Ancient Cultures

Abstract

During the early Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Empires a great deal of the women were looked up to just as the men were. Some of these women were given as much power as the men had. In the Egyptian Empire, the country was ruled by women pharaohs such as Cleopatra. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians were all talented and skilled people. They are responsible for a great deal of the attractions and vacation spots which I one day hope to visit.

Artistic Themes from Ancient Cultures: Greece and Rome

During the ancient Egyptian culture the daily life revolved around the Nile and the land close to and surrounding the Nile. The Nile flowed for almost 4000 miles. The Egyptians enjoyed a political, religious, and a cultural lifestyle. A common language was also shared in Egypt. Most of the Egyptians worked as craftsmen, farmers, and scribes. A scribe was an ancient Egyptian man who knew how to read and write hieroglyphs and hieratic. The hieroglyphic is the most famous Egyptian script. The Egyptian farmers mainly used their land to grow and produce crops. The sunlight helped with the cultivation of the crops. The craftsmen were usually skilled laborers who were well respected in the community.

Some of the tasks in Egypt included trading, farming, fighting, and governing. Individuals were free to rise up in their status and the majority of them that did rise up did it through education. Women were allowed to read and write and therefore she was able to go into a business. During early Egyptian days women had as much civil rights and independence as the men did. The women were also allowed to run businesses and own property. Most of the property the females owned was inherited to them. The husbands of Egyptian women were required to make their wives happy. The Egyptian women were very powerful in the sense where they could make legal decisions. The women could initiate law suits as well as free slaves and make adoptions. The women had a great deal of rights in the things they were allowed to do. The women were sometimes looked at as being equal to the men.

The Greek women and the rules they lived by were very different from that of the Egyptian women. While the Egyptian women were allowed to inherit property, the Athenian women were not. The Athenian women also had few legal rights. The Egyptian women were very powerful in a legal sense to where they could make legal decisions. They were able to pursue lawsuits, free slaves, and make adoptions. The women of Rome did not have any civil rights nor were they allowed to vote. They were not allowed to become public officials. Just like the Egyptian women, the Roman women were able to own property and they were also free to manage their own legal affairs.

Somewhere between 1200 and 750 B.C.E. when the Greeks first appeared on the island at the southern tip of Italy (The Humanistic Tradition, page 67). The Roman Empire was also being established around the same time that the Greek Empire was being established. The Roman history was divided into two phases known as the Republic and the Empire. The Republic was 509-31 B.C.E. and the Empire went from 31 B.C.E.-476 C.E. The Romans were experienced in law, architecture, engineering, and literature.

The Greeks as well as the Romans and the Egyptians looked up to their Gods. Zeus was known as the most