An Athenian could have three women, Demosthenes tells us: a spouse (the Greek word was damar or gyne), for the procreation of legitimate offspring; a concubine (pallakis) for his 'body care' (that is, frequent meetings for sex); and finally a hetaira who was for pure delight, recreational.
Obviously a woman's place in Athenian society was clearly defined. To make a generalization, her role was confined to satisfying particular needs of everyday life. The only time an Athenian woman's existence came into touch with economic matters was if she was epiproikos ('a woman who inherits a charge on property as her dowry') or epikleros (a female heir).

The only privilege a woman had a right to was her dowry. In this case she was known as epiproikos. The dowry was a sum total of money or objects of value, and it was transferred from the bride's family to the house of the bridegroom. If in kind, it had to be valued, so that the bride's family could get it back should the marriage be dissolved.

The woman did not of herself have the right to inherit her father's estate (his kleros). If, therefore, she had no brothers or sisters, she acted as the means of transferring the estate to the male relatives of the family. In such a case, she was known as epikleros. The female heir had to be given in wedlock to her nearest male relative, so that the estate could stay in the family.
In Athenian law, the legal act that wound up inheritance disputes was called diadikasia ('the ongoing procedure'). The decision that settled differences between the various suitors of a wealthy epikleros was termed epidikasia ('the final procedure').

As for prostitutes, the city controlled their prices and taxed their gains. The hierodoulai - the temple prostitutes dedicated to a particular deity or and 'available' to temple visitors - presented their emoluments to their temple. There is no information on the hetairai except that they were paid for the recreation they provided.

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