of beauty of
feature, it is hard to realize that such charms were confined to the
women's apartments, and merely revealed themselves to the outside world
on festive occasions.

Though the gallantry of modern times was not a part of the habitual
equipment of an Athenian gentleman, yet he was very careful as to his
behavior in the presence of ladies. There was strict observance of the
etiquette which controlled the relations of the sexes. No gentleman
would enter an abode of women in the absence of the master, and
unbecoming language in the presence of women was a gross offence. The
husband carefully abstained in his wife's presence from doing anything
that might lower her estimation of his dignity. A certain distance was
apparently maintained between married persons, and cordial familiarity
was sometimes sacrificed to love of social forms. No doubt, too, fine
breeding and true courtesy were generally shown the wife and ruler of
his home by the Athenian husband who, like Agathon in the _Symposium_ of
Plato, exhibited the most delicate tact and sentiment in his treatment
of men.

In the peaceful atmosphere of the home, the Athenian gentlewoman was
expected to live an irreproachable life. Infidelity on the part of the
husband was regarded as a venial office, but the wife who violated her
marriage vows was punished with the most terrible disgrace. Should she
marry again, the man who ventured to wed her was disfranchised. She was
to all intents and purposes an outcast from society. If she appeared in
a temple, she might be subjected to any indignity short of death.
Furthermore, a man could divorce his wife on the slightest pretext;
while the wife, to obtain a divorce, was compelled to lodge with the
archon a complaint against her husband and a prayer for the return of
her dowry, and in the ensuing process she was subjected to many delays
and inconveniences. Then, as she was still a minor in the eyes of the
law, a wife who had left her husband was obliged to return to a state of
tutelage under her father or brother; and many a suffering wife endured
in silence neglect or ill usage rather than thus return to her father's
control. Yet many a high-spirited woman revolted against the
infidelities of her husband. The saddest incident of this marital
inequality that we find in Greek literature is the story of Alcibiades's
wife, Hipparete, and her case shows how difficult it was for a wife to
assert her rights. Hipparete's early de