Womens Role and Social Status in Ancient Greece during the Hellenistic Era - Literature review Example

Running Head: Women’s Role and Social Status in Ancient Women’s Role and Social Status in Ancient Greece during the Hellenistic Era Date Women’s Role and Social Status in Ancient Greece during the Hellenistic Era In Ancient Hellenistic Greece, women’s social role and position were highly determined by the patriarchal monopolies of the social authorities. Often men’s attitude to woman’s psychophysical realities often played a significant role in determining their social realities and status in the society. In this regard, the classical as well as the Hellenistic Greek society can be considered as a rigidly patriarchal society. Indeed, the Hellenistic Greek society inherited those patriarchal ideologies about women from the preceding the Classical Greek. Yet at the end of the Hellenistic era, women began to play a limited role in the royal power politics. After all, the common scenario of women in the Hellenistic society was that they were subservient to their male counterparts (Hynson, 2006, p. 67). They were often subjugated by men and treated as male-possession. In most cases, they were excluded from public affairs and earning activities. Hellenistic society viewed women as psychologically and physically inferior to men. Women were considered mostly fit for childrearing and doing household chores, though lower-class women would involve in outdoor earning activities including farming, selling handmade products, etc. They were not allowed to inherit property from their parental property. Though it was the common status of women in ancient Greece, it would slightly vary from one polis to another. Sparta was such an exception. The Spartans would allow their women to enjoy different socioeconomic rights which were contingent upon their performances in the army (Hynson, 2006, p. 69). As an exclusively military state, Sparta forsook their gender prejudices and allowed them to enjoy more freedom. Women’s social status in Hellenistic Greece was remarkably different from that of the Classical Greece. Though “the Hellenistic period was not in actual fact a transitional period” (Hellas, 2013, pars. 8), it showed a remarkable improvement in women’s social roles and status. During this period, women came out of their traditional seclusion in their households, as Michael Scott (2009) says, “worked as nurses, wool-workers and grape-pickers on account of the city’s penury” (pars. 12). Whereas before the enactment of Pericles’ citizenship law, there was “no difference between Athenian women and slaves” (Blundell, 1995, p. 129), Hellenistic Athenian women started to enjoy more freedom regarding their social, political and economic rights. After Alexander, the King of Macedonia, had conquered Greece and brought all the Greek city-states under his control, “there was a significant introduction of new ideologies and views” (Hellas, 2013, pars. 2). Now, the Macedonian women could enter in political power struggle which was previously assumed as exclusively a male arena. They started to use their influence as well as talents to make their room in political power. Such role in the country’s politics was exclusively confined to royal women and, to a limited extent, to those women who belonged to powerful families (Hynson 34). Women would increasingly participate in public spheres mostly for religious purposes. Referring to different historical documents, Pomeroy claims that Hellenistic women were liable to legal and economic duties more than ever. (Hellas, 2013, pars. 3-4) Women could receive honorarium for their services, as John Hellas (2013) says, “honourary citizenship and rights of proxeny were more commonly given to women by foreign cities for their services” (pars. 4). Historical documents further show that even women could hold office. For example, Phile of Priene was the first Greek woman who supervised the construction of a water reservoir and aqueduct. Normally, such tasks were performed by male magistrates (). Like any traditional patriarchal society, Hellenistic Greece would view their women as men’s property. So, women were not allowed to inherit ancestral property. They were economically disempowered. By the existing legal system women could not run their business because the state’s law would not allow them to enter any business contract, as Sue Blundell (1995) says, “Athenian Women could not by law enter into any contact ‘beyond the value of one medimnos of barley’: a mdimnons was a measure of grain, [which is] sufficient to keep a family fed for five or six days” (p. 114). Since the Greek society would not permit women to be involved in financial activities, a woman’s only means of acquiring wealth was to receive dowry or gifts. There is another way for women to acquire wealth. They could inherit the property of their ‘Kyrios’ (or male guardians such as father, husbands, etc), the legal inheritor was immature. After the legal inheritor was mature enough to protect their property, those women had to transfer it to them. In the radically patriarchal Athenian society, women were not permitted to live independently. They had to live under the control of a male guardian or “Kyrios” (Freeman, 1996, p. 60) who should be either their father or their husbands. In this regard, Sue Blundell comments, “Until she was married, a woman came under the guardianship of her father, or male next-of-kin. On her marriage, her husband took over the role of the role of Kyrios.” (Blundell, 1995, p. 114) They had to depend on their “Kyrios” for food, clothe, shelter and other daily needs. Though Hellenistic women were enjoying more economic freedom than their classical ancestors, the common scenario was similar to that in Classical Greece. Women’s economic role was marked by difference. Referring to such evidence of the changes in women’s economic role, Hellas (2013) says, “inscriptions from Delos illustrate that the women were in charge of their own debts and funds in many regards and had a control over slaves and property” (pars. 6). During this period, women could involve in earning, but it was not in vogue. Indeed, the women’s economic dependence would force them to assume subservience to their male counterparts (Freeman, 1996, p. 45-7). This dependence further kept them excluded from the public spheres. Historical evidences show that lower-class women could involve in outdoor financial activities, women who belonged to high social status were totally absent from the public arena. Like the slaves, they could participate in the state’s politics. Though during the classical age, they could not seek legal support and sue any male in the court, as Sue Blundell (1995) says, “An Athenian woman was barred from conducting legal proceedings on her own behalf and there is reason to believe that normally she could not even give evidence in court. It seems instead to have been presented by her kyrios” (p. 114), the Hellenistic marital laws would ensure a woman’s rights and legal protection. Indeed, the Greek concept of “citizenship” did not include Athenian women. Athenian Society would not consider women as ‘politai’, a Greek term which is synonymous to modern concept, ‘citizenship’, though they were allowed to enjoy few civil rights, as Sue Blundell (1995) writes, “It must be borne in mind that for Athenian women ‘citizenship’ meant only that they had a share in the religious, legal and economic order o the Athenian community”. (p. 119) Hellenistic women could participate in non-political public gatherings to a limited extent. Hellenistic Greece was typically a patriarchal and male dominated society. Though some historians claim that women were increasingly participating in public spheres and enjoying more rights, the common scenario was that the Hellenistic society was typically patriarchal. Hellenistic women were to men. Traditionally, the society would consider women as mentally and physically inferior to men. So, they were prevented from public affairs. Indeed, there were exceptions too. During the Hellenistic period, patriarchal control over women was not as rigid as it was in the classical age. Historical evidences show that women were being involved in financial activities increasing. Also, women who belonged to the royal families were participating in political power struggles. Even some Hellenistic women are found to hold office and run business. References Blundell, S. (1995). Women in Ancient Greece. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Freeman, C. (1996). Egypt, Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press. Hellas, J. (2013). Greek Women Classical to Hellenistic: A Brief Discussion of Changing Factors. GraecoMuse. Retrieved April 23, 2014 from https://graecomuse.wordpress.com/tag/middle-east/ Hynson, C. (2006). Ancient Greece. Milwaukee: World Almanac Library. Scott, M. (2009). The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece. HistoryToday. Retrieved April 23, 2014 from http://www.historytoday.com/michael-scott/rise-women-ancient-greece Read More