...Women’s Role in Ancient Times HIS 103 World Civilizations I Women's Role in Ancient times A woman in today’s society is somewhat equal to a man’s but the treatment of women in ancient times were strict and women had no rights as compared to men. During the Ancient times, there was the misconception of women and the different roles they played. They were to stay at home and took care of their households and such other womanly duties that were deemed appropriate for their gender during those periods. Also, it was very important for a woman to know the laws and requirements of their roles and how those roles were perceived in a society. In many countries, the women had similarities, and a few differences. Although time has progressed and there are some roles that are no longer in existence, the women of today and ancient times still have things in common. For example, women still have the role of caring for their children, instilling family values, and commitment to sacred vowels of matrimony. Throughout history, there are many cultures that shared the same common beliefs about the role of women. Women in the countries like China, Egypt, Rome, and the Mesopotamian society are a few places that women’s cultures are shared with common similarities but there are some with different aspects. Women were considered weaker than men and were unable to perform work that requires muscular or intellectual development. Because of this, women were restrained to accomplishing light...
Words: 2213 - Pages: 9
...WHICH ROMAN WOMEN ARE VISUALIZED IN ANCIENT ROMAN ART. DISCUSS HOW THIS IS AN EXPRESSION OF ROMAN VALUES AND THE SOCIAL ROLES OF WOMEN. The society of the ancient Romans has often been considered as the foundation for our modern society. Although the legal status of women in ancient Rome was quite confined, in actual fact women played very crucial roles in business, the arts, and politics. Roman women in ancient times, though discriminated against on ground of gender but was seen as the most liberated in the world of that time. When looking at the sources for ancient roman women many questions are asked and considered, such as, what was the role of roman women in their society? Were they considered citizens who had personal freedoms, or were given no or little education? Were there roles really important to society? Whenever we go through the records of roman women's status in society there is always a great consternation. Several sources or journals which mention the roles of women in ancient roman society, several works which mention them as wives and mothers. There are sources however limited they may be which delve deeper into the scope of these questions, which give a glimpse into the lives of roman women. Woman in artwork has been portrayed as the guarantor of bounty and fertility. Roman women throughout their life from childhood and education to marriage and further in the motherhood had played a great role in society of that time. Moreover, Roman women...
Words: 1727 - Pages: 7
...Gender Differences in Early Civilizations The treatment of men and women was a big part of ancient societies as it is today. In all the different areas of living, masculinity and femininity are seen in drastically different ways. In ancient civilizations, gender played a great role in the way people were treated. In some cultures like ancient Egypt, women and men were treated equally for the most part. In other cultures, such as ancient Rome and China women were treated far worse than men. Different civilizations had very different ways and reasons for the treatment of women in comparison to men. Both of them had different everyday lives based on their gender roles and how the society viewed each gender. Gender difference existed in ancient...
Words: 1493 - Pages: 6
...The Lot Suppressed Creativity in Woman Introduction Throughout history and today women are constant victims of stereotyping from our society. Certain “rules” have to be followed and certain “ideal” women images have to be kept. Women are raised in a way to fill certain position where the society wants them to be and as a result, the opportunities are always limited for them and ideas of their importance in the society are diminishing. Even though women gained some independence, where women can work and take various position in society, the society’s idea of typical role of women never seem to change. Just a few decades ago, women, before their marriage they were taught how to be a good housewife. They didn’t have any opportunity to receive proper education. They became housewives after they were married and had no important role in the society as women. Women lived her whole life as a hard working housewife from the very ancient time. Back in the 16th or 17th century, the opportunities for women were very limited than today and the only thing that women could do were to become housewives. People were very conservative to the idea of the traditional role of a man and a woman. Women’s position in early society Women in ancient Rome The Romans believed that all women should be under the control of a guardian, who might be the father, husband, or a male relative, or someone appointed by the will of the father or...
Words: 1368 - Pages: 6
...threatened. Solís y Martínez (2013) notes that when his mother got a job “[her] departure from her traditional role as homemaker undermined [his] father’s masculinity” (p. 408). Therefore, men see the maintenance of their masculine identity by being in the position...
Words: 993 - Pages: 4
...well. The Ancient art period started before 500 B.C with its characteristics were about God, Goddess and Heroes. Women, in ancient Greek and Roman societies, did not have high status and they were considered as properties of men. During that time, woman was just being a wife and being a mother and stayed at home to take care of the house for her man. Women did not have any role in politics therefore they could not vote and they did not have any right for themselves. The roles of women could be learned by reviewing how female figures were created through the ancient Greek and Roman art works. Most of the female figures, in any art work during this period, were either goddess; such as statue of Athena goddess of wisdom,warfare and women's craft, or monsters; such as Sphixn in Greek mythology. Therefore, during the ancient...
