Athenian women had little rights compared to their male counterparts. They were not allowed to vote, own land, or inherit anything. They were controlled by their fathers or kyrios, a guardian, still usually a male member of their family. These men maintained control of the women’s interests. However of the two types of sex-workers the hetaera got to be well educated, and could even attend the symposiums with the Greek men, something the high class women were not allowed to partake in.…
1. To provide good order of society and the basic welfare of his subjects, Hammurabi established a collection of laws which he inscribed on a stone pillar, or stele. This detailed legal code was named the Code of Hammurabi, or Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi compiled decisions or misharum (equity rulings) that the king made in response to specific cases and perceived injustices. His judgements, covering a wide variety of crimes and circumstances, allowed Hammurabi to replace Mesopotamia’s characteristic sense of insecurity and uncertainty with order and justice.…
Another brought tables of silver up to the seats, and set them with baskets of gold, (Homer, Book 10). In Greek society, women were expected to serve men. Here, Circe’s maids serve the men like they were kings, because it is their job as…
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in Italy, marriage and dowry were central issues that greatly impacted both family structure and, thus, social and economic structure. Contrary to modern views of the 20th century, women during these time periods were viewed as vessels for economic and social advancement. A woman’s individuality was insignificant and her importance depended solely on the ability to create strategic marriage ties with families and depended highly upon her accompanying dowry. It should be noted that the use of the dowry and strategic marriage was not specific to Italy and was widely utilized throughout Mediterranean Europe and beyond. This paper will explore the specific financial and economic circumstances that inspired…
She had her dowry, so if they divorced she would have some money to live off of until she finds another husband. She could also only bring three dresses, and a few items with little value. The women on ancient Greece could not inherit or own any property. Which is different from ancient Rome, and ancient Egypt. The women were also not allowed to go out of the house, even for grocery shopping.…
In the late 1800s, women did not have the exact same rights as men did; such as, not having control over their possessions while married, arranged marriages, and having to be stay at home mothers. In the late 1800s, married women did not have control over their own possessions. If the woman in the marriage had a job, the money she made went straight to the man. Also, whatever possessions she had before she was married, were now the mans.…
The Crito by Plato is premised with Socrates in his prison cell and awaiting his execution. Socrates’ friend Crito then comes and tries to convince him to escape his cell. Socrates and Crito discuss and argue about whether Socrates should escape prison or not. In their dialogue, the topic about laws emerge. Socrates states, “by giving every Athenian the opportunity, once arrived at voting age and having observed the affairs of the city and us the laws...…
Women who had property before had to forfeit their possessions on their wedding day; women had no right to sign contracts, to do business, and could…
The lowest class was the slave women, who did the menial domestic chores and helped to raise the children of the wife. Male slaves worked in the trade arts, including pottery making, glass working, and wood working, or educating the sons of a house. The second class of women was the Athenian citizen woman, who could pass the right of citizenship to her sons. The third class was known as the Hetaerae. Unlike the slaves and the citizens, they were given an education in reading, writing, and music, and were allowed into the Agora and other places that were off limits to citizen and slave women.…
Document One of the reasons why patriarchy emerges is, because of females’ natural duties. They are the one giving birth, and inevitably they have to stay indoors to recover most of the time. During that time, the men can go outside and experience new things like commerce, and hunting. Patriarchy change over time when new philosophies/religions come along. As they change, each empire/civilization express and experience them differently, according to their philosophies/religions/government.…
Some of the similarities in the lives of aristocratic men and women was that both owned vast and numerous riches (it was no longer just men but women also who possessed such wealth). In order to establish and maintain an image of power and prominence, these men and women accumulated precious jewels, treasures and grains which they kept in their storehouses. They often donated lavishly to the church from their assets. Aristocratic men and women both decided who was best suited to marry their daughters. Aristocratic brides would receive dowries (usually land) from their families in addition to what their husbands gave them which increased their wealth.…
A Woman’s Worth As I read Aristophanes’ Lyristrata, I wondered if he wrote this to unveil his true feelings about the Peloponnese war that was taking place. It would be easy to mask his feelings about ending the war behind a comedic satire about women and power. It would take the burden off of him as coming off too soft or not masculine enough because he wanted the ear to end. Lyristata is about the Peloponnese war and the effect it has on both the men and women of Greece. Lyristrata is the heroine in the story that decided she wanted the war to end.…
In the process of contrasting the different views and roles that marriage had on Athenian and Spartan women one always begins to discuss the economic opportunities that they had. As slightly touched on in the previous passage prostitution was a practice of work that women could get into. It was not considered to be illegal by Athenian government due to the profit it made and the very sexual image that women placed under made it a career choice in a society that didn't give many options for Athenian women. But it was not just simply a system of which a women was selling herself for sex as it was a very complex system and was deeply rooted into Athenian culture. As mention before in Athens, female prostitution was legal and the profits made…
Marriage during the Roman Republic was seldom based upon romance. Contrary to marriages in today’s society, marriage in ancient Rome was a very structured, highly logical arrangement between two families. Legally, as written in Augustan legislation, a Roman woman needed to be, at minimum, twelve years of age in order to get married (Clark, 1981). Most women typically did not get married until they were around twenty years old so that they would be more mature and better able to handle the duties and responsibilities of a traditional Roman wife. When a Roman girl became of age, her father would find her a suitable husband, typically to increase the family’s wealth or social status, and also to create alliances between multiple powerful families…
For my paper topic I want to look into the invention of prostitution in the ancient world. I want to look into how the women who were seen as prostitutes had full power over their bodies and sexualities in comparison to women who were not allowed to have any control over their body, sometimes resulting in mutilation of their genitals. My question is how does one distinguish the power women had when they were in prostitution compared to those who were not involved in prostitution, and were still victims of genital mutilations. In what way did the invention of prostitution, open up doors for women to live their sexuality without problems, and are they really free, when they have to prostitute themselves with men whom they might not be attracted…