More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (4000 BCE–600 BC
Essay on gender roles in ancient society
Essay on gender roles in ancient society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Women we’re treated fair and properly; at least that’s what men in the postclassical era would think. Some men now might think this as well. However, in the postclassical era not all women had the right and the freedom that women nowadays have. In some regions women were forced to obey their husbands, others were highly supported from their men, and others were in charge of households or businesses. There might be different views upon women during this era but during the postclassical era it all depended on the region they lived in, the religion they worshiped, and the type of society they ran.
The depiction individuals have of women has changed drastically over time. From being seen as a lower class gender, to having women politicians today, they have come a long way. Back in the 10th century when An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was God took place, the role of women differed immensely compared to the way women are portrayed today. Throughout the film, women are depicted as a weaker gender within society, although they can be rulers within their own families.
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
In ancient Egypt all women were considered house wives. Their main roles in society were to bare sons and take care of the household. Even though women’s jobs seem unimportant, men and women were both considered as equals in ancient Egyptian culture. In history, a few women were considered above men and had large impacts on Egyptian society. Why is this?
Women in Athens and Sparta lived a varied life. They both had rights and things they couldn’t do. Women in Sparta had a lot more rights than the women in Athens. Spartan men were usually not around so women had control of Sparta.
Women in ancient Greece played a crucial role in religious worship. They participated in the Panathenaia festival, which was held in Athens every four years in honour of the goddess Athena. Women were responsible for making the peplos, a garment worn by the statue of Athena during the procession. The women responsible for making the peplos were called ergastinae. The importance of women's participation in the creation and offering of the peplos demonstrates their significant and highly valued role they had in religious worship in Ancient Greece.
While ancient civilizations had commonly put their women in the lower level of the society, the Etruscans treated their women differently. Etruscan women are known to be taken seriously and enjoyed a great deal of freedom and equality with that of men. For instance, while most Roman societies considered symposiums, such as those that included festive drinking, sex and the involvement in the sharing of thoughts to be an all-man’s affair, it was not so among the Etruscans. Women in the Etruscan society are allowed to attend banquets, and share a toast with men, signifying how they are equally treated in the society. While historians have difficulty interpreting the literary works of the Etruscans, they shifted their focus on other archaeological
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 the story Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell, I have learned that women was recognize as powerful objects. The story tells me in ancient Mesopotamia that men based their perspective on women for what we have and not our mind set. The women in the story are mention when you first open the books and is continue throughout the entire story line. The first woman was a prostitute name Shamhat, who was sent on a mission to change the life of a beast named Enkidu. In the story, Gilgamesh called Shamshat “one of the priestesses who give their bodies to any man, in honor of the goddess” (p.12).
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 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.
As the camera zooms out slowly and we hear crickets chirping, we are introduced to the charming world of “What’s eating Gilbert Grape”. The film that many have come to love, along with its extremely famous actors, was released in 1993 in the United States and directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Endora, Iowa is the home of the Grape family, it’s a small, unchanging town where the main character Gilbert (Johnny Depp) feels trapped and death seems to be the only way out. Gilbert provides for his mother, sisters, and his autistic brother, Arnie (Leonardo Di Caprio). “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” is in many ways an unrealistic and demeaning view of autism.
Since biblical times woman are seen as the second to man, God created woman from man to keep him company and procreate. This is basically one of the most used points to justify mans superiority (other than physical) over a woman. In ancient Greek and Roman art, there are many goddesses and mythological female characters that were worshiped and respected by their citizens.
In the Ancient world, much like today, each society exercised, according to their custom, different treatment towards women. Today, unlike in the Ancient world, women enjoy more freedom, rights, and equality. In this essay, the status of women in ancient Egypt will be compared to the status of women in ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one investigates ancient lives and cultures. The legal status of women in society, the different roles that each unique nation’s women played, and the possible education permitted and occupations available to these women will be discussed, as well as, their domestic atmospheres will be critically compared in this short essay to demonstrate the different treatment (if there were a difference) of women in both these imposing periods of ancient history.
The civilizations in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Ancient China all displayed diverse roles of women in their society but among these civilizations, I believe living in Ancient Egypt is the most suitable civilization living as a woman.
