Roles Of Women In Ancient Empires Essay

Female Instability in The Aeneid Jasmine Ye In traditional Roman values, women were often submissive to the power of men and were not allowed to participate in activities that allowed them control, rather this ability constituted in men alone. In this, women were not allowed to engage in political issues as gender roles permitted them to do so. Throughout Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid, females show to be a hinder to politics as their main representative, Dido, a widow who becomes the sovereign queen of a flourishing city fails with her capability to rule. As the protagonist, Aeneas encounters Carthage on this journey to Rome, he becomes entranced by the efficient system in which Dido has built for her people. When becoming influenced

Throughout history, women have had to fight against stigma and stereotypes in society. In every era, from the ancient world to present day, females have been persecuted and taken advantage of due to their gender. In our previous set of readings, the female protagonists were strong characters who defied weak stereotypes, but were still viewed as lesser beings than men. In our second group of readings, where were written more recently, women saw a slight increase in their sovereignty. All depict women as powerful figures who use their wits to make a better life for themselves.

Roles Played By Women In Classical Civilizations Women weren’t always seen as equal to men, throughout history women have been mistreated and thought to be less than men. In the classical times,the Rome Empire and the Han dynasty had many similarities and a couple differences in the way they treated their women. During the Classic period from 300 BCE-600 CE, women in Rome and the Han Dynasty were treated and seen as less than men, in China were to submit to their husbands while in Rome women were to be married as soon as they hit puberty and had many disadvantages in divorce,in both civilizations the main role of women was to of taking care of children and the home. In ancient Rome women weren’t given much rights and treated like second class citizens. Women belonged to their fathers or husbands, they weren’t allowed to be independent.

Nevertheless, the Knight, the Queen, The King, and the old woman all wanted to receive the same thing, which in the tale not everyone receives the amount of power they want. The Knight was able to become powerful only to lose his power to the Queen. The King is powerless towards the Queen and the Knight, which means he cannot make decisions. Subsequently the Knight was punished, the old woman and the Knight eventually had equal power. Chaucer comments imply that men should be on equal ground with women by respecting and honoring them.

Unimportant or Powerful In a book about the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft stated, “I do not wish [women] to have power over men; but over themselves” (GoodReads). Women may often get overlooked or be seen irrelevant, but in reality, women do have power. They may not have the power over men, or over other people, but in The Epic of Gilgamesh, the readers see examples of how women obtain their own power. Gilgamesh, the main character of the epic, is two-thirds divine. He gets that divinity and knowledge from his mother Ninsun, not a father.

In Rome gender equality was not present and must have been achieved, because for example girls could not rule kingdoms or have kids since they were girl priests. In Rome gender equality , was one of the most important equalities that were not achieved. Girls , were also instructed by men and were property of men , as if they were objects. Meanwhile in Carthage there was gender equalities , because for example Dido was a girl and she still was the ruler of her kingdom, also she achieved a wealthy and correct society. In Carthage we can evidence that women had most of the same opportunities as men.

During Gilgamesh first journey of becoming whole which will also help restore balance to himself and his land. A hero who has already withhold a legacy such as Gilgamesh comes with its pros and cons of different women. By reading Gilgamesh, women are considered beneath men in society. Women have little or no rights to uphold besides men. Other than women who are goddesses have the advantage compared to others who are often disrespected because of their status.

The value of a woman’s role in society was often measured by the purity of marriage in which one partook. “The myths locate fears about women’s roles in exchange within the context of marriage, or rather its failure, showing how deeply intertwined with anxiety about women’s fidelity.” (Lyons 109) In Greek Mythology, rules don’t always apply to the Gods and Goddesses and can avoid or intervene in the affairs of mortals. One mortal, Phaedra, received this divine interference, but the practice of Greek law, also, was not her favor. Due to the social constructs of everyday Hellenistic activity, the transfer into a written medium sealed Phaedra’s fate in more ways than one. Though mythology is seen as fantasy and governing morals, it gives us further insight on women and the male expectation.

Due to this incident Creon does not see a right for his burial. Gender roles are important in the play Antigone because it determines where you fit in society. Gender roles also determine if you have a freedom of choice. Antigone does not have freedom because she is a female. The Greeks consider this an honor when a male surpasses a female.

she says that god made them equal but then men created classes where they were higher ranked than women. She says that men denied them opportunities such as voting and others and forced women to become less valued than men. She also was very focused on getting rid of the term separate spheres. Her main points were that women and men have equal rights and women should be able to be involved in

2). Women should not have to wait for approval from men. If women want equal rights they should receive them without having to wait on men to come to their senses. I do not understand why men have to “let” women receive what they are entitled to. Also, I did not agree when she said, “you need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much – for we won’t take more than our pint will hold” (p. 2).