A place within the society

In an influential volume published a decade ago, Leslie Kurke examined the economic dynamics embedded in epinician poetry, highlighting the relationship between poets and patrons and the aristocratic ideology shaping the choral lyric poetry of the archaic and late archaic periods.Footnote ¹ Concepts such as ‘traffic in praise’, megaloprepeia, gift exchange, and the search for habrosyne are now integral to understanding the aristocratic ideology and the world of lyric poetry, reflecting a society striving to maintain its privileges in the face of a rising popular class. Kurke’s insights remain relevant and could be newly applied to the study of female poetic voices, a field that has largely been neglected in discussions about its economic implications.

Contemporary historical research is increasingly focusing on the economic impact women had on ancient cities, examining their activities within the household and their contributions to family and community wealth.Footnote ² Women’s lives were predominantly centred on the domestic and sacred spheres. Indeed, in the ancient world, the home was not only a place of ‘consumption’ but also of ‘production’. Woven products, which were the work of female hands (both mistress and slaves), served the needs of the household, but the surplus could be sold outside.Footnote ³ Good housewives, such as the one described in Xenophon’s Economicus, administered resources and directly controlled the productivity of agricultural work, implementing improvements to increase income.Footnote ⁴ Furthermore, women contributed to the family patrimony with their dowry, an indispensable element of every marriage transaction, although, at least in Athens, women could not dispose of it independently, and it passed from the father’s hands to those of the husband.Footnote ⁵

In addition, women played an important role in organising and carrying out religious festivals and ceremonies:Footnote ⁶ priestesses and prophetesses constituted authorities of the utmost respect within cities, whereas ordinary women played a crucial role in the carrying out of religious festivals through weaving, food preparation and ritual organisation.Footnote ⁷ Women also performed in female choruses during festivals, which entailed the dual role of singer and dancer under the direction of a chorodidaskalos, who could be either male or female. Some women composed and performed their own songs, either solo (in the case of monodic poetry) or by directing a choir (predominantly female).Footnote ⁸

As I will now try to explore, these public occasions represented an important arena for women to raise their voices and express thoughts and concerns with economic repercussions, thereby influencing the economic and social decisions of their communities. In fact, the economic impact of women on society extended beyond their domestic and sacred activities, because these occasions provided opportunities for women to raise their voices in musical and lyric form,Footnote ⁹ expressing their opinions on policies and custom, including marriage, which had significant economic implications for households and communities.

The female voice in the world of habrosyne

Women’s poetry, composed or practised by women, can intersect with the economic dynamics of cities, addressing collective issues and decisions. A prominent example is the poetry of Sappho, whose intended audience – public or private – is still debated.Footnote ¹⁰ André Lardinois, in a recent contribution, presented Sappho as a ‘citizen’ deeply integrated into the political dynamics of her town, freely expressing her views on political and social matters, including war.Footnote ¹¹ Some of her poems also reflect the economic dynamics typical of archaic societies, similar to those found in the works of her male contemporaries, attesting to her firm integration into her community.

In the crucial years between the end of the seventh and the sixth century BC, the Greek economy entered a new phase marked by the expansion of maritime trades and of commercial routes with overseas countries, particularly Anatolia and Northern Africa. Lesbos was strategically positioned as a ‘gateway’ to the East for ships traversing the Mediterranean, making it a prime port for merchants and sailors travelling to and from Asia Minor. This position allowed the islanders to interact with people from across the Mediterranean, significantly broadening their commercial horizons,Footnote ¹² and this diverse network has an interesting reflection on Sappho’s poetry and on the ‘intertextual geographies’ she constructs, to use Barbara Graziosi’s words.Footnote ¹³ According to the Suda, Sappho’s companions came from neighbouring regions and Ionia, with Anactoria from Miletus, Gongyla from Colophon and Eunìca from Salamis (Cyprus).Footnote ¹⁴ Egypt was also a known destination: Alcaeus may have been exiled there,Footnote ¹⁵ and Herodotus (2.178) confirms that the Mytilenians helped to build the Hellenion at Naucratis, a large temple for all Greeks established in the Nile delta to facilitate trade with Egypt and Africa.

At this time, the figure of the aristocrat-merchant emerged, representing members of the aristocracy who exported surplus agricultural produce rather than consuming it locally. This trade, especially with the East, brought back monetary wealth, precious metals and luxury goods previously rare in Greece, helping these aristocrats maintain a lifestyle of opulence unattainable for the rest of the population.Footnote ¹⁶ The monetary dimension of this system of exchanges is often disguised, in the aristocratic logic of archaic poets, as an appreciation for precious objects, symbols of elegance and distinction, and for gift-exchange dynamics reminiscent of Homeric society.Footnote ¹⁷ However, the commercial aspect is undeniably present, especially in the social reality of an island like Lesbos, which was highly engaged in overseas trade.

