Aspasia was the lover and partner of Athenian statesman Pericles in Classical-era Athens. The couple had a son, Pericles the Younger, but the full details of the couple’s marital status are unknown. Her name, which means ‘the desired one,’ was likely not her given name. She became a hetaera and ran a brothel in Athens.
About Aspasia in brief
Aspasia was the lover and partner of Athenian statesman Pericles in Classical-era Athens. The couple had a son, Pericles the Younger, but the full details of the couple’s marital status are unknown. Aspasia is mentioned in the writings of Plato, Aristophanes, Xenophon and others. Her role in history provides crucial insight to the understanding of the women of ancient Greece. Some ancient sources claim that she was a Carian prisoner-of-war turned slave; these statements are generally regarded as false. According to Plutarch, her house became an intellectual centre in Athens, attracting the most prominent writers and thinkers, including the philosopher Socrates. In social circles, she was noted for her ability as a conversist rather than merely an object of physical beauty. Though they were influential, friends of Socrates brought their wives to hear her converse with their friends, as preeminence in Athens was not equivalent to absolute rule. Her relationship with Pericles aroused many reactions. Donald Kagan, a Yale historian, believes that AspAsia was particularly unpopular in the foothills of Ionia in the years immediately following the war with Samos. In 440 BC, an ancient city of Pritene was at war with Miletus over the war of Samos, and the city of Mycale was in the grip of a civil war. Her name, which means ‘the desired one,’ was likely not her given name.
She became a hetaera and ran a brothel in Athens. She had affairs with the philosopher Anaxagoras and the general Jason of Lira. Her marital status is disputed, but she is believed to have been quite young, if she were able to bear a child to Lysimas the Younger. She was married to Alcibiades II of Scambonidae, who was ostracized from Athens in 460 BC and may have spent his exile in Miletuses. After he divorced his first wife, Asp Asia began to live with him, although her marital status has been disputed. It is not known under what circumstances she first traveled to Athens. Her family name is Axiochus, although it is evident that she must have belonged to a wealthy family, for only the well-to-do could have afforded the excellent education that she received. Her husband may have been named Aspasios, and she may have had an affair with the general Samos the Younger in 440 BC. She is said to have had several children, but it is not clear if they were all born to her or to another woman. She died in 400 BC, and was buried in a Greek cemetery in Mycale, in what is now known as the village of Ionian Ionia. Her son Pericles was born by 440 BC; he is thought to have lived to the age of about 30. Her funeral was held in 440 BC, and her remains were found in the town of Mycenae.
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This page is based on the article Aspasia published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
