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Gender Roles In Ancient Greece

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The first expressions of religious beliefs in Ancient Greece were reflected in male and female figures portrayed in clay, bone, and stone. It is difficult to deduce the meaning of these representations, but it is believed that the female figures symbolized the great mystery of nature, such as life and death. WhIle on the other hand, the male figures are seen as the brothers or partners of the goddesses. This included gods of strength, vegetation, and phallic representations. There were considerable changes in the Greco religious traditions changed with the migration of Indo-European people in 2220 to 2100 B.C.E. These migrations culminated with the destruction of these sites. This new era brought about the introduction of several new gods
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In ancient times, all over the world, woman were considered inferior to men. Woman in ancient Greece, as well as in other religions, did not have any political rights, official power, and were not educated. Becasue of this, Antigone’s gender is a problem from Creon since he does not recognize her

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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.

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Within Greek society, men were prominent figures in literary arts. Authors were dominantly male, as women were seen as not being fit to produce this work. Women were seen as inferior and submissive within this society, and with the abundance of male authors, women were portrayed this way in many literary works. However, despite the sexist roles within the society, works of literature such as The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh show a surprising side of women, that of assertiveness and intelligence. For example, Penelope, from The Odyssey, tells the suitors that she will marry one of them when she finishes weaving a burial sheet, but she deceitfully weaves and unweaves it.

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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.

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The Odyssey, written by Homer, introduces the idea of gender roles in ancient Greek society by telling the tale of a great hero who encountered many women on his journey. While gender roles in Ancient Greek society were more pronounced, similarities are still present in today's world and issues are ongoing. Despite the indispensable role women play in the story, they still remain undervalued. Preserving the patriarchal ideals of Ancient Greek society. The success of Odysseus's journey can be merely credited to his individual efforts, but rather heavily based on the predominant roles women played in the story who made crucial contributions, but were never given credit.

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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.

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Greek mythology has been one of the most complicated subjects in the field of religion and mythology. This is due to the complex relations and interactions which exists in the history of Greek gods and the humans who lived in ancient Greece. Different versions of the existence and the establishment of the superior beings were developed, which at times created suspense for readers through their interactions. The various tales which exist explain the various connections between different gods, how they relate to one another, the ideological order in which they came into existence as well as the interactions they had with humans. These tales form the basis of various religious beliefs and practices since it is perceived that it is through the interactions of the gods that humans came into existence, a situation which created the dependent relationship between mortals and gods.

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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.

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