Athenian Influence In Ancient Greece

The lives of women in Ancient Greece were often subject to control by men. Women were considered in many ways inferior to men, and they were never granted equal political rights. Not all Greek city-states treated women in the same manner, however. The greatest contrast in treatment of women was between Athens and Sparta. The Athenian view of women was that they were best kept out of the public sphere entirely, with few personal liberties or economic rights, and no direct involvement with politics.

Another aspect of life where Athenian women were held back was the political side of things. Women in Athens had very few legal rights. A woman could not go to court or sue someone, if she wanted justice she would have to have a man go to

Respectable Athenian women seldom left their homes. Only men could purchase goods or engage in soldiering, lawmaking, and public speaking. The societies of ancient Egypt and of the Greek city-state of Sparta provided a rare contrast. Both Egyptian and Spartan women could own property and engage in business. According to Dr. Peter Picone, the author of “The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian” states “the Egyptian women seem to have enjoyed the same legal and economic rights as the Egyptian man”. Also he states that legal rights were on a class boundary more than a gender boundary. The Women of Sparta on the other hand were quite different from the women of their neighbor, Athens. As you well know, the women of Sparta were bold, freer, and well educated. Also with the Sparta women, everything depended up money, which would determine your rank in society. While some of the Spartan citizens have quite small properties, others have very large ones; hence the land has passed into the hands of a few. And this is due also to faulty laws; for, although the legislator rightly holds up to shame the sale or purchase of an inheritance, he allows anybody who likes to give or bequeath it. Yet both practices lead to the same result. And nearly women held two-fifths of the whole countries; this is owing to the number of heiresses and to the large dowries that are customary. The Women of Sparta on the other hand were quite

Women in the Hellenistic world were held in regard than women in the Classical Age. Female infanticide declined, royal women often wielded power, and female education improved, although women remained under the supervision of men with fewer rights and

Athenian society was very dynamic in many areas while it was strict in regard to the treatment of women. Although Athenian women were protected by the state and did not know a different way of living, they were very stifled and restricted. The only exception was slaves, and heteria, prostitutes, and this was due to the fact that they had no male guardians. Since these women were on there own they had to take care of themselves, and therefore were independent. In a more recent and modern way of viewing the role of a woman, independence and freedom to do as one likes is one of the most important aspects of living. In Athens the wives had none of this freedom and the prostitutes did. Who then really had a “better”

Unlike those in Egypt and India, women in Mesopotamia lost many of their rights. While there was an informal class system in Egypt, it was very different from that in Mesopotamia in terms of its structure. Unlike the women in Mesopotamia and India, Egyptian women were treated with relative equality; they could inherit from their parents and could own and bequeath their property. Unlike those from Mesopotamia and Egypt, men from India were advised to treat women with honor and respect. Similar to those from Mesopotamia, women from India were subjected to the control and guidance of men.

However, ancient Athenian and Egyptian women did have some similarities regarding their role in society. They were both allowed to become priestesses and attend religious ceremonies, even though there were different circumstances required at times. Low ranking government positions were made available to them if their husbands and therefore, by extension themselves, were considered to be upper class. Both were given the role as the main caretaker of the house in aspects such as cleanliness and upkeep, as well as caring for the children. Limited citizenship or none at all, depending on the husbands status in society, was granted to women in both ancient civilizations (Schaps 1979, 4-16; Joust 1989, 9-18; Harris 1992, 309-321; Robins 1993, 56-156).

“Alexander hoped the genius of Hellenism would be perpetuated here, a metropolis of culture to benefit the entire world.” (City of the western mind) After the death of Alexander, his “Hellenistic empire” was fought over by his generals because Alexander left no obvious heir to his empire. This empire was divided up into three Kingdoms after they finished fighting with each other as well as mutual enemies, but that discord continued on through a few hundred years. “Egypt and parts of the Middle East came under the rule of Ptolemy, Seleucus controlled Syria and the remnants of the Persian Empire, while Macedonia, Thrace, and parts of northern Asia Minor came under the hegemony of Antigonus and his son Demetrius.”

Royal women were not the only ones to have rights in Egyptian culture; commoners had many of the same freedoms as well. Common women were equal in law and could own property. Common women could also participate in court and seek legal action if their property was in jeopardy. Women were also given some degree of education like the Spartans. The

The Role of Women and Sexuality in Ancient Greece Through research, one begins to find that Greek Society could be easily set apart from the rest. Women’s power in the society began to increase drastically through new freedoms. Women now had influence in large focal points of a society, like economy and religion. Their power of influence also began to spread into literary works, both made by women, and telling new stories from women’s perspectives.

Egyptian women could take part in business activities (Watterson 1991:25), in contrast to Roman women, who had a very limited role in public life, and could not attend, speak in, or vote at political assemblies, nor could they hold any position of political responsibility (Clarke 1981:206-207). Roman women were meant to stay within the confines of the house but were permitted to attend market and visit their

Moving ahead into the great civilization of Ancient Egypt, women and men had typical gender roles. Women were still seen as child bearers and domestic housekeepers and men taught their sons and became heavily involved in civic affairs (“Ancient Egypt”). The treatment of men and women was essentially equal in that woman did maintain civil rights, were given their own tombs upon death, and were even permitted to leave their husbands if necessary (“Ancient Egypt”). This was mainly because all property was passed from generation to generation through women- not men- giving them higher status and importance since Egyptians saw their land as sacred.

In Ancient Egypt, women were looked at as equals to men. Women were in charge of bearing and raising children, but also managing, owning, and selling private property. This private property can be anything such as slaves, land, portable goods, servants, livestock, and money. Women are also allowed to acquire possessions, either as a gift or left from their deceased husband. Typically, Egyptian women got married around the age of 14 and started to bear children right away. Men were in charge of taking care of families, and held a majority of political roles. Both men and women were allowed to work, take ownership of their own belongings, and were equally looked at by

While women in ancient Egypt were not free in terms of most of today’s societies, neither were men. Neither man nor woman knew anything of the modern concept of liberty and equality. Their society was hierarchical, and not based on free will. During the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history, Greek women enjoyed a much higher status living in Egypt, than they would have back in Greece, “It has been suggested that perhaps Greek women observed Egyptian women