The wine of Lesbos was a prized commodity, and Sappho’s family probably owned vineyards in the area of Eressos, where she was from.Footnote ¹⁸ Anecdotal tradition states that Sappho’s elder brother, Charaxos, travelled to Egypt to trade wine and fell in love with the renowned courtesan Rhodopis (or Doricha, Sappho’s derogatory nickname for herFootnote ¹⁹ ). Charaxos reportedly squandered his considerable wealth on her and remained in Egypt for an extended period. Sappho, however, rebuked her brother for this association and, in her songs, expressed public disapproval of his conduct, which she felt undermined his duties as head of the family and the honour of the oikos.Footnote ²⁰

Sappho’s fragment 5 Voigt-Neri takes the form of a prayer, albeit a peculiar one, to the Nereids (with a final invocation to Aphrodite). She asks for her brother’s salvation and the restoration of her family’s honour, which has been tarnished by his actions. The most lacunose parts of the text (ll. 10–15) probably alluded to the punishments suffered by Sappho and her family within the community due to Charaxos’ behaviour and possibly the resulting economic hardship. This underscores the social pressure exerted by the community to stigmatise such behaviour and the dishonour Sappho endured (see τίμας, l. 10) as a consequence, reflecting the familial logic whereby all members of the genos suffer the consequences of the actions of the individual.Footnote ²¹

In another poem from the Charaxos cycle, the economic implications of the affaire are even more apparent. The so-called ‘Brothers’ poem’ (fr. 10 Neri)Footnote ²² features a dialogue between the ‘poetic I’ – possibly Sappho herself – and an anonymous interlocutor, in which the poetess expresses hopes that the latter will order her to go to the temple of Hera to pray for the merchant’s safe return.Footnote ²³

The dialogue presents two opposing perspectives. While the other person is concerned about the economic implications of Charaxos’ absence (νᾶϊ σὺν πλήᾳ at l. 6), as he squandered the household’s capital, leaving his relatives in financial distress, Sappho affirms that the most important thing is for Charaxos to return safely.Footnote ²⁵ His return will finally ensure the family’s honour (and finances), which has been severely tarnished by his actions. In these two poems, it emerges that Sappho, although worried about the economic implications of her brother’s actions, seems to disguise purely mercantile logic, driven by profit, with a set of aristocratic values centred on honour and family, thus adhering to the anti-monetary ideology that characterises the mentality of archaic aristocratic poets.Footnote ²⁶

These events, although seemingly autobiographical, are more likely of communal interest and reflect the dynamics, fears and ambitions of a mercantile society in a phase of expansion, which were also repurposed in other contexts, as evidenced by the rich anecdotal tradition surrounding Charaxos.Footnote ²⁷ They illustrate how even poetry composed by a woman – often for religious occasions in which the entire citizenry participated – was intended to convey ideals and conceptions with significant social value. Sappho’s poetry comments on, critiques, or applauds the political choices of her contemporaries, entering into economic debates that fuelled public discourse: maritime trade is necessary for the household’s survival and the lack of this income (either due to reiterate absence or to irresponsible squandering) may deprive the family of its honour. Alcaeus, in fr. 117b V., similarly condemns the dangers of squandering vast amounts of money and assets on courtesans and prostitutes, thus confirming that this topic was central to public debate in archaic Lesbos.Footnote ²⁸

Another issue that weighs on Sappho and prompts her to voice her opinion publicly is the trading relationship with Lydia and the eastern world. This trade allowed aristocratic Lesbian families to acquire luxurious objects of Eastern origin, marking their wealth and setting them apart from ordinary citizens. Sappho, in particular, exhibits a passion for habrosyne, an orientally inspired luxury lifestyle that began to spread among Ionian cities and then into Greece in the seventh century BC. This lifestyle signified an aristocratic refinement, based on the display of wealth through imported exotic goods, fine fabrics and precious pottery inaccessible to ordinary people.Footnote ²⁹

As Robin Osborne observed, ‘luxury is gendered’ and has been associated with the female domain since its earliest attestations, such as Semonides’ portrayal (fr. 7.57–70 W²) of the costly and lavish wife (the mare-woman), who washes herself three times a day and indulges in perfumes, hairstyles and floral adornments.Footnote ³⁰ Sappho (and others like her) takes pride in belonging to a social class that can afford such luxuries and expresses her support for the economic policies that enable trade with the East, making the import of these goods possible. In fr. 58d.2–4 Neri, Sappho openly declares her love of luxury (ἀβροσύνα), associating it with the love (ἔρως) of the sun, splendour (τὸ λάμπρον) and beauty (τὸ κάλον).

