Men and Women throughout Histo
Since the beginning of time, men and women have been different: physically, emotionally, and mentally. Nearly all of our ancient historical documents point to the domination of men over women in almost every civilization hat has graced this earth. Relations between men and women were different in each civilization, however, since each had its on views on what the two genders' roles should be. The people of Mesopotamia, Japan, and Greece all had an informal cultural stratification that separated the duties of men and women, and guided the relations between the two sexes during ancient times. A lot is unknown about the lives of men in women in Mesopotamia, but evidence shows that there was relative parity among the sexes and division of labor; while the people of Japan also lived side-by-side, the men still were still very dominant. The Greek men and women also had extremely segregated lives in which the women were to remain at the home. Much of the segregation in these societies was a cultural expectation, not a political provision, although laws did exist that restricted women's ability to live independently from the guardianship of her father and/or a husband.
Male-female relations in Greece were overtly male dominated, with women have very few rights or culturally accepted activities. Young girls were not taught in school or by tutors, but the ones that came from wealthy homes could sit in on their brothers' lessons to learn what the boys were taught. A few women in the ancient Japanese civilizations were able to attain the highest power possible, they became empresses. Women during this time did not have a right to their bodies, their bodies, sexual services, and children belonged either to their father or their husband (Lerner 80). The autonomy of men in the Mesopotamian society is evident in the laws in the Code of Hammurabi. The power of the kings was extended through the use of a writing system. The wife of a Greek aristocrat would also plan parties to entertain guests at their home. The punishment for men for crimes against women was almost non-existent. The military influence on people's lives was evident every day, and many of the men that could afford it, became samurais. Nearly all Greek aristocrats spent countless hours at the gym to achieve physical perfection, and to also discuss business with their peers. Female authors such as Sei Shonagon (The Pillow Book) and Murasaki Shikibu (The Tale of Genji) were the first to create a purely Japanese character system by using what they learned from their brothers' tutors (Lecture 11-10-03). The women of Japan helped create its new cultural identity, and their relationship with men was a rather neutral one-neither good nor bad. The relationship between Greek men and women is that of very unequal balance and double standards. The people of Mesopotamia had an equal society, as much as one can be called equal. Most often the father of the groom would arrange the marriage with the father of the bride, but negotiation between the groom and the father of the bride did exist as well (Lerner 106-7).
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Acceptance Essays
