Role of Ancient Greek women in society - Essay Example

Role of Ancient Greek Women in Society The role of ancient Greek women in society was not a coveted one. Ancient Egypt saw very little distinction between men and women as far as free rights. Athens drew a sharp discernment between; citizen and alien, legitimate born and illegitimate born, and between a woman who was a wife and one who was not a wife. As a matter of fact, Greek women were treated worse than any other women in ancient civilizations. Men dictated the ins and outs of their daily life; fathers would control them before they were married and husbands controlled them once they were married. Women had no choice as to whom they would marry. The marriage was usually arranged at a young age by the girls father once the dowry (her portion of her father's estate) was agreed upon. The women generally got married in their early teens to men who were in their late twenties and early thirties as virginity in young women of ancient Greece was a priority. Once they were married, the duty of the wife was to bear children immediately. This was a key event in a woman's life because she would never be accepted by her husband's family until she gave birth. Once a child was born, the husband had a right to decide to accept or reject the baby. If it was accepted, it would live, if rejected, it would die. Some common reasons for rejecting a baby were if it were illegitimate, the wrong sex (female), unhealthy, or deformed. When this occurred, a baby would be placed in a jar and left outside. In the ancient Greek religion, this was acceptable because the parents bore no responsibility if the child died of "natural causes". Sadly, the birth rate was extremely high among ancient Greek women because of the lack of contraception available. This meant the mortality rate was high as well and women were not expected to live past age 40. This is presumably because they were exhausted from bearing children. Women also had no control over any tangible or intangible aspect within their marriage. Once she was married, her husband controlled all of the property. Any property she inherited goes directly to her husband. The only control the women had was within the home. She was in charge of raising children, making the clothing, and running the household. They were not to be seen in public. The only time it was appropriate for a woman to leave the home was if she was visiting a female neighbor. If a divorce were to occur, it was by the man's choosing. He could select to divorce his wife by rejecting her in front of witnesses or by sending her back to her family home. If children were present, he would automatically receive custody and would return the dowry. However, if a woman committed adultery, he did not have to return the dowry. The only way a woman might seek a divorce would be to find an archon (an Athenian official) and provide excellent reasons for this request to be granted. Even then, it was not very common for them to be allowed to divorce. Not only did women have few rights, they certainly did not have any legal rights. They could not vote or have any say in the operation of the state. The participants who competed in the Olympic Games did not wear clothing so women were not allowed to watch. Women were allowed to participate in Chariot racing but only those who owned horses would be included in that group. The only activities they could participate in out in public were in weddings, funerals, and religious festivals. There were certain religious events that women were required to attend. At these events women prepared sacrifices and offerings to the goddesses. All women were expected to attend and to perform at these religious festivals. There has even been some archaeological proof that women had the most significant role over men as it pertained to religious life in ancient Greek society. Excavations at an ancient burial site in Athens have proven they also played very important roles during funeral processions. They helped to prepare a body for burial. They also carried libations in front of the group and the males followed. Most likely the only time women were ever walking ahead of the men. Though women's public appearances were heavily restricted, they were the ones who brought food and drink to the gravesite on the third and ninth days of the funeral. They were not allowed to show emotion such as crying, etc Many people had varying opinions when it came to how they perceived ancient Greek women. Some saw them as having a key role in motherhood and that they should be sheltered in their own homes. They had very little access to society and taking part in most activities. One writer Simonides described women as being depicted as the forces of chaos. He felt women were highly sexually motivated and must be kept out of the public to control their urges. He believed women consumed men and instigated all evils in the world. Yet he follows up those statements with the declaration that without women, society could not continue. Euripides writes 'If only children could be got some other way without the female sex. If women didn't exist, human life would be rid of all its miseries'. Both of these authors characterize women in a way that most felt during ancient times. Women were necessary only to produce children and nothing else. One of the main factors that determined the type of work a woman did and the freedom that she was her social position in society. There were basically three classes of women: the slaves, the citizens, and the hetaerae. Slaves were the lowest class and they carried out the menial chores around the house. Generally, these women (and some men) were the ones who were left out to die when they were newborns. They helped the wives raise the children. The next class up were the citizens that consisted of wives. They