These two verses, which in P.Oxy. 1787 constitute the conclusion of fr. 58c N., the Old Age Poem, are also quoted in a passage by Clearchus of Soli,Footnote ³¹ who emphasises the necessary association between elegance (ἁβρότης) and virtue (ἀρετή), a concept that Sappho also highlights in fr. 148 Voigt -Neri (‘Wealth without virtue is not a harmless companion’), thus exalting the importance of aristocratic education and behaviour. Habrosyne, in fact, appears in this fragment as a typically aristocratic concept, as it is associated with immaterial elements such as sunlight and beauty. However, it also conveys an allusion to a broader sphere of values, in which the display of elegance becomes a privilege reserved for the few. This is the same passion for habrosyne that, in fr. 3 D.K., Xenophanes attributes to his fellow Colophonians, who are said to have adopted a luxurious lifestyle from their Lydian neighbours.

The Lydians indeed played an important role in the affairs of Lesbos, being its most influential and powerful neighbour, with whom the island could not help but relate. As a primary commercial partner, Lydia was a source of raw materials and luxury goods vital to the island’s economy. It is plausible that the rulers of Lydia influenced the internal political dynamics of Mytilene, as implied in Alcaeus’ fr. 69 V., where he mentions receiving a large reward for serving as a mercenary in the Lydian army, thus securing favour with this great power in a (later failed) coup against Pittacus.

The display of an aristocratic lifestyle, marked by its exclusivity and inaccessibility to the general population, was expressed through the acquisition of coveted luxury goods, often of Eastern origin and imported, as they were otherwise unobtainable in the local market. Alcaeus boasts of owning a helmet adorned with a feather from Caria (fr. 338 V.), a prized possession that might have been procured by his brother, a mercenary in the service of the king of Babylon.Footnote ³² His brother returned from the East with a luxurious weapon – a sword of ivory and gold – which the poet mentions with admiration (fr. 350 V.).

Sappho also speaks of a ‘bewitching robe’ (fr. 22b Voigt-Neri), the κατάγωγις, probably a long tunic with a purple hem. When worn by a girl who incites desire (πόθος), this robe stirs emotions in the admirer and delights the poetess. In fr. 39 Voigt-Neri, Sappho describes a person adorned with elegant and ornate (ποίκιλος) sandals from Lydia, while in fr. 101 Voigt-Neri, in a poem dedicated to Aphrodite and transcribed by Athenaeus (9.410e), she speaks of perfumed purple drapes from Phocaea in Ionia. These drapes, intended to be used as headscarves, are presented as a precious gift for the goddess.Footnote ³³

The oriental provenance of these fabrics makes them valuable and highly sought-after objects, as attested in fr. 98a–b Voigt-Neri, where Sappho laments that, under the rule of ‘the Mytilenean’ – probably Pittacus –, it has become impossible to acquire luxury items of oriental origin, such as the headband from Sardis that her daughter Kleis so desired, as it was fashionable among her peers.Footnote ³⁴ Although Sappho tries to dissuade her, reminding her that in her own youth girls wore simple purple ribbons in their hair, oriental fashion now seems to have taken over, with ornate Lydian headdresses spreading across the cities of Ionia, captivating the vanity of noble girls.

The mitra is ποικίλα, embroidered but also scintillating and colourful, to denote the admiration it generates and its belonging to the realm of habrosyne, such as the sandals in fr. 39 Voigt-Neri.Footnote ³⁵ Kleis is also associated with luxurious garments of oriental origin (specifically from Phrygia) in fr. 92 Voigt-Neri, where purple and saffron-coloured peplos, cloaks and crowns are mentioned. These luxury garments become symbols of feminine elegance, and even the mitra of Sardis (a finely embroidered hairband) stands in contrast to the warrior’s mitra (made of metal), which is part of the armour of the Homeric warrior.Footnote ³⁶

