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The Honor paid Womanhood in Athens.-Obviously from a young womanwith a limited intellectual horizon the Athenian gentleman can expect no mentalcompanionship; but it is impossible that he can live in the world as a keenlyintelligent being, and not come to realize the enormous value of the "woman spirit" as it affects all things good. Hera, Artemis, Aphrodite, above all Pallas-Athena,-city-warder of Athens,-who are they all but idealizations of that peculiar geniuswhich wife, mother, and daughter show forth every day in their homes? AnAthenian never allows his wife to visit the Agora. She cannot indeed go outside thehouse without his express permission, and only then attended by one or twoserving maids; public opinion will likewise frown upon the man who allowed his wifeto appear in public too freely7; nevertheless there are compensations. Within herhome the Athenian woman is within her kingdom. Her husband will respect her,because he will respect himself. Brutal and harsh he may possibly be, but that isbecause he is also brutal and harsh in his outside dealings. In extreme cases anoutraged wife can sue for divorce before the archon. And very probably in ninetyninecases out of a hundred the Athenian woman is contented with her lot: partlybecause she knows of nothing better; partly because she has nothing concretewhereof to complain.Doubtless it is because an Athenian house is a "little oasis of domesticity,"tenderly guarded from all insult,-a miniature world whose joys and sorrows are notto be shared by the outer universe,-that the Athenian treats the private affairs ofhis family as something seldom to be shared, even with an intimate friend. Ofindividual women we hear and see little in Athens, but of NOBLE WOMANHOOD agreat deal. By a hundred tokens, delightful vase paintings, noble monuments,poetic myths, tribute is paid to the self-mastery, the self-forgetfulness, the courage,the gentleness "of the wives and mothers who have made Athens the beacon ofHellas"; and the