Download Lesson Plan: What roles and rights did women have in the ancient

Lesson Plan: What roles and rights did women have in the ancient world?
1. Introduce the Topic: Women’s rights has always been one of the forgotten civil rights
struggles. Women have had to fight for their rights throughout history, and over time
their rights and the roles that they have had in society have changed. Today, we are
going to be talking about women in the ancient world, starting with ancient Greece.
Provide background info on ancient Greece as needed. Students should at least know
what it is.
OPTIONAL: Hand out Lysistrata document at end of introduction to the topic. It is a
cool document to get the kids into the topic, and the main take away is that women are
highly sexualized, with the only power they possess is the power of sex. Some students
might say that this is nonetheless a power, which is true, but still provides a rather sexist
depiction.
2. Brief mini-lecture. Students need to know there were two dominant city-states in
particular in ancient Greece, and that those were Athens and Sparta. Today, we will
start by investigating the these two cities and what roles and rights their women had.
3. Hand out Oeconomicus (Document A) and Life of Lycurgus (Document B)
- Students complete both documents and questions in pairs
- Debrief documents afterwards. Students will see that Athenians and Spartans
viewed women quite differently, and women in Sparta had more freedom.
However, spend time particularly on the last question for Doc B where
students compare Athens and Sparta. Students MUST see that, while
Spartan women had more freedom, their primary role was still to simply
produce children like the women of Athens (Lycurgus’ education is to provide
for this, and even what Gorgo says relates back to making children)
4. Transition: Greece was not the only powerful ancient society around at this time.
There were strong civilizations in the east as well, especially places like Egypt and
Persia. The Greeks interacted with these civilizations and recorded a lot about them.
Let’s see what roles and rights their women had.
5. Hand out Herodotus in Egypt (Document C). Have students read the document
and answer the questions in pairs. Debrief the questions after, in particular spending
time on whether or not the students trust Herodotus. He is a Greek writing about
Egyptians. Is he the best source? Why might he exaggerate? The Greeks did think of
the Egyptians as barbarians after all.
6. Hand out Status of Women in Egypt (Document D). Have students answer
questions in pairs and debrief. Once again, spend time in particular on the last question
Assessment Option: Have students an informative paragraph answering the prompt
“What roles and rights did women have in the ancient world” using evidence from the
documents.
Xenophon (Document A)
Source: The following is an excerpt from the Oeconomicus, written by
the Greek historian Xenophon in 362 BC. The Oeconomicus was mostly
about household management. In this excerpt, Xenophon describes the
instructions of an Athenian man to his new wife.
Isomachus addressed (spoke to) his new wife: ‘It seems to me, my dear,
that the gods coupled men and women together with great care. In the
first place, they are joined in marriage to make children.
Secondly, the gods made the man’s body and mind more capable of
enduring cold and heat, and long journeys and wars. Therefore, the gods
gave to the man the outdoor tasks. To the woman, since the gods made
her body less capable of enduring these hardships, I believe that the gods
have assigned her the indoor tasks.
Your duty as a wife will be to remain indoors and send out the servants
whose work is outside. Also, you will watch over the servants who work
indoors, and you will receive and greet guests. When wool (a fabric) is
brought to you, you must make clothes for the people that want them.
When corn is brought to you, you must make food.”
Oeconomicus (Document A)--Indoor vs. Outdoor
GENERATING ANTONYMS
Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of each other. Sometimes when we are
learning new words it is useful to think about the opposite word!
Indoor
Outdoor
Indoor activities are things done
inside, usually in the home. Indoor
activities usually refer to household
activities such as chores or family
activities.
Outdoor activities are things done
outside in the open air. Outdoor
activities usually refer to physical
activities such as running, fishing,
and hunting.
Practice: Write a sentence describing something that is an outdoor activity that
you do. ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Tell your partner about an indoor activity that you do: Do you have any chores
that you do to help out around the house?
Can you think of the antonyms for the words below? Remember, antonyms are
words that mean the opposite!
Word: Wealthy
Word: Young
Antonym:
Antonym:
__________________________________________
According to Xenophon (Document A), women are responsible for the
INDOOR/OUTDOOR tasks [circle one]. List THREE of these tasks that women
have. ______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Lycurgus (Document B)
Source: The following is an excerpt from the Life of Lycurgus, written
by the Greek historian Plutarch in 67 AD. The Life of Lycurgus was a
biography of Sparta’s legendary founder Lycurgus. In this excerpt,
Plutarch describes Lycurgus’s views on Sparta’s women.
Lycurgus considered education to be a leader’s most significant job. He
took particular care about educating the women as well as the men. He
made the young women exercise their bodies by running and wrestling
and throwing the javelin (spear), so that their children would be strong
because they would be born from strong mothers. The women
themselves would also be able to use their strength to withstand the pain
of childbirth.
Lycurgus freed women from softness and all other girly habits. He made
it normal for girls to walk naked in processions (religious parades) just
like the boys did. The nudity of the girls was not disgraceful
(embarrassing) because they did it with integrity and there was nothing
sexual about it. This education produced simple habits in girls and an
intense desire for physical fitness, virtue, and glory.
The girls made jokes about young men who had done something wrong,
and sang songs to the young men who deserved them. The man who was
praised for his courage went away proud because of their praise. But the
hurt of their jokes was as sharp as a serious scolding (punishment) from
other male citizens or even the kings.
Once, an Athenian woman is reported to have said to Gorgo, the Queen
of Sparta, 'You Spartans are the only women who can rule over their
men.' Gorgo replied, 'Because only we Spartan women are the mothers
of real men.'
Reading Log—Lycurgus (Document B)
Directions: Read over the important passages from the text on the left side of the chart. On the
right side of the chart, respond to the text by explaining the meaning of the quote, expressing
your thoughts or opinions, drawing a picture, or by asking a question. Please find a passage
from the text to complete #4 on your own!
Author’s important ideas
My Response (explanation, thoughts,
questions, pictures)
1. “He made the young women
1.
exercise their bodies by running and
wrestling and throwing the javelin
(spear), so that their children would
be strong because they would be
born from strong mothers.”
2. “Lycurgus freed women from
softness and all other girly habits.
He made it normal for girls to walk
naked in processions (religious
parades) just like the boys did. The
nudity of the girls was not
disgraceful (embarrassing) because
they did it with integrity and there
was nothing sexual about it.”
2.
3. “Once, an Athenian woman is
reported to have said to Gorgo, the
Queen of Sparta, 'You Spartans are
the only women who can rule over
their men.' Gorgo replied, 'Because
only we Spartan women are the
mothers of real men.'”
3.
4.
4.
Women in Ancient Greece
Athens
Sparta
Document A
Document B
Source:
Source:
The author of this document is…
The author of this document is…
He wrote it in ….
He wrote it in ….
Claim:
Claim:
The author claims women should do
INDOOR/OUTDOOR tasks [circle one].
The author claims women should do
INDOOR/OUTDOOR tasks [circle one].
The author believes this because…[provide
two reasons]
The author believes this because…[provide
two reasons]
1.
1.
2.
2.
Some jobs or activities women did
were…[explain two]
Some jobs or activities women did
were…[explain two]
1.
1.
2.
2.
Based on this, I think the role of women in
ancient Athens was…
Based on this, I think the role of women in
ancient Sparta was…
My strongest evidence for thinking this is….
My strongest evidence for thinking this is….
Women in Ancient Greece:
Athens vs. Sparta
Draw a comic or a picture showing the different rights and roles of women in ancient Athens and ancient Sparta!