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Ancient greece women in society
Ancient greece patriarchy
Ancient greece women in society
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Ancient greece women in society
Ancient greece patriarchy
Ancient greece women in society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Pomeroy explains the life style and ways of Spartan women and the rise to be known and important as the Spartan men. Naturally, we think of Spartan women fierce, brave, queens, and pure. Spartan women took advantage of each opportunity that was heading their way and conquered it with no fear in their hearts. Those women are viewed today as a “force” not to be reckoned with. Pomeroy describes these women as, “Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil said, “Oh no, she’s up!”
In today’s society it is rare to encounter one who is completely independent. People depend on human contact and the help of fellow civilians to supply for basic needs. I myself could not have made it on my own. I depend on my family to supply shelter, food, and basic life skills that have kept me alive. On the summit of Mt. Everest the clients, guides, and Sherpas from the 1996 expeditions experienced many of these same needs.
Sparta was the first civilization to treat women fairly. For example, in the book The Politics of Aristotle, Aristotle wrote, “For, a husband and wife being each a part of every family, the state may be considered as about equally divided into men and women” (Doc. D). This explains how Sparta was the first civilization to treat women fairly because gender does not play a part in how many rights and freedom one has. Sparta allowed women to get physical training, just like men. As well, while Spartan men were off at war, they had full charge over their household.
(Doc B) Due to the fact that Athens taught women basic domestic skills this allowed men to focus on the advancement of the economic climate, such as trade on the Aegean Sea because they didn’t need to worry about their homes. “Finally, the citizen boys entered a military training camp for two years, until the age of twenty. Foreign metics and slaves were not expected to attain anything but a basic education in Greece, but were not excluded from it either.” (Doc H)
In Ancient Greek Civilization, women were viewed as submissive. A man always controlled the women; that either being the Father or Husband. Women were forced to stay in the house and complete all household duties. Women were not even granted the right to attend assemblies, participate in politics, or even represent themselves in court. Having little to no overall power in your society can have a huge burden on Women but this can also fuel certain Women to strive to change the society they live in.
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.
The Spartan women were able to own plots of land and run their own households, they even got an education. At Athens, got a little amount of formal education and had less
The education of Sparta varied in strengths and in weaknesses. The Sparta’s were first located in southern Greece called the Peloponnese. In this colony, the Sparta’s only vision was bloodthirsty war and violence. At the age of seven, a young boy is removed from his family and is expected, from his 8th to his 21st year, become educated to a brutal military-like discipline. Therefore, regarding the education in Sparta, the weaknesses outweighed the strength because the Spartan’s didn’t value family morals, the basics of reading and writing were taught, and the upbringing of Spartan boys was cruel and painful.
Women were thought of as dependents of the father or husband. Women lived in gynaeceum: women’s quarters where they could oversee the running of the home and have very little contact with the male world (O’Pry, 2012). Spartan women, on the other hand, seem to have a bit more freedom and were able to own property. Sparta allowed for women to get educated in the same manner as the males. Sparta had a laid back culture and men were to serve in their military.
Because of this separation, Spartan women had greater freedom to move around more. Permitted to own and inherit land, Spartan women had more power in the household than what was common for women elsewhere in Greece, and they could even supervise large estates. They were encouraged to exercise and remain fit to bear and raise healthy children. Like the man, Spartan women engaged in athletic exercises in the nude.
I would like to educate the masses on a matter of frequent debate. This is none other then Athens vs Sparta, and I can say the thorough research and facts have lead me to concluded that Sparta is a much better city-state then Athens. Sparta is better then Athens because of its respect of women, more equal school system, integrity of government, treatment of slaves, and superior military. First of all, women were given far more rights than in Athens. First of all, Women in Sparta could own there own land, participate in politics and the olympics among other things.
Sparta’s women were known for their promiscuity and boldness . On account of Sparta’s strict militaristic lifestyle, their lives were very different compared to regular women in most city-states of Greece. Although their main job is still child-bearing, this job held much more honor and respect because in theory, a Spartan women gave birth to strong, Spartan boys who would in turn become strong and successful soldiers for Sparta’s renowned military . Just as boys were trained to become soldiers from a young age, girls were taught to be the mothers a militant Sparta
Role of Women in Ancient Empires Throughout the modern world, we mention the concept of equality between men and women and try to equalize their positions in society. It is illogical for women to ask and try to prove that they are equal with men because equality is something that are already given to humanity, but contradicting the role of women by men is what created the gap between them. By looking at history, we can say that accomplishing that goal of making their position equal is not easy.
Who was the better Greek city-state? Athens or Sparta? A question asked for quite some time now, probably since they existed. It’s time we get an answer! If you ask me, I think it was Athens that was the better Greek city state.