Leslie Fischman
Assignment # 3
October 19, 2005
Gender and Sexuality in Fifth Century Athens
Fifth Century Athenian notions of gender and sexuality are heavily influenced by the political, social, and economic changes of the time. The Peloponnesian war marked the change in the social and cultural lives of the Athenian people. After the war Athenians experienced a series of major political changes, which included the birth of democracy, the establishment of social classes and citizenship requirements. Art and architecture in the fifth century illustrate how these changes altered the roles of Athenian men and women, and the distribution of power between them.
Artists in the 5th century created more idealistic and naturalistic portrayals of man that illustrated “beauty, order, and proportion” (Wiemelt, 2000). Artist carefully sought to capture the essence of men and definitions of masculinity in a three dimensional figure formed to perfection. 5th century figures can be characterized as “complex…detailed, [with] exact proportions, [all within] a three dimensional [space]” (Wiemelt, 2000). The function of art was to “please and educate an audience and the Greek citizenry as to placate or honor some deity” (Wiemelt, 2000).
Similarly 5th century architecture mirrored the qualities, which characterize figurines of the time. Architects paid close attention to detail, mathematical proportions, and linearity” (Wiemelt, 2000) aimed at exemplifying ideas of perfection. Architecture was used to symbolize the power and authority of man and the gods. Phallic symbols illustrated ideas of the beauty of man. Like artists, architects also carefully designed structures showing order, proportion, and harmony.
Domestic Architecture of the time represented the power and wealth of the state. It also showed the socioeconomic stratification of the Athenian population. During the fifth century Athenian wealth was unequally distributed among the people, and the economic status of the individual determined the amount of power they had. Those with the least power and powerless were the non-citizens composed of women, slaves, and foreigners. The domestic architecture of the period displays this distribution of economic power and wealth that stratified the population. City planning separated the different classes and house planning and location was determined by their social status.
Women at the time were not seen as a collective group and differences existed between women based on social class, social status, and whether or not they had a right to citizenship Women with citizenship experienced similar oppressions within a male-dominated society, possibly to a lesser degree than the experiences of female slaves. The most power less were the female Athenian slaves in comparison to female Athenian citizens. Female sex slaves were placed in a position within society that increased their exposure to violence and were more subjected to experiencing violence and rape by men. The roles and duties of women were assigned to them by men, which limited their access to public settings and isolated them to perform domestic functions. The women’s main responsibilities were to please her husband by maintaining order within the homes and take on her natural roles as a mother and caretaker. At the time women were not given the same freedoms of men to express themselves through art and architecture. Therefore evidence of a woman’s experience is suggested in art, however does not provide us with an accurate depiction of their daily lives. The perceptions of male artist and architects are responsible for the creation of these images and give us biased and idealistic portrayals of Athenian women.
Images in art reveal a prevalence of homosexuality among Athenian men and boys. Male homosexuality in fifth century Athens was a common practice among fifth century Athenian men and boys. Homosexual relations between men and boys began at a young age and were seen as a rite of passage into manhood. The bond between a boy and his adult male lover was not only for pleasure but also had a specific purpose in the youth’s development and coming of age. The adult male was fundamental in teaching “the [young] boy things that schools did not teach –moral rectitude, citizenship, patriotism to the polis, honesty, integrity, courage, etc” (www.truthtree.com). Homosexuality was seen as a key tool in the education of young boys. Naked images of men and boys on pots display the homoerotic behaviors of Athenian men. Artistic images of young boys show idealistic portrayals, depicting the beauty and perfection of their bodies. At the symposia, and audience of adult males were entertained by young boys would compete in beauty contests, and dancing around naked, for adult males who were enamored by their beauty and potential to be future lovers.
After the Peloponnesian war many architectural structures and artistic images of 5th century Athenians were destroyed. As a result we have a limited number of pots, figurines, and statues. Such limitations, limit our understanding of the lives of Athenians and much of what is known is based on our historical interpretations of what is available. Therefore ideas and practices of sexuality and gender relations are marginalized due to this lack of written and artistic displays of these themes. Many of the images we see were by male artists and displayed images of masculinity and the importance of the male human form. Few images of women have been found, and the ones found do not accurately signify the lives of women. Instead we find idealistic portrayals of women, which do not accurately portray their experiences within a male-dominated society. Therefore we can only simply infer the degree to which they were oppressed based on ideologies of the present we use to interpret their past experiences. However, there are a number of symbolic displays gesturing notions of male homosexuality and differences in power between genders, which we can acknowledge and interpret.
