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Roman and greek women gender
Gender roles then and now
Women in modern Roman society
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In general, there are many characteristics that could represent the image of an ideal woman. According to Livy, the qualities or behavior make Lucretia an ideal Roman woman are being young and vigorous. She behaves quite differently from the daughters-in-law of the King (Livy). For example, “even though it was night, Lucretia was still working on her spinning, with her servants, in the middle of her house” (Livy). This shows that, she is a hard working person and does not like to rely on others to do the work for her. Because of her beauty, the king’s son named “Sextus Tarquinius was seized by the desire to violate Lucretia's chastity” (Livy). In other words, he wanted to have sex with her. The method that Sextus Tarquinius use to frighten
“If there were some women quite unlike her who made herself available to everyone, who always had some man that she had openly designated as her lover…who even kept young men and made up for their fathers stinginess by paying for them” (Pro Caelio 38, pg 144). Clodia was known throughout Rome for having many sexual relationships outside of wedlock with countless men of Rome. She is even considered by many to be the famed Lesbia, the lover of the famed Roman neoteric poet Catullus. Cicero is setting the stage for his denouncement of Clodia by styling her as a women that is a direct contrast to what a Roman women should be. We are given countless examples of the perfect Roman women: Rhea Sylvia, Lucretia, and Virginia to name a few. While not directly referred to by Cicero the stories of these women would be common knowledge in Rome and the fact that Clodia’s life style contrasts these aforementioned women would be obvious. Cicero then goes even further and accuses Clodia of being not simply a prostitute but a crude person, someone with overt and offensive sexual desires : “her embraces, her kisses, her beach parties, her boating parties, and her dinner parties all declare her to be not simply a prostitute but a lewd and lascivious prostitute at that” (Pro Caelio 49, pg 148). This is Cicero attempting to
... Overall, the Dido and Lucretia exemplify what it means to be an ideal Roman woman. They uphold the values that Virgil and Livy find most important. Dido does this through her solution to her offenses, and Lucretia by her ability to look past personal status and focus on the well-being of Rome. Works Cited Livy.
Machiavelli and Castiglione both present the epitome of perfection in their topics of leadership and the way a women should be, respectively. In the case of Castiglione's work, it is stated by signor Gaspare that "...in the way people sometimes hanker after things that are impossible and miraculous, rather then explain them you (Magnifico) have wished them into existence." This quote is true of both excerpts. Both have created idealisms that are of perfection; however, both do also allow for imperfection. Again in the excerpt from Castiglione's work where Magnifico states "...because man is more robust, more quickly agile and more able to endure toil..." shows the obvious imperfections of the female gender. Machiavelli, on the topic of leadership, also talks of imperfections: "The new prince - above all other princes - cannot escape being called cruel, since new governments about in dangers." Leaders therefore are left to the mercy of their own imperfections and the imperfections of the human spirit. Perfection, even mixed in with a few imperfections, is very hard to meet. One would have to be of the offspring of God to meet some of the qualities mentioned. However, far from the offspring of God, there is another that comes close to many of the generalizations stated. She is a leader behind a leader and is probably one of the strongest women of her time. First, Mrs. Clinton as a leader possesses many of the qualities mentioned by Machiavelli; such as her toughness and appearance of good morals. In Castiglione's realm, she matches the qualities of dignity and strong virtues. Hillary Clinton clearly shows qualities mentioned in both excerpts regarding her position as a leader and as a woman.
Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).
When Tamora and Lavinia first appear in the play they seem to be quite similar. Both the women are treated like property to be traded between men. Lavinia is traded between Saturninus and Bassianus and at one point Bassianus says “this made is mine” (1.1.279). In this moment Lavinia is not her own person, but is the property of a man, and she appears to have no will of her own. Slightly later in the same scene, Tamora seems to be in the same position as Lavinia. Saturninus, after losing Lavinia to Bassianus, decides “I choose thee, Tamora, for my bride and will crate thee Empress of Rome” (1.1.322-23). Tamora
The time is the sixth century, the place is Rome and the person is Lucretia, a woman who contributed to one of the biggest parts of Roman history: the creation of the Roman republic. The rape of the virtuous Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Tarquinius Superbus' (an Etruscan king) was the final straw for the Roman people and pushed them to want to change from a monarchy to a republic. From the accounts of the rape of Lucretia from ancient historians like Livy, Cicero and Dionysius, it is clear that Lucretias rape not only spurred the roman people to want to get rid of the Etruscan King and his family, but also revealed the important role of virtue in women in roman society.
