GENESIS OF GENDER EQUALITY IN АNCIENT GREECE

Abstract

The proposed exploration is an attempt to analyze the works of ancient authors on the role of women in the social life of the Greek polis. In the ancient narrative tradition, the collective image of the ancient woman «dissolves» in the male discourse of politics, military affairs, social status, social functions. The general features of the perception of the image of a woman in antiquity are reduced to an evaluative value, because it is the deviation that most often made a woman the subject of mention by ancient authors. The woman in Athens obeyed her husband in everything. She was completely dependent on her husband and was not a full-fledged citizen of the polis. And this was considered a social norm. Despite her obvious subordination to her husband, women have always been a very important part of society. The position of the Spartan woman was somewhat better. This is due to the greater archaic Spartan social order, a special form of slavery, which required a high degree of consolidation of free citizens in the face of the danger of helot uprisings. The research strategy is based on the historical-comparative method. The author used a systematic analysis of scientific knowledge, working on primary sources, namely the works of ancient authors: Aristotle, Plato, Plutarch, Xenophon, Homer, Aeschylus, Aristophanes and others. It is proved that the Greek tragedy was a reflection of the change in the position of women. It shows that in the real history of Ancient Greece, a woman did not correspond to the image outlined in the «male» tradition. In the analysis of ancient tragedies and comedies, it becomes clear that the images of women patriots, women mothers appear in the imagination of the authors on the basis of prototypes. Even given the existence of the author’s fiction, the researcher concludes that such women really existed. Finally, in the classical era, the ancient philosophers had the first doubts about the biological nature of inequality between man and woman, formed a vision of the harmonious coexistence of male and female.