Beyond the aesthetic appeal these fragments convey, their political and economic implications, as well as Sappho’s intent to actively insert herself in a pressing debate in her community, are clear. These fragments highlight the aristocratic passion for luxury objects of oriental origin, which became status symbols for young aristocrats eager to embrace fashionable trends. However, the import of such goods became challenging during periods of austerity and autarky, when Pittacus appears to have imposed restrictions on trade and sumptuary laws.Footnote ³⁷ Sappho’s own family, affected by the exile of the Kleanaktidai and possibly by personal financial difficulties, faced economic instability, which rendered these luxury expenditures prohibitive.Footnote ³⁸ As Battezzato observes, Sappho’s inability to provide her daughter with a precious object is here compensated by the transmission of kleos, poetic fame, which – starting from Sappho’s mother (named Kleis, according to various testimonies) – is passed down matrilineally to the young Kleis.Footnote ³⁹

The passion for habrosyne and the desire for luxury objects and garments among aristocratic families is a hallmark of female songs, particularly in partheneia, the choral songs performed by young girls (with a male director).Footnote ⁴⁰ For instance, in Alcman’s Great Partheneion (fr. 3 Calame), the elaborate display of the girls’ allure in front of a Spartan audience is closely tied to the admiration for the sophistication of their clothing and jewellery.

The two leaders, Agesichora and Agidò, are compared to foreign-bred racehorses, embodying an elitist athleticism reserved for the wealthiest.Footnote ⁴² The passage also highlights purple robes, intricately carved gold jewellery (the snake, which is ποικίλος) and a luxurious Lydian mitre – similar to those mentioned by SapphoFootnote ⁴³ – underscoring the aristocracy’s openness to Eastern trade, which flourished during the seventh century. This openness occurred before the autarchic policies that Sparta established in the sixth century BC onwards, which led the city toward increasing cultural and economic isolation.Footnote ⁴⁴ At this earlier time, however, Sparta was particularly receptive to external contacts, both economic and cultural, with foreign countries and the East, as demonstrated by the presence of figures like Alcman, who may have hailed from Sardis, and other notable poets such as Terpander and Arion, who came from Lesbos. Alcman’s choral piece reflects this, as the girls in his chorus express admiration for these cultural and political ties.Footnote ⁴⁵

Similarly, in PMG 655, Corinna describes the performance of a chorus of Tanagran girls, whom she guides into the remembrance of mythical deeds performed by their local heroes:

Here, too, Corinna begins by addressing the ‘women of Tanagra with white peplos’, making an explicit reference to their elegance. This refinement probably reflected the ambitions of the local aristocracy, as attested by the famous Tanagra terracotta figurines found in Hellenistic tombs. These figurines, depicting elegantly attired women, suggest a well-established Boeotian tradition of sophistication dating back to earlier periods.Footnote ⁴⁶

The female voice, therefore, both when expressing itself directly and when embodying, as in the case of Alcman, the thoughts of a male author, aspires to take a clear stance even on economic matters, advocating an aristocratic perspective that does not differ significantly from the male viewpoint of authors such as Pindar.

The economy of marriage

The works of Calame and Stehle have persuasively demonstrated the significance of marriage as a backdrop for many female choral performances in public. In the partheneia of Sappho, Alcman, or Pindar, the fil rouge that guides the words of the girls is always the nuptial subtext, with subtle dynamics of seduction underlying the performances. These public displays offer an opportunity for girls of marriageable age to present themselves to the male audience, among whom they may find potential husbands. The community, in turn, watches with approval as these courtships develop and new marital unions are formed.Footnote ⁴⁷ Thus, even poems intended for different occasions often serve as a means to reinforce the value system underpinning aristocratic marriage.

However, in the Greek world, marriage was primarily an economic transaction.Footnote ⁴⁸ The dowry (or nuptial gifts mentioned in the epics) was a central element of the agreement between the bride’s father and the prospective husband. Instances where marriage occurred without a dowry were exceedingly rare, if not unheard of. Marriage was part of the same ideological framework that upheld the aristocratic mindset, and lyric poetry played a role in perpetuating this institution, even in its economic aspects.

The epinician ode further affirms these values, although its focus is more masculine, rooted in concepts such as kleos, athleticism and megaloprepeia exercised by victorious aristocrats over their communities.Footnote ⁴⁹ As Leslie Kurke has persuasively argued, the language of gift exchange and bride-price also permeates the epinician ode, using marriage as a metaphor for the athlete’s victory, thereby achieving glory and wealth, as is most evident in Pindar’s Pythian 9, which displays the economic implications of prosperous mythical and human marriages.Footnote ⁵⁰

The same image of marriage is detectable in Sappho’s songs, reflecting the ideology of habrosyne she expresses elsewhere. Sappho was well known for her epithalamia, songs composed for illustrious weddings, and it is notable that she not only supports the institution of marriage but also acknowledges the economic exchanges that accompany it, as her male contemporaries. Sappho’s fr. 44 Voigt-Neri is sometimes considered a true epithalamium, as it recounts the grand and joyous marriage between Hector and Andromache. This depiction could have served as a model for a couple, and the ode may have functioned as a hymenaios, performed during wedding ceremonies.Footnote ⁵¹ The fragment immortalises the moment of the agogé, when Hector arrives in Troy, leading Andromache from her home town on a richly decorated chariot.Footnote ⁵² The performance of this song probably took place in a similar context, blending myth and reality, a common practice in lyric poetry.