2. Procopius starts this document stating that Theodora is nothing more than a prostitute. He goes on to say that she was not of class or had any dignity, because she would perform on stage almost completely nude. Procopius portrays her as someone who is ruthless and will do whatever she needs to do to accomplish her goals. Justinian would fall in love with her, but was not allowed to marry her because of his social status, because
Women are important in life and act in many different ways, this poem portray them in the many roles they play in life. The portrayal is a generalization on all that women are capable of being and doing. Faithfulness is the quality in Odysseus that is his motivation to return to his wife who is in different ways even more faithful. Penelope represents the "best of women" in the poem. Penelope along with other characters like Nausicaa and Arete that fall under this category represents ideals for marriage. Penelope's role in the poem is the reward and prize to Odysseus' suffering but it is her virtue, which make the sufferings worthwhile. The one important role of Penelope that makes her a desirable wife aside from her beauty and faithfulness is that she anchors the kingship of Ithaka. The suitors saw that the one who married Pene...
Ultimately, Lucrezia Borgia was not as evil as she has long been depicted. She was an honest and hardworking woman. From her enormous enterprise to her parenting, Lucrezia was a somewhat decent person.
Atwood is playing with two levels of myth here: the Homeric myth of ‘faithful Penelope’ and cultural myths about women as either submissive or domestic (Howell 9). After marriage Penelope spends most of her time alone in boredom and Eurycelia, former nurse of Odysseus, often reminds her duties as wife by saying, “So you can have a nice big son for Odysseus. That’s your job” (63). Furthermore, Atwood recounts the vulnerability of alone woman in the male dominated world. To grab opportunity of being king, a number of suitors assemble at Ithaca, to marry Penelope, and she thinks, “They all were vultures when they spot the dead cow: one drops, then another, until finally every vulture for miles around is tearing up the carcass” (103). Moreover, Atwood argues about the partiality of sexual of freedom along with the vexed relationship between man and woman, as the former can do sex with any other woman such as Odysseus’s affairs with the goddess and whores, but the woman is restricted to marriage like Penelope. The foremost fatuous allegation makes on Penelope is about her faithfulness and loyalty for her husband Odysseus, and she defends herself from any sexual conduct in the chapter, “slanderous gossip”. The death of Amphinomus, the politest suitor among all, leaves the question of marital infidelity among the genders.
Despite Egypt’s provincial annexation to Rome after her death, Cleopatra managed to keep the Romans at bay for nearly twenty-two years. Unfortunately, much of her achievements have been disparaged and attributed to the utilization of her sexuality. To add, her image as a competent female ruler has been further distorted by the media and literature alike. Much of this misrepresentation can be accredited to the scarcity of reliable and unbiased accounts about her life. The Romans were afraid of Cleopatra’s power and the alliances she created with their generals. Therefore, accounts of her life in Roman scripture are not particularly in her favor.
The definition of Renaissance women is fundamentally important in William Shakespeare's play Othello. One of the major causes of Othello's tragedy is his belief that Desdemona is not chaste. According to the men of the Renaissance, chastity, silence, and obedience are three attributes that define Renaissance women. Although Othello takes place during the Renaissance, the women in the play, Bianca, Desdemona and Emilia, defy traditional norms by lacking at least one of the major attributes defining women; Bianca's lack of chastity is clearly displayed when she unlawfully sleeps with Cassio; Desdemona's lack of silence is clearly displayed when she constantly urges Othello to give Cassio's position back. However, in the last two acts, Emilia displays the strongest challenge to the definition of Renaissance women as silent, chaste, and obedient, mainly to defend Desdemona.
Aristophanes stereotypes women as bickering, self-centered, unintelligent people in the beginning. They are sex driven and selfish. Lysistrata is upset that the women are late for the very important meeting "Here I've called a meeting to discuss a very important matter, and they're all still fast asleep" (180). Calonice sums up what women are thought to do all day, and also what they represent to their households; "The women! What could they ever do that was any use? Sitting at home putting flowers in their hair, putting on cosmetics and saffron gowns and Cimberian see-through shifts, with slippers on our feet?" (181). It is in fact these very frivolous ideas that are used to bring peace to the two cities. Throughout the play Aristophanes begins to knock down ...
"Power and Women in Lysistrata: Character Analysis of Lysistrata." Article Myriad. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. .
She had a true love for Cassio, but he gave her nothing in return. He was ashamed of being around her in public. You’re able to see each women’s own personality and compare it with the other ones. Some women stayed the same, while others evolved into new people.