Lecture 2: Women in Ancient Greece (Plato)

Question 1

Story of the first woman

Answer 1

Men used to live wiht Gods - Prometheus gave Zeus only the bones of an ox - as revenge Zeus decided to deprive men of fire - Prometheus gave the fire back to men - Zeus punished men by giving them women

First woman: Pandora
- with vase that if opened would bring ctastrophes to the world (represents the end of self-sufficiency amongst men)

Question 2

2 different standards of virtue for men and women

Answer 2

Agathos = good
Arthè = excellence

• High standards of virtue only applied to certain kinds of human being, aristocratic men
• Greek culture was a patriarchal culture: men decided what virtues were for women
• Faithfulness was most important virtue for women

Question 3

Women in Ancient Greece

Answer 3

• simply took care of the household
• denied access to competitive games and leadership in any organised activity (didn’t participate in intellectual discussion, didn’t have access to the places where men learnt about political affairs, denied access to marketplace, law and court)
• lived in different quarters
• worst crime a woman could commit was unfaithfulness
• women were given as bride by their father to men he chose himself
• women were housekeepers and child bearers
• gender roles in Athenian houses were common
• classified among children
• homosexuality also highlighted male superiority over women (Plato)

Question 4

Plato

Answer 4

• virtue is sex-less: virtue belongs to men and womne
• advances the proposal for equality between male guardians and female guardians (king / queen philosophers)
• aim to build the ideal political community
• allegory of the cave
• question of who has to rule&raquo_space; government of philosophers
• goal: happiness of the community as a whole

Question 5

Plato
Government of Philosophers division of society

Answer 5

• gold men - philosophers: best among human beings
• silver men - warriors
• bronze / iron men - peasants and genereal workers: all kinds of workers at the bottom of the hierarchy

> > no possibility of passing from one circle to another as they should be separated to avoid risk of contamination (immutable place in society)

Question 6

Plato
3 values on which a society should base itself

Answer 6

• harmony
• efficiency
• moral goodness

> worst evil: excessive self-love, selfishness and the love pof self-interest
private property represents evil&raquo_space; solution: abolishing private property and private interest to the greatest possible extent (women were considered property)&raquo_space; abolishing family
women could be become part of the ruling class

Question 7

Plato
Aim abolishing family

Answer 7

• disengage the rulers from all connections which might diminish their loyalty to the state > state vs family > total loyalty to the city