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Gender roles in ancient greece and rome research paper
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Gender roles in ancient greece and rome research paper
Women throughout history
Women in ancient rome essay
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By Zeus’s actions, it is evident that although Odysseus was held prisoner, women lacked this power and leverage in society compared to men and were subject to this treatment due to this gender
The role of women in The Odyssey is to exhibit the many roles that women perform in the lives of men. There is a quote that states that behind every successful men there is a woman; to which homer would probably agree. As it was stated before, we can make reference to such quote by picturing The Odyssey without woman in the epic. Without woman, Odysseus would probably make it faster to Ithaca or would probably die in many of the obstacles that Zeus was putting in his way. Men’s position or respect, in ancient Greek mythology, was determinate by the things had successfully fulfilled in their life but no men had ever recognize that such success is part of the role that woman have in their lives.
In Greek epics, tragedies, and mythology women are portrayed in various ways. Women are mainly considered to be weak and less important than men, but there are some women who are shown to be strong and heroic, despite the reputation that was placed onto them in Ancient Greek civilizations. There were two particular women that were strong and took the roles of their husbands while the men left to fight in the Trojan War. These two women were Penelope, wife of Odysseus, and Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon. These two women were different in how they chose to rule while their husbands were at war and how they acted once they got back.
Women in The Odyssey Gender roles, specifically of women, were a little different back in 700 B.C. They played more of a typical role, expected to get married and have kids at a young age. They were expected to take care of the house and children, while their husbands were out fighting wars. However, while women in The Odyssey were greatly valued for their beauty, Homer reveals that they also had to be intelligent to be successful in their lives.
In The Odyssey written by Homer and translated by Emily Wilson is from the perspective of Odysseus, a mortal who has a strenuous journey in order to get back to Ithaca. We follow Odysseus through the story as he faces difficulties on the way back to his home. The challenges Odysseus's faces are primarily brought on by gods and magical creatures for instance, sirens who try and hypnotize Odysseus and his crew, Polyphemus, Circe, Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, etc. In The Odyssey, women have far less power than men because, by ancient Greek standards, men have much more physical strength rather than female manipulative and psychological strength, for instance, with mortals, goddesses, and female mythological creatures.
In Homer's epic The Odyssey, Calypso demonstrates the theme of gender roles and grief. This is shown through Calypso’s actions such as sleeping with Odysseus, holding him hostage on her island, and using manipulation. Calypso demonstrates the theme of gender roles throughout book 5. For example, Calypso uses her goddess beauty to keep Odysseus on her island, book 5 says, “the goddess Calypso, lifting her breathtaking voice as she glided back and forth before her loom”. This shows her womanly virtues like her beauty and her graceful voice.
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.
Virgil’s Aeneid sets out to tell a history of Rome that conforms to the contemporary political realities of the Roman empire. In doing so, Virgil outlines the theme of politics and the influence people have on it. He presents male political activities as positive whereas female roles are deemed for the most part disruptive. Although he incorporates women, Virgil upholds a patriarchal political system at both the divine and mortal level as a way of appealing to Augustus Caesar, the emperor who commissions him to write the epic.
Even though women had more independence in Egypt compared to other societies, equality among the sexes was not apparent. There were certain roles in societies that were strictly male or female, causing a limited choice on careers and within the job had certain tasks relating the gender. For example, it was obtainable for both men and women to be servants but within that, they acquired different responsibilities. Men worked with the beer and meat, brewing and butchering it: and women dealt with grounding grain and baking bread. Throughout the kingdoms, an evolution of gender roles in society took place.
In “Gender and the Homeric Epic”, an article by Nancy Felson and Laura M. Slatkin, the gender roles of various characters in The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer, are examined in the constraining and progressive lens Homer takes. The characters of the epic most explicitly analyzed are Odysseus and his wife, Penelope; in this article the authors show the traditional gender roles both adhere to, but also exhibit the ways in which the characters are able to reach across the restraining gender roles, without making this story entirely about gender. Through this article one can see that the constraining nature of gender roles seen in society, is not inherent in the society presented in The Odyssey, which describes an intrinsic fluidity which is seen in a plethora of characters. “Gender and the Homeric Epic” discusses the gender roles conceived throughout Homer’s story through the characters Homer and Penelope. Homer represents the masculine war hero, returning home with what should be glory and happiness.
Gender roles play a significant part through ought the play Antigone due to the fact that men are treated on a higher scale than women. Sophocles portrays women as people with no rights nor freedom. Antigone is on a destiny for burial rights of her brother Polyneicis. Gender roles are expressed throughout the play Antigone by disrespecting women and men having power and freedom.
“And though she be but little, she is fierce” -William Shakespeare. In today’s day and age, one of the greatest topics of debate is gender roles. It is evident everywhere, from cyberspace to the streets of home, from online petitions to marches across the country such as the Women’s March. Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan Era of England, where Queen Elizabeth I, the virgin queen ruled.
Euripides’ The Trojan Women expresses the disbelief and hope of ancient Greek women during the Trojan war. The characterization and dialogue between Hecuba, Andromache, and Cassandra, shows the role of women in society during that time, as well as their different prerogatives towards the war and its consequences. Likewise, The Odyssey by Homer uses the main female character, Penelope, to convey the role of women and their opinions towards the social changes from the war. Both texts, collectively, use dialogue to develop hopeful and hopeless ideas within the women of ancient Greece. Euripides’ The Trojan Women tells the story of three women, Hecuba, Andromache, and Cassandra, who struggle with their lives after the murders of their husbands
Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home.
For Shakespeare’s plays to contain enduring ideas, it must illustrate concepts that still remain relevant today, in modern society. Shakespeare utilises his tragic play Othello, to make an important social commentary on the common gender stereotypes. During early modern England, Shakespeare had to comply to the strict social expectations where women were viewed as tools, platonic and mellow, and where men were displayed as masculine, powerful, tempered, violent and manipulative. As distinct as this context is to the 21st century, the play exposes how women were victimised by the men who hold primary power in the community in which they compelled women to conform to the ideal world of a perfect wife or confront an appalling destiny for challenging the system. Moreover, Shakespeare utilises the main antagonist, Iago, to portray how men are desperate to achieve what they want and to indirectly fulfil the stereotype of masculinity and power through manipulation.