in Athens were continuously subject to voluminous religious rites and festivals. Juvenile girls and women regularly played a part in these festivals (For some of the women, it was the only communication the women had with each other outside of their general surroundings), however, the most ritualistic and most significant aspect of their life was marriage.
