Roles Of Women In Ancient Greece

T? Greece women, except the Spartan women, had very little contact with the outside world. Most the time they were locked up in thier chambers, called the gynaikonitis or the gymnasium. The quarters were placed in the back of the home, at the furthest point away from the street to keep the women as far away as possible from outside men, excluding their close family members and her husband. According to Kay O’Pry in her article, Social and political Roles of women in Athens and Sparta, “If the Family could afford one, Slaves did any duty outside the home, such as fetching water or shopping at the markets.” This in the eyes of the men keep their wife’s and children safe from harm and violation. Which was very important in Athens due to their
In general, “women had to obey their fathers, husbands, brothers or sons” . This gave to power to the men, allowing them to control the women how they wanted to. If that be in isolation or in public. In Athens civil and legal activates was strictly off limits. According to O’Pry, “Men though women were incapable of the understanding required for making decisions in polities” . In order to vote in Athens you had to be a citizen and, “A citizen of Athens had to be male and born of parents who were both born in Athens. No women, foreigners, or slaves were considered citizens” . Although sometimes a woman could talk her husband into bringing or voting on something this rarely happened. In the home the women had a few more freedoms, Alexandria wrote that, “In a virtuous household every activity is performed by husband and wife in agreement with each other, but it is never the less clear that if is the man who is in charge and has the power of decision” . For Athenian women like politics land was also off limits. Only the men were allowed to possess and own land. The Athenian government went through great trouble to make sure that in no case a woman could own land. According to Alexandria, if the male died the land would go to a son or male guardian. If no son then the dad would, as Alexandria states, “encouraged his daughter to marry a close relative in hope of keeping the land” . On the other hand in Sparta the rules were very much so laid back. Women could own land. According to O’Pry women could, “own property; they could dispose of it how they willed, they could inherit equal shares form their father’s estates” , women also owned a major part of the land, around two-fifths. In Politics the best way they could get there ideas out was thought there men like the Athena women. O’Pry states that women, “were able to influence the community and make their opinions known