Sunday, 14 December 2008

MEN AND WOMEN IN ANCIENT GREECE by Diletta Giacomelli, Hristina Petkova and Marco Salvadori

Womens’s life


Greek women had no political rights; they had to bear children and to run the household. Duties of rural women were agricultural works .When men weren’t at home the wife with slaves had to run the household.

In the poorest homes the wives had to do the household by themselves.

Greek women could go outside the house only to visit her female neighbours , or for weddings or funerals

The clothes of the women were normally made at home from locally available wool.

Later women spent much of their time in the courtyard of the house, the one place where they could regularly enjoy fresh air .


Men’ s life


Men’s activities encompassed politics, arts and crafts, construction, agriculture, sea-faring, manufacturing and trade

The most important men’s pastimes were hunting and horseback riding which took place far from constraints of family life.

In the school philosophy, mathematics, logic and rhetoric were taught only to aristocratic boys.



The difference


While the men spent their free time going hunting and horseback riding, women had to look after their children and run the household.

Women couldn’t neither take part in the politic life or vote while man had important activities in politics, art, crafts and trade.

Men could study and become important in the social life; while women had to stay at home without going to school or studying.

Women could enjoy only in the courtyard of the house; while men usually could go out for work or for spare time activities.

While women had to wear poor and simple clothes men wore smart and classical clothes.


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