In spite of the bad conditions of women in the Ancient Greek society, there were some brilliant women who had a role in the quest for wisdom since the beginnings of philosophy. The Phythagorean women were among these who had the chance to shine, as Phythagorean women had the chance to learn reading and writing; they also had the chance to think and debate and were equal to men. Therefore, Phythagorean women were cultured, and they had their prominent literary and intellectual interests. While male Phythagorean philosophers put their efforts into understanding the big world in a mathematical manner which would weave it using the fabric of numbers and music, the female Phythagorean philosophers restricted themselves to the understanding of the smaller world, that is, the comprehensive meaning of philosophy which includes family and state at the same time. They discussed how a woman could use the principle of “harmony” in bringing up children so that these children could be good, fair, and harmonious adults.
In the beginning, the Phythagorean women emphasized that parents should be mature and that they should lead a righteous life before they beget children, and that the future parents should strive to be prudent in order to make their future children happy. Two female Phythagorean philosophers who were particularly interested in the harmonious bringing up of children were Myia, Phythagoras’s daughter, as shown in her letter to Phyllis, and Theano II as shown in her letter to Euboule . These two Phythagorean philosophers and Aesara of lucania agreed that it was necessary to bring up children in a disciplined manner to curb their recklessness. They exchanged letters in which they gave each other valuable advice concerning the methods of bringing up children and to make them well-prepared psychologically and behaviorally in order to be well-balanced individuals that can contribute to the progress of their society.
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