Hector and Andromache are depicted as an ideal couple, and it is no coincidence that Andromache is celebrated for the wealth of the ornaments she brings with her as soon as she arrives in Troy: ‘many bracelets of gold and robes of light purple, variegated ornaments (ποί̣κ̣ι̣λ᾿ ἀθύρματα), and innumerable cups of silver and ivory’. The expression ποί̣κ̣ι̣λ᾿ ἀθύρματα recalls once again the realm of habrosyne, with the visual allusion to an oriental luxury that gives pleasure to those who display it, that we already noticed in Sappho’s frr. 39 and 98 Voigt-Neri. The Trojans welcome the new princess with similar extravagance, and the festive atmosphere includes precious objects (craters and cups) and oriental perfumes (myrrh, cassia and frankincense), while the songs of girls, women and men further enrich the scene.

Such precious objects – jewellery, luxury garments, gold, silver vessels – were typically part of a wealthy girl’s dowry, which she had some freedom to manage. These objects were also common in funeral trousseaus and dedications by women.Footnote ⁵³ Τὰ χρυσία καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια (the gold and the garments) was the technical term for the dowry objects, later known as paraphernalia, which the bride wore on her wedding day, as confirmed by wedding iconography. Visual representations of weddings often highlight the extravagance of the brides’ appearance and the richness of the ceremony, signalling both the wealth of her family and the prestige of her future husband.Footnote ⁵⁴ In Iphigeneia among the Taurians, for instance, the chorus of girls dreams of returning to Greece, where they will celebrate a luxurious wedding (1143–52), where luxury clothes and hairstyles are key components.

Lyric depictions of marriage typically emphasise such luxurious displays. Sappho, in representing Andromache as the ideal bride, underscores the importance of the bride’s dowry: the richer the dowry, the more splendid and fortunate the matrimonial union, no matter how ephemeral it may be, by virtue of the tragic fate that the couple will face. By celebrating the wealth of Andromache’s dowry, fit for a princess, Sappho highlights the success of a marriage grounded in an equal division of wealth between the bride and the Trojan prince, which leads to homophrosyne, the mutual understanding considered essential for an ideal relationship between husband and wife.Footnote ⁵⁵

However, the ostentatious display of the bride’s paraphernalia also takes on significance in the context of the economic shifts occurring during the transition from aristocratic oligarchies to the era of tyrannies and democracies. By the sixth century, wedding ceremonies were subject to reforms aimed at curbing the aristocracy’s public displays of power – economic as well as political, as the downsizing of funerals also attests. Solon, for instance, enacted laws to limit the amount of ornaments and jewellery brides could wear on their wedding day.Footnote ⁵⁶ While it is unclear if similar attempts were made in Lesbos, Pittacus’ autocratic policies and his effort to limit aristocratic habrosyne – as alluded to in fr. 94 Voigt-Neri – have been compared to Solon’s similar sumptuary reforms in Athens.Footnote ⁵⁷

Sappho’s voice thus rises to reaffirm the value of aristocratic marriage and the display of wealth that accompanies it, in opposition to emerging populist reforms that sought to diminish the power of elite families and promote a more equal integration of the aristocracy within the broader community of the polis.

The choice of a mythical subject for ode/poem 44 suggests that it was composed for a public occasion, probably a wedding, attended by both men and women. It is therefore not surprising that it adheres to the officially shared matrimonial model, which is also found in male poetry, such as that of Pindar. The case is different for poems intended for a more private audience, which instead cast a more ambiguous and distinctly feminine light on marriage, insisting on the separation of the bride from her mother and group of friends, seemingly in contrast with the model imposed by society.Footnote ⁵⁸

Therefore, from the survey conducted so far, it emerges that the voice of female poets – at least in poems composed for public occasions, the voice of female choruses directed by male authors and, to a certain degree, that of contemporary male poets essentially share the same value system, reflecting an aristocratic society founded on the display of wealth as a status symbol and a criterion of social distinction. A different case may be that of poems composed by female poets (Sappho) for more intimate occasions, perhaps intended for an exclusively female audience, which communicate feminine instances in opposition to a well-rooted male poetic tradition.

