Slaves, woman and men had different jobs to do in the community. Slavery was an important part of ancient Greek civilization. Slaves didn’t only work as domestic servants but also as factory workers, shopkeepers, mine workers, farm workers, and as a ship’s crew; They could be found just about every were. There were many ways a person might become a slave. They could have been born as a slave, token as a prisoner in a battle abandoned as an infant. Another way if the family needed money, they might sell one of their children into slavery. If this was done, they usually sold the daughter because the sons were needed to help out with the chores or on the farm. The price of the slave would depend on their appearances, age and attitude. If the slave was healthy, attractive, young and submissive he or she could sell for the equivalent of $180.00. If the slave was old, weak, and stubborn he or she might cost about the equivalent of $9.00. House slaves were always supervised by the woman. The wealthy households had 10 to 20 slaves. The woman in ancient Greece dominated the home life they spent most their time in their houses raising children, making the clothes, preparing food and supervising slaves. A few wealthy homes had female servants to cook clean, and carry water from the fountain. Not every family in Greece was rich, so some wives didn’t have slaves and had to do these duties by themselves. The woman spent a lot of her time inside, but sometimes they could go out in public. On such occasions as weddings, funerals and state religious festivals. The Greek men were away from their home for most of the day. These men had jobs similar as today like fishing, hunting. There were slaves to do some work so many men had a lot of free time. ...
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...e to Egypt and a good deal of second hand pottery. Italians also bought a lot of Attic pottery, firsthand. Granary lay in Egypt, where Attic olive oil was also traded for papyrus, ivory, glass work, slaves and exotic animals. Carthage provided textile. Etruria exported fine bronze work and boots. Sicily provided pigs, cheese and grain. Phoenicia traded purple dye and dates. Corinth exported its own wares as well as serving as an intermediary between east and west, sending out tiles and metalwork. Silk made their way from china to Greece. Arabia export perfumes, and Persia carpets. Important trade of metal was from Cyprus, Spain, Laconia, Black Sea, Thasos, and Mount Pangaea. Cyprus produced copper. Spain produced tin, Laconia as well as the Black Sea for iron, Thasos and Mount Pangaea, for Gold. Trade was going all around the ancient world and Greece was in charge.
China such as white silk, gold, perfume, and even porcelain. They traded all of these
From the role of the wily seductress, to the submissive housewife, to the raging warrior, women were a focal point of Ancient Greek works. Although they are often looked over and considered, the roles they played in their culture were undeniably important. Women may have been thought to have far less worth than a man, however, their undeniable power and influence in Greek society cannot be overlooked. The substantial position they held is verified in numerous texts of the era, including the works of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid.
Athenian Women: Just as a mother nurses a child, Athenian society, nurtured and cultivated a submissive role for women. In Athens, women endured many difficulties and hardships in multiple areas including marriage, wealth, and social life. All three elements shaped and formed the mold of the submissive female. In Athens, women had no legal personhood and were assumed to be part of a household headed by a male. Until marriage, women were under the guardianship of their father or other male relative, once married the husband became the woman’s guardian. Marriage, a modern romanticized idea of being united with a lifelong partner by love was the furthest thought from the mind of a woman living in ancient Greece. When a young woman was to marry, she was given in marriage by her male relatives. The woman’s voice had no bearing on the matter legally or otherwise. Marriage was seen as an exchange making it a practical business arrangement, not a love match.
Much like world war two when men went away to serve in battle, the women took care of the property and managed the home. Spartan Husbands spent most of their time with other men in the military barracks; since the men were rarely home, the women were free to take charge of almost everything outside of the army (Fleck). Women owned forty percent of land in Spartan society. In comparison, Athenian law did not allow a woman to participate in a business transaction involving anything that’s value exceeded the sum of money equivalent to that needed to feed a family for five to six days. Thus, why Athenian women had no control in owning property. Also, if she wanted to buy groceries at the local market, she would needed the approval of a male guardian (father, brother, husband). An Athenian woman could have owned a slave, yet she would have a lacked the authority to sell them away. This power again was given to the males of the household. She might have had a claim to land as well, yet she would not even have had the right to use it let alone sell it. In ancient Athens, then, it is probably better to speak of rights and not of ownership when it comes to women’s
Unlike other Greek city states, women played an integral role in Spartan society as they were the backbone of the Spartan economic system of inheritance and marriage dowry and they were relied upon to fulfill their main responsibility of producing Spartan warrior sons. These principle economic systems affected wealth distribution among Spartan citizens especially among the Spartan elite class. Spartan women led a completely different life than women in most other ancient Greek city states, as they were depended upon to maintain Spartan social systems. In a society where the state is more involved in home life women had freedom of movement and they were permitted to communicate with men who were not their husbands. Women had domestic responsibilities including the maintenance of homes and farms when the men were on campaign, while the typical Greek female responsibilities such as weaving were delegated to slaves. Girls were raised much like Spartan boys as they were made to go through physical training insuring their success in fulfilling their most important role in society, child-bearing. The few primary sources on Sparta and Spartiate women, namely Aristotle, Plutarch, Herodotus and Xenophon were historians who lived after the prominence of ancient Sparta; therefore, the facts regarding the women’s influence in social, economic and political issues must be carefully interpreted and analysed with help from secondary sources.