Assignment # 3
October 19, 2005
Gender and Sexuality in Fifth Century Athens
Fifth Century Athenian notions of gender and sexuality are heavily influenced by the political, social, and economic changes of the time. The Peloponnesian war marked the change in the social and cultural lives of the Athenian people. After the war Athenians experienced a series of major political changes, which included the birth of democracy, the establishment of social classes and citizenship requirements. Art and architecture in the fifth century illustrate how these changes altered the roles of Athenian men and women, and the distribution of power between them.
Artists in the 5th century created more idealistic and naturalistic portrayals of man that illustrated “beauty, order, and proportion” (Wiemelt, 2000). Artist carefully sought to capture the essence of men and definitions of masculinity in a three dimensional figure formed to perfection. 5th century figures can be characterized as “complex…detailed, [with] exact proportions, [all within] a three dimensional [space]” (Wiemelt, 2000). The function of art was to “please and educate an audience and the Greek citizenry as to placate or honor some deity” (Wiemelt, 2000).
Similarly 5th century architecture mirrored the qualities, which characterize figurines of the time. Architects paid close attention to detail, mathematical proportions, and linearity” (Wiemelt, 2000) aimed at exemplifying ideas of perfection. Architecture was used to symbolize the power and authority of man and the gods. Phallic symbols illustrated ideas of the beauty of man. Like artists, architects also carefully designed structures showing order, proportion, and harmony.
Domestic Architecture of the time represented the power and wealth of the state. It also showed the socioeconomic stratification of the Athenian population. During the fifth century Athenian wealth was unequally distributed among the people, and the economic status of the individual determined the amount of power they had. Those with the least power and powerless were the non-citizens composed of women, slaves, and foreigners. The domestic architecture of the period displays this distribution of economic power and wealth that stratified the population. City planning separated the different classes and house planning and location was determined by their social status.
Women at the time were not seen as a collective group and differences existed between women based on social class, social status, and whether or not they had a right to citizenship Women with citizenship experienced similar oppressions within a male-dominated society, possibly to a lesser degree than the experiences of female slaves. The most power less were the female Athenian slaves in comparison to female Athenian citizens. Female sex slaves were placed in a position within society that increased their exposure to violence and were more subjected to experiencing violence and rape by men. The roles and duties of women were assigned to them by men, which limited their access to public settings and isolated them to perform domestic functions. The women’s main responsibilities were to please her husband by maintaining order within the homes and take on her natural roles as a mother and caretaker. At the time women were not given the same freedoms of men to express themselves through art and architecture. Therefore evidence of a woman’s experience is suggested in art, however does not provide us with an accurate depiction of their daily lives. The perceptions of male artist and architects are responsible for the creation of these images and give us biased and idealistic portrayals of Athenian women.
Images in art reveal a prevalence of homosexuality among Athenian men and boys. Male homosexuality in fifth century Athens was a common practice among fifth century Athenian men and boys. Homosexual relations between men and boys began at a young age and were seen as a rite of passage into manhood. The bond between a boy and his adult male lover was not only for pleasure but also had a specific purpose in the youth’s development and coming of age. The adult male was fundamental in teaching “the [young] boy things that schools did not teach –moral rectitude, citizenship, patriotism to the polis, honesty, integrity, courage, etc” (www.truthtree.com). Homosexuality was seen as a key tool in the education of young boys. Naked images of men and boys on pots display the homoerotic behaviors of Athenian men. Artistic images of young boys show idealistic portrayals, depicting the beauty and perfection of their bodies. At the symposia, and audience of adult males were entertained by young boys would compete in beauty contests, and dancing around naked, for adult males who were enamored by their beauty and potential to be future lovers.
After the Peloponnesian war many architectural structures and artistic images of 5th century Athenians were destroyed. As a result we have a limited number of pots, figurines, and statues. Such limitations, limit our understanding of the lives of Athenians and much of what is known is based on our historical interpretations of what is available. Therefore ideas and practices of sexuality and gender relations are marginalized due to this lack of written and artistic displays of these themes. Many of the images we see were by male artists and displayed images of masculinity and the importance of the male human form. Few images of women have been found, and the ones found do not accurately signify the lives of women. Instead we find idealistic portrayals of women, which do not accurately portray their experiences within a male-dominated society. Therefore we can only simply infer the degree to which they were oppressed based on ideologies of the present we use to interpret their past experiences. However, there are a number of symbolic displays gesturing notions of male homosexuality and differences in power between genders, which we can acknowledge and interpret.