Aspasia

Aspasia (c. 469 BC- c. 406 BC) was the wife of Pericles.

Although she lived in Athens, she was not from there, having been born in Miletus. Being a foreigner, she could not legally marry an Athenian. This was according to a law established by Pericles before he met her. However, Pericles thought so much of her beauty and talents that he took her as his wife and she lived with him until his death.

It is said that she had great skill both in writing and in the art of speaking, and she was visited by many of the most learned and famous people of Athens, including Socrates.

External link

• A page studying Aspasia (http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/characters/aspasia_p1)