The public arena offered women (both as authors and performers) the opportunity to raise their voice in order to exert their own influence on the social and economic dynamics within various communities. Female voices thus promoted a series of values upheld by the male poets of the time, as if it were in the interest of the entire ‘corporation of poets’ to maintain a system of values rooted in aristocratic society and in exchanges, including economic ones, that it generated.

Women and patronage

From this perspective, one might ask whether, beyond their influence in activating or approving certain social dynamics, a distinct circle of female-driven economic transactions could have emerged behind performances in which women were the protagonists. It is reasonable to imagine that poets such as Sappho or Corinna, who composed cultic songs for the entire citizenry, such as the epithalamia, or in the case of Sappho, poems probably addressed to a more intimate circle of women, received some form of compensation for their work. For example, Corinna composed odes for city festivals across various localities in Boeotia, as did her contemporary Pindar. It is conceivable that they both competed for commissions from the same patrons or cities.Footnote ⁵⁹ Consider the cult of the Charites at Orchomenus, celebrated both by Pindar in Olympian 14 and by Corinna in a fragment mentioning the river Cephysus, which is traceable to that locality (PMG 692 fr. 2), or the cult of Apollo at Tanagra, evoked both by Pindar in fr. 286 M. and by Corinna in PMG 655, where she exhorts the girls of Tanagra to join her in singing a song for the town. Both poets exhibited continuous connections to Thebes and its most important festivals, reflecting a close relationship with the local aristocracy.Footnote ⁶⁰

While the remunerative aspect for professional poets such as Pindar or Simonides is fairly well known, and it is clear that the ‘mercenary muse’ Pindar criticises in the poet of Ceos was a common practice in choral lyric poetry,Footnote ⁶¹ the economic relationship between patrons and female poets remains more uncertain. We may wonder whether Corinna, who was commissioned to write poems for communal religious festivals just like Pindar, and who displayed wisdom and technical mastery (including metrical innovations attributed to her) on a par with her rival (if not even better, following a certain anecdotal tradition that saw her as superior to himFootnote ⁶² ), was compensated for her work to the same extent as her male adversary.

Poets such as Arion, Ibycus, Pindar and Simonides were known to have amassed great wealth: Isocrates (Antid. 166) states that Pindar was paid 10,000 drachmas by the Athenians for a single encomium, and the scholia report that Pindar asked the family of Pytheas from Aegina half a talent (3000 drachms) to compose a small-scale epinician, in a context where one drachma per day was the standard income for a workman.Footnote ⁶³ However, remuneration did not always take the form of monetary fees. Although financial transactions gained more prominence in the sixth century BC,Footnote ⁶⁴ other forms of compensation were possible for aristocratic poets, as demonstrated in Sappho’s case.Footnote ⁶⁵ Hesiod (Op. 654–9), for instance, states that after competing in Aulis at the funerary games for Amphidamas, he was rewarded with a tripod, which he dedicated to the Muses. Simonides was said to have received gifts from Hieron, but he sold them,Footnote ⁶⁶ while Pindar was given part of the offerings pilgrims dedicated to Apollo in Delphi.Footnote ⁶⁷ High-value gifts, as well as elite hospitality and maintenance at tyrants’ courts, where poets enjoyed the status of friends (philoi) rather than ordinary salariats, were part of the rewards for professional poets.Footnote ⁶⁸ Moreover, in epinician odes, any monetary transactions between poets and patrons were often disguised as gift exchanges between peersFootnote ⁶⁹ or framed within the language of erotic or pederastic relationships between eromenos and erastes. Footnote ⁷⁰

Sappho provides more specific evidence in this regard. In fr. 32 Voigt-Neri, she declares that the Muses, by gifting her with their work, made her τιμία (honoured), a term that carries an economic connotation, as it implies a honour deriving from the ἔργα (works, jobs) of the Muses.

The economic connotation is reinforced by Aelius Aristides (Or. 28.51), who states that Sappho boasted before other women considered fortunate, claiming that the Muses had made her ‘rich and envied’ (ὀλβίαν τε καὶ ζελωτήν);Footnote ⁷¹ and she also reflects on the limits and unpredictability of richness in the few lines preserved by a papyrus commentary on her work, where she says that ‘the gods assign wealth (whom they want)’.Footnote ⁷²

It is plausible that the poetess is referring to material wealth derived from her poetic art, granted by the Muses. If she indeed maintained a form of ‘discipleship relationship’ with younger girls, such relationships probably had an economic dimension as well.Footnote ⁷³ Thus, while some women composed poetry and received remuneration within the established patronage dynamics of the times, we may argue that there were also women who enjoyed financial autonomy and may have exercised patronage.

