Sarah B. Pomeroy introduces the chapter, “Women and the City of Athens”, by examining the true intentions of the Athenian lawmaker, Solon. Solon created multiple laws that regulated the lives of Athenian women. Pomeroy believes that Solon intended to protect not only the women of Athens, but the city itself. Many views on the status and treatment of Athenian women were analyzed. Some scholars contend that women were hated and kept in seclusion, while others claimed the opposite stating that the Athenian women were respected and not secluded.
The role of the Athenian women was different compared to the role of a Spartan woman. In Athens, there were different classes of women; the women had very little choices open to them (Bailey). The women were not able to vote nor own/sell anything of great value (Bailey). The respectable women were not allowed to walk around town unless it was to a neighbor’s house or a religious service (Bailey). The women were at home and had to take care of the household and the children.
In Athens, women were mostly secluded from many things. They could not vote, leave the house without permission from their husband, and more. In Sparta, the rules for women were much more lenient. Spartan women would train with the men and could own land. In both Sparta and Athens, women could marry and raise children.
The war had a great impact on women, as the opportunity to fill jobs originally
The war increased women’s work, caused children to evacuate, and affected British soldiers’ families. Firstly, women in Britain took over jobs that men had before they joined the army. When the men joined the British Army, women stayed at home and were confronted with many obstacles. They had to work in factories.
Socially, women were given more opportunities and roles in society as they took over jobs that were unoccupied due to men heading overseas to fight in the war. For women, there was an increased participation in the workforce, especially in industries previously dominated. This was due to the labour gap created from men leaving the workforce to fight on the front lines. People were initially hesitant to assign these jobs to women, but as the war progressed and
Since both Spartan and Athenian women were being taught about rising a house, taking care of a child and husband there was an importance of marriage in both of the societies for women. But given the information provided on the two in terms of the education was marriage more important to one or the other. “Spartan women were renowned for their courage and their determination to enforce a strict code of honour on their menfolk” [6]. This shows a strong sense of commitment, loyalty, and respect to the relationship that a husband and wife had for each other. As a result of this, Spartan women were allowed to divorce their husbands without fear of losing their personal wealth.
During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles gave a speech during a funeral. In his speech, Pericles states, “Our system is called a democracy, for it respects the majority and not the few…” (Thucydides, 58). This claim is not entirely true. Classical Athens claimed to be a democracy, but did not truly respect the majority and not the few. Many people and groups were not respected and treated equally.
The treatment of women during the Hellenic and Hellenistic eras differed from area to area with Polis’s such as Athens and Sparta, though geographically close, had different standards and laws set for women, while also sharing similar cultural views on women. Differently, with the rise of Rome, there was an introduction of more rights for women and a contrasting view of the relation between husband & wife, yet also retaining similar views to that of the Greeks. Lastly, the successor kingdoms of the Hellenistic era are where there is a significant divergent of how women are treated and viewed, with powerful female rulers springing up from these kingdoms. Athens was arguably the most restrictive of the four when discussing women’s right and how they were view in that society.
Women’s roles has changed dramatically throughout history. By looking at the lives of women, it would be possible to tell how the civilians at that specific period of time were living. In this paper, women’s lives in mainly three civilizations would be discussed, the Sparta, the Athens, and the Hellenistic era. In Sparta, women were needed to live at home, while their husbands remained in military barracks until the age thirty.
Different societies view women in different lights. Therefore, a woman’s position is greatly different from one society to the other. The societies in question do not necessarily have to exist at the same time. Even in the same time frame, two societies could exist, where one treat women as equals to men, and another that treats women differently than men, whether better or worse. The societies in question are: Mesopotamia, Greece, China, Rome & Europe, and this essay aims to study different societies’ viewpoints on women, and to compare and contrast them against each other.
In ancient times, there is a general sense that women were simply items and slaves to their husbands. Ancient Greece specifically has a renowned reputation of favoring men. Men possessed the dominant role in public affairs and events while most women were pressured to stay at home. Very few records extensively discuss women; the records focus mostly on men. Despite the lacking records, it is certain how ancient Greeks viewed their women and their relationships with their male counterparts.
There were plenty of positive impacts. Athenians had high regard for learning, the arts, and literature. They also stressed physical fitness for men. This caused Athens to have a strong and smart army. If the culture expanded, they would have had a larger army as time passed.
Woman as Impulsive Creature and Changing of Fates Long ago, people lacked knowledge on why certain events in the world have happened. The Ancient Greeks created their own answers. The Greek people had a very fascinating way of life, which included telling myths that are still being told today. There are many reasons for why women in Ancient Greece were viewed as impulsive and why gods were not able to interfere with the fates of others.
Over generations, the role of women in society has shifted and changed immensely, improving upon many aspects of rights and values that women have. The changes occurred gave women opportunities to provide ideas, to have the same rights as men, giving women freedom, leading to many contributions of many significant and valuable events. But from current roles of women being equal to those of men, how women stood in ancient society significantly differs and contrast with ours today. Throughout history, the role and significance of women were always outweighed by the dominance and influence of men. The role of women in ancient times varied throughout, depending on the place and area in the world, in which women had different roles and impacts on their own society.