According to research, the role of women in classical Greece was extremely limited. Men and women were segregated all over in the Greek society, even in the home (Source 9). Women were secluded in their homes to the point of not being able to leave their own quarters except on special religious occasions or as necessity dictated (Source 10). All women were tightly controlled and confined to the home to insure that their husbands were provided legitimate male heirs. Beyond this, women had no true value (Source 6). Clearly, male domination in Greek society was like enslavement to women. A marriage contract dated 92 B.C. can be located in Women's Life in Greece & Rome by Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant which defines unacceptable behavior within the union of marriage. The document requires that both husband and wife be chaste within the context of the household, but although nothing prevents ...
Women in this society could, to some degree, assert power and influence in the home. The everyday life of the “ideal” Greek woman included child bearing and rearing, cleaning, both weaving cloth and making clothes, cooking and supervising slaves and other domestic tasks, (Xenophon, On Household Management).
In ancient Greek society women lived hard lives on account of men's patriarch built communities. Women were treated as property. Until about a girl’s teens she was "owned" by her father or lived with her family. Once the girl got married she was possessed by her husband along with all her belongings. An ancient Greece teenage girl would marry about a 30-year-old man that she probably never met before. Many men perceived women as being not being human but creatures that were created to produce children, please men, and to fulfill their household duties. A bride would not even be considered a member of the family until she produced her first child. In addition to having a child, which is a hard and painful task for a teenage girl in ancient civilization to do, the husband gets to decide if he wants the baby. A baby would be left outside to die if the husband was not satisfied with it; usually this would happen because the child was unhealthy, different looking, or a girl.
When discussing the Spartan economy it is essential that the structure of Spartan society is explained. This structure directly effects Spartan economic production and its primary agrarian focus. The social structure of ancient Sparta was made up of three classes of individuals, the Spartiates, the Perioikoi, and the Helots. The Spartiates were native Spartans, those who had ancestry back to the first inhabitants of the settlement. The Homoioi—peers and equals—were at the top of the social pyramid, they were citizens with full rights, Spartiates. It was strictly forbidden for the Spartiates to engage in any economic activity at any time, rather they were devoted to military service and training. Family life for a Spartiate was limited, a
Women in ancient Greece are an interesting subject and only so much is known about the exact day to day lives of them however from what records remain it would seem that they were kept at a relatively low level on the social hierarchy. Even in Pericles ' Funeral Speech which seems to be an almost utopian discretion of aspects of Greek life Pericles himself states that “Great will be your glory in not falling short of your natural character; and greatest will be hers who is least talked of among the men whether for good or for bad.” Pericles states that the greatest of women should be the ones whom are not noticed but still preform there tasks while not catching the attention of men. Adding to this even the great philosopher Aristotle bags on the women of Greece simply by stating that ”female [souls are] inoperative” With this simple statement Aristotle makes it seem that women are somehow broken and can never live up to the same standards as men. Even Xenophon, The Economist rambles on...
People have always recognized the need for an authority to exercise control in society. This has taken shapes in many different ways from small groups to formal organizations. The ancient Greeks were no different. The Greeks established cities known as polis, and they had their own governments, which were systems for controlling their local societies.
When you think of ancient Greece, you probably think of togas, polytheism, epic heros, and olives. But do you how women were treated or veiwed? There is quite a lot of evidence displayed throughout manyplays, epics and other documents. Oedipus the King and The Odyssey are two ancient Greek works of literature that exemplify their society perfectly. Ancient Greece was a patriarchial society where women were treated as objects and sex symbols and misogyny was often present.
Every idea has a start and a history that can be traced back in time. An incredible amount of these ideas and thoughts were started by great ancient civilizations. These ancient civilizations are the base of all modern knowledge. No ancient civilization has contributed more to this base than the civilization of Ancient Greece. The unique ways of ancient Greek agriculture have left a profound influence on the agriculture of today.
Slavery in ancient Rome had a huge toll to society and was very important to the economy. Many unskilled slaves did a lot of old fashion manual labor for there masters, also slaves performed and did a lot of household work, and possibly hired at particular expert jobs and professions. Teachers were often slaves. Most distinct Greek slaves were to be expected as highly educated. Unskilled slaves / uneducated slaves, or people who were convicted of crime most of the time slavery could be used as punishment, these people worked on farms, in mines, and at mills. Their living conditions were heartless, very tight, had no right to do anything , and most of time lives short. In rome slaves were property such as a house is to a person in the beginning slaves had no rights to say or do anything over time slaves slowly were given rights and little freedom this happened overtime. This was sadly accepted as part of life in ancient Rome by the slaves themselves and by the society. Little to no credit had been given to the important contributions to the economy and
Life for the Greeks in Athens began in their home. Babies were delivered by the women of the family, and only in cases of serious complications was a mid-wife called. Large families were not desired by Athenians since the inheritance was to be divided up equally among sons and daughters requiring dowries. So, unwanted children were not uncommon. Killing the babies was illegal, but a new-born could be exposed to die. These unwanted babies were left outside in a clay pot either to be claimed by a childless woman or rescued and brought up as a slave (Connolly, 32). Slaves were common in ancient times, if a family was reasonably well off they usually had two or three slaves. Slaves would take on the tasks of motherhood, some would even breast feed the babies. The slaves also worked the fields and helped the mother with other household duties, such as making clothes (The Study of Women, online).