stayed at home and ran the household. Finally, the hetaerae class of women were the highest of them all. They were the most educated and privileged of all women in ancient Greece. They were taught reading, writing, and music and could be seen around town at theaters, shopping, dancing, and basically had the ability to move freely within society. They were not bound by any rules unlike the slaves and the citizen wives. They were companions to men at parties and festivals if the men paid a price. The hetaerae could be compared to prostitutes. Not only were they sexual companions to men but they were also intellectual companions as well. This shows how there clearly were double standards in ancient Greece because these educated women were able to move freely in society but wives were protected and sheltered. Although the hetaerae would seem to command a bit more respect because of their intellectual capabilities over other women, they did not. They were more desired by men but more along the lines of sexual partners and because of their creativity. There were a bit more attractive than wives because wives were uneducated. However, the men would never dream of leaving their wives for hetaerae because they needed a legitimate home with legitimate children. Women of an upper class background mainly had to take care of the house, kids, slaves, and keep track of the household budget. They bought wool to make clothing for everyone in the home. Women of poorer classes who could not afford slaves had to work in the fields or in the market place along with the same chores around the house more affluent women did. We certainly cannot forget about those Greek goddesses that were highly revered by all. Although the women of ancient Greece were not considered to be important, the goddesses were. Athena - goddess of wisdom, war, arts and crafts - was one of the most worshipped. Much of the art on Greek pottery illustrated women and how each and every type of female was viewed. Many of the ancient goddesses were painted on pottery. One in particular was of Athena driving a four horse chariot around 5th century BC. The only sculptures ever made were of goddesses only and never ordinary women. Men were much more attracted to the goddesses of their time then their own women. Then there was pottery that characterized prostitutes or dancing girls who were simply slaves to men's desires. These were a class of women men had no respect for. Scenes on vases depict citizen women with very little detail as compared to that of the whores and goddesses. The presence of columns suggest that these women spent most of their time in the courtyard of the house. Greek cooking equipment was small and could have been set up there on nice days. The most beautiful women were those who had a pale complexion so they likely sat under the roof when the sun was out. It is ironic that Greece has been renowned as the culture that invented democracy. With the number of slaves and the extreme delineation of women, you would never expect a self-governing rule to arise from such a state. For one thing there was that Draconian law that allowed a man to immediately kill any other man caught having sex with his wife, mother, daughter, sister, or concubine. This law went beyond the usual rule of the ancient world defining adultery as sex with a married woman that was not his wife. It gives men total ownership of all the women around him. Another Athenian law stated that women were not allowed to participate in any business transaction involving anything whose value exceeded a certain sum of money. That usually meant the equivalent to the amount needed to feed a family for five or six days. All she was allowed to do was buy groceries at the market but had to have the approval of a male guardian to do anything else. Ownership in ancient civilizations could be a problematic issue especially as it pertained to Greek women. Much like zoning restrictions in the present day, the owner of property in a democracy was not given free reign to do with it as they pleased. For instance, a woman might have owned jewelry, clothing, furniture or a slave and be free to use them as she pleased, but did not have the authority to sell or give any of them away. She may also have a claim to a plot of land yet she would not have the right to use it let alone sell it. When it comes to women's property in ancient Greece, it is better to speak of rights and not ownership. All archaeological evidence that has been found tells a story of women who were hidden away from the rest of society and treated unfairly. They were seen as nothing more than bearers of children but this could have been a feather in their cap as far as their lack of power was concerned. In Aristophanes' "Lysistrata" the main power women had was from withholding their biological capabilities. If the husband did something the wife did not like she could retaliate using domestic retribution. Then there is the underlying question of how the goddesses - whom were strong female figures - were worshipped by men but ordinary women were treated as second-class citizens. Apparently men did not look down upon all women because they clearly celebrated the Greek goddesses that were fixtures in their society. It is a fact that women were held in high regard at religious ritual events. They held a sacred purpose within the Greek religion and it is likely that their reproductive capabilities were not overlooked by their men. Fathering legitimate children was paramount in the ancient world and that is a facet of power that only women could hold. Works Cited Pomeroy, Sarah. B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. 1995. Tyrrell, Wm. B. & F.S. Brown, Athenian Myths and Institutions: Words in Action, Oxford, 1991. Fantham, E. ,et al, Women in the Classical World Oxford 1994. Read More