What picture do the sources present of life for women in ancient Athens?

The first 200 words of this essay...

What picture do the sources present of life for women in ancient Athens?

Ancient Greece is known to have been a very patriarchal society, as this traditional view of women's inferiority is constantly played throughout history. Even the origin on the word feminine ("fe" from faith and minus) shows the reasoning for the role of women, and contributed to the cultural, biological and religious reasons for the inequalities - with Athens being to exception. For ancient Greeks, they even use the same word for 'woman' and 'wife' showing the limits to the roles of women, namely that either she marries or takes on a religious role.

As written in the poem Women by Semonides of Amorgos, the flaws and characteristics of women are described in great detail, truly emphasising how difficult it was to find or be the 'perfect' woman. Using analogies such as being similar to a dog - nosey and always intruding - even suggesting that domestic violence is okay within marriage. Semonides, after many other metaphors, goes on to explain that the ideal woman has a likeness to a bee; is hardworking, bears good children and stays within the house. This itself dramatically