At the heart of the greatest creations of ancient Greek literature are potential acts of revenge. Avengers overcome their enemies by their physical superiority, as when Achilles kills Hector in single combat to avenge the death of his faithful companion Patroclus. Sometimes they defeat their enemies through deception and deceit, as when Medea kills her children to avenge her unfaithful husband Jason.
But how would a man who lacks natural strength, magical abilities, or powerful friends get his revenge? Women from the lower social classes with no strong contacts were among the weak in ancient Greece, and yet they possessed a powerful weapon to ensure the fall of a hated enemy: gossip.
Gossip, or the spreading of rumors, is personified by ancient poets. In the Homeric epics, Fimi(Fame) was a messenger of Zeus, passing through the multitudes of soldiers and spreading with speed from mouth to mouth. Hesiod also ascribes to her a divine nature, but says to beware of it, for it is "insolent, frivolous, and easily spread, but it is hard for anyone to bear her and get rid of her".
Fiona McHardy, Professor of Classical Studies at Roehampton University in London, points out in her article that the ancients of every rank, men, and women, free and enslaved, were considered subject to the glamor of gossip.
Aristotle said that gossip was often a pleasant way to pass the time, but stressed that it could hide bad intentions and consequences of doing someone wrong. Moreover, it played a dominant role in the trials of ancient Athens, as they were based mainly on the evaluation of the character of the people, rather than on solid facts, as is the case today. The absence of professional judges allowed speakers to tarnish the reputation of their opponents and present themselves as outstanding citizens.
We learn from ancient orators that public places such as markets were suitable places for the spread of false rumors because of the crowds that gathered there. In an instance reported by Demosthenes, Diodorus claims that his enemies spread false information by sending people to markets essentially as false witnesses in order to "turn" public opinion in their favor.
According to the author of "Revenge in the Culture of Ancient Athens", the courts were exclusively a place for men, so women relied on relatives to represent them. However, the sources make it clear that women's ability to gossip was a powerful weapon to target their opponents.
A typical example of female gossip appears in the courtroom speech of Lysias on the "murder of Eratosthenes". In this speech by the famous orator, the defendant Eufiletis claims that he lawfully killed Eratosthenes because he caught him having sexual intercourse with his wife. Eufiletis tells a story about an old woman who approached him near his house and informed him of the relationship between the two. This case partly underlines the naivety of the accused and partly the repulsive behavior of Eratosthenes. According to Eufiletis, the old woman did not approach him on her own initiative but was sent by Eratosthenes' deceived partner. Lysias claims that she wanted to urge her husband to take action against Eratosthenes, either legally or through his power. And that was the power of women, who had no other means of intervening in public.
In ancient Athens, after all, the source of fame does not seem to have mattered much.
