Greek Women History

According to ancient Greek sources, women were treated and viewed by men in a sort of degrading manner. Paul Halsall’s article, The Lot of Hellenic Women, starts off by describing ancient Greek women as being a type of headache or burden towards men. As stated by Hesiod, “The woman tribe dwells upon earth, a mighty bane to men” (Halsall, 1999). Moreover, the tribe of women in ancient Greece were generally characterized into four different forms: a dog, a bee, a long-maned mare, and a burly sow. According to ancient Greek history, God created the mind of women in the image of different qualities, one being that of a dog.

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

Throughout ancient human history, men and women held vastly different roles. Women were often given the duty of bearing and raising children, whereas men were expected to fight, provide an income, and protect the household. Women were seen as totally inferior to men and described by Euripedes as “a curse to mankind” and “a plague worse than fire or any viper.” However, this misogynistic view of women and designated role of inferiority was not apparent in every ancient civilization. The role of the female in ancient Greek history can best be explored and contrasted between two important civilizations: The Spartans and the Athenians. The Spartan women were incredibly advanced for their time, and the Athenian women were drastically far behind. Both the Spartan and Athenian women held roles at home and lived lives far removed from the men of their societies. However, their lives were much different. While the Spartan women were strong and educated, the Athenian women held a status almost equal to slavery. The Spartan women were far more advanced than Athenians in aspects of life including education, athleticism, and independence.

From my younger days, I have always been fascinated by myths and the magic world of gods and goddesses they opened before me. Today I know that they are more than fairy tales. Instead, they are magnificent lies that tell the truth. And whenever I think of gender differences and women empowerment, my mind hastens back to Greek

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.

A woman’s place was supposed to be at home, in both Sparta and Athens, but the capacity in which they were supposed to be at home differed substantially. In Athens, it was compulsory for women to be acquiescent and compliant. They were supposed to stay home most of the time, bearing, nourishing and taking care of the children, spinning and weaving clothes, keeping the home clean and tidy, preparing food or overseeing the preparation of food by the servants; women from Sparta were the complete opposite of the women in Athens, they were allowed to keep property with the over seeing of the male counterpart, which according to Aristotle, said that in 4th BCE, 405 Sparta was owned by women, and may have contributed to

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,).

But in the Spartan society, the woman had a dignified position just because they were the mother of the famous Sparta worriers. The Athenian women were also not allowed for education or to educate themselves. Men were the only ones allowed in the schools. They also wore clothing that completely covered their bodies and was not able to walk where they

Women in classical Athens could not have had an extremely enjoyable experience, if we rely on literary sources concerning the roles of women within the Greek polis. The so-called Athenian democracy only benefited a fraction of the entire population. At least half of this population was female, yet women seem to have had very little influence and few official civic rights. `The position of women...is a subject which has provoked much controversy.'

Women have always been downplayed in history. The ladies of the B.C era were often deprived of things that today, are considered basic rights. Two societies, Athens and Sparta, both treated and held women to different standards. While Athenians viewed their women more as babymakers than actual human beings; Spartans regarded their female citizens with respect. It was better to be a Spartan woman because they had easier access to education, the ability to inherit land and were allowed more freedoms than other Greek women.

Even being from the same time frame in history, the Roman women from Sparta and the Greek women from Athens were completely different. Their ideas, habits, and daily activities were majorly impacted by the community they lived in. Some of the main differences between the lifestyles of these women include the rights they were given under the government, the daily and professional attire of the women, and the marital and divorce rituals of each of the women. Though they had many different things about them, they also had some similarities that connected them together. Both the Athens and Sparta have two completely different statuses for their women in the society, in many different aspects as well.

Women’s role in Greece can be seen when one first begins to do research on the subject. The subject of women in Greece is coupled with the subject of slaves. This is the earliest classification of women in Greek society. Although women were treated differently from city to city the basic premise of that treatment never changed. Women were only useful for establishing a bloodline that could carry on the family name and give the proper last rites to the husband. However, women did form life long bonds with their husbands and found love in arranged marriages. Women in Athenian Society Women are “defined as near slaves, or as perpetual minors” in Athenian society (The Greek World, pg. 200). For women life didn’t

As a woman of the 21st century I can see the difference in the lives of married women now and the ones from ancient times. Marriage in Greece and Rome were more of a way to transfer women from the authority of their father to the authority their new husband. During these times, women were not viewed as human beings, but as objects that could be passed around by men. Their daily lives revolved around the wants and needs of a man. In today’s society women, do not revolve their lives around a man but revolve them on their own wants.

In the world of Ancient Greece, a large array of deities were worshipped. Each god had their own forms of identification in which they used to express themselves. This includes things such as personality, style, sexuality, and many other things. One of these forms of expression was gender. The Greeks seemed to focus more on the two typical genders, which are male and female. Some Greek gods seemed to play into certain gender roles, but others portrayed traits of the opposite sex. In this paper, I will be analysing the possibility that the Greeks believed the female and male genders were closely connected and that is why many of the gods are described with blended aspects of gender.

Women have always faced subjugation despite being praised as powerful warriors in charge of their sexuality in legends. These women were considered only one step away from nature, meaning that they needed to be controlled in order to be the ideal woman. In ancient Greece many philosophers began the paradigm known by modern historians as the polarity argument, or the distinction between European women and men through time. Their sexuality, mental strength, and moral character were all scrutinized. This argument provided the necessary background to continue to subjugate women in the period of the Greeks all the way to the Renaissance. Polarity distinctions gave men a negative mental grid on which to judge women around them.