ABSTRACT
A belief in male superiority was a longstanding feature of Athenian culture. This chapter examines the construction of Athenian masculinity in the sixth century BCE through the celebration of a ‘hegemonic’ masculinity and the exclusion of women from characteristic aspects of Athenian culture. The starting point is with engendered mortuary archaeology, looking at how the iconography and inscriptions of Attic grave monuments of the sixth century – kouroi and korai, relief stele, and ceramic grave markers – show the ideals associated with male and female Athenians, particularly male action and female passivity. With these ideals in mind, the lived experience of boys and men is approached and the ways in which experiences central to Athenian cultural life – athletics, pederasty, and the symposium – worked to prioritize men and to exclude women. Finally, the ways in which this ‘male superiority’ shaped Athens as it transitioned to democracy are approached, focusing on two symbols of democracy – the tyrannicides and herms – and an emphasis on aggressive male nudity. In conclusion it is argued that as Athenian men became more equal they placed more emphasis on aspects of their culture that were coded masculine, and thus the exclusion of women became an integral feature of Athenian life.
