Greek Women Vs Athenian Women Essay

Through our classes discussion and presentations of our interactive orals, we discussed the cultural context of Sophocles’ play “Antigone.” In our discussion my cultural understanding was developed about the role of women in Ancient Greece and how Antigone challenges those roles, and the importance the importance of proper burial . We also discussed the life of the playwright Sophocles.

The Roles of Spartan Women differed in many ways from those of Athens. From a young age, Spartan Women have raised different than their Athenian counterparts. As children, Spartan women were taught from the age of 7 that education would be key for them in life. They were taught how to read and write in case something happens to their loved ones in the future and were forced to take care of themselves and their family in the future. Unlike Athenian women who were taught simple housewives roles such as, taking care of the children, cooking and raised to be housewives who were very dependent on the men in the house. Spartan women were raised and lived in an environment where Men were treated equally on the battlefield. Women worked hard alongside the men to prove they were just as hardworking and dedicated to Spartan society. Spartan Women would disown their children if they were cowards in battle, Plutarch was quoted talking about Damatria, a Spartan mother who had found out about her son’s cowardly actions and decided to deal with that herself “Damatria heard that her son had been a coward and unworthy of her, and when he arrived, she made away with him” (Plut. Lacae. 5.1). Plutarch Speaks about this moment in his literary work of “On Sparta” which discusses the life and customs of Spartans. Athenian women would never have the chance to confront their children over there acts on the battlefield as women were seen as objects and were either wives or sex slaves. As for Marriage

However, in terms of the rule of women in each city, women in Sparta are given huge obligation

Aristotle once said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Athens was established in 3000 BC, while Sparta was respectively established in 431 BC. Athens was also referred to as the “birthplace of democracy,” a government system still in use today! Athens was a superior city state over Sparta. This is because of Athenian cultural achievements, government and social climate.

I would like to educate the masses on a matter of frequent debate. This is none other then Athens vs Sparta, and I can say the thorough research and facts have lead me to concluded that Sparta is a much better city-state then Athens. Sparta is better then Athens because of its respect of women, more equal school system, integrity of government, treatment of slaves, and superior military. First of all, women were given far more rights than in Athens. First of all, Women in Sparta could own there own land, participate in politics and the olympics among other things. Where as in Athens women weren't even allowed to leave there houses in there own accord. Furthermore on average women were married of at the age 12 or

In Ancient Athens a woman was the queen of the domestic realm at not much else, while in Sparta she controlled her relationships as her husband was never there and went about her affairs as she pleased. If her husband was absent for too long she could find a new one, rather than having a new marriage arranged for her by a relative. As where if this were to occur in Athens she would have to move back in with her father. Athenian women and Spartan women lived extremely different lives except when it came to religion. Religion was their only common ground, their lives were completely different and their roles in society were also different. Women in Sparta had a much greater control of their destiny than did their sisters in Athens, while they were treated equally with each other and men in religious rituals that is where the equality

The Spartans were basically the soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-state, Sparta. The Spartans devoted all their time to the military, partaking in military training, hunting and war battles. They lived a frugal lifestyle and without any luxuries. They were taught to be brave and courageous at a very young age, soon evolving into soldiers for the military.

The women of Sparta got greater independence than the Athenians because the Spartans believed that in spite of the person’s gender all Spartans had a responsibility to serve the warlike end of Sparta. Furthermore, Spartan women were taught to read, write and protect themselves, they were taught these things just so that they could be independent and so that they would not have to depend on men to do their work for them while they were at war, another reason was so that women could produce strong babies if they were strong. The women got their freedom in exchange of being warriors and guarding their properties. Spartan women were known for starting conflicts.

Women’s roles has changed dramatically throughout history. By looking at the lives of women, it would be possible to tell how the civilians at that specific period of time were living. In this paper, women’s lives in mainly three civilizations would be discussed, the Sparta, the Athens, and the Hellenistic era.

In ancient times, there is a general sense that women were simply items and slaves to their husbands. Ancient Greece specifically has a renowned reputation of favoring men. Men possessed the dominant role in public affairs and events while most women were pressured to stay at home. Very few records extensively discuss women; the records focus mostly on men. Despite the lacking records, it is certain how ancient Greeks viewed their women and their relationships with their male counterparts. Sadly, most of how women lived away from their husbands’ world and how they interacted with other female companionship remains a mystery.

In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the female characters' desire to question the law of Athens and select their own husbands drives most of the conflict in the play. In a way, Hermia, Helena, and Titania are the protagonists of the play because each of their desires are being thwarted by the patriarchal structure of the society in which they live. The way the women try to overcome such hurdles does not sit well with the men. Accordingly, the men get on edge when their patriarchy is disrupted, so they make strict laws to try and keep the women under their control. The men of Athens feel threatened when women show agency because their whole patriarchal system depends on female complacency. Although Athenian society

Over generations, the role of women in society has shifted and changed immensely, improving upon many aspects of rights and values that women have. The changes occurred gave women opportunities to provide ideas, to have the same rights as men, giving women freedom, leading to many contributions of many significant and valuable events. But from current roles of women being equal to those of men, how women stood in ancient society significantly differs and contrast with ours today. Throughout history, the role and significance of women were always outweighed by the dominance and influence of men. The role of women in ancient times varied throughout, depending on the place and area in the world, in which women had different roles and impacts on their own society. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Ancient China all displayed diverse roles of women in their society but among these civilizations, I believe living in Ancient Egypt is the most suitable civilization living as a woman.

In the Ancient world, much like today, each society exercised, according to their custom, different treatment towards women. Today, unlike in the Ancient world, women enjoy more freedom, rights, and equality. In this essay, the status of women in ancient Egypt will be compared to the status of women in ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one investigates ancient lives and cultures. The legal status of women in society, the different roles that each unique nation’s women played, and the possible education permitted and occupations available to these women will be discussed, as well as, their domestic atmospheres will be critically compared in this short essay to demonstrate the different treatment (if there were a difference) of women in both these imposing periods of ancient history.

In the ancient world each society exercised different treatment towards women, today, unlike during the ancient world, women enjoy more freedom, rights, and equality.