In the city-state of Athens around fifth century BCE, men and women worked around the clock, making sure that their oikos (household) reflected exceptionally upon the polis (city-state). Citizens were the only people who had full control over the household, while everyone else who was not a citizen lacked and/or lucked out on many of the privileges. Being a citizen came with many entitlements, but it also brought a great deal of responsibility with it as well. Running a highly respect oikos required effort from not only the men, but also from the women, who played many vital and significant roles. Daily responsibilities were split among men and women; however, in order to maintain the oikos both had to contribute exponentially, and no work of either sexes was more important than …show more content…
Athenians believed that the work load for each individual had been divided from the beginning and both men and women serve their own objective. Since each of the members knew what was expected of them, there would be no confusion on what work was reversed for men and what was reserved for the women. Any Athenian should not go against their nature (as either a man or women), in terms of their work and also fully commit to their daily duties and responsibilities. Men knew that women were capable of attending to the work of the private sphere, which also meant men’s presence was no required. The work of the private sphere was considered to be of most importance since it was regarding the oikos, and it was in not considered trivial. Women had to cook, make cloths, watch over slaves, and see to the goods/items that were coming in or going out; likewise, all of these tasks kept the oikos well-rounded. With the women having a secure handling over the functions of the oikos, that allowed the men to go out to the public sphere and continue with their end of the
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.
As I am a recent participant in the Assembly, some of you may not be familiar with my person. I am Simon, a cobbler from the Deme District of Athens in the Kydathenaeum. It was through my profession that I met Socrates, of whom I am a follower. He was my inspiration to attend the Assembly and to become an active participator in its discussions. Through Socrates and my visits to the Assembly, I gained my belief that those citizens who participate in the Assembly and serve as jurors in the law courts should not receive compensation because they are taking part in their civic duty as Athenians.
In order to support the patriarchal nature of Athenian society, every aspect of their society emphasized the power and significance of males. The oikos, or the household, was the basic foundation of the society with many oikoi coming together to form their polis, Athens. Each oikos consisted of a man, who was the head of that oikos, and everybody else that lived in his household, including his wife, children, and slaves. Since the society greatly stressed masculinity, this was also central to the oikos as well. Adultery’s threat to Athenian society is represented in Lysias’s speech, On the Murder of Eratosthenes. Adultery was seen as a social rather than a personal issue and a more atrocious crime than rape because it demasculinized men and
Men spent there time doing things outside the home, such as visiting markets and going to the gymnasium; meanwhile, women were required to spend their time at home. Some families could afford to have female slaves, but those slaves did not do every single job, so the wives were required to tend to the household and infants, which made it not possible to leave their house. Women sought companionship in other women to talk about their daily tasks and gossip. Athenian women were clothed and secluded so that they would be concealed from the eyes of strange men. They wore simple clothing that was not eye catching. The chapter also talks about the death rates of women in their childbearing years and how the death rates increased during these times. Pomeroy uses a chart about what occurs during a women’s pregnancy that was fascinating and explains what happens during pregnancy, as well as rituals.
" While this view may have been extreme even for the Greeks, they were convinced of the physical and intellectual inferiority of women. Thus, they believed that it was better for all--the woman included--that a wife should stay in the home far removed from the complicated business of the "man's world."... ... middle of paper ... ...
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.
Unlike other Greek city states, women played an integral role in Spartan society as they were the backbone of the Spartan economic system of inheritance and marriage dowry and they were relied upon to fulfill their main responsibility of producing Spartan warrior sons. These principle economic systems affected wealth distribution among Spartan citizens especially among the Spartan elite class. Spartan women led a completely different life than women in most other ancient Greek city states, as they were depended upon to maintain Spartan social systems. In a society where the state is more involved in home life women had freedom of movement and they were permitted to communicate with men who were not their husbands. Women had domestic responsibilities including the maintenance of homes and farms when the men were on campaign, while the typical Greek female responsibilities such as weaving were delegated to slaves. Girls were raised much like Spartan boys as they were made to go through physical training insuring their success in fulfilling their most important role in society, child-bearing. The few primary sources on Sparta and Spartiate women, namely Aristotle, Plutarch, Herodotus and Xenophon were historians who lived after the prominence of ancient Sparta; therefore, the facts regarding the women’s influence in social, economic and political issues must be carefully interpreted and analysed with help from secondary sources.
