Womans In Ancient Greek Society Essay, Research Paper

Womans in Ancient Greek Society

Homer and Greek society were strongly machista. The Odyssey nowadayss narratives in which work forces were heroes, won wars and governed states while females were in 2nd program and didn Ts play any expressive function in society. Womans were ever retainers of the work forces throughout the verse form ; their being was based on functioning the work forces in the book. Culture in ancient Greece suggested that adult females had lower position than work forces. The Grecian Herodutos visited Egypt in 15 BC and found thwart the manner adult females were treated because he was used to the machista Grecian society. He did non hold that by jurisprudence, the queen should hold greater power and award than the male monarch and that among private individuals the married woman should bask authorization over her hubby.

In the books of The Odyssey narratives about work forces and the war are told. Work forces are ever superior and adult females are ne’er related to their conquerings except by the Goddess Athena who helped Odysseus to return to Ithaca, his fatherland. The female in ancient Grecian history was excluded non merely from societal and political life but besides from the universe of ground and love. Women had no formal instruction, female kids were taught to read and compose informally, in their places and normally by their female parents or by slaves who acted as coachs and, hence, was

considered inadequate for the preparation of new coevalss ; this fell into the custodies of the work forces. Grecian adult females were married every bit immature as 14 or 15 to a adult male as arranged by her household. He may be every bit old as 30 and could really good be dead by age 45. A widow was expected to remarry, peculiarly if she was still of childbearing age.

Female in the book drama largely the function of retainers. A clear illustration of that are the amahs of Odysseus house. Them all should be loyal to Odysseus or Telemachus and bewraying them granted the work forces the right to put to death the amahs.

Ancient Grecian civilization provinces that upper category Greek married womans, like Penelope, should populate in close privacy in their hubby s place. They had no contact with the outside universe. Their duties were those of maternity, run uping and supervising of the slaves. Sexual familiarity between hubby and married woman was minimum. Sexual activity was non an activity for adult females to bask, but merely a manner to make citizen. Even though Odysseus was non excessively machista you notice those features in their relationship.

Machismo has lasted to our present twenty-four hours. Of class there has been major advancement since the yearss of the ancient Greeks, now it is illegal to see adult females lower so work forces in any sense ( at least in some states ) , yet most of us still see the universe through the machista drape that covers our eyes.