Preface

Though we are discussing ancient times, this paper is not traditional academic work. The subject (and I mean that in more ways than one) of my focus is a woman named Neaera who is placed on trial for proclaiming herself and her children as citizens of Athens, even though she is widely viewed as a prostitute of foreign birth. My central contention throughout this discussion is that she is a woman of extraordinary courage and to an incredible degree, takes control over her circumstances and makes powerful choices. In tune with this description, I choose to write in a style that accurately reflects the reverence that I hold for Neaera. Rather than an analytical exchange of observation, I intentionally take the tone of someone who is much like a boxing promoter. I place myself firmly in Neaera’s corner and instead of articulating her greatness through the shadowy form of a third person who remains academically objective and unattached, I take a direct stand for her as a praiseworthy historical figure. To this end, I write from the first person with the motive to reveal and uplift Neaera’s impressiveness and I adopt a general manner of speech atypical to academic language. Additionally, I use of myriad of persuasive methods that are relatively uncommon and I do so because, fundamentally, Neaera is an uncommon and atypical character. In light of this revelation, the least that I can do is to make sure that my form and content align as a means of writing a paper that is outside of the norm in order to honor a woman who consistently chose her own way. In other (more effective) words, Neaera rocks and I’m willing to rock out in order to make sure that she gets the props that she deserves.

Journal Topic:

“I am Woman, Hear Me Roar!” Women’s Acquisition of Power

Paper Topic:

Neaera the Great: An Explication of One Woman’s Movement to Power

Consider the possibility that how we listen to people creates the way life will be for them as well as for ourselves. Is this a radical statement? Perhaps. Many of us hold fast to the idea that we are the controllers of our own fate (myself included) and that, for instance, even if someone listened to us as if we were never going to amount to anything that would ever resemble success, we would eventually triumph in the end (especially against the odds stacked against us by would be detractors). Clearly, this is a stark and theatrical example (most likely due to the Olympic fever wafting in the air), yet, a glimmer of insight can be found when proposed through another perspective.

Maybe you’ve heard the urban legend about a group of researchers who wanted to study how a teacher’s expectations effected the quality of the learning that occurred for his or her students. Consequently, these intrepid detectives gave out a list of five students (who had been chosen at random) to each teacher with the designation that, according to lengthy testing applied to each student, these kids in particular were poised for profound breakthroughs in educational excellence. Lo and behold, after maintaining the expectation (consciously or otherwise) that the teachers would devote new levels of enthusiasm and attention to these students and that they would blossom from this reverent way of being listened to, the researchers discovered that yes, indeed, children respond positively to positive reinforcement.

Though it may seem like common sense at first, this awakening led to an exceptional conclusion: our destinies are communal. It has all too often been popular and profitable to think along the lines of the Rocky theme in our culture. Essentially, the power in one’s life is sourced within the will of the individual (no matter the circumstances one must prevail against). We easily make myths and heroes out of people who are able to go it alone and as mentioned earlier, triumph amongst all odds. This pattern of thinking is intricately woven into the fabric of our modern cultural character and quite bluntly, we listen for such examples in order to make us feel better about ourselves. Lance Armstrong and his battles with cancer or figures like Dolly Parton and her status as the “coal miner’s daughter who went off to make it in the big city” are archetypal legends which we hold in tremendous esteem. Yet, I would submit that it is because we listen to them as illustrations of heroic greatness that makes them successful. What a terrific paradox then, yes? It takes a community to make an individual magnificent.

“But what exactly,” you may ask, “does this have to do with women roaring in Ancient Greece?” Well, I’ve realized that as I read through our course material, I keep looking for a mortal woman who would exemplify these traits of transcendence and triumph. Can you imagine the benefit in Greek society if Xena the Warrior Princess had really been around and revered by the likes of Hercules and other members of a non-godly pantheon? As I searched about for the proverbial diamond in the rough, my mind lit upon Neaera. Though her peers may not have found her worthy of much respect, with this paper I will suggest that, when listened to with this level of veneration, she is wholeheartedly worthy of our acknowledgment and admiration.

My intent then with this publication is to explicate the extent of Neaera’s personal and communal agency, especially in relationship to her freedom of movement as a woman during this time period. To this end, I will use my interpretation of Kathleen Freeman’s translation of Athenian legal texts as my basis for exegesis and because we are left with only the depiction of Neaera’s actions by her prosecutor (dare I say persecutor), you will receive my description of her power based on a great deal of, as they say, “reading between the lines.”