Words: 839 - Pages: 4
...TOPIC: DISCUSS THE WOMEN’S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIETY YOU LIVE IN. INTRODUCTION Women are the inherent part of our society and it cannot be neglected due to their less power and authority .They are created as a companion for men and men have to make her walk with them in their course of life. In my society ,women play the role as a mother ,a sister ,and a wife. They play the roles with great responsibilities in upbringing of a healthy solid society ,but she is in our so-called modern world ,still living in chains. This essay will discuss ways in which a role of women in the development is very important in the society that we live in. To begin with,the basic unit of society is a woman .As a woman makes a family, family makes a home and home makes a society. We all know that without education, no development is possible .Therefore we have forgotten that the very first and best school of a child is its mother’s lap. A good healthy society doesn’t automatically emerge on its own or stands firm but it need to emerge and for its emergence, women play a pivotal role. From behavioral to health education women have their hands in, it’s a woman who teaches how to speak and how to deal with different kinds of people .These are the basic of a good society and women are the contribution in building a good society in the development. To add on, women are an important element in our society .As a woman and as a mother, her role in the development of...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...John Hennes History 311 March 19, 2014 Oppression or Economic/Demographic Necessity? Ancient Greco-Roman societies are discussed to this day for their amazing accomplishments in the areas of philosophy, architecture and politics. Their imprint on history is something that will likely never be reproduced. Both of these societies are recognized as patriarchal in nature, which means that there were limited opportunities for women in comparison to the western societies of today which will be discussed in Return of the Patriarchy by Phillip Longman. The best way to determine the reasons for the limitations placed on Greek and Roman women is to refer to ancient writings which capture the realities of their lives and times. It can be surmised from these writings that the limitations placed on women was not the result of lack of respect or capability but driven by necessity. The necessity of a patriarchal society in Greece and Rome was the primary factor in the limitations set on women. Phillip Longman talks about patriarchy in his article Return of Patriarchy describing it as, “a value system that not only requires men to marry but to marry women of proper station…a cultural regime that serves to keep birthrates high among the affluent, while also maximizing parents’ investment in their children…no advanced civilization has yet learned how to endure without it” meaning that the only way that Greece and Rome could have existed for as long as it did was with this system of patriarchy...
Words: 3043 - Pages: 13
...WOMEN IN SOCIETY, HISTORY. Writer Hester Eisenstein, claim that Feminism or feminist thoughts is traceable back to the fifteenth century and also to earlier times, such as the age of Sappho. However, it is mainly observed from the mid 1960’s and 70’s, when the organised women’s movement began to revitalise itself and make a statement, that feminist perspectives began to influence the outpouring of publications on women history and female education. (Purvis June 1985). This piece of work is taken from the document written about Medieval Education in England. It shows that what little education given was mainly received by boys and girls hardly ever got any sort of education or as little as possible, instead they where to stay at home and learn home keeping. My commentary is focused on the history of women from the Roman to Medieval times. Except for a few exceptions, all Roman women were for their entire lives subject to some degree of limitation on the capacity for independent legal actions. (Jane Gardner 1986). Authority to act must either be obtained from, or was ordered by a man, which could either be a father, husband or guardian. For girls, puberty was written in law, and a girl is said to have reached it at the age of twelve, and to be of marriageable age at 12 and sometimes before they actually reach puberty. A woman married with Manus (creation) was effectively in the position of an adopted daughter and a part of the family, she had no legal independence and no independent...
Words: 1589 - Pages: 7
...Assess feminist views on the role and function of religion (33 marks) Feminists regard religion as a main component in the perpetuation of patriarchy in contemporary society, it perpetuates oppressive gender roles, marginalises women and ensures male domination is retained. In terms of the structure of religious organisations, feminists point to the fact that they are male dominated, even though women often make up more of the attendees, often men will occupy the more central and sacred positions in places of worship. This reinforces the subordination of women, and their exclusion from sacred practices mirrors their continued exclusion from high ranking careers, specifically in politics, via the glass ceiling effect. Armstrong identifies women’s exclusion from priesthood in most traditional religions as undeniable evidence of marginalisation, such as in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church. This argument is credible, the marginalisation of women is rife in religion, Islam for example, in which female Muslims are not allowed to touch the Quran whilst on their period. Holm describes this as the devaluation of women in contemporary religion. Disregarding the blatant sexism in religious structures, feminists point to the patriarchy reinforced by monotheistic religious texts, Judaism and Islam for example. The sacred texts, The Bible, Torah and Koran for example, are all written by men, featuring male gods and male prophets. On top of this male domination, the female sex is...
Words: 902 - Pages: 4
...women were consistently more likely to attend. There are various reasons why females are more religious than men ranging from socialization, exploitation to patriarchy in traditional religions. Women’s sexuality has always been a dangerous factor in religion; this is because women menstruate and give birth they are considered to have a great capacity to pollute religious rituals. This can be seen in the Adam and Eve story in Christianity as Eve has ‘seduced’ Adam in order to eat the apple which God had forbidden to do so. This shows that the presence of a female can distract men from performing religious rituals and worshipping God. Bird argues that sexuality is an important factor in many religions. In Roman Catholic churches priests are expected to be celibate meaning they have to deliberately refrain from sexual activity while in other religions such as Islam are opposed to homosexuality. This means that in order for priests to carry out their duty appropriately there needs to be a degree of policing of the body; and the presence of women makes it more difficult. Due to patriarchal ideologies women have refrained from serving as priests in many of the traditional and great religions – until recently. Religious organisations such as Islamic groups, Orthodox Jews and the Roman Catholic Church maintain to exclude females from religious hierarchy. Even though, women ministers have been accepted in some sects and denominations the Church of England continued supporting inequality...
