Women 's Influence On Women

Ancient Roman women were not given the same privileges as Islamic women. Women in ancient Rome were not allowed to hold office, supervise their own finances, or go out of the house

     It seems that women in Greek and Roman society lead very similar lives. In both societies they were under the control of the males of the household. Wives were considered the property of their husbands, and their main roles were to take care of the household and raise children. Daughters of the household were seen as liabilities because they needed to be taken care of, and in many instances baby girls were abandoned or killed. In a letter to his wife one man wrote, “…Good luck to you, if you bear offspring, if it is a male, let it live; if it is female, expose it.” (Document 3). In both societies it was legal for a

Daily life for women in Rome isn't like our lives, whether you're male or female. Women in ancient Rome did not have any citizen ship, that means you have very few rights. The amount of freedom you get as a women was decided on if you lived in a wealthy or poor family. If you were a rich women you could own land, be a boss of a business, and sell land. They didn't have to do house chores like poor women because you had slave to do that. Even though they could go watch plays, races, And fights they had to sit in a separate sits, which were normally farthest away from the stage. Poor women had less independence, they most use their time doing house chores or help with the family run business. All women were allowed to leave the house to shop,

In Mythology, Romans thought women were “ secondary to men,” who brought upon “unhappiness and vices” like in the tale of Pandora.(Mark4) The Roman family was “male-dominated” meaning most decisions were carried out by “most senior male figure “ (Mark 4) Women were expected to play their “ perceived role in society” - such as “..looking out after the home and nurture a family” (Mark 4). Every aspect of a roman was very controlled due to the belief that they had“ weak judgement”(Mark 4) Double standards were even present during this time. Roman males expected their women to be “honourable and chaste” while “ they were more than willing to enjoy themselves the services of lovers and prostitutes.”(Mark) Roman law even dictated that prostitutes and waitress couldn’t prosecute for rape and rape of slaves was considered “property damage”.(Mark 4)

The role of women in ancient Rome is not easily categorized; in some ways they were treated better than women in ancient Greece, but in other matters they were only allowed a very modest degree of rights and privileges. One thing that does seem clear is that as the city-state of Rome evolved from its early days into a more complex society; women were not always limited to secondary roles. In some areas of Roman society, women were allowed more freedoms than in many other ancient civilizations.

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.

Women in antiquity did not have an easy life. In an era where man rules, women have limited freedom and few rights. Women’s roles differed little from Rome, Egypt, and China. There were few exceptions: women living in the city of Sparta had some nobility and rose to power, for example, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and military victory. Besides those above, women of that era were limited to an education, mobility, and their roles was housewives and childbearing. Women had little time to involve herself in the political goings on in that era.

The Roman woman had a very limited role and they could not attend, speak in, or vote at political meetings. Women were not allowed to hold any position of political responsibility. They were not allowed to voice their opinion in public but in the Greek society, the woman was considered just like an object.

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.

Aside from ancient Greece and China, there has also been much diversity and contradictory evidence for women in the Roman Empire. On one hand, the cultural assumption was that women were inferior to men and they should obey their husbands or fathers. While, on the other hand, there is scattered evidence that women were engaged in commerce, heading of the household, and influencing politics. An approach to this second assumption was suggested that their participation by women in all these affairs was not “real.” It may have appeared that they held religious and public offices, but they were unimportant.

During the time period of the early Roman Empire, and through the early times of Octavian, it is important to note the roles that each sex played. Unlike current western culture, men and women were not equal. Each sex was thought of differently, with women being less than men. According to Severy, the Romans thought of the Roman women as “weakness, instability, and irrationality” (Severy 23). These viewpoints of women lead to women being treated in way that was subservient to men. According to Severy, in contrast, the Romans thought of men as “strength, integrity, and self-control” (Severy 23). This thought process lead to men being in positions of power and control and ultimately the decision makers. This was so much the case that women had to have a male guardian to go out with them during major purchases to verify that was what was supposed to be bought at points (Severy 23). This thought process bled into the

While some women, who were born of two citizens, performed certain religious rituals for the state, they still were not able to vote. Nor could they attend the assembly, hold a political office, be a juror, or simply own property in their own name. Unlike Rome, who eventually gave women of high prestige some rights, Greece never improved women’s rights. They believed a woman was meant to be a follower, not a leader. “The temperance of a man and of a woman, or the courage and justice of a man and of a woman, are not, as Socrates maintained, the same; the courage of a man is shown in commanding, of a woman in obeying,” (Aristotle). Women were expecting to blindly follow the laws and rules created by men, without their own say or opinion. They were not allowed to change a law that was unjust, or hold an important role. The rights that women had were similar to those of slaves. Slaves were also not allowed to vote or own property, hold a political office or recover a good education. Neither group of peoples were given an equal opportunity, so their rights never improved. Plato was the main speaker for women's rights. He argued that, while men were more talented women, the latter should be given an opportunity to participate. However, even Plato knew his ideas were too revolutionary for this already advanced empire, and the discussion was dropped, so women's rights never

In the Roman Empire, and in most ancient societies, the role and status of woman has been obscured by the bias of ancient male writers. Just as women are viewed in ancient Greece, and Imperial China, women in the Roman Empire were viewed as inferior to men. In the Roman Empire it was believed that women should be under the control of a guardian, which controls the aspects of her life. This guardian could be her father, husband, or a male relative (Nystrom).

Women were treated fairly in Rome. One reason is, “Roman women were considered equal to their male siblings by their parents. They were a part of family just like sons and were subject to the overall authority of their fathers, called ‘pater familias’, just like their brothers.” (Roman Women) Also, “Apart from the right of equal inheritance they were also protected against domestic abuse by the law. Women

Question: “Women received the vote based on their contribution to the war effort”. How accurate is this view that women gained the vote based solely on war work? 20 marks