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Women's role

In Ancient Greece, the only public roles that Greek women could perform were priestesses. As a priestess, they gained social recognition and access to more luxuries than other Greek women that worked or typically stayed in the home. Women who voluntarily chose to become priestesses received an increase in social and legal status to the public, and after death, they received a public burial site. Greek woman priests; Hiereiai means sacred women or in general terms, Amphipolis; meaning attendant had to be healthy and of a sound mind. The reasoning being that the ones serving the gods had to have as high of quality as their offerings, this was the same for Greek male priests.

Depicts a ritual cult scene of a goddess holding a flower sitting on a throne and a priestess standing between two tables of offerings

It is contested whether there were gendered divisions when it came to serving a particular god or goddess, who was devoted to what god, gods and/or goddesses could have both priests and priestesses to serve them. Gender specifics did come into play when it came to who would perform certain acts of sacrifice or worship were determined by the significance of the male or female role to that particular god or goddess, a priest would lead the priestess or the reverse. In some Greek cults Priestesses served both gods and goddesses, such examples as the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi and Didyma were priestesses, but both were overseen by male priests. The festival of Dionosyus was practiced by both and the god was served by women and female priestesses, they were known as the Gerarai or the venerable ones. Any woman that served under Apollo at Delphi was known as the Prophets or the Pythia, and as with other cults the women priests were chosen and accepted because of their femininity. The Oracle of Delphi had to be young, inexperienced and have the female excitement, these girls often came from poor farming families.

There were segregated religious festivals in Ancient Greece;Thesmophoria, Plerosia, Kalamaia, and Skira, which were women only. The festival Thesmophoria and many others were to represent agricultural fertility that was considered to be closely connected to women by the ancient Greeks. It gave women a religious identity and purpose in Greek religion, in which the role of women in worshipping goddesses Demeter and her daughter Persephone reinforces traditional lifestyles. The festivals relating to agricultural fertility were valued by the Polis because this is what they traditionally worked for, women-centered festivals that involved private matters were less important. In Athens the festivals honoring Demeter were included in the calendar and promoted by Athens, they constructed temples and shrines like the Thesmophorion were women could perform their rites and worship.