History

I was born in the city of Miletus between 460-455 B.C., the daughter of Axiochus. Miletus, part of the Athenian empire, was one of the leading cities in Ionia, an area of Greek settlement located along the coast of Asia Minor.

I was the mistress of Pericles, the leader of Athens during the Classical Age. A hetaira, I am a trained and paid companion who accompanied upper-class men to the symposiums. I am skilled in rhetoric and took part in the intellectual discussions of the leading men in Athens, including Socrates. As the mistress of Pericles, I suffered attacks from his political enemies. Pericles and I had one son, who was later legitimized. After the death of Pericles I married Lysicles a man of humble birth who became a successful politician in Athens through my tutalage and assistance. Playwrights, biographers and other ancient authors have used me to illustrate their views on philosophy, rhetoric and of course Pericles.

It was in Ionia, before I left for Athens, that I was educated. Women in that part of the Greek world were generally given more of an education than women in Athens. As a hetaira I was trained in the art of conversation and of musical entertainment including singing, dancing and playing instruments.

Arriving in Athens as a free immigrant around 445 B.C., I worked as a hetaira. In fact Aspasia, which meant "Gladly Welcomed," was probably my professional name. Hetairai were much more than just high-class prostitutes. According to ancient literary sources and scenes from vase paintings, many hetairai were intelligent, beautiful, well-dressed and had fewer restrictions on their lives than the respectable, married women in Athens As a hetaira, however, I did not have had financial security or any legal or family protection.

As the paid companion of aristocratic men I attended symposiums, drinking parties combined with political and philosophical discourse. At the symposiums I met the most influential and powerful men in Athens, including Pericles. Sometime around 445 B.C. I began to live with Pericles, who at that time was the leader of Athens. He had been divorced from his wife for five years, with whom he had two sons. According to Plutarch, it was an amiable divorce because the marriage was not a happy one. I guess he liked me

As the mistress of Pericles' household and hostess to his friends and supporters, I participated in discussions revolving around politics and philosophy with the leading men of the Athenian empire. According to several ancient authors, Socrates respected my opinions. As a pallake I was outside of the legal, traditional role of an Athenian wife and Freed from the social restraints that tied married women to their homes and restricted their behavior, so I was able to participate more freely in public life.

Strong evidence that Aspasia's role in Athens went beyond that of mistress to Pericles is given by Plato in the Menexenus. In this dialogue Plato has Socrates recite a funeral oration composed by me that glorifies the Athenians and their history. The Menexenus is a humorous vehicle for Plato to make a serious, but negative comment on rhetoric and popular opinion in Athens. Everything in Aspasia's speech is selected, arranged and stated by Plato in order to produce the greatest possible irony. By satirizing a speech "written" by Aspasia, Plato acknowledges her role as a leader of rhetoric in the Greek Classical Age.

Plutarch relates more information about me than any other ancient author. Unfortunately, Plutarch's Lives are full of distortions and historical inaccuracies. His purpose in the Lives was to exemplify the virtues and vices of great men, not to write history. In respect to Aspasia and Pericles he states that Pericles valued Aspasia's intelligence and political insight, but he emphasizes that Pericles' feelings for her were primarily erotic. Ah so true ;-)

This may be an attempt on Plutarch's part to remove the stigma from Pericles of having been overly influenced by a woman.

Plutarch did blame me for Pericles' decision to start the war against Samos, a wealthy and powerful member of the empire. The Milesians and the Samians were involved in a border dispute. The Samians refused to submit the conflict to Athenian arbitration. Supposedly, I pressured Pericles to take military action against Samos. Although it would have been natural for me to take the side of my native city, Pericles made me realize that the loss of Samos to the empire would have meant the rapid end of Athenian domination of the Aegean.

Several ancient authors state that Aspasia herself operated a house of courtesans and trained young women in the necessary skills. Aristophanes and others refer to "Aspasia's whores". Although as Pericles' pallake she was taken care of financially, Aspasia may have been preparing for her future after the death of Pericles. According to Plutarch, she was known in Athens as a teacher of rhetoric. Perhaps these women were her pupils. Aspasia's hetairai would have had as patrons the elite men of Athens, especially the supporters of Pericles.

Hey a girls gotta have fun

In 429 B.C. Pericles died from the plague. A year later I became involved with a sheep seller named Lysicles in another unofficial marriage. He was an uneducated man of humble birth who rose to prominence thanks to my guidance. I taught that lug how to speak in public and gave him the benefit of my invaluable insights and personal contacts in Athenian politics. He was one of the new type of political leaders who came to prominence after the death of Pericles. This was probably the same group who had led the earlier attacks against Pericles and his friends, including Aspasia herself.

Questions remain regarding my decision to marry so quickly after Pericles' death. Might I have been in need of a protector from Pericles' enemies? The selection of another politician as my husband might also suggest a desire to remain involved in the politics of Athens.