Women's Roles In Athens And The Hellenistic Era

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.

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

In school both boys and girls would learn reading, writing, mathematics, basic-combat, and self-defense. Even Athenian philosophers like Plato and Socrates praised this education system. In Athens only the boys were educated for the most part, so most women went through there lives being illiterate. Other then the blatant gender equality issues the Athenian government had many problems as well. Athens may have had a democracy, but that didn't save the, from corruption. There were many cases of bribery in the government that wasn't taken seriously by the court. In Sparta power was given to citizens through the assembly which consisted of all male citizens in Sparta, but in theory anyone could participate. The government had an elaborate system of checks and balances to make sure that no branch had more power than another. Also contrary to popular belief the Spartans treated there slaves bette than the Athenians. The slaves in Sparta were actually known as helots who were lower class citizens. They worked the farm plan and without them society could not function. They were also given the option to by there freedom by raising money through their work. In Athens slave were not citizens they were property. Lastly, Sparta had a far

To illustrate, Spartan girls would also be sent to school to learn how to fight and stay fit. “Spartan women were expected to protect the city from attacks when men were not home, for this reason they were trained for battle” (Document D). One reason for the Spartan women to stay fit and know to fight was to protect Sparta if it was to be attack when the men weren’t home. Women also stayed fit so they have and raise a new generation of healthy children. These motives were taken gravely as this purpose was drilled to the girls minds as they learn these skill at school much like the boys. Another example is that every Spartan girl at age eighteen would have to take a strength test. If they pass, they are set up to get married, but if they fail, they were not allowed to marry and lose their civilian’s rights. This shows that Spartan women roles were taken seriously that they would take a test where their life and rights would be at stake. Thus, women roles played a big part in Spartan

Gender roles, specifically of women, were a little different back in 700 B.C. They played more of a typical role, expected to get married and have kids at a young age. They were expected to take care of the house and children, while their husbands were out fighting wars. However, while women in The Odyssey were greatly valued for their beauty, Homer reveals that they also had to be intelligent to be successful in their lives.

I believe Plutarch says they had those types of liberties for the fact that the husbands would be on campaigns which led the woman to do things on their own.

For starters, the Spartans lived a frugal, non-luxurious lifestyle, devoting most of their time to the military, while the Athenians lived a more simple, peaceful lifestyle. The second difference between Spartans and Athenians are that Athenians focused on transforming the citizens into educated individuals while the Spartans focused on transforming the citizens into strong, courageous individuals. The third difference is that men only had to serve in the military for 2 years in Athens while men in Sparta basically served in the military for thirty years of their life, training as soldiers before they were even a teenager. The fourth and final difference is all about the rights women had at Sparta and Athens. At Sparta, women were a bit more independent. The Spartan women were able to own plots of land and run their own households, they even got an education. At Athens, got a little amount of formal education and had less

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.

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.

Pomeroy gives an abundance of examples and evidence throughout the chapter. She defines unknown terms, such as, archon (chief magistrate), which readers are less likely to know. The chapter educates and reveal new information on topics some readers may have not previously known, such as divorce. Divorce was easily obtained in ancient Athens. In our modern society divorce is a long, drawn out procedure that ca take months or years depending upon the cooperation of both parties. Since marriage was crucial in ancient Athens, it is an assumption that divorce was frown on. Yet, this assumption was not the case. In the sections read in Women’s Life in Greece and Rome the topic of divorce was not explicitly broached. The research presented reinforces and expands upon material covered in class and the book Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. For example, Pomeroy discusses the topic of dowry. In Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, the topic of dowry seemed to be glossed over. The book did provided number figures for different positions, yet it was not explained in depth as in the chapter of “Women and the City of Athens”. The length of Pomeroy’s explanation of dowries shows the importance of dowries in ancient Athens. Dowries made women look attractive in the eyes of men. Without dowries some people in ancient Athens argued that the marriage between the man and woman was illegal. Pomeroy touches on the

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 this essay, the status of women in ancient Egypt will be compared to the status of women during ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one considers ancient civilisations. The legal status of women in society, the different roles that each unique region’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 compared in this short essay to demonstrate the different treatment (if there were a difference)