Women in the Ancient World From the very beginning of time, women have played a very significant role in development and advancement of life, serving as the companion for men as well as procreating with them to ensure the world would be inhabited and settled. In present-day society, we view women as essential to everyday life. Society sees and treats women as intelligent individuals who are equally efficient for most of the same work and intellectual skills as men. In most cases, we believe that women and men are equal, as women are able to legally run for and hold government offices, perform physical labor, work in medical professions, and basically anything they desire so long as, like anyone else, they attain the required certifications, education, etc. However, this outlook on women’s roles and abilities was not always shared among the social order. Throughout history, women’s roles in society, economy, government and culture have evolved and shifted dramatically. Throughout each culture and society in the ancient world, we find differences in the way women were treated, the responsibilities expected of them, and their learned place in the social order. Women featured in Homer’s The Iliad were some of some earliest examples of women being viewed with poor outlooks in the eyes of men in Greek culture. David Harvey claims that Aristotle had no doubt that women were inferior in this particular society (Harvey, 46). They were mainly viewed as prizes throughout Homer’s writing. For example, Helen of Troy is demeaned and objectified by being used as a fuel for war between Sparta and Troy solely based on Paris’ “love” for Helen, despite the fact that he is known for his notorious prostitution all throughout Troy. To continue, after the collective major events of the Iliad are concluded, the victors all receive their share of the spoils, which just so happens to be women- Menelaus reclaims Helen, Agamemnon takes Cassandra, Odysseus takes Hecuba, and Andromache is given to Neoptolemus. So, we see, from the perspective that Homer gives us that women in this ancient era were not thought of or viewed as significant or useful in any form or manner other than as objects in the prejudiced human eye. Although the written perspective of Homer’s Iliad did not portray women in the best light and was the most common opinion of the era, socially and politically, the ladies of the ancient world were not always viewed so objectively. Homer’s The Odyssey illustrates the more positive, prevailing side of women’s roles. This view is briefly discussed in the “Greece” article of the Bedford Anthology of Literature: “…Penelope keeps her hand on Ithaca’s throne while holding off a horde of suitors for years. A brief glimpse of Helen confirms her reputation of beauty and power; she still exercises her charms over the opposite sex. Both Calypso and Circe are beautiful.” (Greece 284). This comment on the Iliad gives us a little more positive perspective on the ladies of the ancient era. Much like the end of Homer’s illustration, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata contrarily depicts women to ultimately be empowered as they challenge the rule of men for the first time in recorded literary history. The women of this ancient-world play stand up against the authority of men by taking over the acropolis of Athens, establishing peace between the Athenians and Spartans. They accomplished this noteworthy task by abstaining from intercourse with men until the war was ended. Knowing this would hinder then men’s strength and mental capability, the women took advantage of an opportunity they knew would bring the men to their knees, submitting to whatever it was that the women requested- an end to the chaotic fighting. As well as this primary theme of empowerment in Lysistrata, a secondary, supporting symbolism would be that the peace treaty that the Spartans and Athenians write and sign is found upon none other than the “Reconciliation” statue. The symbolism here is this: the statue used for the peace treaty between Athens and Sparta just so happened to be a statue of a woman- therefore and underlying support to the empowerment of the women, and the men’s submissiveness, giving them their sovereignty in this case. Now that the ideas of women’s roles through fictional material have been discussed, let’s take a look at nonfictional reality. In the ancient world, different cultures had their own views on issues, as they do today. Some shared the same or similar opinions and beliefs, while others’ clashed. Certain ideas cross cultural boundaries: for example, the importance of female deities in the creation myths of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. In ancient Greek society, women were kept in what was known as “Oriental Seclusion.” This term is used to describe the social, economic and political restrictions held on the women of Athenian culture. Marylin Katz illustrates this idea in her essay on “The Status of Women in Ancient Greece,” explaining their complete social exclusion and submissiveness to the men of the era. Women had little to no voice in what went on in their own lives; nearly every move or decision was made by a man’s authority. They were not permitted by their fathers to obtain an education or seek careers outside of the home. Other life circumstances were controlled by men as well, pushing the women even deeper into the tank of inferiority and submissiveness. Take marriage, for example; the woman’s first authority figure early on in life was her father, whose obligation was to arrange a marriage between his daughter and a young man who he chose for her. We know that these fathers were supposed to choose a man who would make a good husband for his daughter, taking care of and supporting her; however, in choosing a son-in-law for the father himself, he also needed to consider the qualities that would make this young man the best decision based upon the interests of the senior man. The father of many daughters in ancient times indirectly used his daughter to better benefit himself by choosing a young man, who could help the senior men (the young couple’s fathers) to excel in business ventures and societal hierarchy. This being said, the senior man, often with selfish thoughts, chose a groom for his daughter who would benefit himself rather than a loving, caring companion to meet his daughter’s needs. Throughout history, more often than not, young women were unwillingly paired with partners with little or no personal interest or familiarity. However, with time, the young couples’ relationships were expected to ultimately grow and fulfill both the father’s lust for economic and social sovereignty and the couple’s need for love and partnership and a pursuit of lifelong happiness, benefiting the daughter, the groom and both fathers. In ancient Egypt, contrary to the Greek culture, women were portrayed, in a very public way alongside men at every level of society. Women were even sometimes perceived as violently powerful in the Egyptian culture. Unlike ancient Greece were men believed that women should have no rights and was merely a house hold item, tool in the field or grape vineyards, women were believed to be indirectly the center of society and even religion, as some of the most devoutly worshipped Egyptian deities were female. Women were a part of society just as much or more of any man who she was joined with. They were often the focal point of a family’s interest, a household’s interest and ultimately the entire society’s interests. Throughout this study we find that women were viewed and treated differently among each different culture, with a few given examples of those behaviors and cultures. Some perceived women as inferior and some as superior, but ultimately significant in many areas in society, culture, economy and politics.

Works Cited
“Greece: The Golden Age of Literature and Philosophy.” The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings – 100 BCE. Ed Paul Davis, Et Al. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2004. 284. Print.
Harvey, David. "Women In Ancient Greece." History Today 34.8 (1984): 45. World History Collection. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Katz, Marilyn. "Ideology And `The Status Of Women' In Ancient Greece." History & Theory 31.4 (1992): 70. World History Collection. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Scott, Michael. "The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece." History Today 59.11 (2009): 34-40. World History Collection. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.