Spaces of life - Greek Colonies

According to ancient sources there were no women-at least no respectable women- in the public space of the Greek city. Therefore, in the agora, the stage par excellence of male political, economic and military activities, there should be no women. However, that image was more a reflection of the social ideal of the seclusion of women, characteristic of the upper classes, than a daily reality. Women and their activities were present in the agora and on the streets of Greek cities. Women went to the fountain (or the well) for water that collected on specific vessels for this function, the hydrias, which in some cases were decorated with scenes of women who went to the fountain to get water.

The agora was the center of commercial activities of the city, commercial permanent or temporary structures that stood on market days. Normally, products sold were concentrated in specific areas: in Athens, the fish was sold near the Stoa Poecile and perfume in the southeast of the Agora. Also existed in that city an "agora of women" where they sold items related to domestic activities and items of interest to women. In a city like Empuries there was probably a larger presence of women in the agora who would be to the sellers of various kinds or products: vegetables, fruits, bread, salt, flour, sesame, incense, perfume, garlands, terracotta figurines and textiles. They could belong to either to a citizen or to foreign underclass family that needed the collaboration of all members of the group to ensure survival.