Gender Roles In Ancient Mediterranean

In much the same way that a woman was not held responsible for acts of adultery,

The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.

Gender roles in ancient Mesopotamia were clearly defined (teachmiddleeast.edu). Generally, men worked outside of the home and women stayed inside of the home while focusing on raising their children and keeping up with work that took place in the home. However, there were exceptions; we know of women who were “bartenders” and even women who were priestesses, but with limited responsibility. Due to the fact that some were from socially higher families and owned large amounts of property, those women were not allowed to marry. Women at the time were given much less freedom than men, however, women were more protected than men, which is seen in Hammurabi’s Code of Law, specifically in his 130th law:

Women have played important roles throughout history. They have been responsible for the rise and fall of nations, sustaining families, and have been the focal point of worship in ancient religions. Moving forward in history, women's roles have continually changed. Their status as matriarchs changed as the more advanced ancient civilizations rose. The patriarchal societies of ancient Greece and Rome viewed women differently from some societies of past eras. The study of the economic and political status of women, their rights, and their contributions to both these ancient societies reveals how views change throughout history.

One of the most striking differences between ancient Athenian women and ancient Egyptian women was the ability to hold positions of power. Egyptian women were monarchs and held other positions depending on their social status. (Capel 1996, 176) Women were allowed to participate in low ranking government jobs, especially during war when the men are off fighting and leaving behind their positions. However, these positions were not kept for long because the men upon return automatically earned their position back by being the superior sex (Watterson 1991,).

Throughout history, the roles of women and men have always differed to some degree. In ancient Greece, the traditional roles were clear-cut and defined. Women stayed home to care for children and do housework while men left to work. This system of society was not too far off the hunter gatherer concept where women cared for the house and the men hunted. Intriguingly enough, despite the customary submissive role, women had a more multifaceted role and image in society as juxtaposed with the rather simple role men played. Morals for the two were also different. Men obviously had the upper hand with women being the traditional passive.

Greek and Roman women lived in a world where strict gender roles were given; where each person was judged in terms of compliance with gender-specific standards of conduct. Generally, men were placed above women in terms of independence, control and overall freedom. Whereas men lived in the world at large, active in public life and free to come and go as they willed, women's lives were sheltered. Most women were assigned the role of a homemaker, where they were anticipated to be good wives and mothers, but not much of anything else. The roles of women are thoroughly discussed in readings such as The Aeneid, Iliad, Sappho poetry, and Semonides' essay.

Greek Woman was considered to be submissive which means once you are married to a woman, then she is in your full control. The woman in ancient was not allowed to own the property, in one way we can also relate that the woman had fewer rights than the man because they could hardly express their feeling. The woman was not considered as the citizens.

Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender. It arises from differences in gender roles. Gender inequality isn’t a exercise which has just recently developed instead it is a practice which has been part of our community since civilizations have begun. When one thinks of gender issues they directly connect it with females however this issue consists of both men and women which can be heavily seen in the early eras.

One of the oldest beverages known to man is wine, an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes. Wine has been enjoyed all around the world and Ancient Rome is no exception. Ancient Rome played an important role in its history. Wine carried religious, philosophical, and social implications for the Romans as it was a part of their daily life. The popularity of wine and drunkenness in Ancient Rome is clearly portrayed throughout poetry, art, literature and even laws. Although wine was eventually available to all, it’s implications for women were severe. An important connection between Ancient Rome and wine that is rarely discussed is the idea of denying women a right to drink. Today, it is not uncommon or distasteful for women to have a glass of wine but in Roman society, women’s overindulgence of wine was frowned upon. This paper will discuss women in Ancient Roman society and analyze sources from Valerius Maximus and Propertius to focus on how the role of wine reinforced the patriarchal system and oppression of women.

From prehistory to 1450 CE, in many different and complex civilizations, religion has influenced the gender roles of many societies. From prehistory to 600 BCE, in Mesopotamia, women could own property, maintain their dowry, and even trade. However, from 600 BCE to 600 CE, in Rome, women were completely under the control of their paterfamilias. Than, from 600 to 1450 CE, in the Byzantine Empire, women were constrained to their homes, and when they went out, they had to wear veils over their faces. Religion influenced the gender roles of many societies and civilizations from prehistory to 1450 CE.

By contrast, the pagan-humanist tradition, with its pantheon of capricious and often morally suspect gods, upheld a highly public ideal of honor, whereby behavior could be regulated. Whereas guilt can be either private or public, shame is necessarily a public affair. Guilt, as much a theological as ethical construct, requires appropriate punishment, but shame requires simply appropriate action to eliminate its source. Without dwelling on these distinctions, however, Williams argues that in the early modern period these contradictory sets of values operated simultaneously, and it is this tension that informs the often contradictory treatment of rape in such texts as Titus Andronicus and Lucrece.

We can see how our society’s disciplinary methods have been used to create docile bodies. As technology increases, so does the level of surveillance each member of society experiences daily. We are surrounded by security cameras and other forms of surveillance all day long. The recent scandal with the NSA and the passage of the Patriot Act, has created a heightened level of paranoia in the minds of people and served as a reminder that we are all vulnerable to surveillance and publication of our most personal and secret information. This whole scandal relates to Foucault’s description of the panopticon, enforcing the fact that we are under constant state of potential surveillance from government agencies. Through our disciplinary society, we have become docile and controlled far more severely than Foucault ever could have imagined. With incarceration rates at an all-time high, constant warfare, and an increase in medicalization and education, it is easy to understand that we are currently under extreme control in Foucault’s

ancient times, there were several aspects of life that caused a divide between genders. Women had

The Classical period in Ancient Greece particularly Athens, during the 4th and 5th centuries BCE, was immensely marked by gender segregation, as men were affiliated with the public sphere while the domestic sphere was associated with women. Caring for children and slaves (if applicable), weaving, preparing food and tending to graves were among some of the household affairs that women had a great deal of control over in the home, though they were still reduced to the ranks in the public eye. In spite of the fact that women were strictly controlled or semi-secluded in almost all areas of public life, they did play significant roles in one area which was an exception to this breaching the barriers between women and public life: religion. Practising