Comparison of Ancient Greek Philosophy and American Philosophy Essay Example

Ancient Greek philosophy differs from modern American philosophy in many ways. We shall examine these differences (and similarities) in terms of family life, the wealthy, slavery, and education. Observing the lives of Greek deities and heroes in Greek mythology, in addition to Greek art, can give us some idea of what everyday life was like in ancient Greece. Greek men had a fairly low opinion of women. Aristotle said that man is by nature superior to the female, and so the man should rule and the woman should be ruled. According to Euripides, women made disparaging comments about themselves:
a) I am only a woman, a thing which the world hates.
b) No cure has been found for a woman’s venom, worse than that of reptiles. We are a curse to man. It is not clear as to why the Greeks held women in such disdain. I would surmise, however, that the Greeks held that since women are weaker physically, it follows that they are inferior to men in general. Even in America, up until recently, women were considered second class citizens. However, in modern day America, women enjoy the same rights as men. They are allowed to vote, hold public office, and have the same opportunities for higher education and employment as men do. Negative or disparaging comments about women are not tolerated. According to Greek tradition, the first woman, Pandora, was created as a form of punishment because men had learned form Prometheus the secret of making fire. Even though Pandora was beautiful and irresistible to men, all of her hidden characteristics were deliberately intended to bring sorrow, harm, and trouble to man. However, according to modern American philosophy, which is based on the Judao-Christian version of Creation, men and women came from the same source-material (earth), and women were created as a favor to man. That they are physically weaker is inconsequential. Let us take a look at how Greek children spent their time. Girls would receive their entire