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The role and power of women in ancient Greece and Rome
The role and power of women in ancient Greece and Rome
Power of women in ancient greece essays
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The superiority of men was not just physical or political. Aristotle described superiority as “KREITTON”, meaning stronger in the sense of rational reasoning. Diminishing women not only socially and physically, but rationally as well ensured that they would stay in their place for their ideas could not be rational due to their very nature. This exemplifies the “REWRITE ease with which ignorance can pose as knowledge and how prejudices of those with intellectual and social power pass as rational judgment” leaving women in a state of perpetual oppression. A woman always required the guidance of a man because the thinkers of ___ believed that nature made her deficient in physicality, intellect and moralityAristotle had a clear view on women based on his understanding of their fundamental nature. Within every human there are two faculties, a rational …show more content…
We are a society with growing advancements for women and a collective abandonment of stereotypical roles that women are forced into. There are still remnants of this old society that permeate our every day life. We allow women to run for political office but make it harder for them to get elected. We allow women to compete in sports and join the military but women’s sports are often seen as inferior the men’s. Women do not technically have to stay at home and raise children, but they are still expected to choose children over a career. Despite___ years that have passed by, women still have gender roles, albeit not as strictly enforced as Aristotle’s time. Aristotle would see our society as one of “corrupted natures” or a people in “unnatural condition”. (POLITICS?). As a society we generally do not agree with Aristotle’s views on women. If we have accepted that people are not innately slaves, the same can be said about women. Aristotle’s logic is motivated by the unequal relations of power at the time and not by scientific facts of
Throughout history, the roles of women and men have always differed to some degree. In ancient Greece, the traditional roles were clear-cut and defined. Women stayed home to care for children and do housework while men left to work. This system of society was not too far off the hunter gatherer concept where women cared for the house and the men hunted. Intriguingly enough, despite the customary submissive role, women had a more multifaceted role and image in society as juxtaposed with the rather simple role men played. Morals for the two were also different. Men obviously had the upper hand with women being the traditional passive.
Cole's article is not to attack Aristotle on his views of where a woman should be placed within the social and political order, in accordance to the Classic Greek period. Her intrigue is within "surveying some central values of that particular social and political institution," (Sterba 79). At first she begins with Aristotle's view on gender and class in ethics. Making a definite point among the social/political class, ancient Greek women and slaves were only allowed their male citizens to think for them. Being dependent on men silences the women and slaves without a voice to speak out, for the women work while the men socialize with others, the men assume that the women do not need a voice. According to Aristotle, even a woman's virtue is to be subservient to all males. As a part of common life the woman is considered the pack horse and the mother to raise the children, for the men. With all the work that women put into their specific households, some education and training would mature from the experience. It was thought again by Aristotle within; Deliberation, Education, and Emancipation, that woman did not possess the aptitude for practical reasoning. For whomever possessed practical reasoning carried with them authority on their decisions and the action pending. From these three classic Greek examples of how women were considered mentally and treated physically, the author Cole provides a progressive outlook of how women could have gained social and political power in a society of male dominant figures.
Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics.
In today’s society boys become men when they hit puberty or lose their virginity. But women on the other hand become women when they get married and have children. It was commonly known that men earn more money in the workplace, and hold higher positions. Since years ago women have been able to do nothing, they had no say nor, could they vote. Women were expected to keep quiet when a problem occurred and not speak up for what they believed in. It was the stereotype that “a woman’s place was in the home”. The men were out making the money for the family so it was like what could you possi...
Aristotle describes the subordination of women to men, speaking of how women must be controlled by men. Later on in his book he mentions how the control of men was in their command and in women their obedience. These concepts were adapted into the lifestyle of Athenian lifestyle, increasingly discriminating women in many ways. They had no role in politics; they were simply supposed to be an object to be seen and not heard.
