Women in the Hellenistic world
Women in the Hellenistic World Women’s lives were improved and expanded in the Hellenistic age more so than at any other time prior Greek history. Papyri from Egypt and Coele-Syria have led to the discovery of documents on marriage contracts, inscriptions of philanthropy, and the daily lives of the women in that period. The Hellenistic woman changed in many ways. She became more educated, more cultured, and she received domestic freedom and her new legal and occupational advancements and a whole other myriad of news liberations. The ideal of the Classical obedient Greek wife was turned upside down. She no longer had to be escorted to places outside her home and to issue legal documents. She also could now
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On an epitaph there is inscribed: “This dust hides Archedice, daughter of Hippias, the most important man in Greece in his day. But though her father, husband, brothers, and children were tyrants, her mind was never carried away into arrogance.” (Lefkowitz and Fant, 16) This inscription from the 5th century BCE shows how some women were remembered for good deeds done – and not just their duties as homemakers. It also recognized the humane side of the Classical Greek woman. Philosophers and philosophies were developed in the Hellenistic period that allowed women to join schools of thought that expanded their freedom. Education became available for an array of Greek women in this time. A little before the Hellenistic age came to be, the ideas of the loosening of social constructs for women were taking place that led to the foundation of other schools of thought such as that of Epicureanism and Cynicism. But these ideas came from a couple of the Classical philosophers. One example of this is a discussion between Plato and Glaucon. The topic of interest to these men was that of the education of women. The point that was made was that since there are only a couple of distinctions between men and women, i.e. physical attributes and things like pot making and bread making – although really only social constructs that forced women to be engaged in these services day in and day out that would have made them better then men at those
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”
Women in modern day society are somewhat different then the women back then in Greek society. Women now a days wouldn’t probably wait for their husbands if they were gone for over 20 years, women aren’t as faithful as they were in Greek society. Women also now have jobs and they earn money themselves and don’t normally depend on their husbands for money. Women now also can go and get an education, women in Greek society didn’t go to school to get a job or learn they would have to stay at home and work while their husbands went out to fight in wars, or earn money. Women were more subservient back then they were today. Most women now are independent and don’t rely on their husbands. Many women are able to raise a family being single, women also can have their own house and pay bills by themselves. Women of today are strong in character, and also strong in general. If their in a bad relationship they are smart enough to get out of the horrible relationship. In Greek society you
The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.
Gender inequality has maintained the suppression of women worldwide and unfortunately has impacted third world countries with the greatest magnitude. Everyday in these countries there are countless occurrences of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse that must be acknowledged as a primary concern for the world to help overcome. It is however important to recognize specific cultural and religious practices of gender hierarchy that are accepted by women in these countries. While keeping this in mind it is of paramount importance to keep sight of the consequences of abusing these cultural practices at the expense of women’s liberation and development.
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.
Greek and Roman women lived in a world where strict gender roles were given; where each person was judged in terms of compliance with gender-specific standards of conduct. Generally, men were placed above women in terms of independence, control and overall freedom. Whereas men lived in the world at large, active in public life and free to come and go as they willed, women's lives were sheltered. Most women were assigned the role of a homemaker, where they were anticipated to be good wives and mothers, but not much of anything else. The roles of women are thoroughly discussed in readings such as The Aeneid, Iliad, Sappho poetry, and Semonides' essay.
The Greek society was all about Man. The woman was not considered as the citizens, there was a no Tracy of any female scholar during that era. The Female voice was considered totally invaluable. The Things got getting better as and when the years passing by.
In Sarah B. Pomeroy's influential monograph, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity (1976), it is pointed out that in the past, when scholars have considered the quality of life for women in classical Athens, they have often subjectively selected the type of evidence to use for their argument. She argues that `optimists,' who are of the opinion that women enjoyed a comparatively liberated lifestyle, focus upon the prominent role that women play within art and drama. `Pessismists,' on the other hand, base their ideas upon Athenian laws and the writings of orators and moralists (Pomeroy: 1976; Just: 1989). The evidence that we have available regarding women `relate to different levels of reality' (Humphreys: 1983; Just: 1989), therefore the sources pertain to different aspects of women's lives and need to be pieced together to provide a clear picture.
In Athens, there was a lot of opportunity for a male. An Athenian male could become a scholar, poet, politician, or pretty much anything they wanted; but females on the other hand, didn 't have that power. Men was under the understanding that females were incapable of making reasonable decisions in the political world. The idea of gender equality was non-existent in the Athens society. As said by Historian Don Nardo “throughout antiquity most Greek women had few or no civil rights and many enjoyed little freedom of choice or mobility.” He also stated “aside from poetry, women’s writing survives only in private letters written on papyrus preserved by ancient of nature, only from Hellenistic and Roman Egypt.” (O’Pry 2012) Women in the Athens society that were in an upper class were
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 in the Hellenistic world were held in regard than women in the Classical Age. Female infanticide declined, royal women often wielded power, and female education improved, although women remained under the supervision of men with fewer rights and
Despite Athenian and Spartans being associates of the same influential nation, these two states or ‘Peloi’ and denominations of people in Ancient Greece in (400BC) were substantially different. The women in their own distinct societies endured several problematic issues and experienced inequity, demoralisation and condemnation. The notion of women and their purpose was typically conjectured by men in society, specifically Aristotle who claimed that women brought ‘disorder, were evil, were utterly useless and caused more confusion than the enemy’ . However despite misogynistic, biased and loathsome perspectives of women, both Athenian and Spartan women have all played exceedingly significant roles and contributed substantially to the prosperity of Ancient Greek society in their own inimitable ways.
They were “The one exception to the classes of women… These women had high status, relative freedom, and remained unmarried” (“Women in Ancient Athens.”) Aside from the priestesses, the women of Athens had few rights as they mostly were seen as people who gave birth to and took care of the children while occasionally cooking or
The way women were treated was nothing compared to how the men were treated. There was no equality in this male dominated society which made it difficult for women to play a key role. Women faced obstacles on a daily basis and commonly endured hardships because of their gender. Women were primarily responsible for domestic chores around the house and taking care of the children. The most valuable thing a woman could do was become pregnant with a child, however in Greek civilization having a boy was more favored. If women gave birth to a girl it was