Patriarchal Ancient Civilizations
In ancient patriarchal civilizations, such as that of Rome, Greece and the Norse (or Viking) women had very little say in the public life. Yet religion and the goddesses they worshipped provided women with an opportunity for equal representation in society. The goddesses worshipped in some cases depicted the complete opposite of what was expected of women.
In many of the ancient civilisations women were looked down on and limited rights, yet in societies such as that of Rome, Greece-and-the-Vikings, female-deities-were-worshipped-and their-cults and priestesses were regarded with a lot of respect and these women had more rights than the other women in society. These civilisations were patriarchal, which is defined as being a system or government …show more content…
system that was purely controlled and created by men. It is important to keep in mind when studying ancient civilisations such as these three, that the primary sources discovered by historians was primarily created by men, for men, as women were very rarely allowed to write, read or participate in the day to day life.
In ancient Greece, women were treated as only the property of the men in their lives, either fathers and grandfathers or husbands. The Greek society was just as many others extremely patriarchal where women were meant to be the wives of their husbands and the carers of their husband’s children (Oaks, 2011), even though their city, Athens, was named after the Greek goddess, Athena (British Museum, n.d.). In the rare occasions when women were written about in poems and plays by men, they often painted women in a negative light, even also is some cases, such as Theogany written by Hesiod where the creation of women, also known as genos gynaikon, started with the creation of the goddess, Pandora. The poem states that Pandora, and all women “were crafted to be a sorrow to men who eat bread”. The poem also continues to state that men were able to live free from illness and evil, until the release of the first-woman, Pandora (Clark, 2009).
“Since women does not bound herself, she must be bounded.” - Aristotle
Religion provided the Greek people with a common sense of identity that they all shared when worshipping, and this was the only exception to when the women’s voices in society were not being restricted and controlled by the men in their lives (Clark, 2009). Many of the goddesses worshipped by not only women but men as well, presented the complete opposite of the values and virtues that women were meant to follow and practise in society. The goddesses played by their own rules, took part in wars and some of these goddesses were in charge of aspects of life mortal women were not allowed to take part in. Some great examples of female deities worshipped that showed the clear difference in women was Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt and she also assisted women during childbirth (Gill, n.d.).
In Athens, probably one of the most important religious factions to not only women, but the Greek state itself, was that of Athena Polias. It was held that the cult was Athena resurrected to continue and protect the structure of the Greek community with the high priestess position being the most valued and important religious position in Athens (The Women of Athena's Cult, 2012). Priestesses were responsible for a great deal of things in the city of Athens, such as the general administration of the sanctuaries, overseeing rituals and they had to guard the sanctuaries and their treasures (Garland & Dillon, 1994).
The priestesses of the numerous cults were looked up to and held high positions in society, even though they were women. In most cases they were paid handsomely for their commitment to their religion and cult, received property, and the most important of all, they were allowed a large amount of rights common women were deprived of (The Women of Athena's Cult, 2012).
The way women were treated and what was expected of them were very similar in Rome as it was in Greece. They were bound to their duties to their husbands and the household. In Rome, there was four types of women: the aristocrats, plebeians, slaves and then sex slaves.
Rome has a great variety of both cults and religious festivals that the plebeian women, prostitutes, slaves and upper-class women could partake in.
One of the most well-known religious institutions, or cults, in ancient Rome was that of the Vestal Virgins, who-worshipped-the virgin-goddesses-Vesta, the keeper of the hearth, home and the family. The sacred hearth under the protection of the Vestals, represented the importance and purity that was the Roman state (McLaughlin, n.d.). One of probably the most important key points to keep in mind is that in Rome, there were no full-time priests employed by the state yet the Vestal Virgins, Ceres (goddess of agriculture and motherly responsibilities) and Proserpina (daughter of Ceres who later became goddess of the underworld) priestesses were fully supported and part of full-time professional clergy (Flower, …show more content…
2013).
To become one of the Vestals, there were a set of requirements that did not allow all to take part in, but this was not their only chance of partaking in religious cults as there were many in Rome. Once a Vestal, the women are committed to 30 year service of remaining chaste and protecting the sacred hearth. They were removed from the care of the men in their family, known as patria potestas, can create wills and dispose of property without the consent of a tutor, she was always accompanied by a man known a lictor, which was seen as a man bearing symbols of great authority in public (Flower, 2013). By looking at the Vestal Virgins and how they were treated differently, it seems clear that women’s role in religion was their only true chance of representation in society.
The Norse, or Viking, women were worlds apart from that of the ancient Romans and Greeks, as they enjoyed a greater sense of freedom in regards to responsibilities and rights and were treated differently in society in general than that of the Romans and Greek.
The rights and the treatment of Norse women varied just like the other two civilisations depending on wealth and status, but all had primarily the same responsibilities that bound them to the home (Wingate, 1993). What made these women more independent was that they were taught in medicine as they were responsible in nursing any sick household members, in authority of managing the farm and they were able to own property, claim land, divorce their husbands and whenever the man of the house left, she was left in complete charge and responsible of protecting the household (Streissguth,
1999).
