Gender Roles In Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece, men and women were expected to have separate roles for a common good. However, due to the fact that Ancient Greece really was many separate city-states, each city-state had their own, separate roles. Despite this potential disconnect between the roles, both genders relied on the other to succeed, and the city-states could not have done as well as they did without the roles. Two of the most powerful city-states were Athens and Sparta. They had lots of power, both physical power, as well as the fact that they were very influential in the Mediterranean region. Each of the city states had their own roles for each gender, but they each had some similar traits and roles. Men had the public role in Athens. They did almost everything in the public eye, ranging from politics to fighting, to events. Any Athenian man had the opportunity of participating in the Athenian assembly, where any man could

When humans were nomadic or hunter/ gatherers, the men tended to hunt and fight while the women gathered plants, herbs, and berries, and tended the youth. When these people settled down around the time of the Neolithic revolution in places like Jericho, for whatever reason these roles were upheld. Men would do the hunting, and generally the heavy work while women would raise the children. This carried on into places like Athens and Sparta many years later. Athens and Sparta did many things similarly pertaining to gender roles, but they also did things differently. One such example is that Athens was very restrictive in what they allowed women to do. Athens really put a taboo on women going outside, and doing hard labor. Sparta on the other hand, put an emphasis on women going out, being part of the community, and exercising. However, both Athens and Sparta believed that only men should get to fight in wars, and they both believed that only men should hold leadership