Describe the role and status of royal and non-royal women in Persia society of this period. Supported by many historians and sources found, the Persian empire during the reign of Darius and Xerxes was strongly patriarchal. This is evident through the lack of sources of women during that time as the images that exist are mostly of men. Many Greek writers such as Herodotus did mention and name some Persian women of the court but these accounts are coloured by Greek prejudices of the authors so can’t always be reliable source of evidence. Thus, understanding of women in Persia during the reign of Darius and Xerxes is limited as sources found only briefly add to our understanding of the economic and social roles of non-royal and royal women throughout the empire.
This is a repeated theme in many Greek plays. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, he demonstrates the issue of gender rights through his main character Antigone’s argument of right and wrong with her dad, Creon. Antigone goes against her dad and every law by standing up for what she believes; by doing what she believes is her “duty” (56) to her brother, by giving him a proper burial. Gender is still a topic of debate in today’s world; however, the issues differ from the issues of Greek err. In the Greek period, women were not aloud to have any of their own properties; such as land or houses.
Xenophon wrote, “Lycurgus thought that for free women the most important job was to bear children”. Marriage was unusual in Sparta; it was common for a married couple to keep their marriage a secret until the birth of their child. Women married around the age of 18, or when according to Plutarch, they were “ripe for it” – mentally and physically ready for motherhood. Spartan women naturally had very strong maternal instincts and were sought after in Athens as nannies. The role of rearing children was paramount and their relationship with their sons was not of the norm.
Because of this women had very little freedom, unlike the Egyptians. The women were watched and held under the supervision of a male at all times, whether it was their father, brother, or husband. The few times that women were able to leave their home were to go to weddings, funerals, or other religious festivals, or to briefly visit female neighbors. Other than these
The difference between the treatment of women in ancient Egypt versus ancient Greece however is striking. I will categorize some of the most startling differences in this essay. Marriage- Women in ancient Egypt could and often did choose their husbands. They were allowed to decide for themselves who they would marry (within reason). Usually a mate was chosen that was in the same profession as the woman’s father or uncles as this was who they had the most access to.
The women did not have a voice on anything unless it was pertaining to family needs, and I feel that women should not be treated like someone that cannot express their opinion. In the seventeenth century the women could be married starting at the age of sixteen years old; nevertheless, the woman’s father had to choose whom she marries and she had to listen to her father’s regards about the marriage. Women back then were housewives they could not own property, but they had to make sure the one that their spouses owned were clean. Getting an education in the seventeenth century wasn’t a necessity the men felt as
Finally the men didn’t think much of women for doing things that they could. Most men married women for their inheritance, childbirth, appearance, housekeeping and were expected to be married by their families. I think the suffragists campaigns were important but not as important as what happened during WW1. Source one shows Joyce’s opinion so it’s not a solid fact so it might not be reliable as she could be bias to the suffragists. But I believe that the suffragists did help women win the vote by showing they can do it in a calm and peaceful way.
The need to train and send men to war required women to remain at home managing and running the economy while the men were in battle, and producing more male children to become soldiers. This quest enabled women to flourish without the dominance of men. Aristotle, the Athenian philosopher was not supportive of the governance of Sparta, and called it a 'gynocracy' - a state ruled by women. His
Before the reform movement, the American Women were voiceless, they had no say in society, however the reform movement will soon change that. Married women had no very little rights compared to husband, one
They taught their daughters skills in spinning, weaving, sewing, cooking and other household jobs. Their jobs in the private place of their household were to do cleaning, carding, and spinning, weaving and making garments. The poorer women usually had to do more jobs because they couldn’t afford slaves such as cooking, cleaning, carrying water from the fountain and working in the fields. Many roles of Athenian women can be seen on old Attic vases, pottery, statues and grave reliefs, these all show images of the women working in their home with slaves or children. Public Role - Usually the wealthier women did not have major roles in society; Greek women had virtually no political rights of any kind and were controlled by men; therefore it was uncommon to see women out in the public as they had no importance.