In the Greek popular imagination, vengeance was enacted by mighty heroes such as Achilles killing his enemy Hector in revenge for the death of Patroclus (Il. 22.271–2; Aeschines 1.145), by enraged husbands such as Odysseus slaughtering the suitors trying to seduce his wife (Od. 22.61–4), or by noble sons such as Orestes avenging the murder of his father (Od. 1.296–302; 3.193–200). Classical Athenians depicted themselves emulating these heroes in attempting revenge through the law courts (e.g. Antiphon 1). These examples demonstrate that a variety of methods were thought to be available to men to achieve vengeance, including the use of superior physical force, of disguises and trickery, and of the institutions of the state. Women, though, were more limited in their options. While literary evidence suggests that women, such as Hecuba (Il. 24.194–216), were closely associated with bloodthirstiness and a desire for revenge, they were generally deemed too weak to kill a grown man on their own using physical force. Even those women who reached the highest positions in the social hierarchy in places other than Athens are generally represented as too weak to act against men without the aid of other men: their power is restricted to the power of speech by which they can incite, persuade or deceive. Women who wish to achieve revenge are usually shown soliciting help from others, especially male kin, to achieve their ends. Alternatively, women were thought capable of prevailing if they employed deception, used poison or set a trap. Women are also depicted using curses in an attempt to achieve revenge. In Athens, women's powers to achieve legal revenge were very limited as they could not take cases to court themselves, but had to persuade men to act for them.

In this chapter, I explore the potential for women to achieve revenge through the use of another speech mode: gossip. In the first part of the chapter, I examine how gossip is depicted in Greek literature, with a particular focus on Attic oratory. Members of society, regardless of gender or status are able to hear and pass on gossip, and despite its lack of reliability, its strength is such that unsubstantiated rumours are sufficient to discredit or destroy the person involved.