Hi mayli~
Under ancient Roman law, women were not independent or free as we
think of them today. Once married, everything a woman "owned" became
her husband's, and if she remained unmarried, her father or guardian
had complete control over her life and property. Women could not hold
office; they could not be legal witnesses; they could not make
contracts. In the courts, women accused could successfully plead
ignorance, since their mental capabilities were considered small.
A woman's job was to care for the home and family. Girls were
educated, although differently than boys and in separate learning
facilities. Their education generally ended around age 12, when it
became legal for them to marry. Marriages were typically arranged by
the parents and girls might have little or no imput into the choice of
husband.
The status of women in ancient Greece and other countries was very
similar. Women in the Hebrew culture enjoyed a higher status than
those in most other ancient cultures; they had legal rights and were
protected under the law. They could becomes heirs to property. The
Hebrew Bible insisted they be treated not as mere chattels, but as
human beings. At the same time, they could not hide behind their
femininity. Unlike women in many other ancient cultures, they couldn't
plead dumb if they failed to meet their obligations; they were
considered as capable as men. Under the law, they were ideally
considered equals with men under the law...although in reality this
was often not the case. Even Hebrew women were to obey their fathers
and husbands, however, and often had no choice but to marry whomever
their father chose for them.
Historians believe that women in ancient Egypt actually enjoyed some
semblance of equality with men. In Egypt, women could own property
(including land, servants, slaves, and livestock). Women could sign
contracts. They could sue in court. Unless she was of the uppermost
class, however, a woman's work was still solely house and family.
The following site is a mega-source for information about women in the
ancient world:
http://www.stoa.org/diotima
Here's another great site that covers women of ancient times (in
Egypt, Rome, Athens, Israel and Babylonia):
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/
You won't want to miss this extensive article on women in Rome. It
discusses heroines, republican and imperial women, women of influence,
and "forgotten" women:
http://dominae.fws1.com
This interesting article discusses women's legal status in Rome:
http://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/wlgr/wlgr-romanlegal109.shtml
Women and religion in ancient Greece and Rome:
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/wlgr/wlgr-religion.html
An article about women in Imperial Rome:
http://dominae.fws1.com/imperial_women/Index.html
"Women's lives and public persona" in ancient Rome and Greece:
http://www.dl.ket.org/latin2/mores/women/womenful.htm
Marriage in ancient Rome:
victorian.fortunecity.com/lion/ 373/roman/romarriage.html
Educated women in ancient times:
http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~ws/ws200/fall97/grp3/grp3.htm
Here's an article about women in ancient Egypt:
http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/WomenandGender/title.html
A piece about women's legal rights in ancient Egypt:
http://www.fathom.com/story/story.jhtml?story_id=190170&pageNumber=
Information on women's legal status in ancient Greece & Rome:
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/wlgr/wlgr-greeklegal.html
Keywords Used:
women ancient Rome
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=women+ancient+Rome+&btnG=Google+Search
kriswrite |
