Women of Ancient Rome and China Essay

As the millenniums pass and years go by, the world continues to evolve each day. Across the world, in every society, men and women have specific roles that they carry out. During ancient times, in most cultures, women were inferior to men. This is still true in many countries today. It has taken American women many centuries to have gained the rights and privileges they have today. Women have made many immense achievements, fought for their rights and stood up for what they believed in during the past century. It is very important to understand the role of women in history because they have played an imperative part of how each society functioned. In Classical Athens, women and men were citizens however men were superior to the women.

Women living during the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty lived in a society where gender roles were strictly imposed. The Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty existed in two distinctive time periods, but the roles of women were indistinguishable between the pair. The Han Dynasty existed from 206 BCE-220 CE, while the Roman Empire lasted from 27 CE-476 CE. The treatment women received in the Han and Roman societies were all based on gender and stereotypes. Women’s roles in marriage, domestic life, and society in the Roman Empire and Han China portrayed their limited freedom and voice.

The empires of Rome and China were very great ones, they both had many similarities and differences in the way they ran their empires. One major difference was the way they treated their women. Both Chinese and Roman women were unequal in social status than the men of the empires were, but they were definitely treated different in both empires. Women of China were treated quite harshly and were expected to take orders at all times by their husbands, and were to serve them always. This started to happen especially after Confucius died because he taught people to treat each other the same, “after his death women became less free and lost status,”(Arvind 10). Women of Rome were treated like goddesses; they were to stay at home as housewives

In both the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire, women were seen as delicate figures and had limited political freedom. Women in Han China were required to be accompanied and led by a male, whether

Women in Ancient Rome enjoyed a slightly better life than those in Ancient Greece. Roman men "placed a very high value on marriage, home and the family and this made quite a difference to society's treatment of women" (Thompson, 2005). Women still were passed from their father's supervision to their husbands, but enjoyed a more important role. While women could not hold

Roman women were responsible for managing the daily affairs of their families. They were expected to use the slave force at their disposal for keeping their (where there are lots of homes)complexes and homes clean and well maintained. They were also responsible for entertaining guests and visitors. They looked after the cloth production in their household, which was a very important aspect of their duties.

In Perpetua’s time, the Roman culture had strict views on gender and the role of a woman in society. Early Roman society families had a patriarchal structure meaning the father was the head of the family. The strongest tie within the family was that between a father and a daughter. Daughters were expected to “[forge] political and social ties” for fathers (Salisbury 6). A Roman daughter was favored the most; they received the best education overseen by their fathers. The purpose of a strong education was “to pass on to their sons the values of Rome” as well as help her to be a good mother in the future (Salisbury 7). A woman’s purpose in the Roman culture was reproduction in order to continue lineage. In addition to strict family and social rules, Roman women joined cults with specific rituals for females to perform. A woman’s role in Roman society was “defined by cults…to preserve social order” (Salisbury 12). Women joined a specific cult depending on the

Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly

In Perpetua’s time, the role of a woman within the Roman culture was determined narrowly against gendered expectations. Early Roman society families had a patriarchal structure meaning the father was the head of the family. The strongest tie within the family was that between a father and a daughter. Daughters were expected to “[forge] political and social ties” for fathers (Salisbury 6). A Roman daughter was favored the most; they received the best education overseen by their fathers. The purpose of a strong education was “to pass on to their sons the values of Rome” as well as help her to be a good mother in the future (Salisbury 7). One expectation of a woman in the Roman culture was reproduction in order to continue lineage. In addition to structured family and social rules, Roman women joined cults with specific rituals for females to perform. A woman’s role

A girl often became a servant of the mother-in-law and was absolutely forbidden to disobey her. She then gained more of the family's respect is she gave birth to a boy. The birth of a boy was alway celebrated much more than the birth of a girl. If families were very poor, they would sell their daughters as servants to better-off families. If wives did not give birth to a son, her husband often took on other

The three areas of classical civilizations developed their cultural beliefs, lifestyles, political institutions, and social structures. However, there were significant similarities among them. Patriarchal values thrived in these civilizations. The male dominated family structure with loyalty and obedience heavily stressed in China 's homes. Chinas Patriarchal society reinforced by Confucian values that emphasized obedience of the wife to husband. China’s emphasis on family ancestors. Roman empire emphasis on family was called paterfamilias. Unlike China and Rome, Greece men were separated from women in military barracks until age 30; women had relative freedom. In all three civilizations, wealth based on land ownership and slavery existed. The social structures of China, Rome, and Greece, was hierarchical the slaves were at the bottom. In China, there was a big social divide between rural and urban, with most wealth concentrated in cities. China and Greece had some slavery, but not as much as in Rome. Athens encouraged equality for free males, but women and slaves had a little freedom. Inequality increased in Rome during the empire.

Most girls did not go to school. Some girls who had scholars as fathers could learn from them, but female scholars were very rareThe ancient Chinese did not think it was important to educate women. Women also did not practise ancestor worship as once they married their loyalties would lie with the families of their husbands. Ancestor worship was important to men as they remained loyal to one family. Women were not allowed to take exams and therefore could not enter into government service.

The thing that really stood out to me in this week's reading was the role Women had to play in this ancient Chinese landscape. Last weeks readings had quite a few mentions of women (Empress Wu stands out in my mind) and their place in a highly patriarchal society.

Women who desired to divorce their husbands was impossible, but only could be achieved by mutual agreement between the man and the woman in the relationship. In addition, Chinese women sacrificed themselves when forced to choose between their fathers and husbands, or performed heroic deeds. According to Nolan (1996), “In ancient times in traditional China, some thousand years before our era, the cult of the mother and that of fertility brought stability and security to the mother/child relationship, and instability to relationships between couples and between father and child” (3). By the end of the Han period, there were discussions about Confucius rites for women of their nature, weaknesses, strengths, and proper roles in society. A wife’s status within her family by marriage depended on the birth of male heirs.

In the ancient days of Rome, women spent their lives with limited independence, with only a few exemptions. From daily living to the day of their wedding the actions of Roman women were under the control of a man, whether that man was her father, husband or guardian. From the time of her birth to the time of her death, there were rules that a woman was to follow. Some of these were written into the laws of Rome while others were just socially expected.