A highly educated woman from Miletus known for her persuasive powers, who probably came to Athens early in the 440s; the wife of Pericles, with whom she had a son also named Pericles. After Pericles' death in 429 she consorted with the livestock trader Lysicles (Plut. Pericles 24,2-6; Schol. Pl. Menex. 235e, Harpocr. s.v. Aspasia; Suda. s.v. A.). The date of her death (in Athens?) is unknown, biographical data is sparse.
Her contact to the intellectual greats of the age (Plut. Pericles 24,2; 5-7; Suda s.v. A.; Harpocr. s.v. A.) was filled in by th…