From parthenos to Gyne: The role of Greek woman between puberty and marriage

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to recreate the way in which Greek sources perceived and reported the delicate physiological, psychological and social transition from parthenos (young girl) to gyne (grown woman). This moment was meant to be a fluid and rapid transition to the state of married woman, in order to avoid a fall into states of deviance and also to avoid real pathologies. The evidence analysed is mainly of a medical biological nature and dates back to V-IV B.C. in Athens, but literary sources and echoes of mythical fantasies are also considered..