The Feminist Theory and the Women of Ancient Greece Since the beginning of time there has been an ever present divide between the male and female genders in every way. From politics all the way down to expectations, the common denominator in categorizing who takes care of what has always been decided by gender. In earlier times this divide led to the strict and often harsh treatment of women, but as time continued and the emergence of equal rights and feminist movements arose, the divide between the two genders has since begun to close, and has led to better relations between men and women. One of the many products of these movements over time was the creation of the feminist theory through the feminist movements. The feminist movements or …show more content…
This was the first of three waves of feminist movements and women like Margaret Sanger, and Florence Nightingale, played integral roles in the progression of feminist movements, and worked to establish nursing within the military, as well as lobbying to abolish slavery (Cawater-info.net). The feminist theory which is a result of these movements, is composed of four parts that focus on examining the status of women and men in society, in the hopes of using the information gathered to better the lives of women (About.com). The first aspect of the feminist theory focuses on gender differences, which analyzes the differences in the experiences that women and men have socially (About.com). The second aspect of this theory is gender inequality which suggests that the different social experiences explained in the first aspect of this theory, are a direct result of the inequalities between men and women, and that the reason to this is that historically women have not had the …show more content…
The social, physical, and mental expectations of women were very high and very strict. Women were to be married young and as virgins to their much older husbands (pg. 28). They were also expected to produce children, specifically sons, and were not allowed access to the legal system in most areas of Greece (Ian and Powell, 28-34). They could not be and were not seen as individuals outside of their homes, and ancient Greek texts held a mostly misogynous view of women during that time (Ian and Powell, 28-32). Hesiod, a famous Greek poet, even goes on to say that women were sent by Zeus as punishment to mortal men and that they are the epitome of deceit and lust (Ian and Powell 29-32). Also, women were confined to sex within their marriage, while men had the choice of seeking extramarital affairs with prostitutes or slaves that they acquired (Ian and Powell, 35). Overall the lives of the women of ancient Greece were far from glamorous, and there was not much of a difference in the treatment of women concerning their social class. The well off house wife was maybe a step or two above the “lowly” prostitute, and that was most likely due to the fact that a well off woman might have been able to receive an education because of her family’s status. Whatever the circumstances were however, it appears that women had no place or value in ancient Greece other than to have children and
In Ancient Greece, women had little to no freedom in their lives. For instance, they had no role in politics, leaving that completely to men, were expected to stay indoors for the majority of their lives doing household work because they were under the control of a male relative, usually being their father or husband, and they were not allowed to study medicine. These standards were set by great writers such as Aristotle who wrote of women being inferior to men. He believed women were more emotional, which is why they would be useless in politics, and they were more deceptive and mischievous. Because only men were doctors, many women were dying during childbirth due to the fact that they felt uncomfortable about having a man handle their pregnancy.
Women had very few rights, they lived as prisoners, serving men 24 hours a day. Women were sheltered from society, restricted to their husbands and their husbands houses, crying out for help and justice but there is no one to there to hear their screams. In the play Antigone when the title character had to sneak out of the house to meet up with Ismene. Ancient Greek men ruled a lot like over protective fathers with teenage daughters. Men were also scared of women gaining confidence and begin thinking on their own or worse taking action or speaking out against men, like in the play Antigone where Antigone confronts Creon by burying Polyneices after Creon strictly stated that no one bury him. If someone were to bury him, the whole Polis would stone them to death. When Creon found out that someone buried Polyneices, he did not even consider that it could have been a women that did it.
There isn’t enough literature from this time period from the lower and middle classes of society, and the view of women we have comes from writings of the upper class males. As much of an enigma that the women of Athens were, it is clear that “women were for the most part legal nonentities,” (O’Neal 117) that were denied any association and participation in the intellectual life of their city. The women were not involved in getting an education, and never learned to read or write. O’Neal writes, “The principal spokesmen of fifth century Athens, Pericles and Thucydides, disdained Athenian women.” (O’Neal 117) Based on their writing, and on surmountable evidence, it can be assumed that women had only two roles in Athens - a wife, or a mother. A girl was ideally married at 14 or 15 years of age, and there was necessity that the bride was a virgin, otherwise she was shamed and sold into
The earlier feminist movements dealt mainly with achieving basic rights for women and the later
The freedom which prostitutes enjoyed would be better understood only after first assessing the status of "respectable" women in Athens. Girls were raised from an early age to learn domestic affairs and were to be wed even as early as the age of fourteen (Just 1989: 40). Marriage was almost mandatory as single women were looked upon as shameful and might even be labeled as "whores". The wedding was almost always arranged by the father or kyrios and from this point on the woman's role was clear. Pericles gives a good explanation of the ideal wife in his famous Funeral Oration when reminding the women of Athens that: "Your great glory is not to be inferior in the way nature made you; and the greatest glory is hers who is least talked about by men, whether in praise or in blame (Thucydides: 2.45)." This implies that an Athenian's woman virtue lay in her absence from the public eye. Athenians made sure to protect their wives' virtue by excluding women f...
