Roles Of Women In Ancient Greece

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

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.

Throughout the ancient world women possessed few rights and privileges. A woman’s freedom varied depending on where she was born, in this case Athens and Sparta. But it can be said that most women were second-class citizens during this time period. Most women had limited social roles, little education, and no involvement in politics. Power and freedom was something that only existed in a man’s world, while women were expected to be submissive, docile, bear children, and take care of the household. Surviving records from ancient Greece show that women’s roles did not differ much from city-state to city-state but there were exceptions that include noble women and most notably, Spartan women. Some civilizations treated women with respect

Women in Athens lived in a society dominated by men. They had very few rights and essentially, there was nothing equal about it. The education of Athenian women was to say the least, lacking. Unlike men, they weren’t taught in school by actual teachers. They were taught at home by their mothers or tutors of some sort. Much of their education focused on household skills and many men viewed women as being inferior. Women were held back from participating in the sports that were ever so popular with the men.

The Greek and Roman societies were a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the many pieces of literature involving Greeks and Romans we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different from women’s roles in today’s society. Although there are a few similarities to women’s roles in today’s society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the qualities of Greek and Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths.

For this informative report I will attempt to point out the roles women and how they are viewed in ancient Greece. I will then show how these views are present in Homer’s "The Odyssey." How are women, goddess or mortal, conveyed in "The Odyssey?"

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.

The lives of women in Ancient Greece were often subject to control by men. Women were considered in many ways inferior to men, and they were never granted equal political rights. Not all Greek city-states treated women in the same manner, however. The greatest contrast in treatment of women was between Athens and Sparta. The Athenian view of women was that they were best kept out of the public sphere entirely, with few personal liberties or economic rights, and no direct involvement with politics.

The essence of evolution on Greek mythology lies in the process of women social evolution, it can also be said that changing in women’s social status reflect the awakening of female consciousness in the male dominated society. Through the legends of ancient Greek mythology, we can see not only the image of an isolated women, but many vivid and complexd spirits. Mao Dun once said: "the historian can find the history from the myth, the believer can find their religion, the philosopher can find the philosophy." The role of women in ancient Greek life, was considered to be insignificant compared to that of Greek man. And yet, in tragedies, women were often writteen as major characters, revaling insights on howwomen were treated and thought of

The gender divide is clearly illustrated through music. Dominant narratives about music were expressed and accepted by men for men. This is clearly seen in the era of Athenian Democracy as prominent philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle, failed to discuss the role of women in the music of the polis. The narratives of these women are seemingly excluded because of their confidence in their sexuality. This skepticism in the confidence of women is continued in the debate of the Early Christians, like St. Augustine and Hildegard of Bingen. In contrast, the musical narratives of women in early-Islam were favored and discussed more openly. However, these narratives were mostly suppressed by the continued fear of women’s sexuality. Women’s sexuality

If the men of Ancient Greece was not training in the military or talking about politics they were going to theater going to watch dramas or comedies these were some form of gods women were not allowed to go or perform at theatre men would play women roles . Lives of the women of Ancient Greece did work around the house cooking,cleaning ,weaving and other domestic duties the women were not allowed to be in politics or public life they lived in the house although they had one public was acting as a priestess at a temple . The children of Ancient Greece usually occupied their time with playing games and playing with toys.

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.

The role of women in ancient Greek life was insignificant compared to that of Greek men. A woman's job was to take care of the children and to cook and clean unless she had servants or slaves that would do it for her. Yet, in Greek mythology, women were often written as major characters. Well-known Greek plays contain many well-written, complex, female characters. Female individuals in Greek mythology were often seen as very powerful and fierce and were depicted by “her wits, her beauty, or her bad deeds.”

Classical Greece governed itself with a democracy. Legislations and leaders were determined by a vote put up by its citizens. Women were considered citizens but did not hold the right to participate in this democracy. Athenian women were completely secluded from public life and her “place was in the

Culture makes an individual who they are because it shapes an individual's behavior, morals and perception about the world. Ancient cultures have different values about the roles of men and women. For instance, the women in ancient Greece could not vote or participate in the theater performances. However, the women were only allowed to do domestic duties, such as weaving. Additionally, the men in ancient Greece had more rights and freedom.