Ancient Greek Women

For thousands of years humans have divided people into two genders—male and female. And based upon these gender classifications, labor has been assigned, families structured, and powers divided in various ways from culture to culture. At times, the roles of women throughout history can be harder to pin-point. This is because the vast majority if societies where (or later became) strictly patriarchal and thus the power and focus remained on men, often disregarding the experiences of women. That said, through what is known of women’s experiences it can be determined that, although the social status and treatment of women varied greatly from culture to culture, some tasks were unilaterally viewed as womanly. Although the overall societal standing
Then, as societies gradually became more focused on military prowess, women’s social (and political) status began to decline (Cantarella). In traditional Greek culture women were expected to be beautiful, good homemakers, and obedient (Cantarella). A woman was supposed to listen and obey her father, husband, and adult sons. Even the ‘best’ women, who followed societal expectations faultlessly, were regarded with distrust. Females were seen as inherently weak and fickle creatures (Cantarella). A female belonged to the males in her family, be it her father or husband, and could be punished harshly for any perceived transgressions (Cantarella). Women in Greece were generally married quite young to much older men, and, while women had to remain loyal to their husbands, a man generally had many concubines and outside relationships (Cantarella). It was expected as a sign of his power and masculinity (Cantarella). Women had no rights and were supposed to devote themselves to childbearing (Cantarella). Eventually, the practice arose for men with the means to confine the women of their family within the house (Cantarella). Women performed domestic work and likely saw no one outside the family. Only the poorest women would be seen outside the home
Life for women in Sparta, for example, differed greatly from the experiences of women elsewhere in Greece in regards to gender expectations (History.com Staff). Women in Sparta enjoyed comparatively more freedom and held some minor rights (History.com Staff). Spartan women received an education (though it was very different in subject matter from the education of their male counter-parts), participated in athletic events, and had some property rights (History.com Staff). Spartan women often did not have to perform many domestic/household duties, though that was the result of the extensive system of slaves in Sparta (History.com Staff). As the slaves performed such tasks as cooking and clothing making, Spartan women where free from the majority of these tasks (History.com Staff). That said, the primary purpose of a woman remained to marry and have children (specifically sons) to contribute to the prosperity and the ongoing survival of the warrior state (History.com Staff). On a whole, women still had a lower social status than men, enjoyed far less opportunity (politically, socially, and economically) than men, and were expected only to bear children, but they did have some small freedoms (History.com