The Women Of Ancient Greece

Athenian society was very dynamic in many areas while it was strict in regard to the treatment of women. Although Athenian women were protected by the state and did not know a different way of living, they were very stifled and restricted. The only exception was slaves, and heteria, prostitutes, and this was due to the fact that they had no male guardians. Since these women were on there own they had to take care of themselves, and therefore were independent. In a more recent and modern way of viewing the role of a woman, independence and freedom to do as one likes is one of the most important aspects of living. In Athens the wives had none of this freedom and the prostitutes did. Who then really had a “better”

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.

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

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.

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.'

   Ancient Greek society treated women as secondary citizens. Restrictions were placed on the social and domestic actions of many aristocratic women in ancient Athens.  The women depicted in Homer's Odyssey, on the other hand, are the ideal.  Penelope, Clytaemestra, Athena, and Helen are all women with exceptional liberty and power.

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

The ancient city-state of Athens, spawned many of the essential ingredients of modern civilization--democracy, philosophy, science, and drama. However despite these aspects, Athens like many other civilizations throughout history, was dominated by men. Although the role of women in Athens is highly controversial, the examination of Athenian laws, philosophical and moral writings, and information about the conditions of daily life and the organization of society, reveals women were excluded from many aspects of public and private life. While men held a monopoly on every aspect of daily life, women remained secluded in the sphere of domestication.

Respectable Athenian women seldom left their homes. Only men could purchase goods or engage in soldiering, lawmaking, and public speaking. The societies of ancient Egypt and of the Greek city-state of Sparta provided a rare contrast. Both Egyptian and Spartan women could own property and engage in business. According to Dr. Peter Picone, the author of “The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian” states “the Egyptian women seem to have enjoyed the same legal and economic rights as the Egyptian man”. Also he states that legal rights were on a class boundary more than a gender boundary. The Women of Sparta on the other hand were quite different from the women of their neighbor, Athens. As you well know, the women of Sparta were bold, freer, and well educated. Also with the Sparta women, everything depended up money, which would determine your rank in society. While some of the Spartan citizens have quite small properties, others have very large ones; hence the land has passed into the hands of a few. And this is due also to faulty laws; for, although the legislator rightly holds up to shame the sale or purchase of an inheritance, he allows anybody who likes to give or bequeath it. Yet both practices lead to the same result. And nearly women held two-fifths of the whole countries; this is owing to the number of heiresses and to the large dowries that are customary. The Women of Sparta on the other hand were quite

I realized how powerful women are on my 10th birthday. After an eventful day that consisted of everlasting hugs and conventional speeches about how much I had grown during the past ten years, my grandfather and I found ourselves sitting outside on the balcony alone, capturing the infinite darkness of the woods and hearing the humming sounds of the wind chimes. As if the age of ten had suddenly turned me into an adult, my grandfather began to give me advice on women: “Women love diamonds”, “women love flowers”, “women will fall in love with you if you grow up to be a man with an abundance of money”. Above all, however, he emphasized one idea: he told me that the ideal woman to marry is one who is less than me – less intelligent than me, less

I can say it is hard to see how in the Ancient Greece 1600-328 BC, Greek Citizen Women ‘s lives were largely restricted in many different ways. I think that Greek women are more respectable when they are married and invisible, because it is a way that a man can show some type of authority and masculinity by having their women invisible with no rights, and education. I believed that women once they are willing to be prostitutes men’s can say that female are not elective to be an honorable wife. Meaning that prostitute women’s are not pure and for that reason I can say the only reason why females are able to be free and they can be eligible to be visible and be educated. We can see how women at their younger age they are married to older men,

In Greece, Greek society was more patriotic, so the women were viewed to be less impact compared to the men. Most of the time, these women had no rights to speak or have freedom in their community. Basically, they were forced to listen to the male figure of the household. Women were considered property of their husbands and fathers. Women were also not allowed to spend time outside and required permission from their husbands to do most

In Ancient Greece, women were not considered equals. Women were restricted from many events. However, a married women was more commonly accepted versus a women that had not married yet. Women were assigned “guardians”. These “guardians” would handle almost every aspect of the Greek women’s lives. If a women was not married, her “guardian” was her father. Once a women married, her husband picked up the roll as her “guardian”. Women in Ancient Greece were not permitted to handle legal issues. This is an example of a point in which her “guardian”, husband or father, would step in. Women in Ancient Greece did not commonly commit crimes due to the fact that they were rarely seen in public. A women’s role was to stay home and handle responsibilities within their living quarters. Women were also denied the ability to serve as jurors in court and were not allowed to inherit any form of property.