Aspasia Manos

Aspasia Manos (Greek: Ασπασία Μάνου) (4 September 1896 – 7 August 1972), was a Greek commoner who became the wife of Alexander, King of the Hellenes. Due to the controversy over her marriage, she was styled Madame Manos rather than Queen Aspasia, until recognized as Princess Alexander of Greece and Denmark after Alexander's death and the restoration of King Constantine I.

Biography

Aspasia was born in Athens, the daughter of Colonel Petros Manos (1871–1918) and his first wife, Maria Argyropoulos (1874–1930). The Manos family descended, in part, from Phanariote Greeks living in Constantinople. Some of her ancestors had been leaders during the Greek War of Independence, some had been Hellenic leaders in Constantinople for centuries under the Ottoman Empire, and some had even been reigning princes of Danubian provinces. She belonged to one of Greece's most aristocratic families, and was considered a suitable consort for a Greek king by some, but not by those who expected royalty to marry only royalty.

Aspasia

Aspasia (/æˈspeɪʒiə, æˈspeɪziə, æˈspeɪʒə, æˈspeɪʃə/;Greek: Ἀσπασία; c. 470 BC– c. 400 BC) was an influential immigrant to Classical-era Athens who was the lover and partner of the statesman Pericles. The couple had a son, Pericles the Younger, but the full details of the couple's marital status are unknown. According to Plutarch, her house became an intellectual centre in Athens, attracting the most prominent writers and thinkers, including the philosopher Socrates. It has also been suggested that the teachings of Aspasia influenced Socrates. Aspasia was mentioned in the writing of philosophers Plato, Aristophanes, Xenophon, and other authors of the day. Though she spent most of her adult life in Greece, few details of her life are fully known. Some scholars suggest that Aspasia was a brothel keeper and a prostitute. Aspasia's role in history provides crucial insight to the understanding of the women of ancient Greece. Very little is known about women from her time period. One scholar stated that, "To ask questions about Aspasia's life is to ask questions about half of humanity."

Aspásia

Aspásia is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 1,848 (2015 est.) in an area of 69.3 km². The elevation is 595 m.

References

Aspasia (journal)

Aspasia: The International Yearbook of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European Women's and Gender History is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on women's and gender history in central, eastern, and southeastern Europe.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is indexed and abstracted in:

External links