The Changing Role of Women in Ancient Civilizations Essay

Henrik Ibsen once said, â€Å"A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.†(Notable Quotes) Ibsen’s statement exemplifies what life was like for women during ancient times. In many of the organized ancient civilizations, it was very common to find a primarily patriarchal civilization in government as well as in society. The causing factors can be attributed to different reasons, the main being the Neolithic Revolution and the new found dependence on manpower it caused. As a result of this, a woman found herself to be placed into an entirely different view in the eye of†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately, the sharp instincts and intelligences of these early women in a way became their downfall, for many historians and archeologists accredit women with the discovery of farming. It is their belie f that, while gathering foods for their tribes, women realized the connection between leaving seeds in the ground and the growth of plants. For a while these simple methods of farming were carried out by women, however, as more advancements were made in agriculture it was realized that farming could no longer be performed solely by women, as it demanded large amounts of strength that a woman wasn’t physically capable of. In addition, farming demanded large amounts of time so it began to become an expectation that a woman would remain home and take care of the house and children while her husband worked out in the fields. (Ellis 9) In his article â€Å"The Worst Mistake Made in History,† Jared Diamond discusses how women were no longer able to work as effectively, as it was expected of them to have more children, so their bodies as well as health became weakened. (Diamond 65) John R. Lukacs makes comparable discussions to Diamond, in his article, â€Å"Fertility and Ag riculture Accentuate Sex Differences in Dental Caries Rates,† saying that women suffered from even greater health problems than their male counterparts and as a result the numbers of women in society were reduced. (Lukacs 901) It wasShow MoreRelatedRole of Women in Ancient Roman Society Essay1341 Words   |  6 PagesThe role of women in ancient Rome is not easily categorized; in some ways they were treated better than women in ancient Greece, but in other matters they were only allowed a very modest degree of rights and privileges. One thing that does seem clear is that as the city-state of Rome evolved from its early days into a more complex society; women were not always limited to secondary roles. In some areas of Roman society, women were allowed more freedoms than in many other ancient civilizations. 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