So, what does Neaera have to offer us in the way of heroism (or heroinism, she-roism...)? First of all, we know that she is not your typical housewife. Of course, this statement is by no means a denigration of other women, it is simply an indication that Neaera acted in many ways that were remarkably unusual. Naturally, we are left asking, “what was the traditional role for women of the day?” For the purposes of this paper, I will create this context from our classroom discussions which have emerged from the communal understanding we’ve generated regarding the placement of citizen women as house keepers. Certainly, I make this claim with at least a double function. We have determined that, by and large, with the exception of rare festivals and occasions of conspicuous circumstance (a dalliance with a wayward lover or a trip to court perhaps) citizen women were made to stay inside their house, at all times. They were wholly responsible for the sanctity held within and completely expected to remain there all the live long day.

Neaera, on the other hand, traveled about quite a bit, and it is this freedom of movement that engages my regard. Not only does Neaera represent the role of a survivor who “plays a tough hand well,” she fashions for herself a level of agency and efficacy independent of the realm normally maintained for someone of her perceived societal status.

“Where is the evidence of such power,” you might ask. It is in response to this question that I will devote the rest of my expression. First and foremost, Neaera is present at her prosecution. Yes, it’s true that she was not allowed to speak on her own behalf and as indicated by the translator’s notes, “the real reason for the action against Neaera was not of concern for morality or the purity of the race, nor for the privilege of Athenian citizenship, nor even Apollodorus’s personal desire for retaliation against Stephanus, but the determination to eliminate a political opponent.” (pg. 226)

Based on this framework, she and her children are being used as a pawns in a game for governmental control which doesn’t seem to indicate much authority over her own existence and I’m tempted to say, “yeah, but hey, at least she got out of the house.” Of course, I know that such sentiments don’t hold much water, but there is another way to interpret her presence at this trial. Neaera acted in such a manner as to get noticed. As opposed to being in a place of invisibility (dare I say being hidden within a household structure), Neaera, through her “outlandish” living, raised a ruckus. Clearly, she made choices for her survival and the welfare of her children that put them at risk and challenged cultural codes of conduct. If she was thought of as a pawn, she was, on some level, dangerous enough to command a trial of this length and breadth and even if the underlying motivations on the part of Apollodorus were political in nature, his rhetoric regarding her unlawful and immoral behavior was far from empty.

I, for one, find it fascinating that he spent so much attention detailing Neaera’s habit of alcohol consumption, especially with an emphasis on her presence at festivals and events where her attendance was suspect. “At the Great Panathenaic Festival...Neaera drank and dined with them in the presence of a large company, as a courtesan would do.” (pg. 198) Clearly, part of his purpose here is to paint her in the framework of a prostitute and discredit her in the eyes of the jury, but part of this process of moral outrage from Apollodorus stems from the perception that she is outside the home where she doesn’t belong. Yes, it is generally accepted that prostitutes are welcomed in these places, as long as they don’t get too uppity and proclaim themselves on the same level as citizen-born Athenian women. Neaera did just that and subsequently gives me reason to feel pride.

Think about it for a moment, here is a woman who is born into sexual slavery. Apollodorus recounts, “Nicarete (Neaera first purchaser) was a clever judge of beauty in little girls, and moreover she understood the art of rearing and training them skillfully, having made this her profession from which she drew her livelihood. She used to address them as daughters, so that she might exact the largest fee from those who wished to have dealings with them, on the ground that they were free born girls.” (pg. 197) Neaera eventually gets sold from house to house and man to man, ad infinitum. She has never lived a life outside of this dynamic which has entailed a trail of horrendous events including an occasion, “(while) celebrating victory down at Colias...many men made love to Neaera when she was drunk,” (pg. 200) as well as the continual abuse that she suffered at the hands of her many, many “owners.” Yet, within these circumstances, she makes powerful and atypical choices, particularly in relationship to her freedom of movement: “finding herself being treated with the most outrageous brutality by Phrynion, instead of being loved as she had expected...she packed up the goods in his house, including all the clothes and jewelry which he had provided for her personal adornment and taking with her two servants, Thratta and Coccalina, ran away to Megara.” (pg. 201)

Ultimately, Neaera has no reason whatsoever to believe that her life or her person is worthwhile, yet after returning from Megara she sets up what amounts to an economically beneficial relationship with Stephanus (“when she had been bailed out by Stephanus and was living with him, she carried on the same profession no less than before, but she extracted a larger fee”--pg. 202). Then, she has the audacity to declare for the benefit of herself and her children (as well as the profit inside of her dealings with Stephanus and his capacity as a blackmailer), the status of an Athenian wife and citizen.

Most assuredly, Neaera is a boat rocker. Additionally, she is a woman who, at her core, meets life equally and on her own terms, especially in the midst of considerable personal upheaval and attempted societal subjugation. Not only does she exercise a high degree of control over where she goes and how she moves within her seemingly limited social role, she consistently makes herself visible and fundamentally strong by making powerful choices regardless of what other people may think of her. Amazingly, she truly embodies the courage connected with our theme and touchstone: I am Woman, Hear Me Roar!