Patriarchy In Ancient Rome

From the earliest civilizations, societies everywhere have been dominated by the patriarchy. However, the level of degree of male dominance and social structure in society did differ between the civilizations. The Roman Empire and Han Dynasty were no exception to this. Both ancient civilizations were similar in the respect that from birth, girls were treated lesser than boys. Even if in the Han Dynasty, where the values of Confucianism were respected and followed, which stated that everyone under the empire were equal, the true actions of citizens did not reflect this philosophy to its entirety. In the Roman Empire, women were subject to similar prejudice, as they were subject to the authority of their father, and then husband after marriage.
Women like Ban were less common in Rome than in China, a trend that is a result of the social structure of Rome. The Rules of Rome state “Guardians are appointed … for males under puberty, …for their infirmity of age; for females, … both under and over puberty, … for the weakness of their sex as well as their ignorance of business matters.” In Rome, females were seen as incapable, compared to their male counterparts. Upon birth, all children are given a guardian, however, only women maintain being watched by a guardian for the progression of the rest of their life. Essentially, women are given a babysitter. A guardian is similar to the social structure of Confucius traditional society structure, however the foundation of the hierarchy in China is based off a level of
In both societies, females were not expected to be educated or work outside of the home, unlike like the males of society, who in both civilizations were trained from birth to maximize their given potential. However, women in China were allowed greater opportunity to become literate and achieve a position of influence in society, evident through the documentation of literary works from women like Ban and Chinese Empresses such as Empress Lu. Roman literature, such as Juvenal’s satirical poems, indicates that Rome was progressing towards where China was at in regards to allowing women have positions of power in society, by mocking the strict social standards set for females. Although both ancient civilizations subordinated women to men throughout almost every stage of life, there were slight progressions that indicate a potential for even the smallest change in either