ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Greek law did not follow the French path and those women's rights in marriage and with respect to property remained more or less intact at least until the second half of the nineteenth century. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Kalliroi Parren founded the Journal of the Ladies partly in order to advocate the rights of Greek women with respect to education, marriage, property and work. The Ottoman legal system was decentralized and tolerated local as well as religious variation. Women in such circumstances did not hesitate to go to the communal courts, appearing in person in front of the notables and stating their cases, demonstrating a familiarity with the laws and customs that governed property rights in their regions. At the emergence of the Modern Greek state, Greek women enjoyed one of the most advantageous legal positions in Europe.