In the sacred sphere, numerous testimonies attest to women offering rich dedications to deities. These dedications involved not only precious items the women could access more freely (e.g. garments they made, jewellery and parts of their dowry) but also considerable sums of money drawn from family finances, often with the consent of their husbands, for commissioning statues and other votive gifts.

Votive dedications confirm the consistent presence of women at sacred sites. It has been estimated that about one-tenth of all private dedications from the eighth to the fifth century BC were made by women.Footnote ⁷⁴ A notable example is the colossal dedication by Nicandra of Naxos to the goddess Artemis in the sanctuary of Delos around 650 BC, which bears an inscription with Nicandra’s name and her prestigious family lineage (CEG I 403). This is a woman from an aristocratic family, who offered this important gift to the goddess Artemis, perhaps in gratitude for her recent marriage. While it is unclear whether Nicandra personally commissioned the costly statue or if a male member paid for it, what is certain is that women assiduously frequented the sanctuary at Delos, as confirmed by numerous sources.

The Delian festival, largely focused on Apollo but which also prominently included the veneration of Artemis, in archaic times attracted men and women from across the region. Naxos, located a short distance from Delos, held political sway over the sanctuary in the Archaic period, and the island was responsible for several monumental constructions, such as the Terrace of the Lions and the Naxian oikos.Footnote ⁷⁵ Girls’ choruses were a valued part of the festivities in honour of the twins, as mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (vv. 146–64). Nicandra’s dedication thus fits into this rich cultural landscape, where Naxos held sway over the sanctuary, and its female citizens (as well as the men) actively participated in the island’s festivals, seeking visibility and prominence before the people who assembled from every region of Ionia.

Other, more modest but equally meaningful, female votive dedications reveal the roles women played within their families. Everyday objects they used in domestic life, such as mirrors found in Brauron or on the Athenian Acropolis and offered as gifts to Athena, attest to this. These objects – buckles, distaffs and tools used for weaving – are found throughout Greece. Examples include the sanctuary of Hera at Perachora and various sanctuaries where especially precious, finely ornamented textiles were dedicated, such as Brauron and Tanagra.Footnote ⁷⁶ Statues were frequently adorned with richly decorated peplums and robes, produced and offered by female hands.Footnote ⁷⁷ Through such offerings, ritual agency intertwined with women’s artistic and manual skills. When a dedication was accompanied by a prayer, their poetic expertise was also on display. Furthermore, there are numerous examples of high-quality vases, inscribed with the names of their owners, wealthy women who could afford to purchase and ‘customise’ precious artifacts.Footnote ⁷⁸

These everyday objects illustrate women’s authority within their households, including their ability to manage possessions such as household furnishings or items from their dowries. Women would sometimes relinquish these things to offer them to a deity, usually female, in gratitude or supplication. Especially interesting are the dedications found on the Acropolis in Athens, where women offered Athena a tithe (dekate). Some of these dedications came from women earning their own incomes, for instance, a washerwoman, reflecting the financial independence some women had in managing the income derived from their labour.Footnote ⁷⁹

Since there is evidence of women who enjoyed a certain economic independence, allowing them to offer votive dedications to the gods, we cannot rule out the possibility that there were others who commissioned celebratory poems from prominent professional poets and poetesses, despite the lack of explicit testimonies to support this. The male-dominated world of the epinician odes, with its complex relationships between poet, patron and audience, excluded women from the commissioning process.Footnote ⁸⁰ Although these odes highlight rich family networks, mentioning patrons alongside numerous professional or private ties, they conspicuously avoid mentioning contemporary women, even wives, mothers, or sisters, underscoring their absence from this patron–poet relationship.

A different scenario emerges in the case of cultic songs for religious occasions, where women may have played a leading role: although these testimonies do not confirm the existence of specific patronage dynamics between female patrons and poets, they do highlight the leading role that some women could exert within the family, including in commissioning choral songs.

The marriage subtext that permeates Alcman’s partheneia, which features young women of marriageable age as protagonists, probably involved their mothers – wealthy women of the local aristocracy. In Sparta, women’s resourcefulness, including their economic power, was highly valued, as was their participation in poetic and musical activities.Footnote ⁸¹ One of these women may have commissioned a unique encomium by Bacchylides (20A M.),Footnote ⁸² which recounts the Spartan myth of Marpessa, whose stern father forbade her marriage.Footnote ⁸³ Bacchylides’ poem is structured around a reference to contemporary figures (ll. 4–12), compared with Marpessa and her father in the mythic section (ll. 13–56).

