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Impact of women on society
Women's effect in society
Women's role in ancient societies
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Significantly all the more politically mindful were the two magnificent consorts Livia wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius, and Agrippina the More youthful, wife of Claudius and mother of Nero suggests that both harmed their spouses. Regardless of whether proposals of strings of different homicides and, on account of Agrippina, of mates as well, including her own particular child, are advocated, both ladies without a doubt controlled the framework to guarantee that their children by a prior marriage got to be sovereign, and both children became effectively to show abhorrence for their moms. Livia had a recognized blue-blooded family. At 19, be that as it may, and six months pregnant, she was compelled to separate, or be separated by, her spouse, with a specific end goal to wed Octavian, who had advantageously separated his own wife. After they had confronted down the general population objection at the circumstances of their marriage, the union, amid which she got remarkable respects, went on for a long time. Roman ladies were permitted to possess and acquire property and some ran organizations. In specific exchanges, a few ladies helped their husbands,especially in silver working and perfumery. …show more content…
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
Spartan women were allowed to own and control land. “Yet it does seem to be the case that Spartan daughters received as dowries one-half the amount of their parents’ property that their brothers received as inheritance.” (Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. "Becoming a Spartan Woman." Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 143. Print) Whereas Athenian women only received one-sixth the amount that their brothers inherited. Spartan women inherited three times as more than their Athenian sisters. Spartan women were also allowed and even encouraged to be educated, whereas the education of Athenian girls was almost nonexistent. In Athens the majority of girls “… received merely a basic training in how to run the household, generally from their mothers. Girls may even have been discouraged from becoming literate in order to keep them “unspoiled.”( Garland, Robert. "The People." Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. 103. Print.) Whereas in Sparta the girls were educated at the state’s expense. “Specific lines of development were prescribed for Spartan girls as much as they were for boys. The educational system for girls was also organized according to age classes. (Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. "Becoming a Spartan Woman." Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 141. Print) Spartan women were also allowed more freedoms in the way that they dressed than their Athenian counterparts. “In earlier times Athenian women wore the peplos, a long heavy woolen garment which revealed little of the figure beneath. In the middle of the sixth century B.C., the peplos was replaced by a lighter and finer garment made of linen called
Lucretia and Dido are both viewed as ideal Roman women. The story of Lucretia is found in Livy’s Early History of Rome, while Dido is written about in The Aeneid by Virgil. By looking at Roman values, the story of Lucretia, the story of Dido, their similarities and differences, the background of Livy and Virgil, as well as the similarities and differences of Virgil and Livy’s views toward them, Dido and Lucretia can be seen as exemplary Roman women. Roman society operated under the authority of paterfamilias. Paterfamilias is where the oldest living male of the family was considered to be the father of the household; he had “virtual life and death authority over the entire household” (MPN, 107).
" 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 ... ...
Archaeological evidence collected in ancient Laconia reveals great insight into the role and status of Spartan women until 371 BC. A compilation of written sources shows the unique treatment of women in Sparta compared with that of other ancient Greek societies. This treatment differs the economic, religious, marital, reproductive and social responsibilities from those of gender archetypes.
Spartan women were considered fundamentally more advanced than other women of Athens, due to the way that Spartan women were reared. Spartan women were treated equally to men, and given freedom like the men were. They were given the opportunity to train with men, and were even slightly more educated than their male cohorts. Spartan women were exceptionally more advanced than other women during this age due to these factors, and are a great example of strong women within past civilizations.
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.
Athenian Women: Just as a mother nurses a child, Athenian society, nurtured and cultivated a submissive role for women. In Athens, women endured many difficulties and hardships in multiple areas including marriage, wealth, and social life. All three elements shaped and formed the mold of the submissive female. In Athens, women had no legal personhood and were assumed to be part of a household headed by a male. Until marriage, women were under the guardianship of their father or other male relative, once married the husband became the woman’s guardian. Marriage, a modern romanticized idea of being united with a lifelong partner by love was the furthest thought from the mind of a woman living in ancient Greece. When a young woman was to marry, she was given in marriage by her male relatives. The woman’s voice had no bearing on the matter legally or otherwise. Marriage was seen as an exchange making it a practical business arrangement, not a love match.