Though some view it as something that is concrete and cannot be changed, gender is an idea of how each human perceives themselves. Gender is nothing but a concept that is very fluid and can change throughout each generation. Unfortunately, though there is potential for change, human kind has barely made the effort to do so until recent years (barely) and continues to pretend as though these views of the sexes are set in stone. There is still this idea remaining that men should be the “ideal citizen” that brings honor, and that women should be meek and seen not heard. When comparing the views of these gender roles Christine de Pizan and Thucydides (through the voice of Pericles) have differing yet similar views on what is considered to be the
Aristotle is one of the earliest philosophers to help establish woman’s place as Other. For Aristotle, individuals act as parts whose participation contributes to the good of the polis (Femenias, 165). Women are not beneficiaries of this relationship, rather, they are subordinate by nature which prevents them from sociopolitical gain (166). Patriarchy in the Greek family and society have influenced Aristotle to believe it’s impossible to change the nature by which women are confined
The sources that we do have regarding women are invariably from the perspective of men. `Women of Athens have kept a prudent silence' (Just: 1989, 1), therefore, all our knowledge pertaining to women is relative to a male conception of society. `The study of women is furthermore complicated by the fact that we have to study them almost exclusively through statements made by men' (Humphrey: 1983). In my essay I shall discuss the possible reasons why, and the extent to which the female voice was repressed.
Women, in the past decades, have undergone a revolution. They have earned the right to vote and the right to be a man’s equal under the law. They have confronted the obsolete values of male superiority. They have even manage to destabilize the firm belief that only men could be in power. Despite these accomplishments, women have also made a point that we are not equal, simply, men aren’t superior to any women.
Their limitations amongst society can also be noticed by the amount of education that they are entitled to. Plato’s Republic mentions how the role of women is determined by the status of their spouse. For instance, if a woman were to be the wife of a guard, then she would be expected to live at the level of that status, too. She is expected to be able to contribute to society a great deal more rather than stay at home and take care of her children and household.
...men are increasingly holding high-status positions, but follow a more family centered route. Women are not paid as much as men in sports nor in other jobs. Male employers look at women sexually and are less likely to hire women because of discriminatory practices. In order for an end to the discrimination against women, there has to be a cultural change and new policy has to be implemented (Bobbitt-Zeher 2011). More integration in male dominated fields is also necessary to relive the gender differences. Changing the aggressiveness or the masculinity-centered advertisement in sports may allow more women to participate. Something similar can be done for the workplace like, looking at women as workers and not sexual objects or inferior to men because of certain traits they possess. Women should not have to go through this kind of discrimination at this time and age.
In book five of Plato’s Republic, Socrates argues that in the ideal city of Kallipolis, both men and women will serve as guardians and auxiliaries. Consequently, Plato appears to endorse feminist ideologies. Firs,t I will define proto-traditional feminism, and modern feminism. I will then argue that Plato presents Socrates, and thereby himself, as an advocate for feminism. However, I will show that Plato is only a feminist under the proto-traditional definition of feminism. He fails to fit the modern definition of feminism, as this definition is contingent on equality and equity. Furthermore, I will consider the objection that Plato cannot be a feminist due to his motivation for equality. Although Plato endorses some feminist ideologies, his motivation behind his endorsement of these ideologies does not come from the belief that women should be equated to men, but that everyone must play their role in Kallipolis. I will then consider the differences between the traditional definition and modern definition of feminism to show that Plato is indeed a feminist. His motivations behind his endorsements are irrelevant to his advocacy for equality between men and women.
Throughout history, men have traditionally been perceived as superior and prevailing over women. Although women have held many different roles in society, women had always been considered inferior both physically and intellectually. Pericles, a general of Athens, gives his opinion of women’s role in society in his famous funeral speech. He first shows that he views women to be the weaker sex by stating, “…to those of you who will now be in widowhood, it will be all comprised in this brief exhortation. Great will be your glory in not falling short of your natural character”. He believes that naturally women are weak and vulnerable and that they must never be nothing more than that. He continues to give his opinion on women by lastly saying “…greatest will be hers who is least talked of among the men, whether for good or for bad.” He clearly lets us know that women are not to be seen, heard or talked about no matter what they have done or who they are. Pericles tries to make us understand that a woman that is nonexistent is the one who deserves the most glory. Pericles’ ideal of Athenian womanhood brings us to understand that in his opinion women were weak, nonexistent and vulnerable people in a society greatly guided by men’s wisdom. Even though many women did act just as Pericles described them to be, others refused to let men oppress or control them. Hera, Jocasta and Antigone are perfect examples of women that contradicted Pericles’ ideals of Athenian womanhood.
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.
The role women play in today’s society is a drastic change from the previous role. Women used to be confined to the superiority of the man. Physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, belittled, embarrassed, and silenced. These are just a few examples of the emotion from the isolated treatment of the past. A woman’s role in today’s society is more valued than ever before.