The ode emphasises the character of this brave girl who, in response to her father’s cruelty, curses him and manages to escape the destiny he had chosen for her; her attitude is not isolated in myth, and the Catalogue of women includes examples such as Tyro, who frequently reproached her father Salmonaeus for his impiety; Mestra, who managed to escape unwanted marriages; and Atalanta, who avoided marriage by defeating her suitors in running races.Footnote ⁸⁵ The central role played by this girl in the song may be an indication of the prominence of a female figure in the patronage relationship with Bacchylides.

Sparta also provided convivial settings where women played leading roles.Footnote ⁸⁶ A passage from Athenaeus, inspired by the work of the Spartan historian Sosibius, attests to the existence of encomia sung by female choirs at women’s banquets, where praises were lavished on the most beautiful girls, and breast-shaped sweets called κριβάναι were served.Footnote ⁸⁷ An encomium like Bacchylides’ fr. 20A M. might fit in such a setting, where the praise of girls of marriageable age was highly valued, as confirmed by the partheneia.Footnote ⁸⁸

Furthermore, Sparta in the fourth century was home to a remarkable woman whose extraordinary qualities and charisma anticipated those of Hellenistic queens: Cynisca, sister of King Agesilaos. She was the first and only woman to win the chariot race at Olympia twice, using the wealth inherited from her father, Archidamos, to breed racehorses.Footnote ⁸⁹ She was also a patron of the arts, commissioning the Megarian sculptor Apelles to create two monuments depicting her victory, which were displayed at Olympia.Footnote ⁹⁰ An epigram inscribed on her Olympic monument (CEG 820 = 33 Ebert), which she probably commissioned herself, celebrates her unprecedented achievement as the first woman in Greece to receive the Olympic crown.Footnote ⁹¹

As Pausanias notes (3.8.2), in a city with few poetic celebrations for sporting victories like Sparta,Footnote ⁹² Cynisca’s commissioning of a poetic epigram stands out for its originality and the assertiveness with which she celebrated her achievements. Cynisca demonstrates that Spartan women, with financial autonomy, could achieve prominence by competing in equestrian contests and commissioning art and poetry.

If Spartan women could play significant roles in commissioning, they could do so elsewhere as well. Pindar’s partheneion 94b, a cultic song composed for a girls’ chorus at the Theban Daphnephorica, was commissioned by a local family, whom the poet praises alongside the god, showing an unusual female participation in song and dance.Footnote ⁹³ Both male and female members of the family are named: Pagondas, his father Aeoladas, his son AgasiclesFootnote ⁹⁴ (the daphnephoros), Pagondas’ wife Andesistrota (the chorodidaskalos, entrusted with the task of instructing the chorus) and their daughter Damena (the choregos), who, like the Spartan Astymelousa, stood out among her peers.

Both parents are here praised for their hospitality, and both appear as commissioners of the ode (in fact, it was necessary that the daphnephoros had both of them alive). Andesistrota is noted for teaching Agesicles’ sister Damona how to dance and to perform the sacred steps, emphasising the significant role both women played in the ceremony. The young Damona, in line with the hegemonic role her family seems to play in Thebes and in this ritual, was the choregos, while her mother was the chorodidaskalos, highlighting the important function of female members of the family in both ritual and social terms.

We see here the involvement of the entire family in commissioning and executing a poem that was performed during one of the city’s most important festivities, placing all members of the family in the spotlight. The women, like the men, played an active role in the success of the performance, leading Pindar, who typically refrained from praising women in his odes, to include their names among the most distinguished members of the Aeolads’ household.Footnote ⁹⁶

It is therefore unsurprising that in societies in which women frequently participated in choruses – whether as choregai or chorodidaskaloi – poetesses such as Corinna and Myrtis could emerge, strengthening the connection between performers and authors, as was also evident in Lesbos.Footnote ⁹⁷ Moreover, the shared occasions, modes of composition and content exhibited by both Boeotia, the homeland of Pindar and Corinna, and Lesbos, where Sappho and Alcaeus flourished, suggest that the patronage relationships between female poets and patrons were similar in these regions. In places where women had greater freedom to manage their finances, intellectual professions like poetry could thrive. This stands in stark contrast to cities like Athens, which frowned upon such economic autonomy, severely limiting women’s participation in poetry, both as authors and performers.