at Byzantium there were always exceptional women to be found wielding exceptional power. This is in the nature of a patriarchal society. Such societies may exploit and oppress women, but women are indispensable to their proper functioning. This creates possibilities that allow women to work the system to their advantage. In ruling circles these were increased by the covert character of Byzantine politics. There were many opportunities for the informal exercise of power. This contrasted with the restricted status of women. It was this discrepancy that made women seem so dangerous and lay at the bottom of much of the prejudice against women. The status of Byzantine women was no better than it was in many other patriarchal societies. They were expected to be dependants, first on their fathers, then on their husbands. Marriage was their natural state and the family and household their setting. Among the aristocracy they were segregated in the women's quarters – the gynaeconitis – where they were tended by eunuchs. They wore veils, were kept in seclusion, and were denied access to public life and, more often than not, to education. In most respects the law discriminated against women. There were also the usual prejudices against women nurtured by Christianity. They were the daughters of Eve. Their sexuality was dangerous and a constant temptation. It was to be channelled and controlled through marriage or the veil.