This article examines the representation of female economic expertise in Classi- cal Athens through a reading of Lysias’ Against Diogeiton (oration 32). Starting from the contrast between the legal marginalization of women in the Athenian public sphere and a number of sources attesting to their concrete involvement in the management of family property, the essay focuses on the figure of Diogei- ton’s daughter, the mother of the orphans at the center of the case. Through a reconstruction of the scene of family mediation narrated in the speech, in which the Kinsman lends his voice to the woman by reporting her words in direct discourse, she emerges as a female figure capable of intervening compe- tently in financial matters, making use of accounts, inventories, and records of family assets. The analysis places this case in dialogue with other female figures attested in Attic oratory, such as Archippe in the speeches of Demosthenes, as well as with the ideological model presented in Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, highlighting the gap between normative ideals and social practices. Particular attention is devoted to the rhetorical construction of Didi’s ethos and to the plausibility that such a representation could have held for a jury of Athenian citizens. The article argues that the persuasive effectiveness of the speech itself presupposes the social recognizability of an active female role in the manage- ment of the oikos and its economic resources.
'Io che sono al corrente di tutto': voci di donne e finanze nell'Atene del 400 a.C.
Elisabetta BERARDI
2026-01-01
Abstract
This article examines the representation of female economic expertise in Classi- cal Athens through a reading of Lysias’ Against Diogeiton (oration 32). Starting from the contrast between the legal marginalization of women in the Athenian public sphere and a number of sources attesting to their concrete involvement in the management of family property, the essay focuses on the figure of Diogei- ton’s daughter, the mother of the orphans at the center of the case. Through a reconstruction of the scene of family mediation narrated in the speech, in which the Kinsman lends his voice to the woman by reporting her words in direct discourse, she emerges as a female figure capable of intervening compe- tently in financial matters, making use of accounts, inventories, and records of family assets. The analysis places this case in dialogue with other female figures attested in Attic oratory, such as Archippe in the speeches of Demosthenes, as well as with the ideological model presented in Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, highlighting the gap between normative ideals and social practices. Particular attention is devoted to the rhetorical construction of Didi’s ethos and to the plausibility that such a representation could have held for a jury of Athenian citizens. The article argues that the persuasive effectiveness of the speech itself presupposes the social recognizability of an active female role in the manage- ment of the oikos and its economic resources.
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