Roles of Men, Women and Slaves and What Their Significance Was in the Life of Athens During the Classical Age of Greece 479-336 B.C.E.
The population of Athens was made up of four distinct groups: Male citizens, foreigners, slaves and women. For the purpose of this paper my intent is to show the different roles of men, women and slaves and what their significance was in the life of Athens during the Classical Age of Greece 479-336 B.C.E.
Athens was and still is known as the original culture to create the ideal of democracy and was the first democracy in the ancient world. (Pomeroy, 2012)(Levack, Muir, & Veldman, 2011). However; Ancient Athenians were not an equal society, they reserved citizenship for only a select group within the population.
Male citizens once reaching the age of 18 and who were “free born” were the only citizens of Athens allowed to participant in the cities political life. No other citizen had the privileges the male citizen did. (Levack, Muir, & Veldman, 2011) The importance of this became increasingly apparent during the age of Pericles 490-429 B.C.E. The criteria was constricted so that a citizen had to be born from citizen parentage on both sides, those with foreign mothers, were now to be excluded. (Clay, 2005) Primarily, a male citizen controlled wealth, owned land and slaves, had heirs, controlled inheritances and belonged to the citizen assembly which permitted him to have a political voice. The male citizen of Athens was at the highest level of hierarchy of all the populace. (Clay, 2005)(Pomeroy, 2012)
Married male citizens were a curious uncertain group within the Athens citizenship. Married men were expected to “control their possessions”. Men were afraid of their wives ability to stay faithful within the marriage; they believed woman had no means of resisting seduction henceforth creating the possibility of bearing illegitimate children. As a result they strictly controlled every aspect of the woman’s life including but not limited to their sexual activity. The married male citizen of Athens believed the” ideal wife should stay out of
Athens was and still is known as the original culture to create the ideal of democracy and was the first democracy in the ancient world. (Pomeroy, 2012)(Levack, Muir, & Veldman, 2011). However; Ancient Athenians were not an equal society, they reserved citizenship for only a select group within the population.
Male citizens once reaching the age of 18 and who were “free born” were the only citizens of Athens allowed to participant in the cities political life. No other citizen had the privileges the male citizen did. (Levack, Muir, & Veldman, 2011) The importance of this became increasingly apparent during the age of Pericles 490-429 B.C.E. The criteria was constricted so that a citizen had to be born from citizen parentage on both sides, those with foreign mothers, were now to be excluded. (Clay, 2005) Primarily, a male citizen controlled wealth, owned land and slaves, had heirs, controlled inheritances and belonged to the citizen assembly which permitted him to have a political voice. The male citizen of Athens was at the highest level of hierarchy of all the populace. (Clay, 2005)(Pomeroy, 2012)
Married male citizens were a curious uncertain group within the Athens citizenship. Married men were expected to “control their possessions”. Men were afraid of their wives ability to stay faithful within the marriage; they believed woman had no means of resisting seduction henceforth creating the possibility of bearing illegitimate children. As a result they strictly controlled every aspect of the woman’s life including but not limited to their sexual activity. The married male citizen of Athens believed the” ideal wife should stay out of
References: Clay, J. (2005). Ancient Greece. Milwakee: Gareth Stevens Pub. Levack, B., Muir, E., & Veldman, M. (2011). The West: Encounters and Transformations (3rd ed., Vol. 1). Boston: Pearson. Pomeroy, S. (2012). Ancient Greece : a political, social, and cultural history (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. .