Download Kerisha Goode Rhetorical Traditions I 2 October 2015 Social

Kerisha Goode
Rhetorical Traditions I
2 October 2015
Social structure under equality is a cultural value that is much respected in ancient Athens.
Particularly the inequality of women and slaves is what stands out the most. This value impacted
rhetoric’s development in Athens during this period in was such as its legal system, education, and
religion within women and slaves.
The idea of justice was carried out by elected officials called archons and members of the middle
class. Later the Athenian legal system was reformed by a man named Solon. He created a test that
allowed qualified citizens to serve as magistrates, even if they weren’t members of such classes. This
was of the first impacts on rhetoric development. Specified courts were designed for certain cases and
the jury service was a duty for only male citizens. Athenian jurors ranged from serval hundreds to
thousands at a time depending on the case. There were no attorneys and no state prosecutors. Also,
women were not allowed in the courts. Even the names of those considered most respectable women
generally could not be mentioned in court. Women were referred as “the wife or daughter of” the man
whose name was given. Inequality for women in courts even went as far as requiring women to have a
male relative bring their trial to court if they had a legal complaint. If a woman was accused of a crime
she had to enlist the aid of a male relative to defend her. The present day idea of legal evidence did not
exist in ancient Athens. Justice was based on persuasion. From Solon to Alexander the Great the
Athenian legal system changed very little.
Things were not always so segregated, at least within education and religion was one of the
most important social associations and women played important roles in both. In the early days of great
civilization women held significant positions. As early as the Neolithic period, religion was once
dominated by women. In Introduction to Greek Rhetoric, they used an example of a powerful woman in
a religious position. This woman was Endeduanna. She was the high priestess to the moon God Nanna.
Her job was complex and consisted of supervision of religious rituals, support of the divine right king,
and compositions of hymns. Later her poetic songs were considered the “first known written record of
religious belief system” (Meador, 2000, p.155). It is also known that the most important religious sites in
Greece were Delphi. This is where women served as Pythia, oracle priestess of Apollo.
Education for young girls began when Sappho, the only female Greek poet from the archaic
period, opened an all girls school that prepared them for marriage. Girls in all Greek communities were
typically sheltered. It was common that they wed between the ages of 13 and 15. When Solon opened
government positions to citizens not within the noble class it then changed requirements for the males
population on receiving a better education. Literacy on even the smallest scale, required school which
became a result of education moved from inside the home. Education from elementary to secondary
became common in the fifth century. This level was usually completed by ages 15 to 16. However, the
wealthier families continued their son’s education by sending them to advance their training in rhetoric.
During the seventh century the social structure endured changes. By changes I mean tighter restrictions
on women and their activities were placed. This idea was brought forth when attention to legal cases
involving women showed strict rules that controlled women. It was even suggest that the presence of
women in public was an offer of seduction. These ideas were now considered a threat to “both the
concept of property and social stability”. The restrictions became evident under Solon’s leadership. He
took away everything that was considered unflattering or immodest. Laws were in place that controlled
what women wore. They weren’t allowed to go out at night unless they were in a chariot with a torch.
They couldn’t visit grave sites of anyone besides their own family. Solon’s restrictions continued and
created a society that separated men and women. Even living homes in Athens were divided. The
females had one entrance and exit which was also accessed through the male living quarters. This put a
limit on movement in and out of the house. Even when shopping at the marketplace, also referred to as
the agora, it too was divided into half, male and females. This allowed for poorer women to shop
without face-to-face contact with males.
Another influence on Greek social structure, theme, and everyday life were the slaves. Slavery,
freedom, and democratization all emerged as rhetoric in social context. First, the importance of speech
and speaking well is further illustrated. It gained a meaning of excursing political power, causing vast
amounts of people to become literate. Slaves were then brought into the picture to solve labor crisis. By
the fifth century thirty percent of Athens was slaves, and they did all the hard work. This caused citizens
to think of themselves doing manual labor is unbefitting. As the number of slaves increased, so did the
appreciation for freedom. Solon called for another social change by no longer allowing slaves to use the
gymnasia. This was to tell the difference between slaves and freemen. Not satisfied there, Solon made
the ruling to use public funds to purchase the freedom of all Athenians who were put into slavery. The
poor made up fifty percent of the citizens, forty percent was the middle class, and the remaining ten
was the upper-class. Freedom took a turn while giving itself a new meaning that was the most talked
about topic for the next one hundred years.
Athenians practiced direct democracy with citizens making decisions, establishing laws, and
setting policies with involvement of political process. The Athenian society was growing more complex,
allowing its social structure to be the cultural value that is most respected in ancient Athens. In
retrospect it’s inequalities of men, women, and slaves is highly recognized with the impact it’s had on
rhetoric’s development in Athens.