Though they did not participate in government, the women did enjoy considerable freedom, could accumulate property and exercise considerable power. The women of Sparta were given freedom, power, respect and status that were unheard of in other Greek city-states. The main function of Spartan women was to be wives and mothers of citizens. Women knew their central goal was to “continue Sparta, through childbirth”. Xenophon wrote, “Lycurgus thought that for free women the most important job was to bear children”.
The main role of any Spartan woman was to produce healthy children who would grow to be the warriors and wives of warriors in the future. Spartan women were not citizens, but enjoyed social privilege and had social and economic freedoms not enjoyed by other women in Greece. Girls were publicly, though informally educated. They were encouraged to undertake exercise. According to Plutarch, Spartan women were encouraged to ‘exercise themselves with wrestling, running, throwing the quoit, and casting the dart, to the ende that the fruit they conceived might, in strong and healthy bodies, take firmer root and find better growth,…they, with this greater vigour, might be able to undergo the pains of childbearing’.
The girls would participate in various competitions alongside their male counterparts. Spartan girls were also taught to read and write, unlike most other women of the ancient world. And the girls were expected to be able to protect themselves. The Spartans had a large amount of respect for Spartan mothers and believed that through healthy women were born strong healthy babies who would later serve the state. This discipline of the young Spartans would prove to be very beneficial to the state.
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.
Darius was the only Persian king marrying the women of the previous king to establish legitimacy and authority over Persia. Herodotus gives us a great deal of information about Atossa , the daughter of Cyrus and wife of Cambyses and Gaumata before marrying Darius, she was also the mother of Xerxes. Supported by other source Darius gained power through his marriages to all the female descendants of Cyrus, probably so that they could not marry anyone else who might challenge his leadership. This portrays the role of royal women, although women did not have political influence they instead helped to protect their family. Unlike royal women non-royal women were mentioned in the treasury tablets from Persepolis as weavers or stone workers.
To support these claims there is life of women in Greece, life of women in Egypt, and the similarities and general reason for the treatment of women in both societies during this time period. The early Egyptian civilization was distinctly different than other ancient civilizations in surrounding areas. The rights that women had were almost equal to the rights that men had. Many legal rights were given to the women, such as managing and disposing of private property. Women could also free slaves, make adoptions, and go to court without the presence of a man.
While the two main responsibilities for women remained maintaining the household and childbearing, they were also able to have the same legal and economic rights and social positions, were able to represent themselves at law, own their own property, make their own decisions and have more superior jobs than women of other ancient civilizations. Ancient Egypt, for the most part, did not categorize their society into that of men having more prestige or power than women, but instead built a society in which status in the community, (birth right, money, job or position etc. ), and the way in which you performed your particular role in the community, would give a better assessment of one’s self worth. There is little evidence to prove a woman’s role and rights in ancient Egypt. Many of the artefacts left behind by ancient Egyptians depict very little about the roles women played in society and everyday life.
A woman could work until she got married, but she was then expected to give work up to become a housewife. • All school lessons were based on Nazi ideas. School textbooks were rewritten and included Nazi versions of German history. Maths problems involved calculations about bombing Poland and killing invalids. Children were taught Nazi beliefs everyday in subjects such as Ideology and Eugenics.
The few roles that they had were in religion, taking care of the household, and being second to their husbands. In religion, they are viewed as powerful goddesses. The goddesses are far different than what the real women were like, but they were powerful and independent. The women in ancient Greece were expected to take care of the household. Cleaning and taking care of children were the main jobs of ancient Grecian women.
The Role of Women in Ancient Egypt No matter the time period, country, or society, no one can deny the importance of women’s roles throughout history. Some have been powerful, influential rulers while others have had to suffer and be treated as weaker and insignificant. In some societies, women were treated as property and were only considered as valuable as their family or husband. On the other hand, ancient Egypt allowed women much more freedom. I am interested in this topic because Egyptian society is interesting to me and I think that they had a good system for gender roles.