Portal:Greece/Selected article/2

Epikleros (ἐπίκληρος) (plural epikleroi) was the name given to an heiress in ancient Athens, and in other ancient Greek city states. It denoted a daughter of a man who had no male heirs. In Sparta they were called patroiouchoi (πατρούχοι), as they were in Gortyn. Athenian women were not allowed to hold property in their own name, so laws to regulate the marriages of epikleroi had to be introduced. Athenian epikleroi were required to marry the nearest male relative of their father, in order to keep their father's property in the family. Even if a woman was already married, evidence suggests that she would have been required to divorce her spouse to marry that relative. Spartan women were allowed to hold property in their own right, and so Spartan heiresses were subject to less restrictive rules. Evidence from other city-states is more fragmentary, only allowing a few observations to be made for Gortyn and Rhegium. Read more...