Women in antiquity did not have an easy lot in life. They had few, if any, rights. Surviving early records of the civilizations of antiquity from ancient Greece, Egypt, China, and Rome suggest the diversity of women’s roles differed little from region to region. There were a few exceptions, mostly concerning women of nobility and the city-state of Sparta. Excluding the rare instances mentioned most antique women were generally limited on education, mobility, and almost all possibilities interfering with domestic or childbearing responsibilities. The limited social roles of women in antiquity suggest the perceived c...
In Ancient Greek civilization, being a rich man would be the position that offered the most opportunities. This was a vast contrast compared to the opportunities presented to an Ancient Greek woman. But even for the richest women, becoming a priestess at a well-known temple would be considered the highest position offered to them. Despite this, becoming a priestess or taking any role in Greek ritual would mean a tremendous amount of faith on the part of the aspiring woman.
In the home, Athenian women were treated like slaves with no rights. Married women were not people under the law of the Athenians any more than a slave, as they were shifted from one male’s authority to another throughout their lives, powerless to affect anything except through the intercession of another male (To Have Power or to Not Have Power: Athenian vs. Spartan Women). Also, when other males occupied their home; women we told to evacuate the male quarters. Women lived secluded in their own quarters, kept out of the lives of their husbands, working endlessly at the loom or some other repetitive chore. They competed for their husband’s affection against prostitutes, hetairai, and slaves of both genders, including those within their own household. By contrast, Spartan girls exercised publicly alongside boys(and often in the nude) (Fleck).Thus, Spartan women were rarely confined to the home. This is because of the abundance of a workforce and male children serving in the army from seven to
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.
During that whole time men were only written about riding and taming these creatures, not women. Ancient Greece was a civilization where men did all the rough tasks while women stayed home caring for kids and cleaning. In a world characterized by male dominance, one woman stood out. Kyniska of Sparta was the most important visionary for women’s’ rights because of her understanding of class structure through participating in the Olympic Games. She became the first woman ever to win the four-horse chariot race with her own bred and tamed horses.
As the Classical World began to emerge, the relation between men and women start to change. During the Greek and Roman Empire, men continuing to be powerful in the society, and were the ones who trained for oncoming battles. As well woman rights were emerging slowly during the period. Women started as a possession of the men, and ended with own rights and choices of profession. The civilization of Greece had two main cities, Sparta and Athens. Men and women in Sparta were strong, they started training together, and at the age of twelve were separate. Then boys were sent to the barracks, were the military training continued, and girls keep with their trained to became worthy of a good male. Spartan women were free, they could ran businesses
In fact there is evidence in the 1st century BC of Priene, a woman named Phyle became the first woman in office as a crown bearer, who also paid for a cistern to store water, and water pipes for the city( “A Woman in politics: Phyle, Wife of Thessalos”, page 227). In addition there was evidence of a female philosopher named Hipparchia from the city of Maroneia, a female doctor and midwife named Phanostrate, from Athens in the 4th century BC, and a harpist named Polygnota from Delphi in 86 B.C. ( “A Woman Philosopher: The Life of Hipparchia” page 227; “ A Professional Women: Phanostrate, Midwife and Doctor”, page 227; “ A Professional Woman: The Theban Harpist Polygnota, Daughter of Socrates”, page 228). In addition there have been discovered letters dated back from 90-120 AD, which were actually birthday invitations from an officer 's wife named Claudia Severa to her friends and sister . With these sources, one can’t conclude that females had no other roles in the ancient world. Although a majority of women were forced into the life bearing kids and just caring for the household, because that was the ideal role that was given to them and there was no other role to look up to, not all females were restricted that life. Females like Phyle and Phanostrate were both married and in addition was a doctor, or politician. Also, the
The Ancient Greece civilization was very different in between female and male. Female and male had a unique role in the ancient Greece civilization. This civilization was under male control because only men possibly will be citizens and only highborn males benefit from a proper education. Men got instruction in military, involve in politics or went to the Theatre for amusement. The men observed dramas tragedies, or comedies that they were related to.