See now, the suitors inform thee that thou in thy heart mayest know it And that all the Achæans may of the fact be informed. Send thy mother hence, and command her to take as her husband Whom she chooses to take, and whom her father selects.[12] At this period woman’s freedom has come to an end. When she leaves the house she must veil her face--not to waken the desires of some other man. In the Oriental countries where sexual passions are stronger, as a result of the hot climate, this method of isolation is still carried to the extreme. Among the ancients, Athens served as a pattern of the new order. The woman shares the man’s bed, but not his table. She does not address him by his name, but calls him master; she is his servant. She was not allowed to appear in public anywhere, and when walking upon the streets was always veiled and plainly dressed. When she committed adultery she was, according to Solon’s law, condemned to pay for her sin either with her life, or with her liberty. Her husband was entitled to sell her as a slave. The position of Greek women of those days is powerfully expressed in Medea’s lamentation: “Of all creatures that have soul and life _We women are indeed the very poorest_. By our dowery we’re obliged to purchase A husband--and what then is far worse still, _Henceforward our body is his own_. Great is the danger; will his nature be Evil or good? Divorce is to the woman A deep disgrace. _Yet she may not say nay_ Unto the man who was betrothed to her. And when she comes to lands with unknown customs, She has to learn--for no one teaches her-- To understand the nature of her husband. And when we have succeeded in all this, And our loved one gladly with us dwells, Then our lot is fair. But otherwise I’d rather far be dead.--Not so the man. If in his home he is not satisfied, He finds _outside the home_ what pleases him, With friends and with companions of his age; But we must always seek to please but _one_. They say that we in peace and safety dwell, While they must go forth to the battlefield. Mistaken thought! _I rather thrice would fight, Than only once give birth unto a child!_”