9 – In Ancient Greece, Newborn Girls Were Left to Die
I already wrote about women being forced to give up deformed children but in Ancient Rome and Greece, it was even worse for some families. In Athens for example, it was normal for a couple to take a newborn girl and leave it to die in the wilderness; this despicable act was known as ‘exposing’ the baby. According to one Greek writer “Everybody raises a son even if he is poor but exposes a daughter even if he is rich.” The decision of whether to raise or kill the girl fell to the father. The rate of female infanticide increased in the Hellenic period where it was rare for a family to raise two daughters.
The reason why the child was exposed was to try and ease the guilty conscience of the parents. After all, if they left the baby outside alone, they wouldn’t have to kill it directly and there was always a small chance that someone would come, save the baby and raise it as their own child. Another reason for exposing baby girls was that in Ancient Greece, and many other cultures, it was standard to give women dowries when they got married and they were less likely to bring wealth and status to a family than a boy.
Archaeologists made a harrowing discovery in the Athenian Agora in the 1930s. As well as finding temples and statues close to the marketplace in the city’s ancient center, they found a well cut into the bedrock. They didn’t think much of this seemingly innocuous discovery until they looked inside and found the skeletons of hundreds of babies and dogs. A research team determined that there were 450 dead babies in the well along with over 150 puppies and dogs, and one adult with a physical deformity. The bodies were dated sometime between 165 and 150 BC.
The archaeologists believe that while a significant number of babies were dropped into the well, some died from diseases and were cast aside like garbage. Further research also showed signs of abuse on some of the unfortunate children. One 18-month old baby had several fractures, most notably one in the skull. It is arguably the oldest discovery of a physically abused child that has ever been found.