Women From Two Early Civilizations: Ancient Greece and Ancient India, Essay Example

In ancient Greece women were treated as people of little capabilities and importance to the society. All their activities were performed under restrictions; they had very few rights as opposed to their men, they were not allowed to own any property. Men on the other hand occupied prime positions of importance they dominated decisions on property ownership and disposal. An example is where women would have slaves working in their houses but could not decide their selling and also in case of land they would claim a piece of land but could not even decide on its use.

The situation in for women in India was quite in contrast to the above situation according to (Majmdar 54), women in the Vedic period in ancient India were almost equal to men in all fields of life however some hold contradicting views. Ancient women were educated and had a say in the family matters and political affairs of their communities. This however changed slowly with introduction of Islam and afterwards Christianity which completely impended woman’s rights and freedoms.

For women Greece husbands took full control of the woman’s own property and in case of divorce their father or close male relative would then take the ownership rights back. Inheritance of property was unheard of for women .This was so strictly followed that even a man with a daughter would be forced to adopt a son for his heir.

In the earlier times, women in India had equal rights of ownership of property to men. In the marriage they were considered as equal partners in property ownership as their role was considered to be enjoined to their husbands.

Life for Women in Greece, their roles and their level of freedom depended on their social class in the society unlike for men whose freedom was not controlled. There were three classes of women in ancient Greece: the hetaerae class who were more educated than the wives class were companions to men at parties and festivals they were open to sex exploitation and were not protected, there was the wives class whose role was to stay at home and weave and for the poor families who could not afford to hire slaves they could do household chores themselves and would only be allowed to attend religious functions (Angelfire.com). The third class was that of the prostitutes who provided men with sexual companionship. This class of women had freedom to move all over the city and had no rules restricting them.

Life for women in India as suggested by some verses was at an equal footing as that of men that women had freedom to choose their husbands and would marry at a relatively mature age. This was especially the case in states that had rituals such as Nagarvadhu where women competed to become the city bride and have enough control and say on choice of the spouse (Kumar pp.36). Women had so much self pride in that they had the Jauhar practice that is the practice of mass suicide in place of getting defiled abused or losing self respect. This tradition later died off as the ritual has been made illegal in current Indian laws. This is in contrast to the Greece women who had no power over their sexual rights.

In conclusion, while women in ancient India enjoyed equal to their men, and had say in the social affairs of the family, the status quo was unsettled by the insurgence of modern religion. This situation was later remedied by the social justice movements. In Greece on the other hand, only wives were respected and protected while prostitutes and the hetaerae were sexually abused and exploited. None of the three classes in Greece had inheritance rights as opposed to India where women could inherit property.

Works Cited

Raj Kumar; Status and Position of Women: In Ancient, Medieval and    Modern India. Vedam books, 2001.

1951. C. Majumdar. Indian people: History and Culture. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1951.

Caseys website:The women of ancient Greek and Athens. 12 May 2009. http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix/