Athens, 4th cent. B.C. (Alexis, fr. 36 PCG. G)
Poor men! We sold away our freedom of speech and our comfort and lead the life of slaves with our wives. We’re not free. We can’t say we don’t pay a price for their dowries: bitterness and women’s anger. compared to that, a man’s is honey, for men forgive when someone does them wrong, but women do you wrong and keep on recriminating. They control what doesn’t belong to them and neglect what they should control. They break their promises. When there’s nothing wrong, they say they’re sick every time. [1]
Notes:
1. On conventional attitudes towards women in the fourth century, see Dover 1974, 95-102.