Women in Ancient History - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 15
About This Presentation
Title:

Women in Ancient History

Description:

Finally Roxanne, Philip Aridaeus and Alexander IV murdered ... From Syria: Aphrodite (Ishtar) From Greece: Dionysius. From Persia: Mithra ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:87
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 16
Provided by: TLO73
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Women in Ancient History


1
Women in Ancient History
  • Primitive cultures
  • Neanderthal Cro-Magnon
  • Ancient cultures
  • Egypt Sumer (reading)
  • Babylonia (reading) Assyria
  • Russian Nomads Israel
  • Greece Rome

2
Greece
  • With the rise of the middle class, the nuclear
    family, which had previously been only a
    biological and social unit, became a political
    and economic unit.

3
Grecian Justice
  • Adultery was seen as a crime against the state
    since it corrupted the oikos
  • Most Grecian women could not even leave their
    homes without permission from their fathers or
    husbands.

4
Grecian Science
  • Doctors came to conclusions about nature and
    biology based on the social status of women in
    their culture
  • Women were colder
  • Women were softer
  • Women were more emotional
  • Men were superior

5
Greek Myths
  • Creation myths In Theogony, Hesiod explains the
    creation of the universe
  • 1. The female goddess Earth (Gaia) generates
    Heaven (Ouranos), and together they produce the
    Titans. Ouranos tries to prevent the birth
    of his children by holding them in Gaias womb.
    Gaia arms Kronos, her youngest son, who
    castrates Ouranos and declares himself ruler of
    the gods.

6
  • 2. Kronos and Rhea generate the Olympian gods.
    Kronos, fearing his fathers fate, swallows his
    children as Rhea brings them forth. She deceives
    him, saving her youngest son, Zeus, who
    eventually tricks Kronos into vomiting up his
    swallowed children, Zeuss siblings. War ensues,
    the Olympians win, and Zeus establishes himself
    as ruler of the universe.

7
  • 3. Zeus and Metis (Intelligence) marry, and Zeus
    swallows her when she becomes pregnant. He gains
    control over her powers of reproduction. His
    first child, Athena, springs from his head,
    symbolizing the male dominance of the
    universe.

8
Goddesses
  • Arthur points out that prior to the Hellenistic
    period, Athena was the most important goddess.

9
  • Athena, although a female immortal, is not a
    representative of nor very sympathetic to women.
  • was born solely of her father, Zeus as he
    swallows his wife Metis and literally and
    symbolically gains her powers of reproduction
  • identifies strongly with men, championing male
    heroes, engaging in military pursuits, and siding
    against women in disputes.

10
  • Arthur cites this rationale by quoting Athena
    from Aeschyluss Eumenides Athena says, There
    is no mother anywhere who gave me birth, and, but
    for marriage, I am always for the male with all
    my heart, and strongly on my fathers side (82).

11
  • Philosophy instructor C. Stephen Rhoades has
    pointed out that this association with males
    being the creative force of society was seen as
    the civilizing and productive force of their
    society.
  • Arthur points out that part of the cultural
    ideology held that the men were conquering
    nature, which they clearly identified with the
    female.
  • The myths, which were very important to their
    religious rituals, usually identify the worlds
    evils and societys destruction with women.

12
  • As the culture shifts to democratic notions,
    however, Aphrodite became one of the most
    important goddesses of the time and was depicted
    in many art works as the ideal woman, nude for
    the first time in history.
  • Love and partnership are seen as more important
    during the Hellenistic period than containing or
    controlling women.

13
Rome
  • Ancient Rome was similar to ancient Greece in
    that it too began as an aristocracy however, it
    was not initially hostile to women and many works
    of literature from the early republic show that
    women can and could perform heroic deeds and be
    active politically and socially in addition to
    their domestic duties.

14
  • Rome was still an intensely patriarchal society,
    and women were strictly regulated.
  • In Rome, as the middle class developed, the
    society came to be structured around a concept
    called paterfamilias, which meant that there was
    absolute male control in the family.

15
  • Women were prepared for a largely domestic role.
  • Women had little rights for divorce early in the
    republic. And like in Assyria, Israel, and
    Greece, women who were victims of crime were
    often held responsible for those crimes.
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com