Words: 2244 - Pages: 9
...not serve in the Roman Senate, own property in ancient Greece, or ask for divorce. All of these rules existed while men had the ability to do all of these things. The life of a woman in the ancient world was in no way equal to men in most societies. The Egyptians believed that joy and happiness were of the utmost importance in life, and regarded the home and family as a major source of happiness. This meant that the Egyptian’s thought better of women who did not work, and took care of the home and family. All other ancient civilizations had one thing in common. Mesopotamia, Rome, Greece, and Israel were all surrounded by other sets of people. This meant that these other civilizations had to be warlike societies, and this meant women would have less of a role because men believed women could not fight as well in battle. Egypt developed under unique circumstances. The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea separated the Egyptians from everyone else in the ancient world. In other words, the Egyptians did not have a warlike society because training like that was unnecessary. Since there was no need for a warlike society in Egypt, women had a more established role in society. Women’s rights in Egypt were more equal to men than other civilizations because of the unique circumstances under which Egypt developed, the non-warlike society, and the predictable overflow of the Nile River. Egypt developing independently from all other civilizations was important to women’s rights because Egypt...
Words: 2126 - Pages: 9
...why shouldn’t she be allowed to? Women have dutifully served alongside and even in front of men in a line of combat throughout history which extends thousands of years into the past in many cultures and countries around the world. The warrior woman dates back to prehistoric times when individuals mostly fended for themselves to survive. During the Roman incursion into what is today England, there was Boadicea, the British warrior queen who led her people to battle against the Roman invaders. There was also Jinga, the majestic and murderous black queen who fought the Portuguese in seventeenth-century Angola. Modern western culture includes a famous and more popular example, Joan of Arc, who in 1429, at age 17, successfully led French troops into battle against the English. Even without the specific examples of these heroines, consider how, in our more recent history, hundreds of women have disguised themselves as men to fight in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. These acts are not just those of bravery, but true patriotism and those are the type of individuals who are needed in the line of duty to defend this great nation. A women’s restriction in combat is often viewed as a form of sexual discrimination in continuing debates because it violates a chance for equal opportunity among both genders. Some also argue the reasonable issue that combat positions should be available to women to make the chance of a draft less likely to occur because the only reason why it came to be constitutional...
Words: 1730 - Pages: 7
...something that I have never really looked into but have always wanted to. The role of women in society, and how prevailing orthodoxies have changed along with the cultural landscape to further shape this often misconceived topic. With the matter of gender equality ever present in today’s society, something that could not always be said, I feel now is a great time to investigate further what factors have ultimately sculpted popular thought in regards to this tender topic. Women’s role’s in family and in society is constantly changing. What was expected of a woman 25 years ago has made a complete 360 to what is expected of them now. The role of women in society has definitely changed, in the past 30 years especially. Women and girls have a lot more opportunities and face different challenges. The playing field is not level, but neither is gender bias as black and white as it once was. I still feel that women do not have the same position as men, though a lot of progress has definitely been made in society to bring women to a stage where they have equal rights and equal pay, but still I think the old age conception of man as the ultimate ruler is still very prevalent in most 21st century mindsets. To try and understand how peoples mind work with topics such as this, you really can’t just focus on one particular point in time; you must delve into the historical evidence and examples of women’s roles in society and how with time they have changed and also why they have changed. ...
Words: 1673 - Pages: 7
...moral society. The disdain for Theodora is shown when Procopius describes her has a bloodthirsty, lustful woman, and Fiend in human form. She is one of the few women mentioned by name when describing how she uses sexual advances to get what she wants. Theodora’s role in this growing Christian society was looked down upon. Because of the behavior she displays in public. Her behavior would have people think that she wasn’t a devout Christian, which would result with people being uncomfortable with Theodora’s kind of behavior. Procopius spends the first couple of chapters attacking Theodora as ungodly women, because of reason like her failure to fulfill her nurturing role as a mother because of the fact that she has had so many abortions. However, Theodora’s actions and behavior in the story does not mean that she was not faithful to Justinian. Unlike Antonina who was also blamed for the control she had over her husband. Theodora’s behavior was looked down upon the upper class romans. Who were scared of a woman who was completely comfortable in her skin and who did not let gender roles determine her happiness. Theodora’s ability to take on a more masculine role by their standards was what made the upper class men and Procopius uncomfortable with her as a women. She isn’t virtuous like the mother Mary which is the standard that all women during that time were expected to strive to be like. Procopius demonstrates that through Theodora’s behavior in this expose; society is threatened...
Words: 1342 - Pages: 6
