Aspasia of Miletus

Influential philosopher and political advisor in Classical Athens who shaped Periclean democracy

Aspasia of Miletus (470–400 BCE) revolutionized Athenian intellectual life as a foreign woman in male-dominated 5th-century Greece. Partner to statesman Pericles, she hosted a legendary salon attended by Socrates, Sophocles, and other luminaries. Ancient sources like Plato's Menexenus suggest she authored Pericles' famous Funeral Oration and taught rhetoric to Socrates.

Breaking gender norms, Aspasia engaged publicly in philosophy and politics despite her metic (foreign resident) status. She advocated for women's education and influenced Athenian foreign policy during the Samian War. Plutarch noted that Pericles 'kissed Aspasia every day' both personally and politically, relying on her counsel in statecraft.

Her most revolutionary contribution was challenging Athenian gender roles through intellectual leadership. She taught dialectics and ethics to both men and women, including Socrates according to Xenophon's Memorabilia. Though mocked in Aristophanes' comedies as a 'hetaera', modern scholars recognize her as a pioneering female philosopher whose ideas informed Socratic method development.

Aspasia's legacy persists through her impact on Platonic philosophy and demonstration that women could shape Western intellectual traditions. Feminist historians celebrate her as the 'Mother of Rhetoric' who navigated Athenian society's constraints to influence democracy's golden age.