“Babe, go make me a sandwich.” Since the dawn of time, women have been considered inferior to men. Most societies throughout history viewed women as poisonous or unimportant compared to male counterparts. Men provide for the family; the woman cleans, cooks, and stays silent. Two of the most contradicting societies were the Greeks and the Assyrians. Women in Hellenistic Greece were treated with more respect than women in Assyrian societies because Greek men saw women as angelic, perfect, chaste, and innocent with no possible way of “poisoning” a man. “Poisoning” refers to destroying the mans chances at reaching the afterlife, which Assyrians did not believe in. The Assyrians also had a very pessimistic outlook on life, which influenced the thoughts on men and women during the time period.
To begin, Assyrian women were expected to follow a strict code written by Tiglath-Pileser I. This code was very specific and…
The Assyrians did not view women in this manner because of the pessimistic view that was characteristic of Assura. Hellenistic women were not abused as Assyrian women were, and the men seemed to almost worship Grecian women. Life in each society was difficult, but the Assyrian women experienced more downs than Hellenistic women. Perhaps the most astonishing particle of evidence, however, is the continuation of ancient ideals in these two societies thousands of years later.
In the end, Assyrian women were treated poorly compared to Hellenistic women because of the views held by the Assura. Had it not been for the negative outlook, women in Assyrian society may have been treated with more respect. The treatment of the women in both societies is not ideal, and the negative treatment continues to grow in the world today, thousands of years later. Therefore, women in Hellenistic Greece were treated with more respect than women in Assyrian…
