Motherhood and Citizenship in the Classical Polis

The issue of female citizenship in the Greek world has traditionally been resolved either through a denial of women’s status as politis or by attributing their sharing in the polis exclusively in connection with cultic practices and priestly roles. Can other perspectives be introduced in this regard? Evidence associating women with property in various contexts of the Greek world challenges the presumed exclusion of women from citizenship. The figure of the woman–mother–citizen should not be understood as merely a conduit for the transmission of rights to her children, nor does it designate female citizens solely as mothers of citizens: maternal status leads to a wider recognition of rights, and prerogatives that women not only transmitted but also possessed.