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.
According to research, the role of women in classical Greece was extremely limited. Men and women were segregated all over in the Greek society, even in the home (Source 9). Women were secluded in their homes to the point of not being able to leave their own quarters except on special religious occasions or as necessity dictated (Source 10). All women were tightly controlled and confined to the home to insure that their husbands were provided legitimate male heirs. Beyond this, women had no true value (Source 6). Clearly, male domination in Greek society was like enslavement to women. A marriage contract dated 92 B.C. can be located in Women's Life in Greece & Rome by Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant which defines unacceptable behavior within the union of marriage. The document requires that both husband and wife be chaste within the context of the household, but although nothing prevents ...
Athenian women had almost no influence or power in Greek society and were not highly regarded until they could produce a male child (Socrates). The common belief at that time (in most Western societies) was that women were necessary to produce children. Women existed for the sake of procreation, to bear sons in order to continue the family name (Aristotle states that the man supplies the substance, the soul, i.e. the form for children, the woman provides only the nourishment), (Source: Generation of Animals). In Athenian society, extramarital affairs by husbands with women (and men) was the norm, and it indeed contributed to the image of a man’s prosperity if he had a mistress. Did the males in this society consider their wives praiseworthy? In my opinion the answer is no, since a wife who was the husband’s property and could be disciplined if she did not conform to the Athenian standards of wife. Athenian wives were judged in society by their frugality, ability to raise sons, and their devotion and faithfulness to their husbands, (e.g., Penelope and Odysseus). A married woman caught in adultery would have been forced to abandon her home and children for the disgrace it would bring the family name, (Hunt, pg. 70). Men in ancient Athens (as in just about every Western civilization) had altered views of women. They saw women as being weak and dependent (Xenophon Oeconomicus), and because of the socioeconomic structure of the time, they were.
Greek women, as depicted as in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of man and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was by far more impressive than what men did.
In “Stereotype and Reversal in Euripides’ Medea,” Shirley A. Barlow asserts that Medea is a foreign woman who does not want to accept to adapt to the labels that are placed on women of Greek society, unless it allows her to gain favor for her to accomplish her revenge on those who have ruined her life.
Feminism in Greece today reflects a gradual increase in the importance of the role of women in the Greek society and is similar to the status of women in most developed countries. Feminism in ancient Greece was much more complicated due to the perceived lower status of women vs. men. On the one hand, women were objects and possessions with no rights. But on the other hand, they were central to the actions of the men around and often carried great informal influence. They were the weaker gender, but were also seen as people who could easily persuade men. They often had to achieve a sort of balancing act between being an object and being an influencer. This contrasts with today, where women have gradually moved away from being an object and their
Since the beginning of biological time, males and females have had noticeable and unnoticeable differences. These differences have caused conflicts, which have endured time and are still a part of our modern everyday lives. However, the discord has become more defined than what is characterized as a woman and a man. In order to attempt accordance between the sexes, it is essential that we educated ourselves in the true meanings of men, women, masculinity, femininity and the power aspects involved.
We can find a great culture and history about the Ancient Greece referring to their culture, roots, beliefs, their worships and Goddess. I can say I like their history it is very interesting but one of the things that I don’t agree is that it is not fair to see that women had no good choices in the Ancient Greece. Referring to the question I have this opinion because women don’t deserve to be treated like as a simple object, with no freedom, no educations, and no rights. We can found a very strict culture were men in the old Classical Athens they control all the civilians ownership of private property, and freedom, referring to the Greek women’s they had a very limited life by not having that many options. We can find the only options that
The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then, it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be three waves of feminism, each wave fighting for a different issue concerning women’s rights. Laws protecting sexual assault and alimony would be enacted, and women were now allowed custody of their children in divorce cases.
In the 19th century, there was an up rise in feminism for their social role in life. Women were expected to be an average house wife, to take orders from their husbands without questioning them. The woman did not have privileges such as right to vote, to be educated, be free spirited and hold jobs. They lived in patriarchal society where man made all the decision in the household and his wife followed them. The inequality between the genders created frustration amongst females, of which after a prolonged mental impact they revolted. It can be said that the ambition for women to fight for their rights sparked the feminist movement. This movement was based on set of viewpoints, political ideologies, cultural and moral beliefs where women felt compelled to obtain their given rights. The feminist movement was a multi-facet of waves, each of which left an impression to the issues in relation to social status, legal inequalities, and liberation.