Women in the ancient world had few rights, they differed from country to country or, in the case of the women of Athens and Sparta, from city-state to the city-state. The women of the city-states of Athens and Sparta had profound differences in their roles in the political and the daily lives of their families and their cities. When it came to the difference in levels of power and the rights of women, Sparta was a leader in its time. At the same time, their rights as citizens were almost the same. While they did not take an active part in politics, they had opinions and ideas like women all over the world. Their thoughts, deeds, and opinions rarely recorded or if they were, the male historians or philosophers of the time recorded them. What were roles did the women in ancient Athens and Sparta? Were they citizens, did they have personal freedoms? On the other hand, did they in a time when the beginnings of democracy were happening were they less than a second-class citizen? The misogyny and patriarchal societies continued throughout the ancient and classical periods only beginning to change in the Hellenistic era.
Much like world war two when men went away to serve in battle, the women took care of the property and managed the home. Spartan Husbands spent most of their time with other men in the military barracks; since the men were rarely home, the women were free to take charge of almost everything outside of the army (Fleck). Women owned forty percent of land in Spartan society. In comparison, Athenian law did not allow a woman to participate in a business transaction involving anything that’s value exceeded the sum of money equivalent to that needed to feed a family for five to six days. Thus, why Athenian women had no control in owning property. Also, if she wanted to buy groceries at the local market, she would needed the approval of a male guardian (father, brother, husband). An Athenian woman could have owned a slave, yet she would have a lacked the authority to sell them away. This power again was given to the males of the household. She might have had a claim to land as well, yet she would not even have had the right to use it let alone sell it. In ancient Athens, then, it is probably better to speak of rights and not of ownership when it comes to women’s
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 system of government we have today was starting to developed centuries ago by the Athenians and Romans. Both governments were established with the intent to give power to the people, even though it did not always play out that way in society. The Athenian democracy and the Roman republic were two very different governments in practice, but also maintained similar characteristics in both systems of government.
With respect to women and their place in Greek society, it was essentially based on the family unit. Initially, the household and/or Oikos were composed of both free individuals and slaves. Basically, the Oikos were under the dominion of the head of the household, and were bound by a set of complex family relationships. “The household covered not only the members of the nuclear family, but the whole physical and economic unit, including property, and land, and there was strict limitation of succession by inheritance.”1 Interestingly, with respect inheritance, marriage and property, the primary concern was for the preservation of the family, their survival and the survival of the Oikos. “Typically a man would marry when the property was divided on death…and would eventually establish his own Oikos…thirty or thirty five appears to have been the normal age for a man to marry.”2 It was stated in Athenian law that sons succeed their fathers, and all sons were to share the inheritance. However, a family with no sons, the inheritance would most often be left to the daug...
According to page 263, Athenian women were treated differently than mn. First of all, girls did not go to school. Instead, they helped out around the house and were taught by their mothers to cook, clean, spin thread, and weave cloth. Not only did girls help out around the house, but they also learned ancient secret songs and dances for religious festivals. Surprisingly, wealthy girls can become married by the young age of 15. But, there father has to choose who she has to marry. On the other hand, the poor girls have more of a choice to choose who she wants to marry. Lastly, this shows the success of the city state because if the men were always training, there would not be anyone to take care of the houses and crops, which is why the woman did all of the chores. In conclusion, the woman took care of the houses while the men were training.
There were likewise some female specialists. In a rich Greek family, the wife was relied upon to run the home and, here and there, to deal with the funds. Poor ladies, obviously, had no way out. They may additionally need to assist their with husbandsing with ranch work. Ladies, even rich ones, were relied upon to turn and weave material and make garments. Simple ladies had significantly more flexibility than those of other Greek city-states. Sparta was the main express that endorsed state funded training for its young ladies. In Sparta, a lady's spouse was not her lawful expert as in
The Greeks system of democracy was an entirely new concept when it was created, and one that has had lasting affects as it continues to influence present day politics around the globe. Modern day democracies may very well not exist if it wasn’t for the success the Athenians had with democracy. Today we look back at these ancient civilizations and we try to better our current society by learning from their mistakes and building on their success.