Within the Norse religion, there has been found to be more than 20 female deities worshipped by the Vikings in their daily lives, which is tremendously more than that of the Roman or Greek civilisations (Encyclopedia Mythica, 2009). These goddesses ranged from Frigg, who was the goddess of motherhood and marriage, love and fertility, to Hel, who was the ruler of the realm of the dead, also known as Helheim. One of the most major deities worshipped was Freya, the goddess of love and death and treated as Odin’s equal. Her followers were all female, and they were believed to be prophetesses who can see into the future. The chief prophetess would sit on a platform during ceremonies as she went into a trance whilst her companions chanted the sacred songs and spells. During these ceremonies it was believed her soul departs her human body as it flies over the earth as she is provided with great wisdom and insight into the future events (Wingate, 1993). Women who were born with the gift of prophecy were treated with great respect wherever they travelled to, as it was believed these women were in direct contact with the gods (McDonald, 2010).
There is little known of the religious rituals that took place, due to the Vikings not recording down their histories really apart from the Sagas discovered. In these sagas, women were portrayed as being very strong, independent and highly praised for their sheer wisdom and beauty (R.W, n.d.). There has proven from the Sagas that women played prominent roles during the procession of religious ceremonies and rituals help in worshipping the Norse gods and goddesses. In Erik the Red’s Saga, a famine spread through the region, and the successful pagan rituals to end the famine was led by a woman, with the assistance of Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir who was also known as the Far-Traveller (Where Is Vinland?, n.d.).
The following is an extract from one of the sagas explaining what a prophetess looked like:
“She arrived in the evening with the man who had been sent to fetch her and this was how she was dressed: she was wearing a blue cloak that was fastened with ties, and decorated with stones from top to bottom. Around her neck, she had glass beads and, on her head, she wore a hood of black lamb skin with an inner lining of white catskin. She carried a staff in her hand. On it was a knob, decorated with brass and set with stones. Attached to her belt was a large skin purse where she kept the charms she needed for her craft. On her feet she wore calfskin shoes with the hair still on them. They had long tough laces with large tin knobs on the end. Her gloves were catskin with white fur inside. When she came in, everyone thought it was fitting to address her respectively. She received these greetings according to how much she esteemed the person giving them.”
In conclusion, Aristotle was incorrect when stating “… as regards the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject. And the same must necessarily apply to all mankind”. These societies that looked down upon their women worshipped female deities, named cities after them and asked them for aid when all was not go well with their communities. They praised goddesses that demonstrated the complete opposite of what they themselves expected women in society to behave. Religion was the one aspect in life where woman were treated as equals, and even in some aspects of religion they held higher ranking positions than that of their male counterparts, they had a great amount of new rights and respect, but most of all, a voice and representation in society.
In many of the ancient civilisations women were looked down on and limited rights, yet in societies such as that of Rome, Greece-and-the-Vikings, female-deities-were-worshipped-and their-cults and priestesses were regarded with a lot of respect and these women had more rights than the other women in society. These civilisations were patriarchal, which is defined as being a system or government …show more content…
system that was purely controlled and created by men. It is important to keep in mind when studying ancient civilisations such as these three, that the primary sources discovered by historians was primarily created by men, for men, as women were very rarely allowed to write, read or participate in the day to day life.
In ancient Greece, women were treated as only the property of the men in their lives, either fathers and grandfathers or husbands. The Greek society was just as many others extremely patriarchal where women were meant to be the wives of their husbands and the carers of their husband’s children (Oaks, 2011), even though their city, Athens, was named after the Greek goddess, Athena (British Museum, n.d.). In the rare occasions when women were written about in poems and plays by men, they often painted women in a negative light, even also is some cases, such as Theogany written by Hesiod where the creation of women, also known as genos gynaikon, started with the creation of the goddess, Pandora. The poem states that Pandora, and all women “were crafted to be a sorrow to men who eat bread”. The poem also continues to state that men were able to live free from illness and evil, until the release of the first-woman, Pandora (Clark, 2009).
“Since women does not bound herself, she must be bounded.” - Aristotle
Religion provided the Greek people with a common sense of identity that they all shared when worshipping, and this was the only exception to when the women’s voices in society were not being restricted and controlled by the men in their lives (Clark, 2009). Many of the goddesses worshipped by not only women but men as well, presented the complete opposite of the values and virtues that women were meant to follow and practise in society. The goddesses played by their own rules, took part in wars and some of these goddesses were in charge of aspects of life mortal women were not allowed to take part in. Some great examples of female deities worshipped that showed the clear difference in women was Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt and she also assisted women during childbirth (Gill, n.d.).
In Athens, probably one of the most important religious factions to not only women, but the Greek state itself, was that of Athena Polias. It was held that the cult was Athena resurrected to continue and protect the structure of the Greek community with the high priestess position being the most valued and important religious position in Athens (The Women of Athena's Cult, 2012). Priestesses were responsible for a great deal of things in the city of Athens, such as the general administration of the sanctuaries, overseeing rituals and they had to guard the sanctuaries and their treasures (Garland & Dillon, 1994).
