Women and Religion in the Greco-Roman Period

Professor of religious studies Karen Armstrong finds in the early Christian Church examples of hostility toward women and fear of their sexual power, which she contends led to the eventual exclusion of women from full participation in a male-dominated church.

Since the Christian religion was a large and prominent force in the everyday life in the average person in the 17th and 18th century, the Bible was a large influence in how the woman was seen in society as it says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…” (Ephesians 5:22-23, 33). The Bible is that the woman was ruled by her husband, that she didn’t even have her own head, and cannot think for herself because it was expected by the very faith that she must submit to her husband. The Holy Book also says that the woman was created from the rib of the man, which it is known now as completely preposterous, so it implies that the woman is inferior to man because she was created from man, because heaven forbid that any evidence point towards that it is man that came from a woman.

As early as the beginning of the Christian Church women had some important but very defined roles within the church. There were roles women could not play, of course, but that does not mean they did not have value to the Christian movement. Unfortunately, there have also been a lot of things overlooked that have been done by women, especially in the New Testament. There have also been arguments that the Christian Church is a "man's church" because men wrote the books of the bible and women did not have much say, apparently, in what happened during that time and how it was recorded. Even though not everyone was certain of the way women were treated in Christianity and whether they were accepted and applauded the way they should have and could have been, there were still many mentions of women doing great things. Scholars have begun to look into what women did during Old Testament and New Testament times, in an effort to have a better understanding of Christianity and the role women played in it in the past.

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 history women have faced many struggles in gaining equality with men. Freedoms and boundaries have been dependent upon the time period, rulers, religions and civilization. Ancient Greek women and Ancient Egyptian women were both equal to men as far as the law was concerned in certain areas; however, their equalities were different in the sense that Greek women were married out of necessity and viewed as property while Egyptian women were respected and loved by their husbands. Ancient Greek women and Ancient Egyptian women also both lived with limitations such as being thought of as domestic servants, yet these views solely depended on the time and polis.

Women have always been looked at as weaker, less intelligent, and considered to be under men. Women have even been blamed for the “original sin”. Meaning, women are morally weaker and likely to tempt men to sin” (Bovey). Implying this is like saying women are the cause of all sin, and are responsible for man’s sins and that it’s the woman's fault if a man does bad things. “The place of a women was dictated by the biblical text. The apostle Paul emphasizes men’s authority over women, forbidding women to teach, and instructed women to remain silent, but Mary [of the bible] was seen as the most powerful of all saints and she changed it for the women” (Bovey). This shows women didn’t have authority over men and so they were considered “under

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

be governed by men, who after all, had been created in God's image. It is Ironic to think that

Did women have any significant role to play in the world of Roman politics and intellectual culture?

Greek women were slightly higher than women in other ancient pagan societies. It was true that were almost at the same level with the slave and were under the authority and control of their husbands, both by custom and by law. Increasing the city-state was an important factor affecting the status of women in Greece. From the city-state was supreme, all individual wishes were subordinate to it. Freedom was not automatic, but had to be understood, mass education was rudimentary and even in the first century were women, rich enough to own slaves who could not read or write. Greece suffered the sexes be at different levels of culture ".

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.

First, a woman’s position in the church as a teacher has many standards set by God. The Lord sets some standards of who a woman is to teach in the church. Gilbert Bilezikian in his book Beyond Sex Roles, states, “According to the Epistle, women were

“Women as Vessel” quote was used in the Bible to describe the role of early women in the Christian era. That period tells that tells women that God set them under the power of men for their security because they are weaker than the men. In any case, a more careful examination of this statement will uncover that it is not alluding to more fragile edge or constitution of the woman, yet to more uncertain status in the Christian era. It is in this way alluding to a common shortcoming wherein the woman is minimized and not given the chances to completely express her blessings and capacities.

Gender roles, and the mere existence of a gender binary, has been a recent topic of conversation for many churches, theologians, and individual believers. As the cultural pressure to remove gender-specific limitations builds, many of those aforementioned have turned to scripture for answers. Seldom are women’s roles in the Old Testament characterized by decision making or personal merits. Rather, a woman’s capacity to produce an heir for their husband complements his dominance and responsible faithfulness and allows God’s plan to be fulfilled through their combined efforts. In the New Testament, through the transformative power of Christ, prominent women became less of an anomaly, but were still held to a different set of standards and expectations than men and were usually still praised according to their actions and their faith. The Pauline epistles, written in the context in which the Church still exists today: the age to come, provide a basis for today’s understanding of women’s roles in marriage and in church leadership. Although there are many instances of women fulfilling God’s plans and proving their worth among the community of Christians, the biblically normative role of women is to avoid authoritative church leadership positions and remain submissive in situations of teaching and interpreting the Word.

The roles of men and women have drastically altered the past century and men now take on some responsibilities that were once viewed as tasks of a woman. As a result women have been able to advance their careers, express their political views, and have become equals next to men in society, which illustrates that had women not been discriminated against and viewed as the homemaker for so long, equality between men and women would have occurred ages ago. In my vision of society an individual's sex would not inhibit one from fully participating in the activities of the community that he or she desired. The burden of childbirth for women would still be present but after the child was born, men would play a more prominent role in the tasks of raising his son or daughter. Sharing the benefits and burdens of child-rearing responsibilities will allow both the male and female to maintain steady employment and balance their schedules to make time for family and a career. Females that wish to enter a profession will be accepted solely upon their abilities, not their gender, and seen as equals in the work place. Should a working woman choose to start a family she deserves a sufficient amount of time away from work (with pay) to care for herself and her newborn baby without being hassled by her employer for not being entirely committed to her job. Also, a man should receive certain benefits