The Role Of Women In The Ancient World

“Wo” is female and the “man” is male, indicating how women are made for men. She is physiologically, psychologically and biologically different from a man. Women in ancient civilizations were more dependent on men than they are today. For example, in ancient Greece, women were not considered as people by law and were not allowed to take part in the legal processes until they were represented by any of their male relative. However, in our modern day, women represent themselves without the need of a man, due to the women’s rights code. Yet after all these years, ancient civilizations seem to have profounding influence on modern-day societies. For instance, women in ancient Mesopotamian civilization were trained by their mothers to be a traditional wife, mother and housekeeper. Similarly, in the present-day Bangladesh, mothers train their daughters to be a better companion to their husbands and endure and do what they ask of them.

In today’s society women are able to hold any position equal to that of a man. During ancient times, women were not given such opportunity. In basically all ancient civilizations, women did not have a role in society. This is especially true in ancient Greece. History has said that Athens is the place of freedom and democracy while Sparta is a restricted society. Though this might be true, that was not the case for women. Women in Homeric Greece and Sparta actually had more respect and freedom than those in Athens.

Women in ancient Rome played a vital role in the transition of political power in the roman government. Although the Roman women were not allowed to formally hold office or vote, they often were influencing their men in regard to political decisions. These women were typically working in the background and although they may not get the explicit mention they deserve in historical texts, without their actions Rome may have had a very different outcome. In Livy’s The History of Rome, three instances involving women had a significant impact on the development of the Roman government.

“Rulers ruled by women”: an economic analysis of the rise and fall of women’s rights in ancient Sparta

Throughout the history, women were mistreated. Women had nominal to no rights in the most of the ancient civilizations. Ancient Greece wasn’t any different. Popular Hollywood movies such as 300 by Zack Snyder had accurately depicted how women were treated in the Ancient Greece, specifically in Sparta.

In Greek and Roman culture, gender often plays a paramount role in how people act, or how they are perceived to act. In Euripides’ The Trojan Women, the main point of the story is lamentation. This story shows the types of sadness and thought that women go through after a great loss. Through relationships such as: wife to a deceased husband, mother to a dying son, and slave to an enemy master, the Trojan women’s thoughts are portrayed. This aids in developing the role of women throughout Greco-Roman culture.

The Greeks contested of a hand full of city-states. Which where many individual governments that would join together if an intruder or war started. Because they were individual governed, many different political and social view took place. The most radical views were on the subject of women. In Ancient Greece the majority of city-states sited with the views of Athens on the matter. All but one, the outsider was Sparta. Thought this essay, it will investigate question, what are some similarities and differences of the role of women in ancient Athens and Sparta? Though the following topics of: Marriage, freedoms and isolation, and last of all politics and land.

Ancient Greeks city-state, Athens, lacked gender equality and was predominantly, a male dominated society. Women were acknowledged as being inferior because they were seen as a social risk and lacked economic value. Women were solely reliant on men because they possessed no status of any sort. These women were strictly bound to their homes, had no legal rights, forced into arranged marriages, and unable to have ownership of property. Men felt women should be secluded from the rest of society.

Women had a big role in religion in Greek society. Religion was really important in Ancient Greece. People in Greek society believed that it was their duty and moral responsibility to worship gods and goddesses. They felt that if they didn’t, their gods would cause problems in society that would punish the people. Women were appointed as priestesses in Greece, these women were viewed as role models in society. They had special roles in their ritual ceremonies because of the high toned voice they had. Women were also learning special dances that they would perform at religious festivals. Festivals in Greek society were really important because they felt it was an important part in worshipping their gods. Another thing is women would be mourners

Woman in the ancient world when viewed together can be seen to have played a role as second class citizens, however when viewed individually throughout the different cultures of the ancient world the role of woman alternated to a certain extent from region to region. Depending on where you went during ancient times, woman were held to different expectations in their place in society, politics, and family lifestyle. The variation of the role of woman went off the basis of religion, agriculture, status, and primarily the values of that culture. Though there were many similarities in the position of woman in the ancient world.Primarily, the role of woman varied from one early society to another.

“It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” Rome was located near the Alps and Apennines Mountains. Rome was also near the Tiber River which leads into the Mediterranean Sea. Rome was founded around 753 BC and was overthrown around 476 AC. Roman people were not all treated equally first because all women had to stay at home and also because the slaves didn't have any rights if you were poor you were a slave.

Unlike many ancient civilizations, Egypt treated women (almost) as equally as they did with men. Women were able to own property, loan money, get divorced, and "were also equally subject to whatever responsibilities normally accompanied those rights" according to womenintheancientworld.com. However, what did women do in their everyday lives? What were their roles at home? Women even had the opportunity of being powerful leaders. Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra are some examples of women in power millions of years ago. This paper will examine the role of powerful women in ancient Egypt and analyze the rule of Hatshepsut and Nefertiti.

of a man. Women were able to hold political positions, possess land, and overall enjoy a

Women in ancient Roman did not have a lot of autonomy. Most of the time women had to take care of their husbands, it was part of their marriage customs. Like the Roman poet Plutarch wrote that most marriages were made by the male head of a household, most of the girls were married as young as twelve years of age (Doc 1). Due to that, women had to be “chaste, domestic, a good housekeeper, and a rearer of children”. That was part of the speech Augustus was recorded on by the historian Dio Cassius when he gave it at the Forum. Augustus went on explaining that that was an important function for the women to follow (Doc 4). According to the Digest, sometimes girls could opt out of marriage if they did not desire it. In one condition which was,

According to the writings analysed above, a woman's place was centred in the home. Throughout the ancient time, women were set in various categories, such as mothers, wives, daughters; as prostitutes and seductresses; witches and midwives; as saints, goddesses and military heroes; queens; church functionaries; patronesses and much more. They were taken as more body than mind, as sexual being rather than social being. Furthermore, they held women in an inferior status compared to that of men. And this was often justified as being the natural result of biological difference between the sexes.