The Status of Women in Ancient Greek Roman and Modern American Cultures

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The status of women has varied greatly between the ages and from culture to culture. The rights of women, their legal status, and how they are seen by society shaped their lives. 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 were barred from conducting legal proceedings, the husband or guardian would do so on their behalf. However, women could acquire rights over property through gifts, dowry and inheritance, though her guardian retained the ability to dispose of it as they saw fit. The distribution and ownership of inheritance was very one sided and complex. A woman’s property always remained separate from her husband’s if she had any. The husband possessed total control of any property while he lived. Control passed to their children if they were of age or their guardians when the husband died. If a relative or ch... ... middle of paper ... ...raveled around the city in a litter carried by slaves. Women gathered in the streets on a daily basis to meet with friends, attend religious rites at temples, or to visit the baths. The wealthiest families had private baths at home, but most went to bath houses not only to wash but to socialize, as the larger facilities offered a range of services and recreational activities, among which casual sex was not excluded. For entertainment women could attend debates at the Forum, the public games, chariot races, and theatrical performances. By the late Republic, they regularly attended dinner parties, though in earlier times the women of a household dined in private together. Modern women in America Are light years ahead of her poor Athenian sisters when it comes to independence and even her Roman sisters are left far behind in terms of freedom to dictate her own life.

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