Aristotle And Aristotle's Role Of Women And Slaves

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Athens, even though named after a goddess, was an extremely male dominated culture. To take a step further, you only had true freedom if you were a male of Athenian decent. Women, foreigners, and slaves were not viewed anywhere near the same light. Women and foreigners (Metics) held similar social status and differed from slaves slightly, but they also shared certain things in common. In ancient Athens, slaves had little to no rights. For example, if a slave were to commit a crime, then he or she would not go to trial. They would instead be forced to have their body suffer the consequences. That does not represent the consequences that a free man would receive where corporal punishment would be the last possible discipline. According to Aristotle, …show more content…

He believed that even though possibly immoral, it was necessary for a few to be ruled over. Aristotle identifies slaves as an inferior class who are only valuable for their bodies and nothing else. He compared them to lower tier animals who followed strictly instinct to survive and could not apprehend higher thinking (Ancient History Sourcebook). Aristotle, along with the majority of Athens, viewed women in a similar light. They all viewed women as inferior to men and believed that women should be ruled by men, much like slaves. Demosthenes referred to women as tools for a certain purpose, ranging from prostitutes for pleasure to wives for simply providing children. Men thought so lowly of women, that in Euripides’s drama, he introduced women as a curse to men and a venom worse than that of reptiles (What Athenian Men Said). Even though the disrespect of women and slaves was similar, the difference between the two was that women had it worse. Women seemed to have little to no freedom. They were not allowed to leave their houses, other than for religious purposes. A woman could not even choose who she …show more content…

They consisted of both male and female residents of Athens that were not born to Athenian parents. Much like slaves, metics were viewed as un-equals and were not considered citizens. They also could not participate in societal politics or vote. Along with slaves, metics had no legal right to get married to an Athenian citizen. Furthermore, metics were also viewed as lower in the eye of the law. The punishment of harming a metic was not as severe as harming a citizen. Much of the freedom and rights given to the metics belonged to the hetaera. The hetaera were courtesans that could do as they please and wander wherever they pleased. Many of the hetaera, even though still disrespected due to their gender and occupation, were educated in dancing and singing and tended to participate in philosophical debates. Even though metics were not allowed to marry, they could captivate with their beauty and cause a man to provide for them. If a metic was the hetaera, they could become a mistresses and create a lavish life for themselves

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