The priestesses of the numerous cults were looked up to and held high positions in society, even though they were women. In most cases they were paid handsomely for their commitment to their religion and cult, received property, and the most important of all, they were allowed a large amount of rights common women were deprived of (The Women of Athena's Cult, 2012).
The way women were treated and what was expected of them were very similar in Rome as it was in Greece. They were bound to their duties to their husbands and the household. In Rome, there was four types of women: the aristocrats, plebeians, slaves and then sex slaves.
Rome has a great variety of both cults and religious festivals that the plebeian women, prostitutes, slaves and upper-class women could partake in.
One of the most well-known religious institutions, or cults, in ancient Rome was that of the Vestal Virgins, who-worshipped-the virgin-goddesses-Vesta, the keeper of the hearth, home and the family. The sacred hearth under the protection of the Vestals, represented the importance and purity that was the Roman state (McLaughlin, n.d.). One of probably the most important key points to keep in mind is that in Rome, there were no full-time priests employed by the state yet the Vestal Virgins, Ceres (goddess of agriculture and motherly responsibilities) and Proserpina (daughter of Ceres who later became goddess of the underworld) priestesses were fully supported and part of full-time professional clergy (Flower, …show more content…
2013).
To become one of the Vestals, there were a set of requirements that did not allow all to take part in, but this was not their only chance of partaking in religious cults as there were many in Rome. Once a Vestal, the women are committed to 30 year service of remaining chaste and protecting the sacred hearth. They were removed from the care of the men in their family, known as patria potestas, can create wills and dispose of property without the consent of a tutor, she was always accompanied by a man known a lictor, which was seen as a man bearing symbols of great authority in public (Flower, 2013). By looking at the Vestal Virgins and how they were treated differently, it seems clear that women’s role in religion was their only true chance of representation in society.
The Norse, or Viking, women were worlds apart from that of the ancient Romans and Greeks, as they enjoyed a greater sense of freedom in regards to responsibilities and rights and were treated differently in society in general than that of the Romans and Greek.
The rights and the treatment of Norse women varied just like the other two civilisations depending on wealth and status, but all had primarily the same responsibilities that bound them to the home (Wingate, 1993). What made these women more independent was that they were taught in medicine as they were responsible in nursing any sick household members, in authority of managing the farm and they were able to own property, claim land, divorce their husbands and whenever the man of the house left, she was left in complete charge and responsible of protecting the household (Streissguth,
1999).
Within the Norse religion, there has been found to be more than 20 female deities worshipped by the Vikings in their daily lives, which is tremendously more than that of the Roman or Greek civilisations (Encyclopedia Mythica, 2009). These goddesses ranged from Frigg, who was the goddess of motherhood and marriage, love and fertility, to Hel, who was the ruler of the realm of the dead, also known as Helheim. One of the most major deities worshipped was Freya, the goddess of love and death and treated as Odin’s equal. Her followers were all female, and they were believed to be prophetesses who can see into the future. The chief prophetess would sit on a platform during ceremonies as she went into a trance whilst her companions chanted the sacred songs and spells. During these ceremonies it was believed her soul departs her human body as it flies over the earth as she is provided with great wisdom and insight into the future events (Wingate, 1993). Women who were born with the gift of prophecy were treated with great respect wherever they travelled to, as it was believed these women were in direct contact with the gods (McDonald, 2010).
There is little known of the religious rituals that took place, due to the Vikings not recording down their histories really apart from the Sagas discovered. In these sagas, women were portrayed as being very strong, independent and highly praised for their sheer wisdom and beauty (R.W, n.d.). There has proven from the Sagas that women played prominent roles during the procession of religious ceremonies and rituals help in worshipping the Norse gods and goddesses. In Erik the Red’s Saga, a famine spread through the region, and the successful pagan rituals to end the famine was led by a woman, with the assistance of Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir who was also known as the Far-Traveller (Where Is Vinland?, n.d.).
The following is an extract from one of the sagas explaining what a prophetess looked like:
“She arrived in the evening with the man who had been sent to fetch her and this was how she was dressed: she was wearing a blue cloak that was fastened with ties, and decorated with stones from top to bottom. Around her neck, she had glass beads and, on her head, she wore a hood of black lamb skin with an inner lining of white catskin. She carried a staff in her hand. On it was a knob, decorated with brass and set with stones. Attached to her belt was a large skin purse where she kept the charms she needed for her craft. On her feet she wore calfskin shoes with the hair still on them. They had long tough laces with large tin knobs on the end. Her gloves were catskin with white fur inside. When she came in, everyone thought it was fitting to address her respectively. She received these greetings according to how much she esteemed the person giving them.”
In conclusion, Aristotle was incorrect when stating “… as regards the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject. And the same must necessarily apply to all mankind”. These societies that looked down upon their women worshipped female deities, named cities after them and asked them for aid when all was not go well with their communities. They praised goddesses that demonstrated the complete opposite of what they themselves expected women in society to behave. Religion was the one aspect in life where woman were treated as equals, and even in some aspects of religion they held higher ranking positions than that of their male counterparts, they had a great amount of new rights and respect, but most of all, a voice and representation in society.