Gender roles and sexuality in Ancient Greece

This week’s course documents focus on gender roles and sexuality in Ancient Greece.  Consider what we can learn from these three documents about expectations for women (Greek free-born, enslaved, and foreign) and men (citizens and non-citizens) in the Greek World.  For this exercise it important the you read all of these primary sources to consider what was the societal norm (common behavior and traits) for various people in Greek society.

Questions to consider while reviewing the course documents:

· How were Greek women (free-born to Greek citizens) supposed to act according to Lysias?

· What role did marriage play in Athenian society according to Demosthenes?

· How did Sappho challenge traditional gender roles?

Crafting an interpretation: 

Last names A-L: Read the two poems Download two poems by Sappho and reflect on how she challenged the norms of sexuality in the ancient Greek world. Your response must incorporate quotes from Sappho’s poetry and may be bolstered by evidence from the other two course documents. Initial response should be at least 250 words long.

Last names M-Z: Read Demosthees “ Orations 59 Download Orations 59 ” and Lysias “ On the Murder of Eratosthenes. Download On the Murder of Eratosthenes. ” Reflect on the qualities of men and women in Greek society. Why was marriage and lineage of Athenians so important to society? Why was “sanctity of marriage” important for women but not for men? Your response must incorporate quotes from Lysias OR Demosthenes and may be bolstered by evidence from the other two course documents. Initial response should be at least 250 words long.

Responses to classmates: Please make sure that you respond to a classmate who had the opposite topic of you. For example, if your last name is Linden (or A-L) you must respond to a classmate with a last name from M-Z. You should also follow up on your initial post and reply to any questions or comments posed by your classmates.