Gender Roles In Mesopotamian Society

The history behind treatment of women has changed throughout time. Women have been said to be weaker than men. Men state that hard work is required more strength and it's their responsibility. So that left the jobs of women to taking the needs of children, cleaning, milking the cows,and other chores in the house (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia).

Within Greek society, men were prominent figures in literary arts. Authors were dominantly male, as women were seen as not being fit to produce this work. Women were seen as inferior and submissive within this society, and with the abundance of male authors, women were portrayed this way in many literary works. However, despite the sexist roles within the society, works of literature such as The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh show a surprising side of women, that of assertiveness and intelligence. For example, Penelope, from The Odyssey, tells the suitors that she will marry one of them when she finishes weaving a burial sheet, but she deceitfully weaves and unweaves it.

There really was no problem for women to be doing work, but they also responsible for all the house works before they went to work. This

The Gradual Unbinding of Revolutionary Women Women back in the 17th to 18th century were labeled insignificant and served no major roles in any life-changing events. The fate for most of the women, was being confined in their own living spaces- left to prioritize housework duties such as cooking and cleaning. The etiquette of women was subjected to remain obedient to men. The inferiority of women forced imposition of loyalty and obedience towards men; the respect to women remained unrecognized in society. Preluding to the beginning of the 18th century, before the American Revolution arose, the position of a woman was strictly only to maintain household orders and comply towards the necessities of men.

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.

Maybe the author might not intend to, but the readers engulfed with the male-centered mindset might omit the position of women. It is worth demystifying the thought that women should only be visible to men. They have a fundamental role to play in the pieces of literature that we interact with and the society as a whole. Just as pointed out in this study, the society cannot succeed without the input of women, even if they are not seen in the forefront. Even though it would appear that Hildeburh did not succeed in the role she was intended to perform, the way she manages herself in the whole process is of great significance.

In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time. Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary.

Women’s place and role in the society is something that has been discussed and changed over time. Should their rights be the same as men’s? Should they be superior? Inferior? The world faces a dilemma on weather they should be or not equal as men.

The Odyssey embodies the proverb in the intro about women and men, which states that men are only successful when women support them. Without Penelope, Circe, Athena, and Calypso, Odysseus’ journey would have continued in agony and ended ultimately in his death. Many powerful women today, like Michelle Obama and Malala, inspire men and women alike to stand up for what they believe in and support others. Without their influence and that of other strong women, many celebrities, who people look up to, would not be who they are

The Homeric Hymns portray Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis and Hestia as strong females who uphold their own beliefs; challenging the “typical” gender stereotypes of the time period. Women in antiquity were expected to follow and uphold certain societal rules, most of these rules emphasized the gender stereotypes that women were perceived as being. The use of the goddesses powers challenge these societal rules and ideas about women. Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, and Hestia are portrayed in the Homeric Hymns in contrast to ancient stereotypical roles of women being confined to the household; as a result this contrast emphasizes that women can showcase strength, intelligence, and power within society. A women’s life in antiquity was constricted by

Even though women had more independence in Egypt compared to other societies, equality among the sexes was not apparent. There were certain roles in societies that were strictly male or female, causing a limited choice on careers and within the job had certain tasks relating the gender. For example, it was obtainable for both men and women to be servants but within that, they acquired different responsibilities. Men worked with the beer and meat, brewing and butchering it: and women dealt with grounding grain and baking bread. Throughout the kingdoms, an evolution of gender roles in society took place.

Gender inequality is not a new topic. Throughout history, women have faced significant sexist discrimination starting with being denied basic rights enjoyed by men. In many societies, women have been categorized as inferior to men. Greek poet, Homer, consistently highlighted this ‘women are inferior’ theme throughout his writings of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Even though this degradation of women has currently been brought to light in the 21st century, it continues to remain a serious issue.

Different societies view women in different lights. Therefore, a woman’s position is greatly different from one society to the other. The societies in question do not necessarily have to exist at the same time. Even in the same time frame, two societies could exist, where one treat women as equals to men, and another that treats women differently than men, whether better or worse. The societies in question are: Mesopotamia, Greece, China, Rome & Europe, and this essay aims to study different societies’ viewpoints on women, and to compare and contrast them against each other.

Whenever we start reading a historical context or myth, it is obvious that the role of women is not considered as important compared to men, and women won glory that time when they are mentioned in the arguments the least. If there are women that are mentioned as protagonist, the women usually are described because of their 'outrageous behavior '. However, the role of men usually are described as greatest warriors, heroes, and leaders, whereas the

Over generations, the role of women in society has shifted and changed immensely, improving upon many aspects of rights and values that women have. The changes occurred gave women opportunities to provide ideas, to have the same rights as men, giving women freedom, leading to many contributions of many significant and valuable events. But from current roles of women being equal to those of men, how women stood in ancient society significantly differs and contrast with ours today. Throughout history, the role and significance of women were always outweighed by the dominance and influence of men. The role of women in ancient times varied throughout, depending on the place and area in the world, in which women had different roles and impacts on their own society.