In the ancient world, there were significant differences between the liberties afforded to men and women. There are many similarities and differences between the status of women in ancient Egypt and women of ancient Greece. This essay will do a comparative study to show that the women of Ancient Greece enjoyed a higher level of societal status than the women in ancient Egypt.
2 Ancient Egyptian women
The occupations of a majority of the women in ancient Egypt affected the status that men conferred upon them and consequently affected men’s attitudes towards them (Watterson 1997:2). Ancient Egyptian women’s main livelihoods were marriage, running the household bearing and tending to children (Watterson 1997:1). Egyptian women were able to exert …show more content…
In the classical period women in north-western and western Greece could manage families and own slaves and property without the assistance of a kyrios, i.e. a master (Pomeroy 2006: 354). Women were considered to be sent by the gods for indoor work: nursing of newborn children, preparation of bread and the making of clothing (Pomeroy 2006: 354). Ancient Greek, and especially Athenian, women were regarded with contempt, secluded, uneducated and unfree and unequal until the advent of Christianity (Katz 1992: 74). Majority of Greek women are usually depicted as passive, however Spartan women were rarely depicted as passive and were considered to be superior over other Greek women in status (Pomeroy 2006: 354). Spartan women were encouraged to speak and could debate in law courts and in their General Assembly whereas Athenian women were expected to remain silent and in no way converse with men who were not close relatives (Pomeroy 2006: 363). Spartan women, amongst all Greek women, were the only women depicted as wielding the power of life and death over their adult sons (Pomeroy 2006: 364). In Athens women were brought up speaking, seeing and hearing as little as possible as this was considered respectful (Pomeroy 2006:
2 Ancient Egyptian women
The occupations of a majority of the women in ancient Egypt affected the status that men conferred upon them and consequently affected men’s attitudes towards them (Watterson 1997:2). Ancient Egyptian women’s main livelihoods were marriage, running the household bearing and tending to children (Watterson 1997:1). Egyptian women were able to exert …show more content…
In the classical period women in north-western and western Greece could manage families and own slaves and property without the assistance of a kyrios, i.e. a master (Pomeroy 2006: 354). Women were considered to be sent by the gods for indoor work: nursing of newborn children, preparation of bread and the making of clothing (Pomeroy 2006: 354). Ancient Greek, and especially Athenian, women were regarded with contempt, secluded, uneducated and unfree and unequal until the advent of Christianity (Katz 1992: 74). Majority of Greek women are usually depicted as passive, however Spartan women were rarely depicted as passive and were considered to be superior over other Greek women in status (Pomeroy 2006: 354). Spartan women were encouraged to speak and could debate in law courts and in their General Assembly whereas Athenian women were expected to remain silent and in no way converse with men who were not close relatives (Pomeroy 2006: 363). Spartan women, amongst all Greek women, were the only women depicted as wielding the power of life and death over their adult sons (Pomeroy 2006: 364). In Athens women were brought up speaking, seeing and hearing as little as possible as this was considered respectful (Pomeroy 2006: