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Gender Roles: A Day in the Life of an Ancient Greek

AMPHIDROMIA was a naming ceremony that was held on the 5^th or 7^th day after the birth of a child. The father carried the child around the household hearth and the women of the household purified themselves. Friends and relatives of the family sent gifts and they did not attend this ceremony unless they had been present at the birth. The family decorated the doorway of their home to announce the birth of the new child.

If the child was a boy, a crown of olive leaves, a symbol of victory and success, was hung on the door. If the child was a girl, a handful of sheep's wool, a symbol of spinning and domestic work, was hung on the door.

Males

Agriculture was the most common male activity, however it is rarely illustrated. The majority of citizens relied upon the land for their basic income. The wealthy men would oversee the farming on their land, while others actually worked the land and raised the crops.

The males did the shopping at the agora.The male was the head of the household and held complete control in dealings of the family. Greek males ran the government. The males would spend quite a lot of time away from their homes mostly at the agora, visiting with friends, purchasing items for the family and home, or engaging in conversations with the traveling philosophers or educators.

Learning to play a musical instrument was an important part of a young boy's education. The male youths were taught dancing and athletics by special teachers called paidotribes. When boys were young they stayed home and helped in the fields or spent their time fishing or sailing. When a boy was 6 or 7 years old he began attending school. He was taken to school by a family slave, called a paidogogos, who stayed with the boy while he was in school to make sure that he behaved. Boys were taught to memorize their lessons, as the ability to recite and memorize poems and such was quite respected and admired.

In addition to attending their drinking parties, the men of Ancient Greece enjoyed wrestling, horseback riding, chariot racing, boxing, and participating and training for the Olympic Games. The men also liked to participate in pankration, which was a cross between boxing and wrestling. Almost everything was allowed in this sport except for gouging the eyes or biting or breaking the fingers of your opponent.

Men usually married when they were 30-35 years old.

The birth of a boy was a joyous occasion for a family. A boy would one day own his own property and inherit his father's land and property. Boys were seen as more "useful" and "desirable" than girls in this respect.

Boys began to attend school at the age of seven. This education was not free, so most male children only received basic schooling. Wealthier boys were able to attend school until the age of 18.There were three types of schools: at the first school the boys were taught reading, writing and arithmetic.  At the second school the boys were taught poetry and music.  At the third school the boys were taught dancing and athletics.  Therefore, providing a well-rounded education.

Females

All women were dealt with legally as property. They had no legal rights nor could they vote. A girl usually married at the age of 13-15 years old. Her husband, who was quite older than the girl, was selected by her father, who arranged the marriage ceremony as well as set the dowry. The day before her wedding the young girls would sacrifice all of her toys to the goddess Artemis, to symbolize the end of her childhood.

Poor women were able to leave the house more often than a wealthy woman. Poor women had to do the shopping themselves, as well as collecting water from the wells, as they could not afford family slaves as the rich could.

A Greek woman would limit her time spent outside the home to visiting with her closest female neighbors. Women of high status only went out of the house with an escort. Exceptions to these rigid social structures were for weddings, funerals and state religious festivals, where women were expected to play prominent roles within these events.Women would produce all the cloth needed for the clothes and furnishings in their homes.

In most Greek city-states, girls stayed at home until they were married.While they were at home they were taught the arts of spinning and weaving, as well as how to run a successful household. Some girls were lucky enough to learn to read and write.

In their homes women were in complete control. Women were NOT inferior to men within this Ancient culture, they just held different roles within this society, each holding it's own importance. In the marriage, the wife had a lot of control. It was thought that an unhappy wife would not give birth to healthy babies, and if she is unhappy she will not take good care of them.

The average was five children per family. Some women gave birth to ten or more children! This was necessary because the mortality rate of infants was quite high, therefore many children did not survive through their infancy.

Sometimes infant females were rejected and abandoned from a family. They were abandoned because the family could not afford to raise the child or perhaps because the birth of a female was not celebrated, as the birth of a male was. In some cases these female infants could be adopted by another family and brought up as a slave.

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